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Croquet England Trustee elections: call for nominations

by Gabrielle Higgins [^]
4th June (CqE Official News)

Nominations are invited of candidates to stand for election to the Board of Trustees of Croquet England in the following constituencies:

• The Central Counties and Wales (the historic counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire, and Wales)
• The Eastern Counties (the historic counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Suffolk)
• The South West Counties (the historic counties of the Channel Islands, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset)
• The Weald Counties (the old counties of Hampshire, Kent and Sussex)

The timetable is as follows:

• Opening date for nominations; 9 June 2025
• Closing date for nominations: 4 August 2025
• Opening date for voting if an election is required: 16 August 2025
• Closing date for voting: 6 September 2025

Candidates for election must:

• Be voting members of Croquet England (any subscriber aged 16 or over can register as a voting member by completing a simple form and declaration)
• Be proposed and seconded by voting members of Croquet England registered to vote in the constituency in which they are standing for election
• Be habitually resident in the constituency in which they are standing for election
• Agree to stand

Further information is available about the elections and the skills sought from trustees.

To stand for election, please complete a nomination form and return it to returning.officer#croquetengland.org.uk

Croquet England is looking for new trustees

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

Would you like to use your skills and experience to develop the sport of Croquet? If so, have you considered serving as a trustee? If you are a member of Croquet England in one of the four constituencies with vacancies for elected trustees this year (the Central Counties and Wales, the Eastern Counties, the South West Counties and the Weald Counties), look out for the details of how to stand for election coming soon. Meanwhile, the existing trustees are also looking to appoint additional Independent Non-Executive Trustees.

About Us: Croquet England, the governing body of the sport of Croquet, is looking for 2 enthusiastic and skilled individuals to join our Board of Trustees. Croquet is a great sport with a fascinating heritage, that is played in England by roughly 10,000 players across more than 200 clubs.

Croquet England has a small operating budget of around £200k a year so much of the work of running competitions, selecting the national team, coaching, publication of the Croquet Gazette magazine, and developing the sport is done through committees of hard-working volunteers.

After over a century of croquet being governed by an unincorporated association, Croquet England was incorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2023 and started operating in 2024, with the elected Council members of the previous association as the first trustees. In future half the trustees will be elected by the voting membership, and half will be appointed. As we work towards meeting the standards of Tier 3 of the Code for Sports Governance, we seek to make our first appointments to help us build on the successful first year of operation and to progress our strategy, aimed at getting More People playing More Croquet in More Places.

Our Vision: We aim to increase club membership and participation in tournaments and develop future talent pipelines to retain our existing world titles and win more. The average age of our players is steadily increasing and we want to reverse that trend and recruit younger and more diverse players. We would love to recruit new Trustees who can help us meet with these goals.

The Role: The Board of Trustees meets 7 times a year online and once a year in person in London. The time commitment is around 15 days pa but could be more if you become involved in project work. It is unpaid, with specific expenses covered.

We are particularly interested in individuals with experience in:

• Governance in other sports
• Developing and implementing diversity and inclusion strategies
• Fundraising, or safeguarding

Our Commitment: We value diversity, equality, and inclusion and strive to provide an inclusive and supportive environment for all volunteers and employees. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are particularly interested in hearing from women, younger applicants, and those from different cultural heritages.

How to Apply: To apply, send your CV and a covering letter outlining your interest in the role and your relevant experience and skills to the Secretary, gabrielle.higgins#croquetengland.org.uk.

• Closing Date: 12 July 2025
• Interviews: by Microsoft Teams on an agreed date, followed by a face-to-face meeting for preferred candidates

Additional Information: For more information, see the role description and person specification or visit our website. For an informal conversation about the opportunity, please contact the Chair, samir.patel#croquetengland.org.uk, or the Vice-Chair, carol.driver#croquetengland.org.uk.

Newport beat Pinchbeck 4-3

by Francis Lambert at Newport [^]
6th June (AC - Longman Cup)

Despite last minute illness and the inadvertent fielding of an ineligible player, Newport managed to win this encounter, played at Newport on 5 June, by 4 games to 3.

