Pendle and Craven Advanced B/C-Class weekend

by Liz Wilson at Pendle and Craven [^]
21st May (AC)

Wonderful weather and interesting lawns welcomed 12 players to Pendle & Craven Croquet Club. One of the original 12 entrants had to pull out with 24 hours notice due to injury, but Bowdon's Adrian Apps stepped up at short notice to avoid a Manager's nightmare. The tournament was run as a 5 round Swiss Amalfi by Brian Medley in his 2nd year of Tournament Management. With the sun beating down constantly for the whole weekend at times it felt like we were on the Amalfi Coast! Handicaps ranged from scratch to 10 - the C Level competitors being in the range 6+.

Surprising giant killer results started to appear in the first round with Peter Wilson (3.5) beating Brian Medley (0.5), Steve Skelton (3.5) beating Charles Harding (0), Andrew Gould (10) beating Stephen Pratt (3.5) and Phil Snowden (7) beating Stefan Colling (0.5). In the 2nd round Phil continued his onslaught beating Steve Skelton whilst the other matches went with handicaps. The final round was played in the evening sunshine where the only surprise was a very lucky win for Liz Wilson (4) vs Charles (0). In the time turn Liz needed to scoop off penult and rover and peg out in a 3 ball ending. Two hoops were negotiated but the roquet on reception ball was missed, only for the strike ball to trickle to corner one where Charles had "safely" left his ball - the fluke roquet of the year gave Liz the win!

Day 2 started with Adrian Apps and Peter on 3 wins each. Phil Snowden had to take on his coach and mentor Liz and was beaten on the golden hoop (age and experience wins over youth) who for once didn't want him to win! Scottish visitor Stefan contined to claw back 1 or 2 points per game after his 19 point loss in the first round and joined Liz and Peter Wilson on 3 wins with Adrian on 4. The Amalfi system is supposed to throw up an exciting final round and so it proved to be. 5 of the 6 games were going to affect the results. Liz had to play her husband Peter and Stefan played Adrian. If Stefan won then there would be a 3 way tie of 3 players on 4 wins all of whom had not played each other. Magnifying glasses were out to read the small print! Adrian had the upper hand and eventually all he had to do was rush to the peg and finish. Did you know in B Level hoops often get in the way! The rush to peg put the croqueted ball in rover. Adrian took croquet from the ball in the hoop which didn't quite make the distance to the peg but did stop his strike ball from shooting at it! A scatter shot sent the two balls in a wide split. Stefan hit in - just 4 hoops to make and a rover peel - unfortunately 4 back rejected his ball. Game over for Liz and Stefan and the Tournament winner was the unbeaten stand-in Adrian.

Much fun and B level hacker play made the whole atmosphere quite amusing. Many swear words as hoops were blobbed and some new terminology (which hoop are you on? 5 back was the reply) Congratulations to Adrian Apps (B Level winner) and Phil Snowdon (C Level winner and a handicap reduction to 6) and to Alan Dix playing in his first tournament

Crake Valley beat Ripon Spa 5-2

by David Cornes at Crake Valley [^]
21st May (GC - Federations Shield)

Selection for Solomon Trophy GB v USA at Budleigh Salterton (7-10 August 2025)

by Ian Lines at Budleigh Salterton [^]
21st May (International)

The Solomon Trophy is a prestigious international AC team event held every 1 or 2 years between the USA and Great Britain. It alternates being held in the USA and Great Britain. In November 2023 the USA won the Trophy at Sarasota, Florida, and this year it will be held at Budleigh Salterton, Devon.

The format will be a 21-point test, consisting of 9 doubles matches and 12 singles matches, each of which is played as best-of-three games. Spectators will be welcome.

The AC Selection Committee has selected the following GB team:

• Harry Fisher
• Jack Good
• Gabrielle Higgins
• Debbie Lines
• Stephen Mulliner
• Samir Patel (Captain)

Reserve: Aston Wade

Congratulations to those selected.

Mark Avery won the Newport Open Weekend

by Andrew Gregory at Newport [^]
20th May (AC)

The tournament was played as a Draw and Process, with a Swiz for those wanting extra games.

The draw was unseeded, but the two favourites David Maugham and Mark Avery were in opposite halves in both Draw and Process.

In the Process Avery lost to Debbie Lines.

In the Process final v Maugham, Debbie started on a TP but broke down with half a peel done. Maugham was forced to rush-peel oppo in the first stroke of the turn, and decided to complete a TPO. He shortly finished with a three-ball break.

The Draw was a bit behind schedule, so the first round Lines v Lines clash did not start til after 6pm on Saturday. Ian Lines completed the three peels of a TP, but then missed a 4-yarder, much to his (and the Mangler's) disappointment.

On Sunday morning they resumed. Debbie tried a TP, but when the straight rover peel didn't work out, pegged out Ian's ball and (to my surprise) her own.

Ian was in front of penult when Debbie ran rover. Not exactly sure whether Debbie could see the peg, but in the event she hit Ian's ball to win.

Debbie then had to play Avery again. There were chances for her to win but an error or two let Avery win with a TP.

Thus there was a de facto best-of-2 final.

Playing under superAdvanced rules, Avery got the first break. Maugham had a TPO. He was then inching round til Avery hit a long shot and finished.

In the decider, again Avery had first break, again Maugham had a TPO. Avery hit three long shots, the last of which proved fatal.

Draw Final: Mark Avery beat David Maugham +11otp

Process Final: David Maugham beat Debbie Lines +8tpo

Play-off: Mark Avery beat David Maugham +14otp

Albie Willett won the Hunstanton GC Open Series

The prize winners

The sun might have shone over the weekend but regular visitors were not surprised that it may have been Sunny Hunny but were not that surprised that the flags were still being driven by that regular North Easterly off the North Sea. Still croquet players are a hardy bunch and a full complement of 16 of a various range of handicaps from far and wild were not going to be put off from enjoying the 5 superb lawns that was awaiting them

Using the standard C.E. format, for the first day the players were split into two groups of eight in an all play all in which the following day the top four proceeded into a straight knock-out. The lower group met in a subsidiary group of all play all for the Plate. In Group 'A', it was no surprise that Simon Carter and last year's winner Andrew Hobbs soon become the early favourites however, Mike Bilton and newcomer Colin Spencer were not far behind. In Group 'B' Albie Willett always set the pace but was always in the sights of Alex wood, Ross Bagni and Edwin Bone.

On the second day after proceeding through to the semi-finals of best of three games the final round ended up with Club President Simon Carter meeting Albie Willett in the final round. This game produced some very high class play, which not only entertained the audience through the whole length of the three games but, kept them glued to their seats in the mildly cold wind. Despite a strong start by Simon winning the first game 7 - 4, Albie raised the stakes by winning the second and third games both by 7 - 5 producing some very entertaining croquet.

Alex Wood beat Mike Bilton 10 -7 to run out the winner of The Shield and Ashley Deacon ended up the winner of the Plate.

Presentations were made by The Club President Roddy Willett

Rob Strover won the Bury GC B-Level

Finalists Frank Sharps and Robert Strover

Robert Strover (Bishop Monkton) won the GC 'B' Level Tournament beating Frank Sharps (Crake) in the Final (7-6) at Whitehead Park, Bury.

Play consisted of two blocks and, since there were only 8 players competing, each match was played to 15 points. In the three rounds some of the matches took a long time to resolve. David Barrett (Bury) and Rod Bowden (Llanfairfechan) had a 33-minute battle for the first hoop in their match, however, once run, the match did pick up a pace and Rod went on to win (8-1).

In Block A, both Frank Sharps and John Tidy (Sheffield) won 2 out of their 3 matches, thus ensuring their places in the Semi Final. In Block B Robert Strover won all 3 of his matches earning his place in the Semi Final. The remaining 3 Block B players all won 1 match, but Margaret Crossland (Sheffield) won her place in the Semi Final on net hoops.

The decision was made that, after the long sessions in the rounds, the matches would revert to 13 points for the remainder of the matches.

In the Semi Final Frank beat Margaret (7-5,) Robert beat John (7-3) which meant that fellow club players Margaret and John met in the 3^rd/4^th Playoff. Margaret won (7-3)

Rod Bowden (Llanfairfechan) and Robert Mumford's (Ripon Spa) 5^th/6^th playoff match was tight, but Rod came through (7-6) to win the Plate.

The 7^th/8^th Playoff featured Bury players David Barrett and Bernard Lord, which David won (7-3).

We experienced excellent play from both Frank and Robert in the Final and everyone enjoyed watching this closely fought match which concluded with Robert running the final hoop and thus winning the cup.

Club Chairman, Roy Spencer, presented the trophies and medals.

Thanks go to the referee, John Crossland, the Tournament Manager and Admin team, the Grounds Team and, of course, the Catering Team, for making the day an enormous success, which everyone involved enjoyed.

