Election for new President of Croquet England

by Gabrielle Higgins [^]
30th July (CqE Official News)

Following the announcement of Patricia Duke-Cox's retirement as President of Croquet England with effect from the end of the AGM in October 2025, nominations are invited for her successor.

The role of President conveys no executive powers, but the President represents Croquet England at significant events, including presenting prizes or arranging for others to do so, and chairs Annual General Meetings. The President is entitled, if they wish, to attend meetings of the Board of Trustees and the Executive.

Candidates may be proposed and seconded by any Member of Croquet England (i.e. any subscriber who has registered to vote). The Board of Trustees will also propose a candidate. If more than one candidate is proposed, Members will be asked to elect who will serve as the next President, using a Single Transferable Vote.

To nominate a candidate, please send a nomination form giving the names of the candidate, the proposer and the seconder and any personal statement by the candidate to gabrielle.higgins#croquetengland.org.uk by 11.59pm on 16th September 2025.

Croquet England Trustee elections: call for nominations

Croquet England Trustee elections: call for nominations

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 old counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire, and Wales)
• The Eastern Counties (the old counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Suffolk)
• The South West Counties (the old 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. Guidance for prospective trustees is also available.

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

Hurlingham beat East Dorset 6-1

by Stephen Allen at Hurlingham [^]
1st August (AC - Mary Rose)

Hurlingham beat East Dorset 6-1

Scores (Hurlingham names first):

Morning:

Stephen Allen & Ludolph van Hasselt beat to Andrew Meikle & Steve Leonard +17

Guy Hewitt lost to Christine Rice -7

Martin Read beat David Williams +19

Afternoon:

Stephen Allen beat Andrew Meikle +14

Ludolph van Hasselt beat Steve Leonard +24

Guy Hewitt beat David Williams +17

Martin Read beat Christine Rice +14

Hurlingham Handicaps:

Stephen Allen (0)

Ludolph van Hasselt (2)

Guy Hewitt (2)

Martin Read (2.5)

East Dorset Handicaps:

Andrew Meikle (3.5)

Steve Leonard (3.5)

David Williams (4)

Christine Rice (4.5)

2025 Students Championship

Players in the 2025 Students

On the 26^th/27^th of July, the Oxford University Association Croquet Club (OUACC) proudly hosted the annual Student Croquet Championships - a prestigious tournament where the skill levels range from 'why are you holding that big hammer upside down' to 'I've spent every waking minute of the last 12 months prepping for this tournament'.

This year, students travelled across the UK and Europe to participate, with entrants from four universities: the usual suspects - Cambridge, Oxford, and Manchester - and an international wildcard from Bocconi University in Milan. Unfortunately, we missed out on the usual presence of the mighty Aston Wade and Teddy W-Sitwell (former OUACC President).

The weekend's play kicked off bright and early - painfully early, some might say - with a doubles match between Oxford and Manchester at 8am on Saturday. Despite most players being over a month into their (not so healthy) summer holiday sleeping routines, they took to the lawns with fire in their eyes, proving once again that association croquet is as much a battle of wits and strategy as it is a test of who can stay awake for 3 hours straight. By 2pm, sleep-induced delirium was reaching record levels, but the warriors were fed and the enthusiasm to get the singles underway was intoxicating.

Midway through the first round of singles, Cambridge's duo Jack and James (J&J) had a sudden realisation: they had no accommodation for the evening. Fortunately, their friend Jamie had been tasked with finding somewhere to stay, but the task proved more difficult than anticipated. In response, the trio, J&J&J, developed a detailed well-thought-out plan to simply sleep next to the lawns in the park, minimising the next morning's travel time and maximising that evening's much needed shut eye. However, after a spontaneous agreement that the evening would consist of a night out in Oxford, this grand plan lost its appeal as it would require J&J&J to drunkenly climb a 15-foot bayonet-topped fence under the light of nothing but the moon and a distant streetlamp. Instead, they booked a late-night bus to some off-grid Airbnb.

After a heroic day of play, all 8 students retired to a local pub, The Royal Oak, to rehydrate. With losers of the day's games unapologetically declaring the winners are morally obliged to buy them a pint, it was not long before shouts of a pub crawl were being heard across the table. With J&J&J determined to sample Oxford's nightlife, the evening culminated in a 3am return home and alarms set for four hours later.

As Sunday morning rolled around, 8 bleary eyed zombies once again returned to the lawns for the doubles final, the singles final and the plate final. With each match as riveting as the last, Oxford University was lucky enough to come home with both the doubles and singles trophies.

We were also fortunate enough to have international croquet legend, Harry Fisher, present the trophies to the winners after an excellent speech about the history of the tournament and the significance of the trophies.

All in all, the tournament was a great success, and it was wonderful to see so many young players travelling from around the world to play some Association Croquet.

Singles winner: Charlie Sharpe, University of Oxford

Doubles winners: Charlie Sharpe & Teodoro D'Agostino, University of Oxford

The 2025 GC Veterans Championship was won by Simon Carter

Simon Carter & Tim Russell (Photo: Ray Hall)

Play at Sussex County Croquet Club took place over three days. 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 the following morning, followed by a knockout and plate stage.

Conditions were good at Southwick; the Quadway hoops were set to their narrowest standard, which still gave a generous clearance and made the hoops manageable.

By the end of the first day, of the top seeds Tim Russell had 6 wins out of 7 games, losing to Trevor Smith; James Field had 5/7 wins, losing to Steiner Olsen and John Carr (who played like a man possessed all tournament with superbly accurate shooting), and Tournament Referee Ian Shore, who was not having a great day despite some excellent clearances and a wonderful jump shot ending to one game, finishing the day with 3/7 wins. The surprise, however, was Simon Carter who lost 3 games on the first day (3 happy players could go home saying they beat the eventual champion!)

Outside of the top seeds, others were having a good day: Phil Davies (ranked in the bottom sixth of the event) won 5/7 games on the first day, and a further 3 on the second to win him a place in the knockout stage.

By the end of the block stage it was Dochniak, Olsen, Russell and Farrow who qualified from the red block (in that order) and Huttley, Davies, Carter and Wise in the blue block.

In the quarter-finals, Simon Carter, finding form which was evading him on the first day, Tim Russell and David Wise made short work of their opponents, with Mark Huttley winning in three hard-fought games against Liz Farrow. A 7-3, 7-2 win for Simon against Mark Huttley and a harder 3 game win for Tim against David Wise set up the final for the afternoon of the final day.

