Croquet England News

Beatrice McGlen is elected as a Vice-President of Croquet England

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

We are delighted to announce the election of Beatrice McGlen as a Vice-President of Croquet England. Beatrice received an overwhelmingly positive vote during the Croquet England 2026 AGM, for which she thanked the membership. Our President, Jonathan Isaacs, provided the following citation: Beatrice began her croquet playing career in the 1980s. She joined the Nottingham Club in 1990 and became its Chair in 2017. Under her leadership the club completed an ambitious project to re-lay 3 bowling lawns as croquet lawns and renovate its pavilions. This was financed in part by money she raised through numerous grant applications and crowdfunding. She also did much to promote community engagement, such as the "hoops for health" programme, resulting in the club being presented with the Sports and Recreation Alliance national award for inclusivity and diversity. Women's croquet has been another of her passions, representing England abroad in several events in recent years. She volunteered for election to the ...

Roehampton beat Bowdon to win the Inter-Club 4-1 (AC - Inter-Club)

Sun, 4 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The 2026 AC Inter Club final was played between Roehampton and Bowdon at Northampton on a pleasant day. The morning doubles were won by Roehampton with Harry Fisher and Mark van Loon completing an alternate shot TP to win 26-10. Bowdon played own ball and Angharrad Walters had got the first ball round after a couple of turns. Jack Good did have a couple of chances of a finishing turn particularly when Harry missed hoop 1 with Jack's ball down near hoop 2. Fortunately for Roehampton he missed. On. Northampton's far lawn Christian Carter played Simon Jenkins and Joel Taylor played Andrew Winn. With a few more brown patches the lawn had a few slopes and was noticeably slower in the morning than the afternoon. Christian's game saw him lay a tice with yellow, his first shot, a rather insulting 4-5 yards from the North boundary, north of hoop 6. Not surprisingly Simon decided to shoot at it, which he did centre ball but unfortunately with the red ball. He placed his black in corner 3 and Christian went round. ...

Congratulations to the Association Croquet Eights Winners (AC - Championships)

Sat, 3 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Association Croquet Eights concluded on 14th September 2026, congratulations to the following winners: First Eight (President's Cup): Stephen Mulliner This was Stephen 's 7th win in 48 President's Cup appearances. Second Eight (Chairman's Salver): Thomas Cullis Third Eight (Spencer Ell Cup): Richard Huxley Fourth Eight (Treasurer's Tankard): Nigel Matthews Selector's Weekend: John Daniels

Croquet England Confirms Appointment of Chairs to Standing Committees

Fri, 2 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Croquet England's incoming Executive team is pleased to confirm the appointment of Chairs for its standing committees. The appointments are as follows: Growth and Grass Roots Funding Committee - Sarah Andrew Coaching Committee - John Harris (Interim) Play Tournament Committee - Samir Patel Handicap Committee - Bridget Goodman Performance Selection Committee - Chris Clarke International Committee - Aston Wade Referees (Laws and Rules) Committee - Ian Vincent The Executive team is excited to work with the new Chairs and their committees. We thank outgoing Chairs Ian Lines, Stephen Mulliner, Jeff Dawson, Jonathan Powe, Richard Bilton, Chris Roberts, Ruth Raunkiaer and Duncan Catterall for the huge commitment and support they have shown Croquet England over many years. The recruitment process resulted in receiving 15 expressions of interest, for Chair positions, across the seven standing committees within the new structure. We are grateful to John Harris for serving as interim Chair of the Coaching Committee ...

Croquet England Treasurer Update

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Croquet England would like to thank Debbie Lines who stepped down as Treasurer at the end of August. Debbie carried out the role of Treasurer through a very busy six-months having taken over from Robert Fulford in March earlier this year. Debbie supported Croquet England in updating our financial systems and processes, supported the work of the Funding committee, and was a valuable member of the Executive during her tenure. Robert has agreed to take on the role on an interim basis and with support from Alison Maugham and James and Mandy in the office, Robert will be our interim Treasurer until the end of the year.

Marathon Matches and Moonlight at Compton (AC - Championships)

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Twenty players arrived at Compton Croquet Club in Eastbourne on Friday morning for the South of England Championship. The weather was reminiscent of June and July, but the lawns were lush and green. Although the hoops were set to 1/32 of an inch, they seemed generous, and everything was in place for a weekend of adventurous play. Before lunch, Gabrielle Higgins had already dispatched me +16tp, +26tp. Gabrielle, as the tournament manager, was no doubt expecting more results to come in quickly as we enjoyed the lovely buffet provided by the club's welcoming volunteers. Around the dinner table, rumours of marathon games were beginning to circulate. On returning to the lawns to begin my first Swiss match, I heard Gabrielle ask Thomas Cullis how his game against Mark Omerod was progressing. Thomas replied, "I'm trying. I've given him lots of chances; he just won't take them." This was one of the crucial first-round matches, while most other players had begun their first games in the second round after receiving...