Scores were as follows, Newport players first

Andrew Gregory (2) and Chris van Essen (9) lost to Ken Knock (6) and David Boxell (18) 2 - 26 (match forfeit to Pinchbeck in any case)

Alex Lake (8) beat Charles Ostler (4.5) 26 - 4

Jerome Gasson (9) beat Jonathan Toye (7) 26 - 0

Andrew Gregory beat Charles Ostler 27-17 (but match forfeit to Pinchbeck)

Alex Lake beat Ken Knock 26 - 0

Chris van Essen Lost to Jonathan Toye (14 - 18 T)

Jerome Gasson beat David Boxell (25 - 17 T)

Roehampton beat Dulwich 5-1

by Tim Russell at Roehampton [^]
6th June (GC - Inter-Club)

Results (Roehampton names first)

Reg Bamford beat Simon Carter 7-6, 7-2

Harry Fisher beat Pierre Beaudry 4-7, 7-6, 7-3

Nick Yates lost to Guy Scurfield 2-7, 4-7
Tim Russell beat Duncan Catterall 7-6 , 7-3
Nick Yates beat Duncan Catterall 7-3, 7-5
Reg Bamford and Harry Fisher beat Simon Carter and Pierre Beaudry
7-2, 7-4

Tim Russell v Guy Scurfield unfinished - 3-7

Roehampton beat Dulwich 5-1 on a rather cold and rainy summer evening at Roehampton, reversing last years result. Roehampton won the doubles fairly comfortably but both top singles games were close, with Reg very lucky to win his first game against Simon Carter having been down 6- 4. Reg drew level at 6-6 and then proceeded to leave both his balls short of the golden hoop, with his second ball nuzzling up behind his first ('saying hello' he called the shot!). Simon missed an angled jump soon after and Reg took his opportunity and won the second game comfortably.

Harry Fisher lost his first game to Pierre and the second looked like it was going the same way but he managed to turn things around to win at the golden hoop. The third game was somewhat more convincing with Harry in a hurry to catch a train.

Guy Scurfield was in good form beating Nick Yates in straight games with an impressive array of clearances and long hoop running, which continued in his unfinished match against Tim Russell. His game is well suited to Roehampton's lawns which were quick and true, despite significant rain through the day.

Reg Bamford's New Swing Trainer

by Dave Kibble [^]
4th June (Other News)

Reg Bamford, multiple-time World Champion in both AC and GC, has developed a Swing Trainer. It's the first of three croquet products (the others being a high-spec mallet and an aiming target device) that he hopes to make available in due course.

The purpose of the Swing Trainer is to groove one's swing through repeated use. Having used one (albeit irregularly) for the better part of 45 years, Reg attests to its effectiveness. The brief to his design/manufacturing team was to create a Swing Trainer that

1. weighed no more than 5-7kg
2. could be assembled in under 5 minutes
3. could be transported easily (including on an international flight)
4. is so beautiful you wanted to lick it (seriously, that was one of his requirements!)

He feels close to achieving all four!

Here are some videos:

• An explanation and description
• Hitting 8 balls in the Swing Trainer
• Hitting 16 balls after using the Swing Trainer

The Swing Trainer will be available for sale to individuals and clubs by the end of 2025. A website and more details will follow.

Colin Britt won the Cheltenham Challenge

by Ivor Brand at Cheltenham [^]
4th June (GC - Tournaments)

It became clear early on that this year's event was not going to be as supported as well as last year's 32 for some reason? The very 'select' group of 10 enjoyed, I believe a competitive competition on good lawns over two sunny days with extra entertainment thrown in for free!

The tournament itself was reduced to one large block of 10 all play all 13pt games, although with Ron Carter not showing up till 11am it was briefly truncated to a block of 9 with byes! At the end of day one after 6 rounds an undefeated Richard Brand was leading the way from the chasing pack. The following day saw Ivor Brand top the leader board over Colin Britt on net points and Richard Brand claiming the third place. The remaining knock out place also went down to net points being decided in the last round in favour of Ron Carter who stayed overnight rather than risk the M5 being shut again! The unfortunate Andy (Aussi) Barbero who missed out on qualifying proved his standing by winning the Consolation knock out over Caroline Denny 10-8.