Simon kindly described the final for me:

Old rivals and good friends, Simon Carter and Tim Russell, met in the final. As top seeds in their blocks, this was the expected outcome, but their paths to this point had not been without hiccups and surprises in the block stage. Simon had a particularly scrappy first day, losing three games. Tim's progress was smoother, though he did lose to the event's oldest player, Trevor Smith. Simon had then found his form and cruised in straight games to the final, while Tim had a very close best of three with David Wise in the semi to secure his place.

The final began with Simon on cracking form, running hoops from distance and leaving Tim wondering how he'd got to 6-1 down so rapidly. However, Tim showed true grit, guile and talent to claw the game back to 6 all before Simon ran a slightly nervy 13.

The second game was Tim's from start to finish at 7-3, with Simon never really having a look in, setting up a crowd pleasing third game. This last one ebbed and flowed, with strong long-range clearances from both players, and the score was soon 4 all with every hoop being a tussle. Hoop 9-as so often is the case-was the turning point. Tim had put in what seemed like a narrow blocker that saw Simon prone on the grass in Mulliner fashion, before executing a long, angled shot to squeak past, and straight down to just by hoop 10. More tussles ensued before Tim levelled the game at 6 all. Simon's first approach to 12 had perfect weight but was the victim of a sneaky curve that swung it into the back of the hoop. Shoulders slumped, Simon waited for the inevitable jump from Tim to claim the title, but as we all know, a jump from a yard in a friendly is not the same at 13 in a championship. Tim blobbed the shot, but left his ball in front, leaving Simon to have a go, and once again, the nerves showed but Simon did achieve 'ball swap' leaving his own ball snugly into the hoop and Tim out of options.

It was a very well fought, good natured final that could have gone either way and Tim will be back next year to try to reclaim it from Simon!

The plate event, with 14 players taking part, was arranged as 7 rounds of cross-block play, in the expectation that it might peter out towards the end, which indeed it did with long journeys beckoning some players and the prospect of a good final to watch for others.

At least 5 games were played by all and at that point Ian Shore, the only player to have won all his games, was declared the winner. Sadly, there is no trophy for the plate event, so Ian fashioned his own from a paper plate and 'engraved' it himself; hopefully Croquet England can find a proper trophy for future years (and for the shield too).

Whilst the final was engrossing the crowd at Southwick, Shield finalists Liz Farrow and Phil Davies were quietly battling away on Lawn 4. Liz took the first game easily at 7-0 but Phil pulled himself together for the second, winning 7-6. The last game slipped away from him however, with Liz taking the game at 7-3.

Congratulations to the winners and to all who took part. The whole event was played in genuine good humour and with enjoyment.

We were sorry that this year, for the first time since the GC Vets was established, Richard Brooks was unable to play in the tournament for family reasons; however, he was able to attend the final and presented the Brooks Vase to Liz Farrow who won it for the second year running as the best-placed player over 75.

Watford AC Midweek B-Level Advanced

by Simon Hathrell at Watford [^]
23 Jul (AC)

This year's tournament was at full capacity with 16 entrants, split by Dgrade (and as it happens, also by handicap) into two independent blocks, an 'A' block of 10 in a Flexible Swiss format and an all-play-all 'B' block of 6, the latter played with 3-hour time-limits per game.

Both blocks were well-contested with numerous close finishes and last-minute changes of fortune. One example was in a game between Geoff Johnson and John Smallbone late in the evening of the first day. With a ball having been pegged out and with John for rover and peg, Geoff gained the innings and made it to rover, which he then failed off John's peg ball. John duly dispatched Geoff to near corner III and set up with his partner ball close to rover. Geoff shot from III at the two balls near rover, missed both, but ran rover instead by a couple of feet! - for an easy +3 finish. Also on the first evening with one ball already for peg, Charlie Martin was sailing round on a finishing break against Heather Bennett, with Heather's balls then for penult and rover, until he also failed a short hoop at rover with all the balls nearby. Heather hit in with her backward ball and was able to make penult and a rover peel to win +3.

The closest finish however was in the game between Geoff Johnson and Andrew Dutton on the second day. Geoff pegged both Andrew and himself out to leave a 2-ball finish with his second ball laid up in front of rover, and Andrew's second ball - then for 4-back - near corner IV. Andrew hit the long roquet and made an excellent long roll up to 4-back to make 4-back and penult on a 2-ball break, but then failed rover to one side. There then followed a situation which had the manager scrabbling for a Laws book to check the rules on impasse; but the potential impasse was finally resolved when Geoff shot and missed at a sliver of a ball hiding the other side of rover. Andrew then hit Geoff, but again failed rover, so Geoff hit Andrew, dispatched him to near hoop 2, but stuck in the jaws of rover himself. Andrew shot from distance, hitting the wire of rover and ending up a couple of yards behind and to the side of rover... but Geoff's ball had been knock through rover by a foot in the process! Since the shot had not been watched by an umpire a question arose as to whether Geoff's ball had been moved by Andrew's ball or by the hoop. Following a test the RoT concluded that it could not have been moved there by the hoop, so the roquet (and the peel!) was given, leaving Andrew an easy hoop approach and +1 finish.

The final outcome in both blocks depended on the results of the last round. In the 'A' block, what looked like it should be the decider between Andrew Dutton and Charlie Martin turned into a more complicated scenario when it became apparent that if Andrew won AND if Peter Rothwell beat Stephen Allen then Andrew and Peter would both be tied on 4/5 wins, without having played each other. And so it transpired. The "Matchpoints" tie-breaker also failed to separate them, leaving it to the next tie-breaker "Win Quality". On this measure Peter emerged the tournament winner by virtue of having beaten opponents with more wins than the tally of wins by the players that Andrew had beaten. Meanwhile in the 'B' block the results meant that the lead was also shared between Simon Turner, Andre Machell and Alex Lever, each on 3/5 wins; but in this case the outcome was easier to resolve because Andre had beaten both Simon and Alex in their individual encounters, so Andre won the block.