Full results can be seen on Croquet Scores https://croquetscores.com/2025/gc

Jo-Ann Hughes won the Pendle B-Level GC

B Level GC Winner: Jo-Ann Hughes

A full complement of 16 players from as far afield as Guildford competed in the Pendle and Craven 'B' series GC competition. The parched lawns were playing really fast and some very close games resulted in two players from Pendle, Libby Dixon and Andrew Gould, plus two from Bishop Monkton, Jo-Ann Hughes and Robert Strover winning their Round Robin blocks. After lunch the glorious sunshine continued and the knock out phase of the tournament continued. Congratulations to Jo-Ann who beat Andrew (7-5) in the final. Peter Adams (Guildford) beat Libby 7-6 for third place. Richard Sanville (Ashby) beat Robert for the Shield. Full results can be seen on Croquet Scores.

Bowdon beat Chester 4-3

by Mike Flannery at Bowdon [^]
19 May (AC - Mary Rose)

York lost to Southport 2-5

by Gail Moors at York [^]
13 May (AC - Longman Cup)

Surbiton One-Ball won by Ludolph Van Hasselt

by Debbie James at Surbiton Croquet Club [^]
19th May (Club News)

48 finalists competed on Saturday at Surbiton and had a great day. Thanks to Surbiton CC for hosting the event and Nick Parrish for managing the tournament so well, not forgetting George and his team for the excellent catering.

Congratulations to the winner of the trophy for 2025, Ludolph van Hasselt (OB2.5) of Hurlingham, and to the runner-up, Nick Archer (OB-2) of Watford. A very close final play-off indeed, 13-12!

Special mention also to Heather Bennett (OB0) of St Albans who won the consolation Swiss with 6 wins from 7 games.

Surbiton CC has very generously donated all the proceeds from the catering, so it's a win also for our charity, Alzheimer's Society. Thanks for your support.

Ken Knock wins at Nottingham, Charity 1-ball regional final, 17/05

Ken Knock wins at Nottingham, Charity 1-ball regional final

A field of 16 players, handicaps ranging from OB-5 to 20, represented their clubs and federations in Saturday's final of the Charity 1-ball at Nottingham. The Nottingham lawns were of their usual high standard, the rhododendrons were ablaze with colour, and the players' outfits referenced the house colour blue of the 2025 nominated charity, Alzheimer's Society.

Despite a valiant effort by Philip to roquet Ken's ball near the peg, Ken prevailed to peg out and win the trophy. Congratulations to him, and to the runner-up Philip.

Look out for the full report in the June Croquet Gazette.

Final places in the GC Opens announced

by Chris Clarke at Budleigh Salterton [^]
19th May (GC - Championships)

Four unconflicted members of the GCSC met to decide the final places in the GC Open singles and doubles this evening. It was decided that in this instance, no player would be selected for the singles, meaning that the final place would be awarded on Max DG. For the Open Doubles, Ian Burridge and Chris Clarke were selected.

Aston Wade

Acting Chair of GCSC

Nailsea Advanced Class Tournament

by Kathy Wallace at Nailsea [^]
19th May (AC)

The Nailsea May Tournament effectively ran as two tournaments in one. The manager saw a strong natural break of about 100dg points so opted to split the 16 entries into 6 for the Peter Dyke Ruby Shield and 10 for the Michael Poole Cup.

The former was run as an American Block and all was well until there was a late withdrawal. A solution was found in the form of Erica Malaiperuman who, as a 1.5, was ineligible to compete. Each player had a bye but played a friendly game against Erica. The friendly games were so relaxed that one game had green paired with white for the first 20 minutes. In the "proper" matches, after 4 rounds, Klim Seabright had won three but had a bye in the final round. Neil Kingston (2.5) and Peter Rothwell (2) were both on two wins and were pitted against each other. Peter won that game so a tie-break was needed between Klim and Peter. They each started in Corner 4 and set off to play a two ball break as far as possible. Klim started off in style but left a long hoop at 6 and blobbed it. Peter played what looked like a disastrous approach at 4 but pulled off a brilliant hoop run. He also had a long hoop at 6 and failed it. Neither could face a repetition of the exercise so asked if they could share the trophy and this was agreed. As a 4.5, Klim also took the prize for the biggest upsets by beating a 2.5 and 2. Peter earned an automatic handicap reduction to 2.

The Michael Poole Cup was run as a strict Swiss using Andy Dibben's wonderful software. The early leaders were Chris Rice (5), Carl Brown (10) and Bob Whiffen (6) but the match between Bob and Carl in the final round proved to be the decider. Bob won by a golden hoop and took the trophy for the third time being the only player with 4 wins. Using quality of wins, as calculated by Timmy 2, Chris was runner-up. Mervyn Harvey (8) and Carl Brown shared 3^rd place. Carl won the prize for biggest upsets in this class, beating a 5, a 6 and a 7. The handicappers took a good look at Carl but decided to let nature take its course.

The Class tournaments at Nailsea present great opportunities for inexperienced players to test themselves against old (!) hands and to learn how to play breaks that are so accurate that they can run firm hoops. Overall, the lawns were playing well in spite of some imperfections due to the recent weather conditions. Extra grass cuts helped in this respect. Hospitality was excellent, as always, and the cream on one of the cakes had Baileys in it.

Peter Adams won the GC B-Level Series tournament at East Dorset

by Jonathan Powe at East Dorset [^]
19th May (GC - Tournaments)

Peter Adams (Guildford) won the GC B-Level (4+) Series tournament at East Dorset 17-18 May, beating Steve Baldwin (Compton) in a tightly contested final 7-4, 6-7, 7-6.

With a full complement of 16 for the 2-day tournament, the format was pretty standard - two blocks of eight on Saturday followed by knockouts for the main event and the plate on Sunday.

Reasonably fast lawns and tight, firm hoops made the conditions quite testing, but the players appeared to enjoy the challenge and we saw some excellent play on both days.

Key results:

Winner: Peter Adams (3), Guildford

Runner-up: Steve Baldwin (4), Compton

3rd: Chris Dochniak (6), East Dorset

4th: Jill Richardson (4), Rother Valley

Plate winner: Alastair Broom (5), Phyllis Court

Plate runner-up: Helen Essa (5), Phyllis Court

Full results available via Croquet Scores here: https://croquetscores.com/2025/gc/b-level-seriestournament-at-east-dorset

Ealing lost to High Wycombe 2-5

by Mike Porter at Ealing [^]
19th May (AC - Longman Cup)

High Wycombe beat Ealing 5-2

at Ealing

7^th May 2025

(Ealing scores first)

Tony Elliott (6) and Margaret Page (16) lost to Matt Miles-Griffiths (14) and Mark Wilce (20) -5t

David Graham (11) beat Alan Clark (3.5) +22

Simon Turner (6) lost to Kenny Weir (14) -9t

Simon Turner lost to Alan Clark -7t

Tony Elliott lost to Matt Miles-Griffiths -12t

David Graham lost to Kenny Weir -3t

Margaret Page beat Mark Wilce +15

England dominates the European Championships 2025

Euan Burridge: 2025 Golf Croquet European Champion (Photo: Brian Carroll)

Of 32 players, 9 England players made it through the blocks to play in the knockout stages of the Championship. England continued to dominate the championship throughout the knockout where it was an all-England set of semi-finals. Congratulations to Euan Burridge from Bowdon Croquet Club, our 2025 Golf Croquet European Champion.

Read the story >> https://www.croquetengland.org.uk/news_and_media/england-dominates-the-european-championships-2025/

Nottingham beat Pinchbeck 4-0

by Dave Gunn at Nottingham [^]
13 May (AC - Mary Rose)

Nottingham welcomed Pinchbeck to their Lenton site with the five lawns at HQ that were relaid last autumn still out of action and recovering following an untimely storm that flooded them days after the work was completed.

The Lenton lawns were dry and quite tricky but by the time a late lunch was taken, Nottingham had a 3-0 lead.

When one of the visiting players had to return home after lunch, a 4-0 result was declared and three short friendly games were completed by the remaining players.

Results:

Dave Gunn and John Filsak bt Adrian Kirby and Mike Bowser +8
Brian Thompson bt Charles Baker +8
Mike Finnigan bt Ken Knock +16

Southport beat Huddersfield 5-2

by Gail Moors at Southport [^]
18th May (AC - Secretary's Shield)

Philip Rowley won the Guildford & Godalming D-Level

by Andrew Lockwood at Guildford & Godalming [^]
16th May (GC - Tournaments)

Philip Rowley of Phyllis Court Croquet Club claims a clean sweep to win the inaugural D-Level Series tournament at Guildford and Godalming Croquet Club.

With a field of seven after a late dropout due to a broken foot (a non-croquet related injury) an all-play-all format was adopted for the day and battle commenced on a beautiful sunny spring morning with the lawns in almost perfect condition.

The morning session was hotly contested, and after an excellent lunch, play in the afternoon was too, as the sun shone down and the temperature went up. In the end Philip managed to win all his matches but was taken to a close 7-5 win in a thrilling final game. Marion Pile came second with the same number of wins and net hoops as Maureen Ward, having beaten Maureen in their game earlier in the day.

It was a very friendly competition all round and everyone enjoyed the day, which for the majority was the first tournament they had ever entered. Well done for having the courage and stamina to enter and better luck next time.