Welcome to Tom Oulton: Croquet England Newsletter Editor

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

We are excited to announce that Tom Oulton has joined our Marketing Team as the Newsletter Editor. Tom plays at York Croquet club and enjoys playing and promoting croquet in his local community. Look out for the latest newsletter to be emailed tomorrow at 4pm, where Tom will introduce himself. If you would like to get in touch, submit articles for the newsletter or have any suggestions, please get in touch at editor#croquetengland.org.uk. Welcome to the team Tom! The Croquet England newsletter will be released at 4pm on Thursday 30 September. Sign up to the public newsletter: croquetengland.org.uk/newsletter-sign-up/

Leonard Taylor won the GC C-Level Final (GC - Tournaments)

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Warm sunshine greeted a full field of 16 players who came to contest the National Final at Wrest Park on 26/27 September. As required, 2 blocks of 8 players played each other on an all play all level play basis on tricky lawns recovering from the protracted heatwave of the summer. In Block A, John Ingham (Northampton) won all his 7 games but was taken to the golden hoop by both Susan Bellew (Bristol) and Jackie Bryant (Thames Valley). Both ladies also qualified for the main Knockout with 4 and 5 wins respectively. The 4th qualifier was Diana Rolfe (Sussex County) with 4 wins, narrowly pipping Lois Hall (Watford) on hoop count. Block B was very closely contested with qualifiers only being evident after sunset. Simon Munton (Camerton & Peasdown) prevailed with 5 wins. Leonard Taylor (Hampstead Heath) and Nicola Mack (Barnet) gained places with 4 wins each, but Derek Code (South Ockendon) and Lynda Watsham (Colchester) were still tied on hoop count with 4 wins each leaving Derek's progress to be decided by ...

European Club League 2027 - Hosts wanted (International)

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The 2026 edition of the European Club League was the largest yet with 60 teams and over 250 players participating. Eight teams from seven different countries will contest the Grand Final at Carrickmines, Dublin (IRE) 9-11 October. It is now time to start planning for 2027, the fifth season of the ECL. The first step is to find the host clubs that we need to hold the various Championship and Qualifying heats. We anticipate needing at least 15 host venues, your support in this area is crucial to the success of the event. Hosts receive free entry into the event and of course gain the opportunity to participate without needing to travel. In order to be able to host you need to have just two lawns, the format of the event is designed to give as many clubs as possible the opportunity to host. Heats should be held on a weekend before the end of July and usually the preferred weekend of the host can be accommodated. If you are interested in hosting a heat, or would like further details please contact Ian Burridge ...

High Wycombe beat Crake Valley to win the Longman Cup 5-2 (AC - Longman Cup)

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Bury beat Roehampton to win the Tier 3 Bowl 4-3 (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

GC Inter-Club Tier 3 (Bowl) Bury versus Roehampton - Final Played at Cheltenham 25/9/2026 Match Report The two teams met at CqE Headquarters in Cheltenham for the final of the GC Inter-Club Bowl played in good weather on quick lawns. Bury started by presenting each member of the opposition team with a traditional Black Pudding purchased in the World Famous Bury market earlier that week. A Pudding was also given to James Death for help on the day. Roehampton started well with their top two, Kevin O'Connor(4) and Carmel Brance(6) winning their doubles match 7-6, 7-1 against Bernard Lord(4) and Duncan Meachin(5). They then went further ahead with Janine Railton (6) beating David Artingstall (5) 7-4, 7-5. Fortunately, after losing his first game, Simon Attwell(6) rallied to overcome Emile Fernades (6) 2-7, 7-4, 7-5 to get Bury's first point on the board after a marathon 3 hour struggle. Lunch was taken with Roehampton leading 2-1 in matches and tied 1-1 in the top two singles between Captain Bernard Lord and ...

East Dorset beat Southport to win the Murphy Shield 5-2 (GC - Murphy Shield)

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The final of this year's competition was played at Cheltenham on September 24 in pleasant conditions with the day gradually warming up from a chilly start. East Dorset defeated Southport 5-2, so winning the trophy for the fourth time, having previously won it in 2019, 2020 and 2023. Watford are the only other club with four victories in the competition. With the teams having identical handicaps and the aggregate DGrades being only marginally in favour of Southport, a very close match was to be expected. It did not turn out like that, at least in the morning when East Dorset established a 3-0 lead, winning both singles in two games and the doubles in three games. The afternoon was much closer. In the first rubber to finish the top singles went to East Dorset in two very close games to give them an unassailable 4-0 match lead but the other three singles all went to three games, one to East Dorset and two to Southport. Representing both Croquet England and the host club, to whom the thanks of both teams are ...