Results:
Block A
Nick Archer beat Gary Bennett +4
Charlie Martin beat Geoff Johnson +8
Andrew Dutton beat John Smallbone +18
Heather Bennett beat Stephen Allen +13
Peter Rothwell beat Stephen Mills +22
Stephen Allen beat Geoff Johnson +7
Nick Archer beat Andrew Dutton +22
Charlie Martin beat Stephen Mills +2
Peter Rothwell beat Heather Bennett +23
John Smallbone beat Gary Bennett +13
Stephen Allen beat Nick Archer +2
Charlie Martin beat Peter Rothwell +4
Andrew Dutton beat Gary Bennett +14
Stephen Mills beat Heather Bennett +16
Geoff Johnson beat John Smallbone +3
Heather Bennett beat Charlie Martin +3
Charlie Martin beat Stephen Allen +10
Andrew Dutton beat Geoff Johnson +1
Peter Rothwell beat Nick Archer +4
Heather Bennett beat John Smallbone +18
Stephen Mills beat Gary Bennett +5
Nick Archer beat Heather Bennett +7
Andrew Dutton beat Charlie Martin +16
Peter Rothwell beat Stephen Allen +11
Stephen Mills beat John Smallbone +20
Gary Bennett beat Geoff Johnson +14
Block B
Simon Turner beat Tony Elliott +8(T)
Alex Lever beat Robin Tasker +17
Andy Evason beat Andre Machell +20
Tony Elliott beat Robin Tasker +18
Andre Machell beat Simon Turner +4
Alex Lever beat Andy Evason +17
Simon Turner beat Alex Lever +13
Andre Machell beat Tony Elliott +10
Andy Evason beat Robin Tasker +3(T)
Robin Tasker beat Andre Machell +10
Simon Turner beat Andy Evason +18
Alex Lever beat Tony Elliott +18
Robin Tasker beat Simon Turner +23
Andre Machell beat Alex Lever +10
Tony Elliott beat Andy Evason +9

Tournament winners: Peter Rothwell, Andre Machell

Players & handicaps:

Alex Lever (6)
Andrew Dutton (1)
Andre Machell (6)
Andy Evason (7)
Charlie Martin (1)
Gary Bennett (3)
Geoff Johnson (3)
Heather Bennett (1.5)
John Smallbone (4.5)
Nick Archer (.5)
Peter Rothwell (1.5)
Robin Tasker (5)
Simon Turner (5)
Stephen Allen (0)
Stephen Mills (2.5)
Tony Elliott (6)

Handicap change: Peter Rothwell 1.5 to 1; Gary Bennett 3 to 3.5

England Victorious at GC Home Internationals 2025

The victorious England team (Photo: Louise Smith)

England emerged as the clear winners at the 2025 Golf Croquet Home Internationals, held at Balgreen Croquet Club in Edinburgh on 19-20 July. Fielding a strong team of Euan Burridge, J.P. Moberly (Captain), Sam Cuthbert, and Stuart M. Smith, England won all three of their test matches, with a decisive 6-0 victory over Scotland and 5-0 victories over Wales and Ireland.

Wales and Ireland each recorded a test match win and drew their encounter against one another, while Scotland secured several hard-fought individual victories over the weekend.

Congratulations to England- and many thanks to Balgreen for hosting a superb event.

A full report will be issued in the Gazette, and all results can be found on Croquet Scores:

https://croquetscores.com/2025/gc/home-internationals-at-balgreen-scotland/summary

GC English National Doubles Champions Crowned at Budleigh

Dom Aarvold & Tim Russell (Photo: Debo Albertsen)

Budleigh Salterton hosted the 2025 GC English National Doubles Championship on 26-27 July, welcoming 16 pairs from across the country. After two days of high-quality play, Tim Russell & Dom Aarvold emerged as champions, defeating defending titleholders James Death & Sam Cuthbert in an excellent three-game final.

Diana Wilson & Louise Smith claimed the Plate title, while the Shield went to Tim Jolliff & Raouf Allim.

Thanks to all players, volunteers, and Budleigh's brilliant grounds team for a fantastic weekend of croquet.

A full report will be featured in the Gazette - all results can be found on Croquet Scores:

https://croquetscores.com/2025/gc/english-national-doubles-championship/competition/championship-ko

David Artingstall wins GC 'C' Level series Tournament at Bury

David Artingstall receives the trophy from David Barrett

David Artingstall (Bury) won the GC 'C' Level trophy for the second year running beating Eddie Wilson (Backworth) in the Final (7-1).

A full complement of 12 players came to a warm and sunny Whitehead Park, and it was good to welcome several new faces from around the country.

Play consisted of two blocks. Block A was dominated by Eddie Wilson who won all 5 of his matches, closely followed by David Artingstall who won 4 of his matches, (losing 1 to Eddie Wilson!), and securing their places in the Semi Final

Block B was closely contested but Karen Bowes and Ray Hodgson (both Crake Valley) won 4 games each to go through to join Eddie and David in the Semi Final.

Both matches were closely fought but Eddie beat Karen (7-6), and David beat Ray (7-5), therefore fellow Crake Valley players Karen and Ray contested the 3^rd/4^th Playoff. In a close match Karen came through to win (7-6)

The 5^th/6^th Playoff between John Bowes (Crake Valley) and Pamela Dawson (Gainsborough) was another closely fought match which John won (7-6). He was awarded the Plate.

Alan Munday (Belsay Hall) beat Kim Dalland (7-5) in the 7^th/8^th Playoff.

Another closely fought match in the 9^th/10^th Playoff between Kate Packham (Nottingham) and Brenda Knight (Crake Valley) saw Kate come through (7-6) to win the Shield.

Sharon De Maine (Pendle and Craven) withdrew from the 11th/12^th Playoff against Barbara Duncan (Bury)

David beat Eddie (7-1) in the Final and took the Trophy for a second year and despite the scoreline we experienced some exciting play and great shots from both men, along with some tense crowd pleasing moments.

Club President, David Barrett, presented the trophies and medals.

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

Full results can be seen on Croquet Scores

Patricia Duke-Cox retires as President of Croquet England

Patricia Duke-Cox wishes to announce her retirement as President of Croquet England with effect from the end of the AGM in October 2025.

Having taken on the role of President of the Croquet Association when Quiller Barrett stood down in October 2022, overseeing AGMs in 2023, two in 2024, and 2025 she feels the time is right for another to provide relevant experience for a national charitable organisation and has much pleasure is proposing Jonathan Isaacs for that role.

Patricia says "I have been pleased to represent Croquet England within the Domain at major events and at club level with an emphasis on attending events that involve younger players such as Cuppers at Cambridge, Students championship at Oxford and the Schools and Juniors at Nottingham. In addition, it was an honour to have been invited and to attend celebrations for clubs' special occasions. Another privilege has been the invitation to attend meetings of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Board to keep abreast of current strategies."