Kington Langley beat Blewbury 5-2

by John Grimshaw at Unknown - not stated [^]
16th May (AC - Longman Cup)

16th May 2025
Kington Langley 5 Blewbury 2

John Grimshaw(3.5)/Margaret Murray(10) beat Andy Evason(6)/Carol Jamieson(20)
Richard Way(5) beat David Long(16)
Roderick Corrie(10) lost to Brian Jamieson(10)

John Grimshaw lost to Andy Evason
Richard Way beat Brian Jamieson
Margaret Murray beat David Long
Roderick Corrie beat Carol Jamieson

Phyllis Court beat Camerton & Peasedown 5-1

by Chris Roberts at Phyllis Court [^]
14 Apr (GC - Murphy Shield)

Ashby lost to Pendle 1-5

by Paul Dowdall at Ashby [^]
1 May (GC - Murphy Shield)

Mike O'Brian wins the Ashby One Day Open GC tournament

Mike O'Brian receiving the trophy from Judith Rowe (Photo: Sarah Clements)

We had a full entry of 12 players from 8 different clubs for the 3^rd Ashby One Day Open GC tournament, many of whom had played in it last year.

The two blocks were won by Sarah Clements and Andy Sherwood both winning four out of their 5 games. The second place in both blocks was decided by hoop difference, Mike O'Brian and Mark Buckley edging Alison Murray and Colin Spencer respectively out of a place in the knockout.

Both 19 point semi-finals were completed quickly with Sarah and Mike winning out. The final was a close run affair with Mike finally winning 10-8, Andy Sherwood won the 3^rd/4^th playoff for the second year running and Colin Spencer the plate. What turned out to be the plate final between Colin Spencer and Alison Murray was the last game to finish with the knockout 19 point games taking less time to complete than the two rounds of plate 13 point games, in part due to the high proportion of 7-6 results in the plate.

Mike O'Brian who initiated this tournament kindly stepped in to play after we had a late withdrawal due to illness. It was fitting that Mike was presented with one of the two lovely trophies that he designed and made especially for this competition.

Full results on Croquet Scores - https://croquetscores.com/2025/gc/ashby-one-day-open-tournament

Bowdon beat Nottingham A 10-1

by Nigel Matthews at Bowdon [^]
15th May (AC - Short Croquet Inter-Club)

Match details(Bowdon first)

Ken Cooper (2p)/Robert Cutts-Watson(5) beat David Brydon(0)/Tom Dewar(3)12-11 Nigel Matthews(3p)beat Andrew Beaumont(0.5) 10-9 Alan Dix (3) beat Mick Owens(2.5) 13-1 Nigel beat David 11-7 Ken beat Andrew 14-1 Alan beat Mick 13-2 Robert beat Tom 12-10 Robert beat David 9-7 Alan beat Andrew 10-4 Ken beat Mick 10-6 Nigel lost to Tom 9-13

These matches were played to a time limit of 1 1/4 hr. I cannot find the guidance on the recommended limit, but it certainly does seem to be too short. Only one game was completed, and players were rushing to get hoops near the end. At Bowdon we normally play 1 1/2 hr, and would consider longer for a doubles game. Please can guidance be reviewed.

Croquet Gazette Survey 2025: Results

by Alison Maugham [^]
14th May (CqE Official News)

The results of the recent Croquet Gazette survey are now availible.

Croquet Gazette Survey 2025 Results

Thank you to those of you who responded to the survey and to the volunteers who have helped analyse the data. This report includes the full data alongside the notes from the editor of the Gazette. Suggestions and submissions for future articles are always welcome, please do get in touch with me at editor#croquetengland.org.uk

Alison Maugham

The Peel Memorials

by Mark Lansdale at Nottingham [^]
14th May (AC - Handicap)

This year's Peels, in weather terms at least, could not have been more different that 2024; when rain took a whole day out of a four-day competition. Apart from a coldish start, this year was dawn to dusk warm sunshine. From a purely aesthetic point of view, there is no better sight than Nottingham's West Lawns in morning sun mown, and set out, by groundsman Charlie before most of us got there. Indeed before most of us got out of bed.

The east lawns being redeveloped, all matches had to be prescribed on a block system and they progressed smoothly on those lines; even if the manager sometimes felt like a sheepdog trying to get the afternoon and evening sessions starting on time. Perhaps the quality of the catering - always good at Nottingham and certainly no different this year - caused the players to linger a little longer than they should. Certainly nothing was ever left over at the end of the day.

The problem of these multi-event competitions is how to cope when the same individuals qualify for the finals of both singles and doubles events. And so it unfolded. In the men's singles event in particular, with five rounds completed, 7 of the 14 men had a potential interest on the final day. By pure luck, six of them had been scheduled to play each other that morning, reducing the field to four. Nevertheless, the clash with the doubles remained with no time for a meaningful playoff between semi-finalists, and the fairest resolution of the perennial conundrum was to play the two men in the final with the highest percentage wins thus far.

In the finals, Tim Ash (HC 11) beat Omied Hallam (HC-1.5) 26-8, having kept Omied off the lawn for much of the game, using his bisque advantage effectively and making clever leaves . By the time Omied got on the lawn he might have fancied his chances of taking both balls round, but it was not to be. In the Ladies Final, Sarah Butler (HC14) beat Phillipine Hallam (HC 12) 18-6 on time. Sarah capitalised on her opponent's breakdown on hoop two, using a bisque to put pressure on her opponent by going to 1-back. For the rest of the match, good hitting in and tidy breaks kept a tight control on the game. The closest final was in the Mixed Doubles, where Lorna Dewar (HC-0.5) & Tom Dewar (HC 8) beat Sarah Butler (HC 14) and Mark Lansdale (HC 9) 16 - 15 on time. Mark Lansdale opened with a break to 1-back; albeit using more bisques than he would have expected. This was followed by a break by Lorna dewar to rover, after which a defensive period in which neither couple made large breaks, but with Tom Dewar progressing to 5. Late in the game, Mark Lansdale made an error- free break to peg, with the thought (he ducked the significant risk involved) of pegging-out Lorna's red ball. With time running out, Sarah made a few hoops to get within 1, but their opponents superior defensive skills saw them through by one hoop.

Overall, the tournament proceeded smoothly and a very friendly atmosphere prevailed throughout. A number of players new to tournaments said they were off to sign up for more, which is a nice afterthought.

Samir Patel won the Montevideo Cup

by Michael Gentry at Tunbridge Wells [^]
14th May (GC - Tournaments)

The Montevideo Cup has been held annually (except during Covid years) at Tunbridge Wells Croquet Club since 2011 being won in its first year by Jonathan Lamb from Uruguay. He donated the cup in the subsequent year and gave the tournament its name.

The 2025 edition was held on Saturday 10^th May on a beautifully hot and sunny day with a field of 12 players from 7 croquet clubs with handicaps from -2 to 7.

Despite the range of handicaps, the games were highly competitive and the results certainly did not always reflect the handicaps.

The two blocks were won by Samir Patel (Surbiton) and Richard Brooks (Sussex County) with the runners up being Edward Patel (Surbiton) & Marc Trevere (Dulwich).

Richard and Edward's block was clear cut with 4 and 3 wins respectively but Samir and Marc's block was much closer and Marc just made the semi-finals by 1 hoop over local player Dan Crocombe.

The block results threw together 2 interesting semi- finals with particular interest in the family affair between Samir and Edward. Dad, Samir pipped his son Edward on the golden hoop and Richard had a little more comfortable 7-4 victory to progress to the final.

The final was very nip and tuck with no more than one hoop in it and predictably went to the golden hoop. Richard had first shot at the hoop and placed his ball in an eminently runnable position. Unfortunately for Richard, Samir cleared his ball directly from the 12^th hoop. The momentum had changed, and Samir held his nerve to run the final hoop and gain a 7-6 victory and his name on the Montevideo Cup.

Special mention should also be given to Edward Patel and Michael Pudney who both had an excellent day despite being the two highest handicap players competing. They finished 4^th and 5^th respectively.

Woking beat Surbiton 4-2

by Mike Town at Woking [^]
14th May (GC - Inter-Club)

Woking beat Surbiton 4-2 with the doubles unfinished at 1-1

Full details can be found at

https://croquetscores.com/2025/gc/inter-club-woking-v-surbiton

Sidmouth GC Team Challenge

by Louise Smith at Sidmouth [^]
13th May (GC - Tournaments)

Four Teams were still in contention to win this years' Sidmouth GC Team Challenge right up until the last match......but after two long, exciting days it was the Roade Runners (Lionel Tibble, Pete Tofield and Liz Bulbeck) that took the trophy home with just a 5 point lead!

The S.A.S, The Three Malleteers, and Archers Arrows, were all tied on points for 2nd place and separated by hoop difference only for 2nd/3rd and 4th positions. Some great croquet, company, and costumes this year!

A final special mention to Bobbo Peers - a young lad from Bude playing his first tournament with a handicap cut imminent and certainly one to watch!