Fantasy Competition GC Worlds 2026 (World Championship)

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I'm running another Fantasy competition for the GC Worlds in Cairo. Please feel free to enter and share with friends to increase awareness. In the event that one of your selected players withdraws before the event starts, you may replace them. If you don't, you will be allocated the next player below them on the list. You must pick exactly 6 players in your team. Budget $8.00m Have fun! ? Type Points Game win 10 7-0 Game win 20 Winning a block 25 Bowl runner-up 25 Bowl winner 40 Plate runner-up 25 Plate winner 40 Shield runner-up 25 Shield winner 40 Quarter-finalist 25 Semi-finalist 60 Runner-up 80 Winner 100 Remember - you need to select exactly 6 of the players below GC Fantasy Prices 2026 Price $m Essick 2.00 Bamford 1.90 Yasser Sayed 1.90 Erian 1.85 M. Nasr 1.75 Fawzy Helmy 1.75 Elmahdy 1.70 A. Nasr 1.70 Karem 1.70 Taha 1.70 Fordyce 1.70 Kamel 1.65 Franks 1.65 Ghamry 1.60 Nezar 1.60 Balding 1.55 E. Burridge 1.50 Alebiary 1.50 Burch 1.45 J Alvares-Sala 1.45 G. Fletcher 1.4 Yousif Yasser 1.40 Soha ...

Ashby beat Old Brentwoods to win the Secretary's Shield 4-3 (AC - Secretary's Shield)

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Ashby and Old Brentwoods met at Letchworth to contest this final on a warm sunny day. The lawns were in good condition which favoured the receivers of bisques which were generally the Ashby players. All games were completed, mostly well inside the 3h 15m time limit. The morning doubles saw a lot of play from both pairs and finished with a +14 win for Old Brentwoods, with Ashby winning the two singles games. After a break for lunch. the afternoon saw the honours shared with two wins each. So Ashby emerged as the 4-3 victors in a close match, as they had in the previous matches against York and Fylde. Thanks to Letchworth for hosting the event and preparing the lawns. Arthur Rowe Ashby CC Ashby Arthur Rowe 2.5 Andy Sherwood 3.5 Heather Hardy 12 Richard Sanville 12 Old Brentwoods David Maugham -2 Alison Maugham -1.5 Paul Hetherington 1.5 Simon McKinnon 10 Results (Ashby names first) Arthur Rowe & Richard Sanville lost to David Maugham and Simon McKinnon -14 Andy Sherwood beat Paul Hetherington +19 Heather ...

Nottingham beat Roehampton to win the Mary Rose 5-2 (AC - Mary Rose)

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Mary Rose final. Nottingham v Roehampton 18th Sept 2026 Results (Nottingham players first): Beatrice McGlen (0) & Roger Watson (0.5) 26 Nick Yates (0.5) & David Mooney (1) 12 Matt Tapp (1) 26 Peter Siddall (2.5) 3 Michael Finnigan (4) 20 Diana Wilson (1.5) 26 Beatrice McGlen 26 Nick Yates 14 Matt Tapp 26 Diana Wilson 11 Roger Watson 22 David Mooney 26 Michael Finnigan 26 Peter Siddall 18

Alan Dix wins the Golf Croquet B-Level (DG<1700) Series National Final (GC - Tournaments)

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Croquet England Golf Croquet B-Level (DG <1700) Series National Final 2026, hosted by Pendle and Craven CC on 19th-20th September 2026, was the culmination of a very well contested competition that stated back in April. 24 geographically wells spread tournaments made of this season's Series which yielded 20 different winners, led by Matthew Parsons (3 wins) and Simon Draper (2 wins), and sadly the former was unavailable to attend the National Final, along with three other single tournament winners. This meant that there was no place for any of the 'points gatherers' in this season Final, with the ideal size, 16-player, field was populated solely by winners. . Croquet England thanks Libby Dixon in her role of Tournament Manager and she takes up the story of the National Final (below). . Chris Roberts Golf Croquet B-Level (DG <1700) Series Director . . . Pendle and Craven CC welcomed 16 competitors from across the country, with many visiting the club for the first time. Access to the lawns was provided ...

James Moir won the AC All England (AC - Handicap)

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Six finalists, three from each area final, contested the 2026 All England AC Final at Wrest Park. The players represented a wide geographic spread of clubs and handicaps: Jenny Gaskin (Roehampton, hcp 16), James Moir (York, hcp 9), Marc Popiolek (Watford, hcp 16), Ryan Ransome (Glamorgan, hcp 7), Roger Steeper (Nottingham, hcp 10) and Fred White-Overton (Ealing, hcp 14). The format was all-play-all with 2.75 and 3 hour time limits for single and double banked games. Three games were played on Saturday and two on Sunday. The final started with cloud and a stiff south-westerly breeze but reasonably warm. The wind played its part, particularly on lawn 4, where there was at least one occasion of the wind moving balls after they had been stationary for some time! On Sunday the weather was calmer with blue skies for most of the day. The first round of games proved to be challenging as the players adjusted to the lawn speed with no games completed within time. After lunch, Fred White-Overton won his game against ...