Samir Patel responded "It has been a great pleasure to work with Patricia Duke-Cox during my term as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Croquet England. I have found her advice valuable as we have charted our course. I thank her for this contribution, and wish her a long and happy retirement."

Details of the process for election of a new President will be announced soon.

Phyllis Court 2 beat Bromley 6-1

by Christopher Roberts at Phyllis Court [^]
19 Jul (GC - Federations Shield)

PCC 'B' 6 - 1 Bromley

?Phyllis Court's 'Team B' team scored an excellent 6-1 victory over visitors Bromley to reach the National Final of the Federations Shield Handicap (Advantage) competition today.
In doing so, they avenged the defeat suffered by our 'A' team at the hands of Bromley in the previous round.

Heavy overnight rain returned for the first hour or so of play and in enough abundance to cause concern for the completing of the fixture, but its mid-morning easing settled the nerves on that score.

Phyllis Court got off to a terrific start with captain Raghu Iyer and Dee McKibbin winning their morning singes 5-7, 4-4, 7-6 and 7-1, 7-5 against Caroline Burden and Martin Daniels respectively.

Quite a while afterwards, Helen Essa and Rob Eagle won their doubles rubber as well, in a closely fought affair, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 against Adam Newbould and Karen Newbould, to put Phyllis Court in the commanding position of needing just one of the four afternoon singles matches to clinch the team win.

Bromley were not done so soon though, and took all four matches to third and deciding games and kept Phyllis Court honest when they won the first games in two of the rubbers.

Essa had an easy first game win 7-1 but an impressive comeback by Bromley captain Karen Newbould kept her side in the fixture just 7-1, 4-7, 6-7.

However, wins for Iyer (v Daniels), 7-4, 6-7, 7-1, McKibbin (v Adam Newbould) 3-7, 7-4, 7-6 and Eagle (v Burden) 6-7, 7-6, 7-1 sealed Phyllis Court's victory with aplomb and a resounding 6-1 score line.
.

PCC 'B' - Raghu Iyer (3), Dee McKibbin (5), Helen Essa (5), Rob Eagle (6)
Bromley - Martin Daniels (1), Adam Newbould (2), Karen Newbould (3), Caroline Burden (6)
.
Phyllis Court will contest the National Final versus the winner of the other semi-final between Colchester and Crake Valley.

Newport beat Ashby 7-0

by Alex Lake at Newport [^]
27th July (AC - Longman Cup)

High Wycombe beat Sussex County 4-3

by Chris Williams at Unknown - not stated [^]
19 Jul (AC - Longman Cup)

High Wycombe scores first

Kenny Weir (14) and Matt Miles Griffiths (14) beat Simon Fenn-Tye (8) and David Gillett (8) +14t
Alan Clark (3.5) lost to Nigel Billingham (9) -20t
Richard Coward (7) lost to Steve Chapman (6) -5t

Alan Clark (3.5) beat Steve Chapman (6) +6t
Richard Coward (7) beat David Gillet (8) +11t
Kenny Weir (14) beat Nigel Billingham (9) +7t
Matt Miles Griffiths (14) lost to Simon Fenn-Tye (8) -11t

Bowdon lost to Bury 3-4

by Ken Jones at Bowdon [^]
25 Jul (AC - Mary Rose)

Result of Mary Rose quarter final match between Bowdon and Bury, played at Bowdon on Friday 25 July.

Bury won 4-3.

Individual game scores (Bowdon names first):

Charles Harding (0.5) & Brian Medley (1) lost to Paul Kenworthy (0.5) & Ken Jones (3.5) -4(t)
Robert Essler (1) beat Richard Leach (10) +10(t)
Sylvia Steer (7) lost to Tony Phillips (4.5) -6(t)

Charles Harding beat Paul Kenworthy +1(t)
Brian Medley beat Ken Jones +22
Robert Essler lost to Tony Phillips -10(t)
Sylvia Steer lost to Richard Leach -4(t)

Phyllis Court lost to East Dorset 3-4

by Mike Rice at Phyllis Court [^]
26th July (AC - Longman Cup)

Guildford beat Hamptworth 5-0

by Andrea Huxley at Guildford & Godalming [^]
25 Jul (GC - Murphy Shield)

ICS (Murphy Shield) Guildford and Godalming v Hamptworth CC

played at Guildford & Godalming 25 July 2025

Doubles Douglas Shand & Julie Tremble beat Richard Smith & Hugh Risebrow 7-4, 7-3

Singles
1 GOSDEN John beat HAMMOND Bill 7 0
2 GOSDEN John beat HAMMOND Bill 7 5
3 LOCKWOOD Andrew beat EKE Michael 7 3
4 EKE Michael beat LOCKWOOD Andrew 7 5
5 LOCKWOOD Andrew beat EKE Michael 7 5
6 SHAND Douglas beat SMITH Richard 7 4
7 SHAND Douglas beat SMITH Richard 7 5
8 TREMBLE Julie beat RISEBROW Hugh 7 5
9 TREMBLE Julie beat RISEBROW Hugh 7 4
10 EKE Michael beat GOSDEN John 7 5
11 GOSDEN John beat EKE Michael 7 6
12 HAMMOND Bill beat LOCKWOOD Andrew 7 6
13 LOCKWOOD Andrew beat HAMMOND Bill 7 3

Guildford and Godalming beat Hamotworth 5 games to 0

AC Eights Selections

by James Death [Admin] [^]
23rd July (AC)

Note: The President's Cup and Selectors' are in alphabetical order, others (including reserves) are in order of merit.

Eights Week Conditions

Previous winners are in the history section.

Liza Furnival won the Cheltenham C-Level GC event

Liza Furnival wins the Barter Cup

Once again this weekend's Barter Trophy was quickly oversubscribed to the point where next year's allocation will be increased to 24. However, this year's 4 block winners were Liza Furnival, Brenda Duplock, Claire Herring, (all undefeated) and Richard Pinder who went through to the knock out stage with their respective runner ups. The remaining players went into their own consolation knock out plate. This was won by Jill Shaw 7-2 over Andy Brister. The main event saw Liza Furnival continue to dominate, while Graham Brooksbank had to battle his way through his opponents 7-5 and 7-6

The final was of a high standard and saw Graham race to a 5-2 lead, but was pulled back to 6-6, leaving him first up to the 13^th unfortunately he was short, surprisingly so too was Liza giving the advantage back to Graham. Their next two balls were better and Graham did indeed have the first shot which landed on the near wire leaving Liza a wide gate to go in off which she did settling in the jaws. Graham could do little to remove it and Liza promoted herself through to retain the 'Barter trophy' for a second consecutive year!