In the semi-finals Ron made easy work of an under par Ivor 10-4, while Colin had a battle to come through on the golden after Richard missed his jump shot. The final was a close affair with Colin keeping his nose in front until at 8-6 they both approached the 'rover' hoop instead of going to hoop 1 (15). The confused 'crowd' eventually pointed out the error and normality continued with Colin keeping his 2 hoop advantage to win this year's Cheltenham challenge. (All results are on CS)

Finally, as always my gratitude goes to all the hard workers behind the scenes, ground staff and volunteers who come in early to set up the lawns, and provide the lovely afternoon teas.

Gill Brent won the Chester GC B-Level

by Tom Grievson at Chester [^]
4th June (GC - Tournaments)

Sixteen players converged on Chester's Westminster Park at 9am on a cloudy Saturday morning at the end of May 2025 to compete the 'Chester B'. They traveled from North Yorkshire and the Lakes, Western Wales, Gainsborough, Oxford and Ashby in the East and South and two from Chester. Handicaps of 4,5 and 6 predominated but there was a 3 sticking out at the top and an 8 and 9 gamely competing at the bottom.

Four bocks of four players, all-play-all, started promptly at 9.30am and, although we did not know it at the time, the very first rounds set the pattern for the tournament. The number nine seed recovered from four to one down to beat the favourite. The third seed was upended by the eleventh. The tenth seed beat the second and the fourth was defeated by twelfth. The tournament manager scrutinised the Dynamic Grades and handicap cards with worried frown lest he had made a hash of his rankings.

By lunchtime, three of those early giant-killers, Christine Thomas of Chester,Gill Brent of Bishop Monkton and Frank Sharps of Crake Valley), had stormed into the Cup knockout (to be played in the afternoon session) by each winning all three of their games. Paul Rockall of Gainsborough who had shone brightly in his first game faded somewhat but Clare Rockall (9 h/cap) maintained family honour by squeezing into the Cup knockout.

After lunch the eight Cup knockout group started quarters, semis, final and places games. The lower eight split into two groups of four, 1st Quartet and 2nd Quartet, to play semis, finals and places. This arrangement was to guard against possible medical issues with two competitors.

In the Cup group, the three front runners continued to demonstrate their good form and were joined by Alan Dix of Bowden who had settled into his game. And that is how it continued with the three early winners taking all the prime slots. Gill Brent beat the soon-to-be nonagenarian (4th July) Frank Sharps by 7 to 5 in a thrilling final.Gill got the Cup and Frank an engraved Plate. Christine Thomas came third by beating Alan Dix into fourth place by 7 to 5 in another very close and exciting game.

Robert Strover won the First Quartet by beating Sandy Grievson (8 handicap and very late entrant- thanks Sandy) and Stephanie White from Long Eaton Park took first place in the Second Quartet by beating Bernard Lord from Bury 7 to 4.

The tournament finished at almost exactly 5.00pm just as the clouds were drifting away and the Sun started to shine. It was a good croquet day.

Surbiton beat Roehampton 5-2

by Andrew Dibben at Surbiton [^]
4th June (AC - Mary Rose)

Andy Dibben (0) & Barry Holland (0.5) bt Nick Yates (1) & Peter Siddall (2.5) +4T
Mary Knapp (2) bt Andrew Wilson (9) +1T
Julian Sheraton-Davis lost to Diana Wilson -22
Andy Dibben lost to Nick Yates -17
Barry Holland beat Peter Siddall +6
Mary Knapp beat Diana Wilson +12
Julian Sheraton-Davis bt Andrew Wilson +15

Neil Adams won the Bowdon Advanced Weekend

by Ian Lines at Bowdon [^]
3rd June (AC)

Neil Adams won the Peterson Cup at the Bowdon Advanced Weekend on 31 May-1 June 2025. A full field of 16 enjoyed the excellent Bowdon hospitality and great catering ably provided by Lorna Frost and helpers. The recent rain meant that the lawns were only running at about 9.5 plummers, and with the slightly soft ground the hoops were relatively easy. The results in the first round went with seeding, and notably Euan Burridge gained his Gold Merit Award for his first ranking tp, beating Chris Williamson +20tp. The 2^nd round also went with seeding, with the slight exception of 5th seed Neil Adams beating Andrew Winn. In the semi-finals Ian Lines beat local Angharrad Walters +26tp, +3tpo, and Neil had a long match against Debbie Lines, but he eventually prevailed -4, +3, +24 by 3pm on Sunday. This only left time for a single game final, which Neil deservedly won +4 in a closely fought battle with only one real error from Ian, and some flawless play and excellent shooting from Neil. The Plate was run as flexible Swiss/Egyptian, and was won by Angharrad.