Sussex County beat Peterborough 6-5 (AC - Short Croquet Inter-Club)

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Today a team comprising David Dickens , Steve Chapman , Rob Harper and Nigel Billingham represented Sussex County CC in the final of the CQE National Inter-Club Short Croquet Competition 2026 against Peterborough CC . The match was hosted by Watford CC ( as approximately midway between both clubs) and we won this nail biting match 6-5. The morning session was won by us 3-0 , with our doubles pairing of Nigel and Rob beating a strong Peterborough pairing by +7, with both Steve and David winning their singles by +14 and +11 respectively . After a great lunch , play resumed and Peterborough won the first round of singles 3-1 , with only Rob managing to win his match . Going into the final round of singles , we were 4-3 ahead , needing to win a further two singles match. Luckily Nigel won his match in quick time ( +12) which just needed one further win. Peterborough won the next two tight matches ( +2 and +1) leaving the match all square with Rob to finish . He won his match +2 which sealed the win for Sussex ...

Croquet England AGM 10 October 2026 at 10:00 am

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In accordance with Clause 11(1) of the Constitution of Croquet England, the Fourth Annual General Meeting will be held via Microsoft Teams at 10 a.m. on Saturday 10 October 2026. The meeting link will be emailed to voting members shortly before the meeting. Those subscribers who have applied for voting membership of Croquet England pursuant to Clause 9(1)(a) of the Constitution and declared their acceptance of the duty of members set out in Clause 9(3) of the Constitution are invited to attend the meeting and to vote on the resolutions set out in the Agenda. Alternatively, voting members are entitled to appoint a proxy, in accordance with the instructions on the form sent to voting members. Subscribers who have not yet applied for voting membership are invited to do so here. The resolutions put to the vote of this meeting shall be decided on a show of hands, unless a poll is duly demanded. While not strictly Croquet England business, any member who wishes to ask any questions about the final accounts of ...

Lucy Beach won the Wrest Park September Handicap (AC - Handicap)

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Six players contested the annual September AC handicap tournament played at Wrest Park over the weekend of 12-13 September 2026: From Watford, Jonathan Lambton (4) and Andre Machell (7); from Reigate Priory, Lucy Beach (8), and from Wrest Park, Eric Audsley (1.5), George Collin (1), and Tim Nurse (5). The format was a single block, all-play-all, and games were played with 3 hour time limits. Lucy Beach won the tournament with 4 wins out of 5 games, ahead of Tim and Andre both with 3/5. Everyone arrived on the Saturday to a nice September morning. Grass was growing on about half the lawns and not growing on the other half. It made for somewhat challenging play - very few breaks lasted very long. Thus even one-sided games lasted over two hours (Tim Nurse dispatched George Collin +22) and most bumped into the 3 hour time limit (Eric Audsley beat Andre Machell +9t with an aggregate total of 23 points scored). George was busy watering hoop holes and areas where he had repaired rabbit damage, and was dismissive ...

Talking Croquet Issue 009 Published

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome to issue 9 of Talking Croquet, September 2026. It has been my absolute pleasure to bring Talking Croquet to all of you since its first issue in May 2025. Since then, we have also taken the initiative to make the Croquet Gazette a publicly available magazine and all our magazines can now be viewed online. Visit the magazine online - https://online.flippingbook.com/view/1054759231/

Crake Valley beat Newport 4-3 (AC - Longman Cup)

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

High Wycombe beat Sussex County 5-2 (AC - Longman Cup)

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Phyllis Court lost to Swanage 3-4 (GC - Federations' Shield)

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Played at Phyllis Court on September 12, Swanage (South West Federation) defeated Phyllis Court (Southern Federation) 4-3 in the final of this year's competition. This was a very hard fought and close contest: aggregate handicaps 20 v 20, games 10-8, hoops 115-115. It was also a long match, finishing just before 7pm after a 10am start. A contributory factor to this was that, with a number of rubbers with wide handicap differences, the Target Scores calculations led to 7 of the 18 games going beyond hoop 13, one reaching hoop 16. At the lunch break the score was 1-1 with one of the singles rubbers left unfinished at one game all, although Swanage came within one shot of winning the doubles which would have given them a 2-0 lead. The afternoon singles were shared two each although, again, Swanage had a good chance to win one of those they lost. So the match result came down to the completion of the unfinished morning singles. In mounting tension for the rest of the players this concluded in favour of ...

