Issue with the one-day competition form

Apparently users of more recent iPads who use their Safari browser can't see the whole of the competition choices offered. The list looks something like this:

Unfortunately the length of each line can't be changed so it is what it is. I believe you can solve the issue by using Chrome or other browser downloaded from the Apple store. Or use a phone - iPhones don't seem to be affected.

In the longer term I will change the form to avoid this limitation - sometime before Christmas.

The deadline is extended to 9th October.

This competition is reduced to Saturday afternoon only. The Sunday session will not take place. 3 games on Saturday pm only. You can still enter online (note for technical reasons the entry system will still show the Sunday in the event title)

Play starts at 1pm.

£5 entry fee for Sussex County members, £7.50 others.

GC level play doubles competition 22nd September 2023

 A report from the Manager Richard Ellis:

We had a wonderful day today. Apart from a brief shower we were blessed with delightful weather.

The competition was played in 3 blocks. Block A, the top block, was hard fought but won by Richard Carline and Louise Taylor who only dropped one match. Block B was clearly won by Vincent L’Estrange & Simon Ancell, who won every match they played. Block C was very closely run between Diana Rolfe and Jim Mander against Rachel and Richard Pointon. They both had won 4 games, and ended up with net 10 hoops, so the final decision came to the last game where Rachel and Richard were able to beat Diane and Jim.

Angela and Hilary put on a wonderful spread for us at mid-day and we need to thank them for all their hard work.

Thanks also to Richard for managing the event with an awkward number of entries

Richard Carline & Louise Taylor

Simon Ancell & Vincent L'Estrange

Full results

SCCC Finals Week Schedule

Monday 25th September

10 am

Tuesday 26th September 2023

10am

1pm

Wednesday 27th September 2023

2pm

Thursday 28th September 2023

 10 am

13 pm

14 pm

Friday 29th September 2023

10 am

Saturday 30th September 2023

 2 pm

Other finals have had to be arranged for first week of October 

Handicap doubles - Paul Green & Simon Fenn Tye v Ray Hall & Jim Mander 8 October 10.00 Lawn 8 

Chairman's - Mon 2 October 10.00 lawn 4 Vincent L'Estrange v Simon F.T. 

Doubles Div 2 - 6 October 10.00 Lawn 4 Di Langridge/Robyn Clark v Gooders 

Supervets 6 October 10.00 Lawn 5 Peter Goldsmith v Ray Hall 

Drawn pairs 4 October 10.00 Pam Gooders/VincentL’Estrange v Ian Johnson/Pete Wyld. Lawn 3 

Already played / decided by block play:

AC Finals - winners

D’Esterre. Deborah Marcus

Daldy. Gerald O’Brien

Franc. Simon Fenn Tye

Moore cup. Dominic Nunn

New Challenge. Deborah Marcus

Paul Green CA C Series winner for 2023

Congratulations to Paul Green who won the CA C Series Final at Guildford & Godalming Croquet Club this last weekend.

This is one of the GC national competitions organised in handicap levels by the CA.

Well done Paul, next year it should be the B Series!

GC Winter Doubles

Club members can now enter this competition in two divisions. Follow menu: Play croquet - Club and team competitions - Winter club competitions.

These are for club members only.

Singles level play 4th September

A summer day at last!  no rain and with a temperature reaching 25 degrees which although welcome meant everyone was happy to play a maximum of 6 games.
There were 30 entrants, with a third from clubs other than SCCC.
Many of the games were closely fought with games going to the golden hoop.
In Block A  both Brian Aikens and Richard Brooks won 5 games but Brian won with net hoops of +14.
There was a clear winner in Block B with Simon Ancell winning all his games.
Block C was won by Gavin Taylor who won 5 games
Block D saw Francis Ainley win all 5 of his games.

Thanks to Angela and Martin Avis for doing the catering. 

Fiona Phillips

Thanks to Fiona for managing the event.

CA Longman Cup Sussex County v East Dorset

Sussex County travelled to East Dorset for the semi-final of the CA's Longman Cup, a national handicap AC tournament. The result was a 6-1 defeat with Steve Chapman being our only winner. Three of the losses were quite convincing but the other three were by one, two and three points respectively. The last of these was in the doubles where an unfortunate leave after time was called allowed Est Dorset to go two ahead. Our hosts provided a nice lunch and we had an enjoyable day despite the result.

Individual results (ED names first):

Alan Jones & Chris Rice beat David Gillett & Simon Fenn-Tye +3T
Mike Rice beat Chrissie Merrington +20
Chris Weedon beat Steve Chapman +1T
Chris Weedon beat Chrissie Merrington +14
Alan Jones beat David Gillett +2T
Mike Rice lost to Steve Chapman -6
Chris Rice beat Simon Fenn-Tye +14

Very many thanks to the team of David Gillett (Captain), Chrissie Merrington, Steve Chapmen and Simon Fenn-Tye for volunteering to play in this match. It was a long way to trvel to Parkstone and back , and to play competitive croquet in the middle.

AC Annual Midweek Tournament 2023

For the first time in several years we were able to run all three classes in this annual AC competition, one of only two now organised by Sussex County. This sounds good, but it masks an underlying problem I shall return to; first, the competitions.

C Class

This event was a block of 6 players and was won by Steve Chapman who won all his games. Steve is a relatively recent croquet player; he first appears in our GC competitions in 2019 and in CA events a year later. His overall game win rate in GC competitions since then is 75% which is an impressive start. This was his first foray into 'official' AC competitions and I think one can confidently predict it will not be his last, nor his only competition win either. Congratulations to Steve on his achievement. The trophy now used for this competition is one of the Club's two Daldy Cups; originally a CA trophy for the All England Handicap competition, it was won outright by Miss Margaret J Daldy and later presented to the club of which she was a long term member, winning 18 competitions here between 1932 and 1957. Something for Steve to aspire to!

B Class

This event was also a block of 6 players and was won by Stephen Wingrove. Stephen plays at Purley Bury and is another improving player, with a 71% game win record this season. He won all his games to take the (not as impressive a cup as the C Class unfortunately!) Scott Cup. Congratulations to Stephen.

A Class

The A class event had 8 competitors and was initially started as an American block; however, after the first round the Manager took the decision to convert to a Swiss to reduce the number of games played, rather than risk having to work out the winner of an incomplete block. Given 5 games were played over the two days that was probably the correct decision.

The competition was won by club member Paul Castell who beat all his opponents, including the two players with a lower handicap than his. Paul has been a croquet player at the highest level for decades: his competition record goes back to 1998 with more than 2200 CA competition games played and 17 tournament wins over the period. He has also been a dedicated club supporter and has won 16 club trophies since 1996 - this competition's trophy, the Abbey Challenge Cup being won now for the third time. Congratulations Paul!

Does this competition have a future? I noted at the start that we have not run 3 classes for a number of years. With an entry handicap range this year from -1 to 14, to run fewer than 3 classes would have been impossible as the range in each event would have been too great. The sad fact is that this entry was at the lower limit of viability - you cannot realistically play an AC competition with less that 6 players. I first played in this competition in 1997 and at that time it was a whole week with class events, handicap singles and doubles, and all lawns occupied to fit them in. In 2008 it reduced to a weekend tournament and in 2015 relinquished the weekend to become a midweek event. With fewer (and aging) players of Association Croquet and not so many like Steve Chapman taking up the format I fear it does not have a great future.

John Low (Manager)

Manager with Paul

Not this Manager's style! CA Gazette Nov 1997

Full results