Final Results:

1. The Roade Runners: Lionel Tibble, Peter Tofield & Liz Bulbeck : 200 points (+12 Net Hoops)
2. The S.A.S: Stuart M. Smith, Sue Ligtbody & Adrain Coward : 195 points (+21 Net Hoops)
3. The Three Malleteers: Simon Carter, Richard Gardiner & Sue Custance Baker : 195 points (+2 Net Hoops)
4. Archers Arrows: Nick Archer, Steve Haynes & Debra Hayns : 195 points (-8 Net Hoops)
5. Too Much Too Old: Steve Leonard, Guy Scurfield & Michelle Leonard : 175 points
6. Jurassic Spark: Stephen Custance Baker, Rick Lilley & Lynn Wood : 165 points
7. Bude Wreckers: Martin French, Andy Middleton & Bobbo Peers : 160 points (-4 Net Hoops)
8. The Red Devils: Diana Wilson, Niall Litton & Pat Coulter : 160 points (-16 Net Hoops)

Sussex County lost to Dulwich 1-4

by Jonathan Claxton at Sussex County [^]
13th May (GC - Inter-Club)

Reg Bamford won the East Anglian GC Championship

by Ian Burridge at Colchester [^]
12th May (GC - Championships)

Reg Bamford made a victorious return to Colchester, more than 30 years since his previous visit. He defeated Aston Wade in the final, having edged the first game at the golden hoop Reg then reeled off six successive hoops from 3-1 down in the second to take the title.

The surprise of the block phase had been the elimination of Robert Fulford following a 2-0 defeat to Aston Wade. Robert went on the win the Plate and the Shield was won by local member Al Brown.

The lawns were in excellent condition and played at over 13 seconds for the weekend, which combined with the Quadway hoops led to unusually challenging conditions.

Full results can be found at croquetscores.com/2025/gc/the-east-anglian-championship

Leighton Linslade beat High Wycombe 5-2

by Judith Pengelly at Leighton Linslade [^]
12th May (GC - Murphy Shield)

On a lovely, sunny day Leighton-Linslade used home advantage to beat an excellent High Wycombe team 5 - 2.

In the morning:

Doubles - John Watson and Judith Pengelly (LL) beat Keith Toovey and Mark Higgins (HW) 7-5, 7-6

Jean Ball (LL) beat Alan Clarke (HW) 7-6, 7-3

David Ball (LL) lost a tightly fought match against Chris Webbley (HW) 7-4, 6-7, 6-7

In the afternoon even a major water leak in the corridor close to the croquet club, resulting in the loss of electricity and water, failed to dampen the spirit of the players.

John Watson beat Keith Toovey 7-6, 7-5

Judith Pengelly beat Mark Higgins 7-2, 7-5

Jean Ball beat Chris Webbley 7-2, 7-2

David Ball lost against Alan Clarke 6-7, 6-7

Thanks to High Wycombe for providing some stiff competition.

Cheam beat Compton 5-2

by Brian Maddocks at Surbiton [^]
12th May (GC - Murphy Shield)

Ealing beat Leighton Linslade 5-2

by Tony Elliott at Ealing [^]
12th May (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

An Ealing team were pleased to visit the very hospitable Leighton Linslade club for a First Round match in this new competition. The morning Doubles match went Ealing's way, with the morning Singles matches being shared, one apiece. Stung by their morning defeat, the Leighton Linslade top pair came out fighting In the afternoon; Judith Pengelly recorded a convincing win against Tony Elliott, and Rose Gillett lost very narrowly to Margaret Page, 7-6, 7-6. Ealing won both the other afternoon Singles, to record an overall 5-2 win. Special mention to Ealing's Luis Garcia, who only conceded a total of four hoops in his four games !

Keith Aiton won the Hurlingham May Weekend

Nigel Polhill presenting Keith Aiton with some glassware

A full complement of 36 players turned out to do battle in 4 graded blocks.

The weather was predominantly sunny throughout the weekend, though the temperature was quite variable.

Keith Aiton played solidly throughout the 3 days and was a deserved winner of block A, crowning his victory with a crowd-pleasing sextuple on lawn 4 in his final game. Hurlingham players acquitted themselves well. Nigel Polhill just squeaked 2^nd place in block A after beating Gabrielle Higgins in his final game. Stephen Allen and Alan Chance took 1^st and 2^nd respectively in block B, while Ludolph van Hasselt won block D for the second consecutive year. Ealing players had a clean sweep in block C.

The lawns were playing notably fast, possibly accounting for the low number of TPs..

Full details on Croquetscores.com. Block winners and runners-up:

Winner Runner-Up

Block A: Keith Aiton (Nottingham) Nigel Polhill (Hurlingham)

Block B: Stephen Allen (Hurlingham) Alan Chance (Hurlingham)

Block C: Simon Tuke (Ealing) Stephen Harbron (Ealing)

Block D: Ludolph van Hasselt (Hurlingham) David Houston (Scotland)

Kim Dalland won the Crake Valley GC C-Level

by David Cornes at Crake Valley [^]
9th May (GC - Tournaments)

Edinburgh based Kim Dalland won the Crake Valley GC C level national qualifier.

As a one day event with just eight players the TM decided to use "all play all" format which proved to be most exciting for all involved. Going into the final round of matches 4 players had a mathematical chance of victory.

Both leaders Kim and Ray Hodgson were defeated in the final game with Brenda Knight joining them on 5 wins out of 7 for the day. Net hoops were needed to determine the final placings -

1st Kim Dalland 5 wins plus 17

2nd Ray Hodgson (Crake Valley) 5 wins plus 12

3rd Brenda Knight (Crake Valley) 5 wins plus 8

4th Eddie Wilson (Belsay Hall) 4 wins

Results were recorded on croquet scores Crake Valley CqE GC C level series qualifier - Croquet Scores

Ashby beat Derby 4-3

by Judith Rowe at Ashby [^]
9th May (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

Ashby welcomed Derby in the first round of the new GC Bowl competition. Derby is a fairly new club and this was their first entry in an Interclub competition and they produced a very creditable performance, giving Ashby a bit of a scare!

At lunchtime Ashby were 2 up and the doubles was tied at 1 a piece. It was decided to leave the final doubles game until the end: at the time we had no idea that it would be the deciding game.

Either lunch gave the Derby players an extra boost or they had got used to the bigger lawns, and they took all the games straight after lunch. Jane Greaves and Frank Webster from Derby both beat their Ashby opponents in straight games and what had seemed like an easy Ashby win started to look in doubt. Judith Rowe from Ashby lost to Jack Blackmore in three tightly fought games, fortunately Steph White was able to win in 3 games bringing the score to 3 - 3 and the suspended doubles game was played to an increasing audience of Ashby players who had turned up for their regular club session.

The final game of the doubles was not as close as some of the other games and Ashby finally won 4 - 3.

Full results on croquet scores https://croquetscores.com/2025/gc/bowl-ashby-v-derby-1/competition/ashby-vs-derby

Neil Adams won the Hunstanton Open Weekend

by Nick Harris at Hunstanton [^]
8th May (AC)

The Lord Fermoy Cup for the Prichard Open Level Advanced Weekend at Hunstanton CC was won by Neil Adams with a +9TP win over Mark Avery in the "final" game.

The Tournament is played on five Lawns at Hunstanton in reasonable weather, if not a bit cold and windy, as a managed swizz.

24 players ranging from -2.5 to 8 played 84 games with quicker players getting more games than those who went to time. Of the quicker players 3 names emerged as likely winners. On Sunday evening Mark Avery after 7 straight wins finally lost his 8^th game to Ian Lines who had only lost to Neil Adams. Neil remained undefeated until Monday Morning with his first loss, -14 to Phillip Eardley putting him level with Ian in equal 2^nd place on games played. Neil completed a somewhat adventurous TP against Mark in the last round to put Mark out of contention, with 2 losses, and take the Cup from Ian on who beat whom.

Our thanks to Hunstanton to the quality of the hoops, lawns and hospitality.

Woking lost to Hurlingham 3-4

by Ludolph van Hasselt at Woking [^]
8th May (AC - Mary Rose)

Morning (Hurlingham names first):

Stephen Allen (0) & Andrew Wise (0.5) beat Andrew Dutton (1) & Ian Anderson (2.5) +12

Ludolph van Hasselt (3) beat Colin Groves (3.5) +21

Guy Hewitt (1.5) lost to Sara Anderson (3.5) -10

Afternoon:

Stephen Allen lost to Andrew Dutton -17

Andrew Wise lost to Ian Anderson -19

Ludolph van Hasselt beat Sara Anderson +13

Guy Hewitt beat Colin Groves +5

Match report by Ludolph van Hasselt

The atmosphere at Woking is always positive and, as expected, the welcome extended to the visitors from Hurlingham was warm (including from Frank, the small in stature, but big in mind and voice, dog), for which we were grateful. The day started cold, but as the Hurlingham results came in, the sun came out and warmed the afternoon (and Frank could take off his multi-coloured coat). The Woking team had read the weather forecast more carefully (or more trustingly) and two competitors were out in shorts from the first off, whilst Hurlingham were dressed for winter.

On the lawns the visitors took some time to get used to the lawn speed, which was in contrast to the Hurlingham May Bank Holiday tournament just played on fast lawns. But once in the swing of it a very level match unfolded, the result of which was only resolved on the outcome of the doubles match.

The Woking team had encouraged Colin Groves to play his first competitive games of the season. In the afternoon he showed old form and put up great resistance to Guy Hewitt, who nevertheless prevailed. Sara Anderson deployed her strong game of powerful hitting, using the full extent of the lawn and filling the opposition's hearts with trepidation. Both Andrew Dutton and Ian Anderson were "on fire" (was it the excellent lunch, or the encouragement of Frank?) and ran away with their singles (Ian thought it was best to get home early…), only to be pulled up short in the technically and tactically impressive doubles.