All results are in Croquet Scores at https://croquetscores.com/2025/ac/bowdon-advanced-weekend

More details and photos can be found at https://bowdoncroquet.co.uk/blog/2025/06/02/june-advanced-tournament-results-31st-may-1st-june/

Lionel Tibble wins Wrest Park GC Open

by Richard Keighley at Wrest Park [^]
3rd June (GC - Tournaments)

Warm sunshine greeted a full field of 16 competitors for this 2-day tournament in the National Series.

Block A featured top seed, Lionel Tibble (Northampton) who duly qualified with 5 wins but lost to Helen Reeves (Ramsgate) and Lynn Pearcy (Roehampton). He was bettered by Andy Loakes (Camerton & Peasedown) who had 6 wins. They were joined in the main knockout by Helen and Mike Bilton (Gainsborough) with 4 wins each.

Block B was won by Guy Scurfield with 6 wins, closely followed by Peter Tofield (Northampton) with 5 wins. Richard Brooks (Sussex County) duly qualified with 4 wins but the real drama was to work out who was to progress out of the 4 players with 3 wins each. Hoop count put paid to the hopes of Glynis Davies (Northampton) and David Thirtle-Watts (Hunstanton) but Kim Taylor (Enfield) had to rely on having beaten Edwin Bone (Eynsham) as both had identical net hoops.

Sunday 1^st June dawned fair again and there was a little breeze which provided more comfortable playing conditions. In the Quarter-Finals, Kim made the most of his fortunate qualification by beating Andy Loakes (7-5, 7-5) and Mike pipped Guy in a deciding game (7-6, 4-7, 7-5). Meanwhile, Helen and Lionel won in two games against Peter and Richard respectively.

Helen won her Semi-Final against Kim, both games by a margin of 7-6. Her reward was to meet Lionel, who had beaten Mike in 3 games, in the Final to see if she could repeat her win of the previous day. It was not to be as Lionel recovered from being 4 hoops down in their second game to win by 7-6, 7-6 in front of an appreciative crowd of spectators.

Richard Brooks won the Shield and David Thirtle-Watts returned to Hunstanton with the Plate. Prizes were presented by the Manager and Lionel kindly thanked him for his efforts and also George Collin, the groundsman. Richard Brooks kindly acted as RoT supported by an unusual number of 6 other referees.

Finishing Order:

1. Lionel Tibble 2. Helen Reeves 3. Kim Taylor 4. Mike Bilton

Woking lost to East Dorset 0-5

by Jeff Dawson at Woking [^]
3rd June (GC - Inter-Club)

East Dorset played Woking in the GC interclub today at Woking. East Dorset won 5-0 with two matches abandoned at 1-1 in the rain when it was clear that the results didn't matter.

Detailed results are on Croquetscores.

Ealing beat Surbiton 6-0

by Tony Elliott at Ealing [^]
2nd June (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

Played 1^st June 2025 at Ealing

Result - Ealing 6 Surbiton 0 (with one rubber left unfinished at 1-1)

Short report - Ealing were pleased to host a Surbiton team for a Second Round match in this new competition. Although the overall result looks rather one-sided, with Ealing not conceding even a single game in the six completed rubbers, the individual games were mostly much closer, with only one of the fourteen games being decided before hoop 10. The match was played in a friendly and sporting spirit throughout, and Ealing's burgeoning reputation for lunch-time hospitality was given a further boost by Jane's superb pavlova dessert !

Camerton & Peasedown lost to Caversham 3-4

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

Guildford beat Woking 4-3

by John Gosden at Unknown - not stated [^]
29 May (AC - Longman Cup)

Nottingham beat Ripon Spa w/o

by Cathy Turski [^]
31st May (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

Ray Hodgson wins Wrest Park GC C-Level

Ross Bagni presents Ray Hodgson with his prizes (Photo: Bernie Hodgson)

12 clubs were represented in this tournament, but nobody had travelled further than Ray Hodgson (Crake Valley) who made a winning debut in tournament play.