(All scores are on CS.) It is normal to thank everyone at the club that help to set up and run a tournament for others to enjoy. However, I would like to particularly identify Brian Jamieson for making himself available to referee throughout the day, which allowed me to rest!

Debbie Lines is Super-Advanced champion of England

Roehampton at 11 & 3

Players arrived at Roehampton for its annual gold cup advanced weekend to find the heavy overnight rain had created lakes where there were once croquet courts. Eventually the rain stopped and just as it looked as if they might start drying out, the heavens opened again and the flooding became worse than before. Frustrated by the lack of croquet, some of the players retired to the main clubhouse and invented an icosohedral dice-based croquet board game. With rain still falling, lunch was taken and hopes began to fade of any play on Saturday; one player even chose to go home. However, as forecast, the rain abated shortly after lunch, and a combination of sandy soil and a lot of hard work by players with the rollers and the bowdry (other brands of water soakeruperers are available) the courts became playable by 3.30 pm. The photos show court 2 at 11 am and 3 pm.

This year's edition of the gold cup (so named because of the colour of the trophy) was played as a super advanced flexible swiss. Super advanced was chosen because despite the quadway hoops and Fletcher balls, the lawn conditions at Roehampton are typically very easy and games have a tendancy to be one-sided shooting contests. As the only super advanced tournament in the country this year, the event thus became the de facto super advanced national championship.

After a shortened first day, four players were undefeated overnight and many more had only one loss. Either through good luck or good judgement of the manager, a clear winner emerged by the end of Sunday and Debbie Lines, with four wins out of four, was crowned the gold cup winner and super advanced champion of England for 2025. Three of Debbie's four wins were against the second, third and fourth placed players, which left no doubt that she was a thoroughly deserved winner. Joint second place were Ian Lines and Teddy Wilmot-Sitwell. Teddy continues to improve rapidly --- he defeated David Maugham with a 35 m hit in and fearless finish after being TPO'd, and he rounded off the tournament with his third career TP.

David Maugham won the peeling prize with a QP in his first game and three triples (which turned out to be unnecessary for the prize). The most-games prize went to Robert Wilkinson, whose efficient play allowed him to complete six games in the rain-shortened weekend --- one more than anyone else. Five previous winners of the event contested the weekend, the most noteworthy of which was Dennis Bulloch from New Zealand, who last won the gold cup in 1975 (50 years ago!). This was the first time he had seen his name on the trophy and he was bemused to find it spelled incorrectly.

Overall, in the manager's opinion, the choice of super advanced achieved its aim of increasing interactivity in games and gave players a slightly different challenge from the usual advanced weekend. Thank you to all the players for their good humour and forbearance during the 6-hour rain delay.

Southport beat Bury 6-1

by Gail Moors at Southport [^]
20th July (AC - Longman Cup)

Dulwich lost to Sussex County 3-4

by Vincent L'Estrange at Dulwich [^]
18 Jul (GC - Murphy Shield)

On Friday, 18 July holders Sussex County Croquet Club set off for Dulwich to play a quarter-final match in the Murphy Shield in what proved to be a close encounter.

After an early start, the Sussex team of Ben Harwood (1), Vincent L'Estrange, Paul Green and David King (all 3) arrived in buoyant mood, despite the last 14 miles of the journey through the south London traffic taking about 1 ¼ hours. (same for the return journey).

In the morning doubles, Ben & David lost by 5-7, 6-7 in a very tight match with some amazing hoops run (some fortuitously), while Vincent scored a good 7-6, 7-4 win. A morning lead then depended on Paul Green, who was level at 1 game all and about to start his 3^rd game. All went well and Paul won that 7-2 to give SCCC a lunchtime lead of 2-1.

We all enjoyed a very good buffet lunch, knowing that 2 wins in the 4 singles would give us the match . The first result in the afternoon was a 0-2 defeat for Vincent, reversing his good morning win. Next to finish was David, who was well beaten 0-2. Ben meanwhile had won his first game 7-4, but was 5-1 down in the second - but showing amazing resilience he clawed his way back to pull off a fine win by 7-5! So the match score was now level at 3 all, when we all went off to find out how Paul was getting on.

Paul had won his first game 7-4, but his opponent was fighting back hard, and went on to win the second game to level it up. All now depended on the final game. After a good start, Paul was 5-2 up, but it was not over yet - his wily opponent would not let up and was inching back, and only at the 12^th did Paul manage to clinch the hoop and give us a Semi Final place with an overall 4-3 victory.

Well done team, and our thanks to Dulwich for their hospitality, and a very tough but enjoyable match.

Croquet England AC Open Championships

(Photo: Samir Patel)

Singles Championship: Robert Fulford
Singles Runner-Up: Jenny Clarke

Doubles Championship: James Death & Samir Patel
Doubles Runeer-Up: Jenny Clarke & Stephen Mulliner

Solomon Peeling Trophy: Robert Fulford

Association Plate: Omied Hallam

Doubles Plate: Alison Maugham & Nigel Polhill

Consolation Z: Jack Good

More complete report to follow in the Croquet Gazette.

Pendle lost to Southport 2-5

by Sue Wilkie at Pendle [^]
19th July (GC - Murphy Shield)

Sussex County beat Caversham 4-3

by David Gillett at Sussex County [^]
18th July (AC - Secretary's Shield)

David Gillett and Robyn Clark lost to Neil George and Charles Briggs -1

Steve Chapman lost to Chris Barnard -9

Simon Fenn-Tye beat Brian Jameson +3

Steve Chapman beat Brian Jameson +1

David Gillett lost to Neil George -7

Simon Fenn-Tye beat Charles Briggs +4

Robyn Clark beat Chris Barnard +15

Sussex County beat Bristol 4-3

by Gabrielle Higgins at High Wycombe [^]
17th July (AC - Inter-Club)

Sussex County secured another tight win, this time over Bristol, in the AC Inter-Club Championship to earn a place in the semi-finals for only the third time this century, and the first time since 2008.

The match went to the wire. With the game scores standing at 3-2 to Southwick, Bristol's David Goacher embarked on a triple peel against Southwick's Dom Nunns, always looking under control. Meanwhile on the adjacent lawn, the innings was exchanging hands multiple times between Southwick's Paul Castell and Bristol's Dom Aarvold. As David was lining up his short range peg out, Paul clattered into partner while trying to get his own rush to the peg. Moments after David levelled the match at 3-3, Paul played his 5 yard peg out … and missed. But Dom narrowly missed his hit in, and Paul clinched the fourth point for Sussex.