The Hurlingham team had just had three days of tournament play (but so had Woking's Andrew) and, depending on how you look at it, they were either in full flow or a little dazed. But digging deep they did; it ran to the wire, or, actually the peg (although some wires were hit in the process).

Sussex County beat Roehampton 5-2

by David Dickins at Sussex County [^]
8th May (GC - Murphy Shield)

David Maugham won the Coles Championship

by James Death at Cheltenham [^]
7th May (AC - Championships)

A slightly smaller field than usual contested the Coles Championship at Cheltenham this year across the May bank holiday. The anniversary of VE day may have made some players unavailable.

13 players in an untimed best of 3 knockout left one player with a late start and an unknown start time. Andrew Davies was the unlucky player having to wait and eventually started in the Main Event on Sunday, he did get a couple of early plate games on Saturday while waiting. The manager was happy to let things run untimed with 4 rounds and 3 days, hoping for efficient play on day one leading to best of 5 semi finals. That plan was gone by lunch time as only 1 match finished and only 1 game had been completed in any other match.

Early season and everyone using the Invictus balls for the first time may have lead to longer than usual matches. The balls played very nicely and it will be interesting to see how they react longer term.

Richard H Smith threatened an upset taking the first game off David Maugham but David used his vast experience and came back to win in 3 games. One first round match scored 145 out of a possible 153 points as they took all day to complete round 1.

Over the first two days James Death looked imperious and beat all opponents comfortably while managing organising the other games. David Maugham grew into the event looking stronger as the weekend went on.

By Monday morning, James and David were in the final and players were looking forward to an interesting best of 5 super advanced final between the top two seeds. James started strongly but faded with expensive errors while David was getting close to his best and ran away with the final 3-0.

The final of the Consolation was a ladies affair between Lorna Dewar and Louise Bradforth, Lorna being victorious at the end.

In the prize giving David praised the lawns as the best he can remember at the Coles.

A big thank you to all the volunteers, from the grounds team and hoop setters to the caterers and everyone else who works tirelessly in the background for the benefit of the players.

All the results are available on croquetscores

Stephen Webb won the Watford GC B-Level

by Geoff Johnson at Watford [^]
7th May (GC - Tournaments)

Watford's annual B-Level tournament was held, as is now traditional, on Bank Holiday Monday, May 5th.

We had a full field of 16 and all, I think, enjoyed an excellent day's croquet.

There were lots of 7-6 results, and a pretty high standard of play throughout.

In the end there is only one winner of course, and that was Stephen Webb, from Watford CC.

The final 4 "points placings" were:

1. First place - Stephen Webb

2. Second place - Raghu Iyer

3. Third place - Peter Adams

4. Fourth place - Stephanie White

Surbiton lost to Compton 1-6

by Richard Platt at Surbiton [^]
2 May (AC - Longman Cup)

Branston lost to Nottingham 1-6

by Andrew Dixon at Branston [^]
6 May (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

Spain v England GC Test Match is being livestreamed

by Chris Roberts at Tambre Golf & Croquet Club, Spain [^]
2nd May (International)

The Spain v England GC Test Match is being live-streamed right now from Tambre Golf & Croquet Club in Spain.

Enjoy the live action here - https://tambregolf.com/v_torneo-bilateral-inglaterra-espana-de-croquet-gc/

Mark Oldale won the Latham Cup

Ray Ransom presents the Latham Cup to Mark Oldale

The Latham Cup for handicap play in Bristol has been contested for more than 40 years, with Reg Bamford being one of the early winners. Only one person, David Gillett (Sussex County), has won it four times, including last year, and he returned this year to defend his title.

This year all the games were 18-point full bisque with a base of 4 with a hoop 1 and 9 (3-back) start. All three courts were used for the twelve players, six of them from Bristol and six visitors from various clubs ranging geographically from Garway (near Hereford) to Sussex County.

The final was between Susan King (14 handicap) and Mark Oldale (4 handicap). After one hour, after using some of her bisques Susan was leading 9 - 3.

As time went on, Mark gradually reduced the six point deficit, and the game ended in a win for Mark Oldale by one point. As a result of playing in this tournament, both Susan King and Nigel Knee (Cheltenham) reduced their handicaps.

For me it was a pleasure to manage the tournament with such a pleasant group of players.

Full report to follow in the gazette.

The Croquet England Diploma

by Patricia Duke-Cox [^]
30th April (CqE Official News)

Croquet England Diplomas recognise members of Affiliated Clubs (and not just Croquet England Subscribers) who have given outstanding service to croquet and have been active in club or federation affairs over a long period. The Diplomas have nothing to do with croquet prowess and everything to do with the help given to other members.

The President normally presents these awards at the AGM, although recipients may elect to receive their Croquet England Diploma on another occasion.

The award is made only once to any person and is not normally made posthumously unless there are surviving family members who would appreciate it.

The full citation for those awarded a Croquet England Diploma will be published on the website, with a summary in the Gazette.

Nominations can be made by clubs or federations and should be:

• sent by email to the office by the end of July comprising:
• a short citation (300 words max.)
• a passport-style photograph, if available (as a separate attachment named as the nominee)
• a declaration that the submitter is not aware of any reason why such an award could bring the Organisation into disrepute
• The office will consolidate the citations into a draft web page (including the photographs) ready for review by the Awards Panel

The Awards Panel will normally approve all nominations meeting the above criteria but some may be declined if felt to be of insufficient merit or deferred if too many are submitted by the same club in any year. After vetting is complete, the office will:

1. Inform the nominator that the nomination is successful and ask them if they want to inform the Croquet England Diploma winner or if they want the office to do it (some Clubs and Federations like to make it a surprise and award the certificate themselves).
2. Send the certificates to the President for signing who then passes them on to the Chair of Trustees to sign and return to the office ready for distribution at the Croquet England AGM (when held at a venue) or at local events according to feedback from step 1.
3. According to feedback from step 1, inform the Croquet England Diploma winners telling them that the Croquet England President will recognise them at the AGM and, if needed, send out the certificates either to the recipient or the nominator.
4. Publish in full the Croquet England Diploma winners' citationson the Croquet England website soon after the AGM. The content of this page is used by the President for citations read at the AGM and publication in the Gazette.

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Hurlingham beat Roehampton 4-3

by Richard Andrews at Hurlingham [^]
29 Apr (AC - Longman Cup)

Individual matches:

Doubles - Hurlingham win +11
Hurlingham (Jane O'Neill & Gail Freedman)
Roehampton (Elaine Phillimore & Andrew Wilson)

Singles

Richard Andrews (H) vs Howard Railton (R) - Roehampton win +9
John Callander (H) vs Jenny Gaskin (R) - Hurlingham win +14
John Callander (H) vs Elaine Phillimore (R) - Roehampton win +5 (Time)
Richard Andrews (H) vs Andrew Wilson (R) - Hurlingham win +13
Jane O'Neill (H) vs Howard Railton (R) - Roehampton win +8
Gail Freedman (H) vs Jenny Gaskin (R) - Hurlingham win +1 (Time)

Hurlingham beat Ealing 5-2

by Henry Bagwell at Hurlingham [^]
28 Apr (GC - Murphy Shield)

Teams & handicaps:
Ealing
GOODMAN Bridget 1
TURNER Simon 3
POWELL Jane 4
WHITE-OVERTON Fred 4

Hurlingham
van HASSELT Ludolph 1
READ Martin 3
O'NEILL Jane 4
BAGWELL Henry 5

Scores (completed singles games only):
13 games

1 WHITE-OVERTON Fred beat O'NEILL Jane 7 5
2 WHITE-OVERTON Fred beat O'NEILL Jane 7 6
3 BAGWELL Henry beat POWELL Jane 7 5
4 POWELL Jane beat BAGWELL Henry 7 6
5 BAGWELL Henry beat POWELL Jane 7 5
6 van HASSELT Ludolph beat GOODMAN Bridget 7 5
7 van HASSELT Ludolph beat GOODMAN Bridget 7 5
8 READ Martin beat TURNER Simon 7 6
9 READ Martin beat TURNER Simon 7 3
10 O'NEILL Jane beat POWELL Jane 7 2
11 O'NEILL Jane beat POWELL Jane 7 3
12 WHITE-OVERTON Fred beat BAGWELL Henry 7 6
13 WHITE-OVERTON Fred beat BAGWELL Henry 7 3

Nottingham lost to Branston 3-4

by Stuart Worsnop at Nottingham [^]
28 Apr (GC - Murphy Shield)

Hamptworth beat East Dorset 4-3

by Steve Bennett at Hamptworth [^]
22 Apr (GC - Murphy Shield)

Wrest Park lost to Leicester 2-5

by Richard Keighley at Wrest Park [^]
29 Apr (GC - Murphy Shield)

GC Murphy Shield Wrest Park v Leicester
29th April 2025
15 Singles Games

1 COLLIN George beat WILLIAMS Paulj 7 5
2 BUCKLEY ian beat BREWER Tim 7 6
3 COLLIN George beat WILLIAMS Paulj 7 3
4 BUCKLEY ian beat BREWER Tim 7 6
5 BUCKLEY Mark beat HEARD Les 7 5
6 MURRAY Alison beat COLLIS Terry 7 6
7 BUCKLEY ian beat COLLIN George 7 6
8 WILLIAMS Paulj beat BREWER Tim 7 4
9 HEARD Les beat BUCKLEY Mark 7 3
10 MURRAY Alison beat COLLIS Terry 7 4
11 COLLIN George beat BUCKLEY Ian 7 0
12 BREWER Tim beat WILLIAMS Paulj 7 3
13 BUCKLEY Mark beat HEARD Les 7 5
14 BUCKLEY Ian beat COLLIN George 7 6
15 BREWER Tim beat WILLIAMS Paulj 7 4

Match result to include one rubber(2 games) of Doubles :

Wrest Park 2 Leicester 5

Tim Russell won the Sidmouth GC Championship

Inigo Castanon, Tim Russell, Stu M Smith, Mateo Palazon (Photo: Ed Dolphin)

Sidmouth CC were pleased to welcome two young Spaniards to the usual strong competitive field of players at the Sidmouth GC Championship (ENSC Qualifier).