Manager, Ross Bagni advised all payers at the outset that he would in his discretion invoke the time limit provisions if games continued beyond 50 minutes for those using primary balls and 60 minutes for secondary ball games. In the event, he used this ability sparingly as players responded to his request to play speedily.

Four blocks of four were established on an all-play-all basis. In Block A, Marian Hardy (Barnet) and Elizabeth Wallace (Leighton-Linslade) progressed with 2 wins each. Ray Hodgson put his marker down by winning all 3 games in Block B and he was joined by Pamela Dawson (Gainsborough) with 2 wins. Liza Furnival (Eynsham) had 3 wins to head Block C and she progressed with Dena Howlett ((Cheam) who had 2 wins. Carol Huntington (Phyllis Court) and Chris Harrison (Wingrave) both scored 2 wins in Block D.

In the Quarter Finals, Pamela beat Marian (7-4) and Carol beat Dena (7-5). Chris inflicted a first defeat on Liza (7-5) and Ray continued his serene progress by beating Elizabeth (7-3).

The semi=Finals produced two excellent games which both went to the golden hoop. Pamela beat Carol and Ray pipped Chris. The Final was rather an anti-climax which Ray won by steady hoop-running and immaculate approach work. Pamela had played very well to this point but had no answer to Ray's patient play.

The Shield was won by Liza and the Plate Knockout produced a Final between two Watford Clubmates, Kevin Currie and Mike Grossmith which Kevin won (7-4).

Ross presented the prizes, thanked Ian Burridge for acting as RoT and his fellow club members for their help before and during the tournament

Finishing Order:

1. Ray Hodgson 2. Pamela Dawson 3. Chris Harrison 4. Carol Huntington

Peter Adams wins Wrest Park GC B-Level

by Richard Keighley at Wrest Park [^]
30th May (GC - Tournaments)

A full field of 16 players assembled for this one-day tournament in the National Series, which was won by Peter Adams (Guildford).

Four blocks were established in the usual format. Peter Adams gave an early indication of his good form by winning all 3 of his games and he was joined in the Knockout by Nick Boxall (Wrest Park). Tim Barzycki (Pinchbeck) and Stephanie White (Long Eaton Park) also progressed with 2 wins apiece as did Tony Elliott (Ealing) and Colin Carver (Enfield) in their block. In the final block, 3 players achieved 2 wins each. David Ball (Leighton-Linslade) and Nigel Owen (Enfield) progressed at the expense of Judith Rowe (Ashby) who missed out on countback by a single hoop.

In the Quarter Finals, Peter beat Stephanie (7-3) and Nick beat Tim by the same score. Nigel pipped Tony (7-5) and David beat Colin (7-4). The Semi-Finals were both closely fought with Peter beating Nigel (7-5) and David winning the golden hoop against Nick. Peter maintained his unbeaten run in the Final by beating David (7-5).

The Plate was also contested on a Knockout basis. It produced an exciting Final between Judith Pengelly (Leighton-Linslade) and Steve Baldwin (Compton (Eastbourne)). Judith suffered the same fate as her Clubmate David Ball in the main knockout by losing at the golden hoop.

Manager, Les Heard presented the prizes and thanked all his club colleagues who had assisted in the preparation and management of the tournament.

Finishing Order:

1.Peter Adams 2. David Ball 3. Nigel Owen 4. Nick Boxall

Pinchbeck beat Nottingham 4-1

by Ken Knock at Northampton [^]
30th May (AC - Longman Cup)

Pinchbeck beat Nottingham 4-1 at Northampton in the Longman Trophies

Date 30 May 25

Ken Knock & David Boxell beat Ben Shelton & Tom Dewar +8
Jonathan Toye beat Mark Innes +5

David Boxell beat Mark Innes +24
Jonathan Toye beat Tom Dewar +12
Ben Shelton beat Ken Knock +8

Newport beat Letchworth 5-2

by Francis Lambert at Newport [^]
30th May (AC - Longman Cup)