Hurlingham lost to Nottingham 3-4 (GC - Inter-Club)

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

This match was played on Sunday September 13th at Hurlingham. Nottingham won 4-3. Detailed results can be found at croquetscores.com/2026/gc/cqe-inter-club-final-hurlingham-vs-nottingham-1 Nottingham won the GC Inter-Club Final for the 5th time in 9 years with a tense 4-3 victory over Hurlingham. In the morning Hurlingham stole the double when at 5-5 all in the 3rd game and with Euan Burridge a foot in front of hoop 11, Tom Coles attempting an in-off from the north boundary in front of hoop 7 missed Euan entirely and simply ran the hoop. With Euan unable to get to hoop 12 Tom and partner Aston Wade wrapped up the match shortly afterwards. Mark Ormerod beat Ian Burridge 2-0 and Nigel Polhill and Will Gee were tied 1-1 at lunch, in a match that it was agreed to adjourn until after the scheduled afternoon matches had been completed. After lunch Euan and Ian completed quick 2-0 victories over Tom and Nigel. Aston had a 5 yard hoop 13 to beat James Death 2-0, which would surely have won the match for Hurlingham...

Surbiton lost to Roehampton 0-4 (AC - Inter-Club)

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Croquet England Newsletter

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Croquet England newsletter is published monthly, sharing the latest news from our croquet community and a welcome by Andy Dalby-Welsh, Croquet England CEO: "What a wonderful moment for English croquet. Congratulations to our England team on winning the centenary MacRobertson Shield, the Association Croquet World Team Championship, after outstanding victories over Australia, the USA and New Zealand. To triumph against the world's leading croquet nations is a magnificent achievement, and everyone across Croquet England can take great pride in the players, captain and wider support team. We are hugely grateful to Alliance Witan for sponsoring the England team and helping make this success possible. Their support has been especially valued during such a historic occasion: the centenary edition of a competition first played in 1925. I was delighted to visit all four host venues-Roehampton, Hurlingham, Sussex County and Surbiton-and to experience the warmth, commitment and excitement that surrounded the ...

Trustee election results

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

At the close of the period for nominations, Simon Attwell had been duly proposed and seconded as trustee for the Northern Counties, Roger Baddeley for the South West Counties, Samir Patel for the Western Home Counties, and John Sayce for the Central Counties and Wales. No other nominations were received and I therefore declare them elected. Further details about the existing trustees can be found at: https://www.croquetengland.org.uk/about-us/board-of-trustees/ Simon, who will join the Board for the first time at the AGM, says: I am a Chartered Accountant and experienced Trustee having been Chair of the Audit Committee of Community Integrated Care, a leading Health and Social Care charity, for five years and then a further seven years as Chair of the Board. During that time I oversaw a growth in the people we supported from 1,640 to over 5,000 and a rise in income from £60m to £103m. I commissioned a report on the Charity's governance, implementing all the recommendations and re-structured the Board to ...

Denise Foster won the Viking Challenge (AC)

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

0n 5th and 6th September 16 competitors arrived at York CC to take part in the annual Viking Challenge short croquet event. Games were keenly fought, 5 on the Saturday and 4 on the Sunday. By the last game there were still 4 players in contention to win. A very exciting ending resulted in Denise Foster (York) narrowly beating Tim Ash (Nottingham) for the trophy.

England regained the Glasgow Quaich (International)

Wed, 9 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

England regained the Glasgow Quaich with a convincing 17-7 victory over Scotland at Chester Croquet Club on 5-6 September 2026, ending a run of three consecutive Scottish successes and recording England's first win since the Croquet Association became Croquet England. Captained by Matt Cook, England made a dominant start by winning all three doubles matches on Saturday morning and built an 11-4 overnight lead after taking four of the six afternoon singles. The challenging Chester lawns, with their variable pace and noticeable slope, produced many closely fought tactical games in which defence and positioning often proved more important than long breaks. England sealed victory on Sunday morning with another clean sweep of the doubles, completing a remarkable record of six doubles wins from six matches over the weekend. Although the remaining singles were more evenly contested, England maintained their advantage to secure a well-earned success. One of the most entertaining matches saw Scotland's David ...

New Executive Team Announced as Committee Recruitment Begins

Tue, 8 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

We are excited to announce our new Executive team, which completes the first stage of our restructure, appointing four experienced leaders to help deliver our revised strategic priorities: Ian Draper- Head of Growth and Grass Roots Ian Burridge- Head of Play Richard Waterman- Head of Performance Paul Hetherington- Head of Marketing Once the team is in place, we will be confirming the appointment of a Secretary to the Executive. Throughout September, the new Heads will recruit the committees that report to them, ahead of the AGM on 10 October. This next phase of the restructure will create opportunities for volunteers to put themselves forward either to chair a committee or to serve as a committee member. We greatly appreciate the many people who have contributed, and continue to contribute, so significantly and successfully within our existing structure. We encourage both new and existing volunteers to support the new structure and the ambitions of our 'More Croquet' strategy and 'One Croquet' philosophy. ...