Congratulations to the Sussex team of Dom Nunns, Gabrielle Higgins, Tudor Jenkins and Paul Castell. Commiserations to the Bristol team of David Goacher, Dave Kibble, Dom Aarvold and especially Richard M Smith who didn't take croquet all day. And huge thanks to High Wycombe Croquet Club for sacrificing a weekly roll-up session to host us, offering lawns that were a delight to play on, exemplary hospitality, and perfect weather to boot.

Match results:

Dominic Nunns & Gabrielle Higgins beat David Goacher & Richard M Smith +26

Tudor Jenkins beat Dominic Aarvold + 13

Paul Castell lost to Dave Kibble -26tp

Dominic Nunns lost to David Goacher -16tp

Gabrielle Higgins beat Richard M Smith +26tp

Tudor Jenkins lost to Dave Kibble -25tp

Paul Castell beat Dominic Aarvold +14

Roehampton beat Compton 4-2

by Mark Green at Roehampton [^]
17th July (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

The Quarter Final of the GC Inter-Club Bowl was played on 16 July 2025 between Roehampton and Compton at The Roehampton Club. Roehampton won a very tight test 4-2, with an agreement not to complete the third game of the doubles, which had been left at 1-1 due to morning time constraints.

Phyllis Court beat Caversham 4-3

by Alastair Broom at Phyllis Court [^]
15th July (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

Phyllis Court 1 lost to Bromley 3-4

by Steve Leonard at Surbiton [^]
15th July (GC - Federations Shield)

East Dorset beat Watford 6-1

by Mike Rice at East Dorset [^]
12th July (AC - Mary Rose)

Enfield lost to Watford 3-4

by Geoff Johnson at Enfield [^]
11th July (GC - Murphy Shield)

Enfield scores first, match held at Enfield on the 11th of July.

Dom Aarvold Claims First Championship Series Title at Nailsea ENSC Qualifier

Dom Aarvold Claims First Championship Series Title at Nailsea ENSC Qualifier

Bristol's Dom Aarvold secured his first Championship Series win at the GC Open Championship ENSC Qualifier held at Nailsea & District Croquet Club on 5-6 July. Aarvold defeated clubmate Joshua Wise 7-2, 7-1 in the final after a strong performance throughout the weekend. The event featured 16 players, including two from Seville, with Luis de Alarcon winning the Plate. Aarvold's victory earns him a place at the English National Singles Final in September and a Diamond Award under the new GC Merit Scheme revised by the GCTC.

GC Eights selection announcement

by Chris Clarke at Ramsgate, Colchester and Nottingham [^]
9th July (GC)

Congratulations to all the players selected for this year's GC Invitation Eights.

1st Eight (alphabetical order): Mark Avery, Euan Burridge, Sam Cuthbert, Jack Good, Callum Johnson, Stephen Mulliner, Tobi Savage, Aston Wade.

Reserves: In order of promotion from 2nd Eight

2nd Eight (in order of promotion): Ian Burridge, Nick Archer, Richard Bilton, Dominic Aarvold, Sam Murray, Konstantin Yudintsev, Stephen Custance-Baker, Mike Bilton.

Reserves: In order of promotion from 3rd Eight excluding Colin Britt.

3rd Eight (in order of promotion): Colin Britt, Richard Gardiner, Rick Lilley, Giles Pepperell, David Thirtle-Watts, Paul Gunn, Pat Coulter, Andy Jones.

Reserves (in order of promotion): Alison Murray, Richard Platt, Robbie Dodds, Joshua Wise, Gerald O'Brien, Andrew Fall, James Hopgood.

For those selected, please can they enter the event via TES and pay online.

Chris Clarke

Chair of GC Selectors

Hamptworth beat Surbiton 4-3

by Hugh Risebrow at Hamptworth [^]
8th July (GC - Murphy Shield)

Bowdon beat Hurlingham 4-2

by Angharrad Walters at Edgbaston [^]
4 Jul (GC - Inter-Club)

Mark Buckley wins the National Forest GC Championship (Open Series)

We had an entry of 10 for this year's National Forest GC Championship with half of them coming from Leicester, including 3 siblings, and one player from the Czech Republic.

We played an all-play-all block with the top four gaining a place in the semi-finals and the other six playing an all-play-all block for the plate.

The weather forecast for the weekend was hot and sunny on Saturday and even hotter on Sunday.

We completed eight rounds on Saturday but one hour time limits were imposed after lunch because of some long games in the morning. The heat provided an extra challenge to players but at the end of Saturday 7 out of the 10 players were still in contention for the four knockout places with one player on 6 wins and 6 players on 5 wins. This provided a strong focus for most of the 9^th round matches played on Sunday morning.

Three of the five Leicester players reached the semi-finals together with Arthur Rowe from Ashby who won the block with seven wins.

In the semi-finals Alison Murray beat Arthur Rowe in two games, the first of which was very close. The other semi-final between Mark Buckley and Paul Williams went to three games with Mark securing the place in the final.

The final was won very quickly in just under an hour by Mark 7-3, 7-6.

Meanwhile the remaining six players contested the plate. The last round provided what was effectively the plate final between our Czech visitor Miroslav Havlik and Ian Buckley (Mark's brother) from Leicester. Miroslav won giving him five wins out of five and so he won the plate event.

Fortunately the very hot weather forecast for Sunday did not materialise for which we were all very grateful.

Full results are on croquet scores https://croquetscores.com/2025/gc/national-forest-championship-open-series

Hurlingham beat Surbiton 5-2

by Stephen Allen at Hurlingham [^]
2nd July (AC - Mary Rose)

Hurlingham beat Surbiton 5-2

Scores (Hurlingham names first):

Morning:

Stephen Allen & Toby Toller lost to Andy Dibben & Don Beck -3

Ludolph van Hasselt beat Mary Knapp +12

Guy Hewitt beat Julian Sheraton-Davis +9

Afternoon:

Stephen Allen beat Andy Dibben +21

Toby Toller lost to Don Beck -6

Guy Hewitt beat Mary Knapp +13

Ludolph van Hasselt beat Julian Sheraton-Davis +21

Hurlingham Handicaps:

Stephen Allen (0)

Toby Toller (2)

Ludolph van Hasselt (2)

Guy Hewitt (2)

Surbiton Handicaps:

Andy Dibben (0)

Don Beck (1)

Mary Knapp (2)

Julian Sheraton-Davis (3.5)

Match report by Stephen Allen

On a blistering hot day, the highlight came in the morning doubles, where Don Beck triumphed despite partner having been pegged out. Taking his lift from B baulk, Don approached 4-back by running the hoop from behind to perfectly position himself to run 4-back next turn. Having done so, Don went to the north boundary in line with Penult. After joining up, Hurlingham opted to set-up a rush rather than disrupt opponent. Don then cleanly ran Penult from the boundary, ending south of the peg and made an heroic attempt to run Rover with the continuation shot but missing wide. Soon after, Don sealed the win with a 20-yr hit in to win. After an enjoyable lunch in the welcome shade, Hurlingham won 3-1 of the afternoon games, which were followed by drinks to cool down and to also acknowledge Stephen's birthday.