Both international guests took home prizes from their performances, Inigo Castanon's powerful hitting overcome Louise Smith in the Shield Final, and Mateo Palazon took home the Plate Medal running the final 13th hoop in game 3 against Dom Aarvold.

The Championship Final provided an excellent display of croquet for the gathered spectators in the warm sunshine. After a comfortable first game win 7/4 for Stuart M. Smith, Tim Russell subsequently equalised 7/5, and took the main trophy with a jump at 13 in game 3.

Full results on Croquet Scores.

Stephen Allen won the Woking Spring Super-B

Stephen Allen in play at Woking

We had a full allocation of players from around the UK with handicaps ranging from 0 to 6.

The first day was 4 blocks of 4 .
Despite being chilly to start with the day warmed up with some sunshine and great Croquet.
There were some very unexpected results which kept players wondering who would be in the Knockout on day 2.

The tournament was played in a very good spirit and everyone left having enjoyed themselves.

The Tournament finished with Stephen Allen (Hurlingham) and Andrew Dutton (Woking) fighting it out in a highly contested final.

Stephen eventually won and was delighted as it was his first competitive triumph in a tournament outside of Hurlingham.

Stephen was the only player who won all the matches he played on both days.

Andrew Killick won the Middlesbrough Handicap

Andrew Killick

The Middlesbrough Handicap Singles Weekend has had a reputation in recent years for not being for the faint-hearted. Cold, wind and rain has severely tested the metal of participants.

But what is this - sunshine !

A few went all in, wearing shorts. The majority had only one, at the most two layers on. Yes a bit of a cold breeze appeared from time to time but for the most part - lovely, particularly Sunday.

We had 9 players covering 8 places over 2 days. 6 Middlesbrough players were joined by players from Tyneside, Penrith and Keswick giving the event almost an international flavor.

Handicaps ranged from minus 1.5 to 12.

Given it was Handicap the Manager decided seeding was pointless so both the 2 Blocks of 4 were drawn randomly.

A time limit of 3 hours using all 4 lawns worked well with only a few games going to time.

On Day 2 the Winners and Runners Up in each Block had Cross Block semi finals with cross Block matches for those finishing 3^rd and 4^th in the Blocks.

In Block A Steve Skelton swept the board winning all 3 of his matches. The Runner up in Block A was Andrew Killick.

Block B was a little more problematic. Philip Hastings, who was only there for the Saturday won all 3 of his matches however, his Block position was set aside meaning the Block B Winner was Derek Johnson with Julian Gibson Runner up.

Sunday Mornings Semi Finals saw a reversal of fortunes with both Block Winners losing to Runners up from the other Block.

So we came to the Final. Andrew Killick ( Minus 1.5 ) vs Julian Gibson 8 with Andrew Killick triumphing 26 - 21.

Ross Bagni won the Lancashire GC Open

by Libby Dixon at Pendle [^]
28th April (GC - Tournaments)

Twelve individuals competed for the 25th Lancashire Open GC Tournament managed by Paul Rigge. It was an international affair with 2 from Lithuania, 1 from Ireland and 1 from Malta.

The start on Saturday saw a dry but cool windy day. The contestants were from Leighton-Linslade through to Penrith despite many other GC events taking place on the same weekend. For two it was their first ever GC event. A good number of observers were partners of players and Pendle and Craven Club members who supported and cheered on good plays.

The first days play was slow with the players coming to grips with fast running lawns and tight hoops. One game took 1hr 40mins to complete which saw Paul Rigge adding a few more grey hairs to his head. The manager had predicted the cross blocks and the quarter finals started by the end of the first day. The cross blocks finished at 6.08pm.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny with elevated temperatures expected. The days play started at 9.10am after a warmup. The manager decided the quarter finals would be a single game of 19 points to enable the final to start hopefully in the late afternoon.

The quarter finals began between Sarah C and Ged S (10/6), Chris H and Ted F (10/3), Ross B and Mike B (10/4) and the last one Howard B and John Armer (10/6)

The Semi final saw Ross B and Chris H winning through to the final. Meanwhile the Plate games were ongoing and saw many close games. With the warm temperatures taking the toll on players and exhaustion from the number of games played some players decided to sit out and watch the games for the Shield Semi final.

One exciting game was the Playoff between Sarah C and Howard B for 3rd and 4th place. Sarah had been 5 /3 up but Howard fought back and took the game to the golden hoop. Sarah was the first ball up with black but her second ball ended up giving her a hampered shot on the hoop. Going for the win Sarah hit the black only to see it deflect off the hoop upright. Howard stepped forward and won the game 7/6. Sarah was very philosophical by saying "she was fourth seed and ended 4th".

The final gave excellent watching for all the observers, who took up positions in front of the pavilion. The final was the best of three, 13-point games. Both players showed their skills in long range clearance shots and delicate placement shots. The players fiercely contested every hoop. The ultimate winner was Ross B who won through 7/4,7/4.

The presentation of prizes was held at 4.15pm. The Manager, Paul Rigge, began by thanking all those present for their support for the 25th Lancashire GC Open Tournament. He commented on the excellent standard of play and thanked the Pendle and Craven ground staff (Paul Dowdall and Team) for the superb standard of the lawns and the hoop setting. Players had complained to him that the hoops were tight and well secured in the ground from the first game on Saturday and on inspection on Sunday none required resetting.

Paul also thanked the management of the Club on the facilities provided and the excellent catering from a team of dedicated members. He also noted the helpful attitude of all players to the new GC players, where some even went so far to advise which shot to play. Gabby was happy to be the winner of the Wooden Spoon as she now has a D grade and can enter further tournaments. Gabby thanked everyone for their support.

Overall winner of the Tournament, Ross Bagni, received the Lancashire Trophy amongst applause and Andrew Gould the Plate. The Plate had to resort to a count back over all games played by David Beddy and Andrew Gould as the plate games had both with 3 wins each. The Chair of Pendle and Craven Croquet Club thanked the Manager, Paul Rigge for his excellent management of the Tournament and presented him with a bottle of wine

Mike Grossmith won the Watford GC C-Level

by Geoff Johnson at Watford [^]
28th April (GC - Tournaments)

Watford hosted its annual GC C-level series fixture on Friday 26^th April.

We had a full field of 16 players, and actually not a bad day's weather for it!

A lot of games went to 7-6, but in the end the field settled down to the four players fighting for the series "scoring" places.

These were:

1. Winner and thus First place: Mike Grossmith from Watford CC
2. Runner up and thus Second place: Lois Hall from Watford CC
3. Third place Helen Lucas from Dulwich CC
4. Fourth place Ruth Raunkiaer from Phyllis Court CC

The standard of play was high throughout, and I'm sure many of these participants will soon be appearing at a B-level near you …

Ealing lost to Watford w/o

by Brian Havill [^]
28th April (AC - Mary Rose)

Ealing conceded Monday 28 April

Phyllis Court 2 beat Cheltenham 5-1

by James Death at Phyllis Court [^]
28th April (GC - Federations Shield)

Phyllis Court welcomed Cheltenham to a sunny day by the river to play their quarter final of the Federations Shield under Advantage GC rules.

Cheltenham brought an inexperienced team, 2 of the players had yet to play a match or tournament away from home. They also brought the hard hitting James Death along to lead the team. Phyllis Court having been warned who was coming had the nets up ready. On paper the experienced Phyllis Court team had the edge by handicap in general so the starting scores were generally close.

In the doubles, Helen Essa and Rob Eagle had a 2-0 lead on starting scores over James and Baz Cuthbert. In the first game James quickly wiped out the headstart and the game went to the final hoop, eventually winning 7-6. The second had a reversal of fortune, 2-0 quickly became 4-0 and Helen and Rob never looked back winning comfortably. The third started like the first game but Helen pulled out a number of key shots and Phyllis Court prevailed 7-5 in the third.

On the other lawn Raghu Iyer beat Iris Brooksbank 2-0, both games being very close and competitive while Jeff Smith came back from game down against Graham Brooksbank to equalise in a long 2 games to put Phyllis Court 2-0 up at lunch

Lunch was enjoyed on the terrace before battle resumed with the afternoon singles. All matches again were close but Phyllis Court prevailed in 3 of the 4 afternoon singles to close out the match 5-1. Everyone enjoyed the day and I'm sure all players are looking forward to the next chance to represent their clubs.