Sussex County beat High Wycombe 6-5 (AC - Short Croquet Inter-Club)

Mon, 7 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Short Croquet Semi-final: Sussex County beat High Wycombe 6-5 at Sussex County Croquet Club on 4 September 2026 Sussex names first: Liz Farrow (0) and Mike Akester (6) beat Richard Coward (1.5) and Matthew Miles Griffiths (3.5) 14-6 Nigel Billingham (1) beat David Cotton (1P) 14-7 Rob Harper (4) lost to David Tryon (6) 6-14 Liz Farrow beat David Tryon 14-10 Nigel Billingham beat Matthew Miles Griffiths 11-7 Rob Harper beat Richard Coward 14-4 Mike Akester lost to David Cotton 13-14 Liz Farrow lost to David Cotton 0-14 Nigel Billingham lost to Richard Coward 13-14 Rob Harper beat Matthew Miles Griffiths 14-7 Mike Akester lost to David Tryon 12-14

Nottingham beat Surbiton 5-1 (GC - Inter-Club)

Mon, 7 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Richard Huxley wins the Nottingham Advanced Weekend (AC)

Mon, 7 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A full field of 24, with handicaps ranging from -2 to 2, entered the Advanced Weekend at Nottingham, which was run as a very flexible Swiss to ensure that no-one was sitting out for more than a short time. At the end of Saturday, a number of players had only recorded one loss, but Andrew Winn and Ian Vincent were both undefeated with 3 wins from 3 games. They duly played on Sunday morning and Ian continued to play well to beat Andrew in a very tense +2 finish. This left Ian Vincent on 4/4 with Richard Huxley and Ian Lines both having reached 4/5. Richard duly played Ian Vincent, and Ian looked for a good while like he was going to win and take the trophy undefeated on 5/5, but Richard hit his last lift with minutes to go and duly won +4, taking him to 5/6, and into a playoff with Ian Lines (also now on 5/6). The playoff was played as a standard game, but with all 4 clips starting on rover. Richard hit 4th turn, and finished very tidily in his next turn to claim the Memento Mori Trophy. Perhaps all clips ...

UPDATED - Qualifying Event for the 2026 WCF GC World Championship in Egypt (World Championship)

Fri, 4 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The World Croquet Federation (WCF) has made the following announcement regarding the Qualifying Event for the 2026 WCF GC World Championship in Egypt: GCWC EGYPT 2026 Qualifying Event Saturday the 14th of November to Wednesday the 18th of November 2026. The Egyptian Croquet Federation warmly invites players to be a part of the GCWC 2026 via competing in the Worlds Qualifying event being held in Alexandria Egypt. The Egyptian Croquet Federation has decided to extend the Allocation date to the 30th of September 2026. Any player who wishes to play in the Qualifying Tournament should enter as soon as possible. All entries received by 30 September will be ranked by current Dynamic Grade at midnight on that date. The top 40 ranked players on that ranking list will be accepted into the event. Any additional applicants who do not get a place initially will be included in the Qualifier Reserve List. Other players may also apply to join the Qualifier Reserve List after 30 September. If a vacancy occurs after 30 ...

GC Eights at Budleigh and Sidmouth (GC - Championships)

Thu, 3 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The GC First and Second Eights were held at Budleigh over the Bank Holiday weekend, with the Third Eights taking place at Sidmouth. Congratulations to Aston Wade, who took the First Eights title, with Stu Smith finishing runner-up after an excellent performance topping the block stages. The newly introduced First Eights Bowl was won by Tournament Manager, Richard Bilton. Congratulations also to Tim Jolliff, who won the Second Eights after a closely fought block-stage battle with Louise Smith for qualification into the knockout. Louise went on to win the Second Eights Bowl, while Martin French won the Third Eights at Sidmouth. Having narrowly missed a place in the main KO, it was also fitting that Rick Lilley won the Third Eights Bowl. Many thanks to all the volunteers, ground staff and spectators at both clubs who helped make the weekend a success, despite some challenging weather.