Surbiton beat Woking 5-0

by Phil Eardley at Surbiton [^]
1st July (AC - Inter-Club)

Samir Patel & Nick Parish beat Annabel McDiarmid & Mike Town +24

Philip Eardley beat Ian Anderson +13

Samir Patel beat Annabel McDiarmid +23tp

Nick Parish beat Ian Anderson +19

Philip Eardley beat Mike Town +3

Ashby beat Shrewsbury 5-2

by Richard Sanville at Ashby [^]
1 Jul (AC - Longman Cup)

Shrewsbury visited Ashby for a second-round Longman Cup match played on very fast, dry and challenging lawns. Most of the games were close, with 5 of the 7 being decided by a margin of 4 points or fewer. Just one of the games finished within the 3 hour 15 min time limit.

Ashby won the match 5-2, a reversal of the result when the teams met in the 2023 Longman Cup at Shrewsbury.

Scores (Ashby players first):

Richard Sanville (12) & Mick Haytack (14) lost to Phil Extance (6) & Alberto Porras (16) -13T (9-22)
Andy Sherwood (8) beat David Hart (7) +2T (15-13)
Adam Wheatley (11) beat Brian Christmas (6) +1T (9-8)

Andy Sherwood beat Brian Christmas +15 (26-11)
Adam Wheatley lost to Phil Extance -3T (15-18)
Richard Sanville beat David Hart +4T (22-18)
Mick Haytack beat Alberto Porras +4T (13-9)

Guildford lost to East Dorset 2-5

by Michael Rice at Guildford [^]
1st July (AC - Longman Cup)

Nottingham beat Ashby 4-3

by Roger Steeper at Nottingham [^]
30 Jun (GC - Tier 3 Bowl)

Could you lead Croquet England?

by Gabrielle Higgins [^]
30th June (CqE Official News)

Chief Executive Officer - Croquet England

4 or 5 days per week | Salary: £60,000 (pro-rata for 4 days)
Location: Remote, with regular travel and time in Cheltenham

Croquet England - the national governing body for the sport of croquet in England - is seeking an inspiring, strategic, and inclusive leader to become our first paid Chief Executive Officer.

This is a landmark moment for our organisation. After over 100 years of dedicated volunteer leadership, we are now ready to appoint a CEO to lead the delivery of our ambitious strategy for growth, inclusion, and innovation.

About Us

Croquet England became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in 2023, with the following charitable purposes:

• To promote community participation in healthy recreation through the provision of facilities for playing croquet.
• To advance the amateur sport of croquet for public benefit.

We are proud of our heritage and excited for our future. More than 10,000 players belong to over 200 affiliated clubs, with many thousands more enjoying croquet informally at home. The competitive scene is thriving, from local leagues to national championships and international tournaments.

Our strategy focuses on seven key areas: play, safeguarding, coaching, inclusion, wellbeing, funding, and sustainability. We are now looking for a CEO who will bring energy, vision, and professional leadership to bring this strategy to life.

The Role

You will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of croquet in England. Working closely with the Chair of Trustees and leading a dedicated community of volunteers and staff, you will:

• Drive strategic implementation across all areas of our work.
• Lead a culture change that embraces inclusivity, diversity, and modern governance practices.
• Champion croquet as a sport that can be played by all, at all ages and levels.
• Manage and support directors and committee chairs across key functions - including coaching, development, tournaments, laws and rules, international relations, communications, and IT.
• Oversee operations at our Head Office in Cheltenham and support integration between the small office team, the croquet shop, and our wider volunteer network.

This is a hands-on leadership role with a national reach. The majority of your work will be remote, with some travel to clubs, key sector events and a regular pattern at our Cheltenham office with the Croquet England staff.

For further details, see the job description.

About You

We are looking for an experienced and values-driven leader who can confidently steer our organisation through its next chapter. You will bring:

• At least 10 years of senior management experience, ideally in the charity or sports sector.
• A track record of strategic leadership, culture change, and team development.
• A strong understanding of how sport can enrich lives and communities.
• The ability to work effectively with a broad range of stakeholders - including volunteers, clubs, funders, and partner organisations.
• A flexible and pragmatic approach, with a commitment to equality, inclusion, safeguarding and good governance.

You do not need to be a croquet expert - but you should be open to learning the game and embracing its unique culture. With our HQ based in the beautiful grounds of Cheltenham Croquet Club, you'll have the perfect opportunity to get involved!

Practical Details

• You will report to the Chair of Trustees.
• Meetings with the Board of Trustees (approx. 7 per year online and one in London) and the Executive Board (monthly online) often take place during evenings or weekends to accommodate volunteers.
• Travel within England will be required to visit clubs and key stakeholders.
• You'll use your own IT equipment, supported by a Croquet England Microsoft 365 account.
• Consultants currently support IT systems and Communications, including the Croquet Gazette, our members' magazine.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Croquet England is committed to building a sport and community that welcomes everyone. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

We support flexible working and welcome applications from candidates seeking alternative arrangements.

How to Apply

• For further information, contact the Chair, samir.patel#croquetengland.org.uk, or the Vice-Chair, carol.driver#croquetengland.org.uk
• 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 by 30 July 2025.
• Interviews will be held online on 6 or 12 August 2025. A second in-person interview may be held if required on 3 September 2025.

Step Forward and Shape the Future of Croquet England

by Andrew Stewart [^]
30th June (CqE Official News)

Step onto the lawn where tradition meets new ambition - this is your invitation to become a driving force in English croquet. As our sport evolves, there has never been a more exciting time to get involved at the highest level and help shape its future.