England Team to play GC Test v USA announced

by Chris Clarke at Budleigh Salterton [^]
29th May (CqE Official News)

Many congratulations to the players selected to represent England in the GC Test v USA to be held at Budleigh Salterton on 5-6 August. The England team will be

• Nick Archer
• Euan Burridge
• Jack Good
• Aston Wade (Captain)

Reserve: Tim Russell

The USA team will comprise

• Tom Balding
• Matthew Essick
• Kyle Maloof
• Stephen Morgan

Croquet England hopes to livestream some of the event, and spectators will be welcome. It should be a high-quality Test match against the World Champions.

Chris Clarke
Chair of GCSC

Bowdon lost to Pendle 0-7

by Lorna Frost at Bowdon [^]
29th May (AC - Longman Cup)

National Inter-Club Championship The Longman Cup

Pendle and Craven CC v Bowdon CC at Bowdon

The day started out unpromising with drizzle but was forecast to improve as it did with the weather turning hot and dry by the afternoon making the lawns speed up noticeably.

The Pendle and Craven team consisted of Paul Dowdall(7), Catherine Parnell(8), Andrew Gould(10) and Mark Kerr(12) with Mark, Andrew and Paul travelling to Bowdon together whilst Catherine travelled on her own from Bury

The Bowdon team were Andrew Thomson(4), Lorna Frost(11), John Bagnall(16) and Mike Blackburn(18).

The morning matches went well with Paul & Mark playing against Andrew & Lorna winning +1 on time. The others also won, Andrew beating Mike +9 and Catherine beating John +5 on time. This left the team three nil up at lunch with only one win needed to secure the win.

The afternoon matches were all singles and all went our way:

Paul beat Andrew +12
Catherine beat Lorna +12T
Andrew beat John +3T
Mark beat Mike +1T

This gave us a seemingly convincing 7-0 win but most of the games were very close and could easily have gone the other way.

Thanks to all the team, as well as to Libby Dixon, our non-playing captain.

Longman Cup match results Bowdon v Pendle 29th May

Bowdon:
Andrew Thomson 4
Lorna Frost (Captain) 11
John Bagnall 16
Mike Blackburn 18

Pendle:
Paul Dowdall (Captain) 7
Catherine Parnell 8
Andrew Gould 10
Mark Kerr 12

Morning games:
Andrew and Lorna lost -1T to Paul and Mark
John lost to Catherine -5T
Mike lost to Andrew -9

Afternoon games:
Andrew lost to Paul -12
Lorna lost to Catherine -12T
John lost to Andrew-3T
Mike lost to Mark -1T

Match Result: Bowdon 0 Pendle 7

East Dorset beat Bristol 6-1

by Mike Rice at East Dorset [^]
29th May (AC - Longman Cup)

Broadwas lost to Bath 2-5

by Neil Pinker at Cheltenham [^]
28 May (AC - Secretary's Shield)

Watford beat Leicester 4-3

by Geoff Johnson at Watford [^]
29th May (GC - Murphy Shield)

The national schools croquet championships

by Joel Taylor [^]
28th May (Other News)

The national schools croquet championships were played at Surbiton with both the doubles and singles championships being contested by a total of 36 players from 6 schools. Both events were played simultaneously with the doubles played as a straight knockout and the singles a swiss event for players eliminated from the knockout (or players who elected to play only singles). All games were played level 14 point on half lawns, and a total of 76 games were played in the day. Many students were playing in their first ever tournament, and were surprised by how exhausting a full day of croquet can be, and how many rules there are. There were multiple debates among players over the length of a yard, which reinforces the need for croquet to modernise its units of measure.

The doubles championship was dominated by Radley College who had three of their four pairs reach the semi finals. The final was won by Patrick Hall & Jimmy Butterworth (Radley). Patrick is now undefeated in this tournament for two consecutive years, and it was great to see the improvement in his skills and knowledge of the game over that time.