A big thank you to Phyllis Court for hosting and making the visitors feel welcome. Also to Ruth Raunkiaer giving up her day to referee for the duration. Good luck to Phyllis Court 2 in the next round.

Results are on Croquetscores.

Election of Croquet England Trustees: the new arrangements, with website links

by Gabrielle Higgins [^]
27th April (CqE Official News)

Croquet England came into being in March 2023, and took over the business of the Croquet Association at the start of January 2024. The first trustees of Croquet England were the people who had been elected to serve on the Croquet Association's Council. As reported at both Croquet England's General Meetings in 2024, the Board of Trustees agreed that they would all serve as trustees until the AGM in 2025, at which point two would be chosen by ballot to serve until the AGM in 2026 and the rest would stand down, to be replaced by four newly elected trustees.

The Electoral Commission, appointed by the Board, was tasked with determining the arrangements for the elections, and have done admirable work on a challenging issue. Their full report and the new election rules have now been published, and these are the key points for subscribers:

The Constituencies

• Six regional constituencies will each elect one trustee. The trustees can appoint up to five additional trustees to ensure that the Board as a whole will have an appropriate diversity of background and experience. This structure ensures that the elected trustees form a majority of the Board.
• The six regional constituencies will be different from Federations. Federations will continue to organise and support croquet in their regions, but will no longer have the formal role to play in electing trustees which has proven problematic.
• The six constituencies will be the Central Counties and Wales, the Eastern Counties, the Northern Counties, the South West Counties, the Weald Counties, and the Western Home Counties. Each has approximately 1500 to 1600 club members who either are subscribers of Croquet England or are entitled to be subscribers.
• The constituencies have been constructed by reference to the historic counties (as is done for the Inter-County Championships), rather than current civil administrative areas which are subject to change.
• The historic counties in each constituency are:
  • The Central Counties and Wales: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire, plus Wales.
  • The Eastern Counties: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Suffolk, plus Inner London comprising the clubs of Dulwich, Sydenham and Croquet East.
  • The Northern Counties: Cheshire, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire.
  • The South West Counties: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and the Channel Islands.
  • The Weald Counties: Hampshire including the Isle of Wight, Kent and Sussex.
  • The Western Home Counties: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Surrey.

Standing for election

• To be eligible to stand for election as a trustee, you must be a voting member of Croquet England, must live in the constituency you are standing for, and must be proposed and seconded by members registered to vote in your constituency. To find out which historic county your home is in, use the 'Convert a Post Code' function at Gazetteer of British Place Names.

Voting

• Only registered voting members of Croquet England can vote. Any subscriber over the age of 16 can become a member at any time by completing a simple form at Voting Membership of Croquet England. There is no cost, but there is a requirement to complete a declaration (because Croquet England is a charity) to the effect that you will exercise your right to vote in a way that you believe is most likely to further the purposes of Croquet England.
• Existing voting members of Croquet England who have a primary club have been allocated to a provisional constituency based on the location of their primary club. Once allocated, this can be changed at any time at Review Croquet England Voting Constituency. There are no restrictions on which constituency you can choose; choose the one you identify with most.
• Existing voting members of Croquet England who do not have a primary club have not been allocated to a provisional constituency and will need to choose one at Review Croquet England Voting Constituency to be able to vote when the time comes.
• New voting members of Croquet England will be asked to choose a constituency when they become a voting member.

The 2025 elections

• The two trustees who were chosen by ballot to serve until October 2026 are Samir Patel (Western Home Counties) and Robin Tasker (Northern Counties). There will be elections in the other four constituencies later this year, conducted by single transferable vote.
• Two of the newly elected trustees will serve until October 2027 and two until October 2028, to be decided by either agreement or drawing lots. In future, all trustees will serve for three year terms. They can serve up to three consecutive terms.
• As Returning Officer, I will be calling for nominations in early June. There will be at least 8 weeks for nominations to be made, and then at least 3 weeks for voting before the results are announced no later than 12 September. The procedure will be made available on the website and emailed to voting members.

Gabrielle Higgins

Secretary, Croquet England

This article appeared in the April 2025 Croquet Gazette, and is reproduced here with links to the webpages mentioned.

Bowdon beat Roehampton 4-3

by Angharrad Walters at Bowdon [^]
27th April (AC - Inter-Club)

Busy diaries led to an early season quarterfinal being hosted at Bowdon and the weather was kind.

Roehampton fielded a strong team and gained a 2-1 by a late lunchtime. Joel Taylor & David Openshaw had won their reverse singles matches, beating Euan Burridge and Andrew Winn respectively. Bowdon won the doubles with Angharrad Walters & Jack Good beating Mark van Loon and Christian Carter.

In the post lunch session, the outcome was in doubt as fortunes swung to & fro. Euan came to grief at Rover, Andrew was badly hampered after grovelling through Rover but both survived to win. Fortunately for the home side, Jack completed his TP to beat Christian to seal the win. Mark then quickly finished his game before the team departed on their long journey south.

1 Joel Taylor beat Euan Burridge +12TPO
2 David Openshaw beat Andrew Winn +14
3 Angharrad & Jack beat Mark & Christian +14
4 Andrew Winn beat Joel Taylor +26
5 Euan Burridge beat David Openshaw +15
6 Jack Good beat Christian Carter +17TP
7 Mark van Loon beat Angharrad Walters +24

Hurlingham lost to Nottingham 3-6

by Mark Ormerod at Hurlingham [^]
27th April (AC - Inter-Club)

April 27th 2025
AC InterClub played at Hurlingham.

Nottingham beat Hurlingham 6-3.

James Death & Omied Hallam beat Mark Ormerod & Alan Chance +26qnp
Lorna Dewar beat Stephen Allen +22
Mark Ormerod beat Omied Hallam +7otp
James Death beat Alan Chance +16tp
Richard Huxley best Guy Hewitt +4
Lorna Dewar beat Guy Hewitt +3
Stephen Allen beat Richard Huxley +16
Mark Ormerod beat James Death +7
Omied Hallam beat Alan Chance +5

Camerton & Peasedown beat Swindon A 4-3

by Patrick Knight at Camerton & Peasedown [^]
23 Apr (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

1 BOOTH Dave beat HENDY Phillip 7 1
2 BOOTH Dave beat HENDY Phillip 7 5
3 SHAW Jill beat WILMOT Ian 7 2
4 SHAW Jill beat WILMOT Ian 7 1
5 BACK Desmond beat HARES Steve 7 4
6 HARES Steve beat BACK Desmond 7 4
7 BACK Desmond beat HARES Steve 7 4
8 SMITH Clive beat KNIGHT Patrick 7 4
9 SMITH Clive beat KNIGHT Patrick 7 4
10 BOOTH Dave beat SHAW Jill 7 5
11 BOOTH Dave beat SHAW Jill 7 5
12 HENDY Phillip beat WILMOT Ian 7 2
13 WILMOT Ian beat HENDY Phillip 7 6
14 HENDY Phillip beat WILMOT Ian 7 3

Croquet England Bursary Scheme - Deadline Extended

by Alison Maugham [^]
25th April (CqE Official News)

Croquet England offers Bursaries to help with expenses incurred for travel to National and International Tournaments. Applications normally close on 30^th April for Bursaries. We are prepared to consider applications up to 2^nd May to allow for this late reminder.

The scheme is designed to provide financial support for potential international players of both AC and GC. It is primarily intended to assist players under the age of 25 who wish to take part in tournaments and other challenging croquet activities and, when selected, in international events, both at home and abroad, and require assistance with the costs involved.

However, there is no age limit and no formal "means test". Preference will be given to applicants aged under 25 at the beginning of the year but older players may also apply. Preference will also be given to applicants who satisfy the Committee that they reasonably require financial support but financial disclosure will not be required.

The scheme will be administered by the Croquet England Funding Committee in conjunction with the International Performance Directors (IPDs). The IPDs will recommend and nominate applicants. Players who have not been nominated by an IPD, who feel that they may qualify, may present themselves to the IPDs for possible nomination and/or may apply to the Funding Committee directly.

Applications must be made using the form on the website. Applications may be made from now until the end of April. Any questions? Contact the Chair of the Funding Committee, Sarah Andrew (sarah.andrew#croquetengland.org.uk) or the International Performance Directors.

Stephen Wingrove & Jennian Geddes are winners at the April Don's Day Light

Stephen Wingrove & Jennian Geddes: Winners of Don's Day Light

Blue Group

Firstly we should mention the winner with 100% record , 6/6 Stephen Wingrove. An attempt by the manger to test his form in the last game , no problem at all. He beat Alison Maugham 7-6. A worthy winner.

Honorable mention to Andrea Huxley who did something rarely seen, lose her first match 7-0 then win all the rest for a played 6 , win 5 record.

Red Group

Jennian Geddes was always at the top but lost her last match for a record of 5 wins from 7. This could be matched with the game in play Jill beat Richard to leave him with only 4 wins but a decrease in his handicap to 4.

Surbiton lawns were superb , bodes well for the GC Open this weekend.

