Nailsea Advanced Weekend

[<<] [>>] by Kevin Carter
21-22 Jun 2003 (AC)

On my first visit to it, I found the Nailsea club ..... with difficulty - tucked behind a bungalow on a small housing estate on the edge of this sleepy Somerset town.

But it was a worthwhile experience; the club has a lot to offer - four courts, good facilities and a friendly welcome. Goodness knows why this year's entry of 16 was a record turnout for this A-class event; there should be a waiting list. Half the field was on scratch or below, with the remainder stretching up to 6 handicap.

The conditions were challenging. The sub-baked ground was positively WrestParkian, the slight undulations and tricky boundaries reminiscent of Harrow (R.I.P.) and the hoops were presidential (courtesy of Cliff Jones). There was only one TP all weekend, by local cellist Marcus Evans, and most players only managed to complete five games by Sunday tea-time.

Peter Dyke managed the tournament very efficiently, deploying a Flexible Swiss format (which was called an Egyptian because of the error in the Gaunt/Wheeler book on Croquet Management). We had five players from Nottingham and the French Polishers finished 1st and 3rd=, divided only by yours truly.

Results:
1. Richard White 5/5
2. Kevin Carter 4/5
3= Jed Allen 4/6
3= Cliff Jones 4/6