With 36 players and two concurrent events, it was always going to be a challenge to complete the singles swiss, and so it proved. Two players who played the minimum four games finished undefeated with no time for a playoff, and if there was time for a playoff then at least one more player would have also won 4 out of 4. The singles championship was won by Rufus Howard-Sneyd (Eton), who won all six of his games, including a well contested final against Teddy de Putron (Eton). Both players completed several six-hoop breaks with recognisable leaves throughout the day. Honourable mention to August Deeming (Winchester), who won 4 out of 4, but did not have time to test his skills against Rufus.

Full results are on croquetscores.

This is the third year of the tournament, with the number of entries growing from 16 to 24 to 36. A two-day tournament will probably be necessary next year if that trend continues. Special thank you to Andy Dibben who did all the work setting the hoops for day. With 10 half lawns required, Surbiton were stretched to their limits for hoops and balls, but looking at it from the perspective of the future of croquet, it's not a bad problem to have.

Thank you also to the teachers who gave up their Sunday to bring their students to the event, and without whose support this tournament would not have been possible.

Nottinghamshire won the 2025 AC Inter-County Championship

Inter-county Championship Winners 2025: Nottingham

They started the last round on 8 wins, with nearest rivals Middlesex and Surrey on 7 wins each. Nottinghamshire's first two game wins in the last round meant the trophy was theirs, although the third game win took a little longer to complete. The Division 1 presentation was held indoors, while the last two matches involving Division 2 leaders Oxfordshire and Dorset continued in the rain.

Oxfordshire finally won their last Division 2 match against Yorkshire to complete a clean sweep of 10 wins, having beaten Dorset in the penultimate round. They only lost four games in the whole tournament.

At the bottom of Division 1, Sussex, Suffolk and Glamorgan were relegated and will play in Division 2 in 2026.

Oxfordshire, Dorset and Cheshire are promoted from Division 2 to Division 1 for next year. Cheshire and Warwickshire both had the same number of match and game wins, but Cheshire was the winner in the match between them.

Many thanks to Sussex County and Compton Croquet Clubs for hosting the tournament once again, and to all the volunteers for their hard work.

Thanks also to Simon Hathrell and David Maugham for the provision of a new plinth and box for the Division 1 trophy.

Full match results can be found on CroquetScores at https://croquetscores.com/2025/ac/inter-county-championship

Hurlingham beat Sussex County w/o

by Stephen Allen at Hurlingham [^]
28th May (AC - Mary Rose)

Watford lost to Sussex County 0-7

by Chrissie Merrington at Watford [^]
28th May (AC - Longman Cup)

Sussex County beat Watford 7/0

The Longman Trophy played at Watford on 24^th May 2025.

Simon Fenn-Tye (9) & Robyn Clarke (16) beat Arthur Reed (4) & Roger Bowman (9) +16

David Dickens (10) beat Michael Broadway (9) +16

Nigel Billingham (12) beat Eddie Chong (8) +15

Simon Fenn-Tye beat Arthur Reed +16

David Dickens beat Eddie Chong +9

Nigel Billingham beat Roger Bowman +25

Robyn Clarke beat Michael Bowman +20

Cheam lost to Sussex County 3-4

by David Dickins at Cheam [^]
28th May (GC - Murphy Shield)

Southport beat Chester 4-3

by Susan Wilkie at Southport [^]
28th May (GC - Murphy Shield)

Croquet England McWeeney Trophy Team Announced - Sponsored by Ambassador Cruise Line!

2025 McWeeney Team Selected

We're delighted to announce the Croquet England Challenge team selected to compete for the prestigious McWeeney Trophy against the Croquet Association of Ireland, proudly sponsored by Ambassador Cruise Line!

Representing Croquet England in this much anticipated fixture are:
Neil Coote
Tobi Savage
Charlie Martin
Paul Hetherington (captain)
Trevor Longman
Deborah Marcus

Thank you to those who have put themselves forward for this fixture. This year's contest promises to be a thrilling display of talent, strategy and international spirit. Stay tuned for updates as we prepare to take on Ireland in this celebrated clash!

We're still calling on players to make themselves available for selection in the upcoming Croquet England vs. Scottish Croquet Association match. Don't miss the chance to wear the Croquet England colours and be part of this exciting challenge. The deadline to put yourself forward is the 18^th June.

Penrith beat Chester 4-3

by Ian Tupling at Penrith [^]
22nd May (AC - Longman Cup)

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)