Newport lost to Enfield 3-4

by Kim Taylor at Newport [^]
25th April (GC - Murphy Shield)

HOME TEAM - Newport

A - Alex Lake (1) B - Colin Carr (3) C- Colin Taylor (3) D - John Bishop (4)

AWAY TEAM - Enfield

A - Kim Taylor (1) B - David Frost (2) C- Peter Brock (3) D - Colin Carver (5)

Kim Taylor & David Frost beat Alex Lake & Colin Carr 7-5, 3-7, 7-4

Colin Taylor beat Colin Carver 7-6, 7-5

John Bishop beat Peter Brock 7-2, 4-7, 7-5

Kim Taylor beat Alex Lake 7-5, 5-7, 7-4

David Frost beat Colin Carr 7-4, 7-3

Colin Taylor beat Peter Brock 2-7, 7-6, 7-5

Colin Carver beat John Bishop 7-4, 7-3

--------------------------------------

A grizzled Enfield squad headed up the M11 to sunny Newport to face a very strong home team. A tight battle ensued.

Kim Taylor and David Frost were a potent combination in the doubles, Taylor clearing effectively and Frost sniping hoops from anywhere, though they made an absolute pig's ear of their jump shots. Their good form carried over to their singles matches.

Debutant Colin "The Kid" Carver wasn't hanging around, losing in straight games in the morning but repaying his captain's faith with a vital 2-0 victory in the afternoon, thus securing first dibs on the delicious homemade cakes.

In a conclave of Colins, Colin-of-the-Day went to Colin Taylor, who won 4 out of 5 of his games.

Thanks to Alex, Colin, Colin, and John for some closely fought games played in good spirit.

Thanks also to everyone at Newport for a typically warm welcome and excellent lawns.

Sussex County lost to Compton 1-6

by Richard Platt at Sussex County [^]
25th April (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

East Dorset lost to Sussex County 3-4

by Gabrielle Higgins at East Dorset [^]
24th April (AC - Inter-Club)

1 Jeff Dawson & David Fuller beat Gabrielle Higgins & Dominic Nunns +26tp (DF)
2 Tudor Jenkins beat Jonathan Powe +8
3 Paul Castell beat Steve Leonard +19
4 Jonathan Powe beat Paul Castell +9
5 Gabrielle Higgins beat Jeff Dawson +5
6 Tudor Jenkins beat Steve Leonard +3
7 David Fuller beat Dominic Nunns +7

Les Heard wins Easter GC A-level at Wrest Park

Les Heard receiving his prize from Richard Keighley (Photo: Gill Brewer)

The draw for this tournament projected a Final between top seed Steve Leonard (East Dorset), whose handicap had tumbled from (-3) to (0), and Mike Bilton Gainsborough) (0), the recent winner of the A-Level at Phyllis Court and High Wycombe. They duly met, but not at the Final stage. Instead, a local hero was destined to come out on top.

A full field of 16 players braved a chilly wind for the Block stage. Block A was won by Mike Hills (Northampton) with 6 wins closely followed with 5 wins each by Terry Collis (Wrest Park) and Steve Leonard, whose first 5 games were all decided by the golden hoop. In Block B, an ever-improving Les Heard (Wrest Park) led with 6 wins, ahead of Mike Bilton and Mark Trevere (Dulwich) both with 5 wins.

The Quarter Finals produced the anticipated clash between Steve Leonard and Mike Bilton, which Steve won in 2 straight games. Mike Hills and Les Heard defeated their opponents in deciding games, and Terry Collis and Mark Trevere also progressed. Steve and Les won their semi -finals to produce an intriguing Final.

Steve cruised to a (7-2) win in the 1^st game, but Les levelled by dint of some impressive clearances and tactical play to win (7-6). In the decider, Les was always in front to win (7-4) and to take the engraved trophy. Andy Sherwood (Ashby) pipped Alex Wood (Colchester) to win the Plate Block.

James Death won the Cheltenham Easter Advanced

by James Death at Cheltenham [^]
22nd April (AC)

Thirty two players arrived on Easter Sunday to a chilly but sunny morning at Cheltenham for two days of competition. A knockout for the main event saw 8 seeds favourites to advance in the morning but Paul Rigge played himself into the tournament and out of the main event being beaten by Keith Ross who had given himself two days practice in the handicap event on the preceding days.

With no time limits throughout both days, play was relaxed and some players took the opportunity to enjoy their lawn time. Only one game on the first day had a limit imposed, as soon as the limit was given the standard rose and the game finished in just another 20 minutes. Dave Kibble beat Rob Wilkinson in the first quarter final to finish and James Death had a quick win over Charles Harding. As the light started fading on the first day, Andy Smith (another who played the handicap first) knocked out the second seed Omied Hallam and Sarah Hayes was locked in a drawn out battle with Neil Adams, eventually getting pegged down.

Sunday awoke to a wet drizzly morning and Sarah finally prevailed over Neil by 11am. Dave Kibble failed his triple to avoid finishing his semi final before the other started but won soon after. Sarah had the first ball around against James but he hit the lift and went to 1 back, the long shot was missed and an adventurous sextuple followed with a lot of balls and hoops getting closely acquainted.

The final started after lunch as a best of 3 and was over by 2.30pm with James in full flow and Dave's shooting deserting him after wonderful lunches from Eileen Magee.

All players knocked out continued in the consolation playing as much or as little as they wanted. Omied Hallam with 5/6 across the two days winning the consolation.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped setting up, feeding and watering the players and cleared down afterwards. It is always appreciated but not necessarily recognised that it makes tournaments run for the enjoyment of the players.

Samir Patel won the Surbiton Easter AC Open

Samir Patel with the Robert Prichard trophy

Twenty five players, with a handicap range of -2.5 to +2.0, arrived to bright conditions which warmed in the spring sunshine. Play started at a brisk pace for some with an early flurry of one-sided triple-peel wins. However there was enough challenge to the courts, leading to three of the first games only finishing when the 3-hour time limit was reached. The closest saw Ailsa Lines and Teddy Wilmot-Sitwell both miss peg-outs. Ailsa hit in the turn after time to score a crucial point to level the score at 25-25, and closed out the game +1 (on time?) shortly afterwards.

A combination of a new lawn rotation scheme for winter play, a late Easter, and some favourable early-season weather created some of the best playing surfaces seen this early in the year. Although fast growing grass and some Monday morning rain slowed them for the final day's play. It's also possible that it was excellent catering, including Vicky's spicy bean stew and Monica's chicken curry which did more to slow down the players!

Played as a Flexible Swiss starting with a random draw (as usual for this event), Samir Patel and Mark Avery kept a step ahead of their opponents, conceding only 38 hoops and completing 9 TPs and one TPO between them to set up a repeat of the 2024 final. This was played under the Super-Advanced laws and after a quiet/defensive opening, Samir hit on both turns 5 and 7 to complete a +26tp win. Samir was also managing, so thanked all involved before presenting the Robert Prichard trophy to himself (pictured).

Congratulations also to Adam Swinton, returning to the game after a six-year break. He completed his first ranking triple peel to be awarded a gold merit award, and will surely be rising up the rankings soon.

Nicky Newberry won the McClements Cup

by Minty Clinch at Cheltenham [^]
22nd April (AC - Handicap)

Cheltenham Croquet Club opened its Easter season with a fierce handicap competition for the McClements Cup. 22 players arrived on a bitter Good Friday to find James Death, a last minute replacement for Peter Petrie, in full control of the organisation as well as the catering he'd already signed up for. Nine hours later, he announced the skilful octet who'd fought their way to the Saturday knockout to three heavily muffled survivors in semi darkness.

Most would have put money on Sarah Hayes and Dave Kibble; others who had risen to the occasion included the Nottingham couple, Mike Hedge and Nicky Newberry, Liz Webb from Bowdon, Kibble's fellow Bristolian, Neil Kingston, and Cheltenham's own John Gilden and Brent Watkins.

By the time James served his pork pie lunch on Saturday, eight had become four, with the two minus handicappers, Dave and Sarah, in one semi and Neil (2.5) and Nicky (18) in the other. James, who'd endured a 26-0 defeat by young titan, Harvey Smith, when he filled in as a spare in the consolation event, grabbed a pint and sat down to wait. And wait. Games between experts are often played with swift dispatch, but not this one. 'It'll be over when one of us stops messing up', Sarah commented on her way to a narrow win. An all women's final? Only if Nicky's forest of bisques could hold out against Neil's rare errors. As it did. James sighed and pulled another pint. Nearly everyone else went home.

So there was a shortage of due trumpets for Nicky as she raised the trophy around 7.30. An early lead for Nicky with her bisques was whittled away to almost nothing but she held on for a 23-22 victory as time ran out. A wonderful victory as high bisquers rarely hold their nerve to ride so high against an irrepressible force like Sarah Hayes. Thank you James. Even the also rans had a great time.

England Team for the GC Home Internationals named

by Chris Clarke at Balgreen, Scotland [^]
21st April (International)

The following England Team has been selected for the GC Home Internationals to be held at Balgreen 19-20 July. We wish them the best of luck. Many thanks to all the players who made themselves available.

Euan Burridge

Sam Cuthbert

J-P Moberly (Captain)

Stuart M Smith

Reserve: Steve Leonard