Golf Croquet Eights Winners (GC - Championships)

Thu, 3 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth Croquet Clubs hosted the three Top Eight 2026 selection tournaments for Golf Croquet Congratulations to our winners: Aston Wade (Hurlingham Club) - First Eight Winner: Ricki Savage Memorial Tim Jolliff (Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club) - Second Eight Winner: Kate Jones Memorial Martin French (Bude Croquet Club) - Third Eight Winner: Suzanne Roberts Memorial

Clive Goode Won the Tompkinson Shield (AC)

Thu, 3 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

As many other clubs, Edgbaston's lawns had suffered in the drought, and conditions were tricky. I'm sure top players would have coped, but they are not allowed in this SuperB event. Only 7 out of 30 games saw the winner score 26 points. After two rounds, the undefeated players were the Nottingham trio of Clive Goode, Dave Gunn and Beatrice McGlen. In round 3, Beatrice beat Dave. In round 4, Clive beat Beatrice. In round 5 the game between Clive and Dave went to the golden hoop. A win for Dave would have seen the three Nottingham players tied; no prizes for guessing what tiebreak the Mangler was intending. This did not happen: Clive ran 4-back to secure his second Tompkinson Shield. Enough about croquet, I like the pretty patterns numbers make. After every round the pattern of scores was symmetric. (With 12 players this is only inevitable for the first two rounds.) After 4 rounds we had 1 player on 4 wins, 3 on 3, 4 on 2, 3 on 1 and 1 on 0. One of the 3s had played the 4 and the other 2 3s, so 2 of the 2s ...

Bowdon beat East Dorset 4-3 (AC - Inter-Club)

Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Bowdon B lost to Peterborough 5-6 (AC - Short Croquet Inter-Club)

Wed, 2 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Yesterday, at Bowdon, Peterborough ever so narrowly beat Bowdon B in one of the Short Croquet semifinals. The overall score was 6:5, but the visitors' win in the doubles (one of four Plus One On Time results) was an especially knife-edge affair. Just before time was called, and with a three-hoop lead, Brian decided not to risk a longish shot at Debbie (in Corner 1) and Adrian (deliberately two feet east). In the time turn Debbie played one of her best ever rushes, to put Pink six inches in front of Hoop 4, and she and Adrian (it was alternate-stroke) made the last three hoops and laid a dolly rush for the golden hoop, duly achieved when Philip missed them by a whisker from 20 yards. (Adrian had run the super-tight Hoop 5 very firmly, luckily being slowed up enough by both wires to stop south of White, for the rush to 6.) Detailed results, visitor names first were: Debbie Lines and Adrian Kirby (-3) beat Brian Medley and Philip Thompson (2.5) +1t (11:10) Ian Lines (-4) beat Nigel Matthews (-5) +1t (9:8) ...

Woking C and D Level (GC - Tournaments)

Tue, 1 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Woking held a GC C and D Level tournament alongside each other on Friday 28th August to enable players to obtain D grades. The forecast was not good with thundery showers due throughout the day. However, we were very lucky with the weather only having to exit the lawns once. We had 6 players in each of the C and D level so had two all play all tournaments. It was really encouraging to have a number of juniors (18 and under) competing. The "C" had two juniors and the "D" had three juniors all competing against the more mature players. Because each player had 5 matches there was no time restriction so each match went to completion, first to seven. In the D Level Hanna, a junior player from Bath, and Barry Maunders from Woking (who was playing in his first tournament) both went into the final round with 4 wins each. Therefore this match was going to be the decider. Barry eventually won a very close game 7-5 . The C level was also closely contested with the result being decided on net hoops as both contenders ...

Andy Sherwood & John Picken Won the National Forest GC Doubles (GC)

Tue, 1 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The 7th year of this popular competition was contested at Ashby over the bank holiday weekend by eight pairs in contrasting weather, with heavy downpours on Saturday and sunshine on Sunday. The block format was double games. Top seeds Andy Sherwood and John Picken didn't get off to a good start on Saturday, but qualified in 2nd place in their block behind John Tidy and Ki Hulme from Sheffield. In the other block, Arthur & Judith Rowe had a clean sweep and won all their games, which earned them the right to play Andy & John in the first semifinal, by which time the top seeds had regained their expected form and made short work of dispatching Arthur & Judith. In the other seimfinal, John Tidy & Ki beat Mike O'Brian and Penny Manton in straight games. The final was a closely fought affair, but Andy Sherwood & John Picken emerged victorious with 7-6, 7-6 wins against John Tidy & Ki. The plate was won by Andrew Grant & John Palframan on hoop difference from Andrew & Lindsay Hobbs. Full results on croquetscores:...

James Death won the Northern Championship (AC - Championships)

Tue, 1 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A full field of 16 gathered at Bowdon for the North of England Championship. It was probably the strongest entry for many years with all the players having a minus handicap, and 10 players having handicaps of -1.5 or lower. The lawns, unlike last year, were generally easy, with recent rain leading to fully green lawns and fairly soft ground with forgiving hoops, even though set at about 1/32". Last year many games went to time in the challenging conditions, with the final having to be completed on an extra day - but this year all 75 games finished well within time - with many peeling turns being attempted. In the first round, Alison Maugham played well to beat Ian Lines+26tp, -5, +26tp, with 6th turn triples in both the first and third games. James Death had a qp and 3 sxps on the first day to beat Dave Kibble and Nigel Matthews without either of them even taking croquet. In the semi-finals, Debbie Lines put up more resistance to James, unfortunately breaking down on a tp in the first game, but completing ...