Do you love croquet? Are you passionate about the future of our sport? Then this is your chance to make a lasting difference. Croquet England is calling for enthusiastic and committed candidates to stand for election to the Board of Trustees!

With the transition from the Croquet Association to Croquet England, our governance is entering a bold new era - and we need dedicated individuals to help lead the way.

Why Become a Trustee?

Being a Trustee of Croquet England is more than just a title. It's an opportunity to:

• Shape the vision and strategy for the future of croquet in England and beyond.
• Safeguard the organisation's finances, ensuring sustainability and long-term growth.
• Champion good governance and ethical standards, promoting trust and transparency.
• Act as an ambassador for the sport, inspiring players, stakeholders, and the wider public.

You'll collaborate with a passionate team, lend your voice to key decisions, and help build a vibrant, inclusive croquet community.

Who Can Stand?

We're looking for candidates in the following regions:

• The Central Counties and Wales
• The Eastern Counties
• The South West Counties
• The Weald Counties

To stand, you must:

• Be a voting member of Croquet England (easy to register if you're 16+)
• Be proposed and seconded by voting members from your constituency
• Be habitually resident in the constituency you stand for
• Submit your agreement to stand

Key Dates

• Nominations Open: 9 June 2025
• Nominations Close: 4 August 2025
• Voting Opens (if required): 16 August 2025
• Voting Closes: 6 September 2025

This is your opportunity to guide a national sporting body, support your fellow members, and leave a lasting legacy for croquet. Whether you're a seasoned strategist, a passionate promoter of the sport, or simply someone who cares deeply about our croquet community - we encourage you to put your name forward!

Croquet England needs you. Will you answer the call?

For nomination forms and more information, visit the Croquet England website https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=press/news&NewsID=8803&pup=y

Debbie Lines won the East Midlands Championship

by Ian Vincent at Nottingham [^]
30th June (AC - Championships)

The East Midlands (AC) Championship was played at Nottingham from 27-29th June, in the second of this years June heatwaves. With only four lawns available, entries were restricted to 20, all with handicaps of scratch or below. 12 were visitors and 8 locals. Conditions appeared slightly more testing than usual, with some long games and only 10 tps (one straight).

There were no higher peeling turns, though not for want of trying by one of the players.

Debbie Lines won the finals of both the Draw, beating Lorna Dewar, and Process, beating Omied Hallam, to take the Hopewell Cup without the need for a play-off. The plate was won by Dave Kibble, who beat Ian Lines in the final.

Congratulations Reg Bamford!

Reg Bamford is the 2025 GC Open Champion (Photo: Brian Carroll)

Reg Bamford has won the Golf Croquet Open Singles Championship for the 13th time. The event is one of the most prestigious and popular tournaments to play in the Croquet Calendar and celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.

This year the tournament was held at Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club and was livestreamed to the Croquet England YouTube channel. 32 players began the tournament competing in four blocks, with four competitors from each block making the knock-out stages.

Top seed Reg Bamford was a strong favourite from the start, only dropping one block game to the second seed in that block. After overcoming previous winners, Aston Wade and Stephen Mulliner, in the quarter and semi finals, Reg faced the 2024 Champion, Jamie Burch, in the final. Jamie took the first game in the best of three match, but Reg showcased his usual consistency and accuracy to win the final two games.

Watch the livestream back on YouTube

Alastair Broom won the Cheltenham GC B-Level

by Ivor Brand at Cheltenham [^]
30th June (GC - Tournaments)

Once again this weekend's event was quickly oversubscribed even with the increased allocation. (However my thanks again to Callum Pattison who did step in at short notice). The day started with the 32 players seeded into 8 blocks of 4. This would then allow for the 8 block winners to go into 2 blocks of 4. The same format was used for the runners-up, 3^rd place and 4^th place blocks. Fortunately, the weather was good and players enjoyed the extra rest over lunch while I wrote out the 8 new blocks and order of play! (Next year I really must get an assistant to help or change the format to the CA recommended way) There were 5 block winners who were undefeated, Neil Pinker, Chris Jackson, Colin Helps, John Duplock and Jill Richardson. The remaining 3 places went to Naomi Whitehead, Chris Webbley and Alistair Broom who all got through on net points. Neil Pinker continued to march through his block undefeated to the final, while Alistair Broom came through on net points in a 3 way tie over Chris Jackson and Chris Webbley.

The final saw Neil race to a 2-0 lead but then seemed to run out of steam allowing Alistair to catch up and indeed take a 5-2 lead himself. At this point Neil was forced into attempting a jump at hoop 8 only to promote Alistair through into a commanding position which he did not surrender winning 7-4.

(All scores are on CS.) It is normal to thank everyone at the club that help to set up and run a tournament for others to enjoy and so I will leave you with my lasting memory of watching Jill Bateman walking round the lawns with her bucket collecting the pegs while Naomi Whitehead is putting away the cushions at the end of the day!!!

Finally, a massive thankyou to all the players who did follow the guidelines and stuck to the generous 60min time limit which allowed this tournament to flow without an unnecessary interruption.

Sussex County beat Compton 4-3

by Christine Trice at Sussex County [^]
30th June (AC - Longman Cup)

Sussex County beat Compton

Longman Trophy played at Sussex County on 28^th June

SCCC players listed first

Simon Fenn-Tye (9) & Robyn Clarke (16) lost to Richard Platt (8) & Liz Dury (16) -16

Steve Chapman lost to Gerald O'Brien(10) -11

Nigel Billingham (12) beat Ann Bolland (8) +20

Steve lost Richard -7

Simon beat Ann +2

Nigel beat Gerald +10

Robyn beat Liz +4t

Middlesbrough beat Southport 5-2

by Julian Gibson at Pendle [^]
30th June (AC - Secretary's Shield)

Result of Secretary's Shield match played 19th June at Pendle.

Middlesbrough 5 Southport 2

Results (Middlesbrough first)

Brian Gardner & Nigel Durie beat Bill Nicholl & David Venables 11-10

Andrew Killick beat Eddie Green 26 - 22

Dennis Scarr lost to Peter Williams 18 - 21

Andrew Killick lost to Bill Nicholl 25 - 26

Dennis Scarr Beat Eddie Green 26 - 11

Brian Gardner beat Peter Williams 13 - 9

Nigel Durie beat David Venables 26 - 21

3 of the 4 afternoon matches could have gone either way with 30 minutes remaining, so a close result all round. Thanks to Pendle for their hospitality and providing such glorious weather.