James Death Completes the First Ever Recorded Straight Sextuple Peel

Thu, 3 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Bowdon Croquet Club Has Hosted the Championship of the North of England, Where James Death Completed 4 Sextuple Peels Through the Tournament, Including a Straight Sextuple Peel to Win the Semi-Final Against Debbie Lines All match results are added to the rankings and these bring James to number 4 in the world. This latest exceptional peeling turn is the first ranked straight sextuple peeling turn ever recorded. Comparisons with other rare sporting feats could include a 9 dart finish with a double start, or a maximum 147 break in snooker starting with several reds in safe positions. We look forward to watching James's progress in the 2027 World Championship where he will be competing in a field of 80 players in New Zealand.

Bury lost to Crake Valley 2-5 (AC - Longman Cup)

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Top Eight Golf Croquet players to compete in Devon (GC - Championships)

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The top eight available Golf Croquet players in the country will compete for the Ricki Savage Memorial at Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club The annual tournaments of the available top eight selected players will compete for the title this year in Devon based club, Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club. The players have been chosen to play by a selection committee who consider player performance leading up to the selection date. Event Date: Saturday 29th August 2026 - Monday 31th August 2026 Event Location: Westfield Close, Budleigh Salterton, Devon, EX9 6ST Club Website: https://www.budleighcroquet.org/ The competitors in alphabetical order are: Dom Aarvold - Bristol Croquet Club Richard Bilton - Gainsborough Croquet Club Euan Burridge - Nottingham Croquet Club Ian Burridge - Nottingham Croquet Club Chris Roberts - Phyllis Court Club Tim Russell - Roehampton Club Stuart M Smith - Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Aston Wade - Hurlingham Club The current holder of the trophy is Tobi Savage who will not be competing ...

Thrills at Nottingham's Annual Tournament (AC)

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The annual tournament on Nottingham's recently relaid lawns attracted 42 players and generated twelve handicap changes, seven TPs, six trophy winners, one fierce downpour, the customary excellent catering, one championship referee sporting a hat resembling a fried egg, and a rare bombard peg-out. The August Week at Nottingham is now the last remaining six-day AC event in the tournament calendar where all formats run throughout the week: four classes of singles, the main handicap singles, and handicap doubles. All other clubs seem to have divided their own weeks into adjoining but separate two day events. The Lawns: Though slower than in the recent Worlds (Tiers 2 and 3), the nine lawns were reasonably paced until Thursday's heavy rain. Drainage took longer than usual following weeks of baking hot weather. The new squeegee machine put to work on Lawn 5 needed to pause every 70 yards to discharge a full tank of rainwater into the Tottle Brook. One visiting minus player claimed he wasn't strong enough to ...

Bury beat Ashby 5-1 (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Tim Russell won the GC Veterans Championship (GC - Championships)

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The 2026 GC Veterans Championship was won by top seed Tim Russell, who beat second seed Lionel Tibble 7-4, 7-5. This is the third time Tim has won the event in the last four years, two of those at Sussex where the competition has now come to the end of its three-year cycle. Following the usual programme for this event, the 24 players were arranged into two blocks, each playing 11 single games over the first day and second morning, followed by a knockout and plate stage. Weather conditions at Southwick were fine, if a little on the hot side. The lawns were fast, dry and challenging; a watering system fault had occurred 3 days before and over the weekend and that, coupled with the exceptionally dry weather and light winds left the lawns rather less controllable than Sussex's superb groundsman Ben would have liked. The combination of hard ground and very firm Quadway hoops punished the slightest error in hoop running and many games were extended as good clearances and positioning were followed by failed ...

Roehampton beat Hurlingham 5-2 (AC - Mary Rose)

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Roehampton Club played Hurlingham Club yesterday in the Mary Rose semi-finals. I am pleased to report that Roehampton won 5-2. The score does not really do the match justice as Hurlingham put up a good fight and all matches were very closely fought. The teams were: Roehampton: Nick Yates David Mooney Diana Wilson Peter Siddall Hurlingham: Ludolph van Hasselt Guy Hewitt Martin Read David Owen The results were: Ludolph van Hasselt and Guy Hewitt beat Nick Yates and David Mooney 26-20 Nick Yates beat Ludolph van Hasselt 26-25 Guy Hewitt beat David Mooney 26-18 Diana Wilson beat David Owen 26-24 Peter Siddall beat Martin Read 26-11 Diana Wilson beat Martin Read 26-17T Peter Siddall beat David Owen 23-17T