News
GC Level Play Singles Competition 21 October 2023
A difficult week weatherwise for croquet: the advance forecast for Friday was horrendous and for Saturday, the competition day, not much better. Discussions on cancelling held earlier in the week as doing so at the last minute is never helpful for players and catering volunteers. Frances cancelled her short croquet course module on the Friday but the regretted it as the forecast proved completely out, with a day of sunshine instead of storms. Oh well.
As it was, Saturday also looked ominous even the day before and we did have a fair few showers until about 2pm; but then the sun came out and a pleasant afternoon followed, to the extent that quite a few players had an extra game after the competition ended.
Entry was rather lower than usual as out winter competitions are usually over-subscribed and eventually 16 players took part in two groups: a higher handicapped group playing a block of five rounds with six players; and a lower handicapped group playing a five round Swiss with ten players. I don't think Sussex County has used the Swiss format for its GC one competitions before, as it requires some time between rounds and can be more uncertain in producing a result than a block; and so it proved in this event. However, it does have the advantage for improving players that they get to play opponents who would otherwise be in a higher block.
As a winter competition no jumping was allowed so these were not handicap card or ranking games.
The block event was comprehensively won by Graham Tucker who was unbeaten in all his games. Congratulations to him. It was also a pleasure to see two newer players taking part, one at least in her first competition. I hope they both enjoyed the experience, even if they didn't win as many games as they would have liked. Do come again!
The Swiss event had 10 players in the handicap range of -1 to 4 so provided plenty of opportunities for the higher end to play better players; and so it proved. By the end of round three Bridget Goodman (2) was on 3 wins, ahead of Jane Powell (4), David Dickins (4), Konstantin Yudintsev (3) and Richard Brooks (-1), all on 2 wins. The fourth round ended with 4 players on 3 wins, and the Manager was in trouble! These resolved themselves to two players on 4 wins after the final round - Richard Brooks and David Dickins - but of course they hadn't played each other. As the sun was out and there was no time constraint, so a play-off followed which was won by Richard 7-4. Congratulations to Richard and also to David for an excellent performance on the day.
A special thank you to Steve Chapman and Ben Harwood our grounds contractor; Ben opened lawns 7-9 for us to play on rather than lawns 1-3 (which would have been unplayble with the rain, and Steve prepared them up with good hoop settings and smart new lines. Thank you very much.
Thanks also to Rachel Pointon for providing and preparing an excellent light lunch, even though not many had requested it; and puttin up with the Manager changing his mind about when lunch would be, to take advantage of a dry spell. The time our catering volunteers put in to buying, preparing and serving lunch on these occasions is very much appreciated by those who eat it.
Full results
| C Block | PG | JM | GT | JC | KH | KM | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Green(4) | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 5 | |
| Jim Mander(7) | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Graham Tucker(5) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Joanne Crosby(9) | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | |
| Ken Hughes(8) | 6 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |
| Kathy McColgan(10) | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| A&B Swiss | Wins | Results |
|---|---|---|
| David Dickins (4) | 4 | beat B.Hughes 7-3, M.Case 7-4, G.Taylor 7-4, K.Yudintsev 7-4; lost to B.Goodman |
| Richard Brooks (0) | 4 | beat K.Yudintsev 7-6, M.Case 7-2, J.Powell 7-4, R.Wootton +5; lost to B.Goodman |
| Liz Farrow (0) | 3 | beat G.Taylor 7-3, B.Hughes 7-4, M.Case 7-5; lost to B.Goodman, J.Powell, |
| Bridget Goodman (2) | 3 | beat L.Farrow 7-6, D.Dickins 7-6, R.Brooks 7-6; lost to K.Yudintsev, J.Powell |
| Konstantin Yudintsev (3) | 3 | beat B.Hughes 7-3, G.Taylor 7-4, B.Goodman 7-4; lost to D.Dickins, R.Brooks |
| Jane Powell (4) | 3 | beat R.Wootton 7-3, L.Farrow 7-6, B.Goodman 7-3; lost to M.Case, R.Brooks, |
| Morgan Case (-1) | 2 | beat J.Powell 7-3, R.Wootton 7-4; lost to R.Brooks, D.Dickins, L.Farrow |
| Beryl Hughes (4) | 1 | beat G.Taylor 7-5; lost to D.Dickins, K.Yudintsev, R.Wootton, L.Farrow |
| Gavin Taylor (4) | 1 | beat R.Wootton 7-6; lost to L.Farrow, K.Yudintsev, D.Dickins, B.Hughes |
| Robin Wootton (2) | 1 | beat B.Hughes 7-6; lost to G.Taylor, J.Powell, M.Case, R.Brooks |
Sussex Open Championship September 9th and 10th September
The Sussex open took place at Southwick on the 9th and 10th September.
The weather was hot and the 16 competitors faced two days of stiff competition in sweltering conditions.
The field was split into four blocks of 4 on the first day with an all-play-all format playing the best of three games.
The eight players making it through to the knockout stage played on the second day were; , Dominic Aarvold, Steiner Olsen, Richard Brooks, Tim King, Steven Custance-Baker, Charles Sale, Colin Britt, and Morgan Case.
Dominic and Stephen played the final, and for the second year running Dominic prevailed winning 7-6 7-6.
Many thanks to Roger Sutton for managing the event.
Full results
| Block 1-A | DA | CB | MMF | NB | Matches | Games | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominic Aarvold | 577 | 77 | 77 | 3 | 6 | 1 | |
| Colin Britt | 765 | 77 | 77 | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| Manual Marcos Fal | 45 | 26 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Nigel Billingham | 62 | 66 | 77 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Block 2-B | MC | SO | SC | ES | Matches | Games | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Case | 767 | 677 | 77 | 3 | 6 | 1 | |
| Steinar Olsen | 570 | 277 | 77 | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| Steve Chapman | 765 | 755 | 77 | 1 | 4 | 3 | |
| Elisbet Scholles | 13 | 25 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Block 3-C | SC | RB | MAT | DD | Matches | Games | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Custance-Baker | 77 | 77 | 77 | 3 | 6 | 1 | |
| Richard Brooks | 65 | 77 | 77 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| Maria Alcaraz Troya | 64 | 34 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| David Dickins | 64 | 61 | 77 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Block 4-D | TK | CS | AS | PH | Matches | Games | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim King | 77 | 747 | 77 | 3 | 6 | 1 | |
| Charles Sale | 42 | 77 | 77 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| Andrew Stewart | 476 | 46 | 66 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| Phillip Harrison | 22 | 41 | 77 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Championship Knockout
| Quarter Final | Semi-Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dominic Aarvold | Dominic Aarvold 2-7, 7-6, 7-3 | Dominic Aarvold 7-4, 7-5 | Dominic Aarvold 7-6, 7-6 |
| Steinar Olsen | |||
| Richard Brooks | Richard Brooks 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 | ||
| Tim King | |||
| Stephen Custance-Baker | Stephen Custance-Baker 7-5, 3-7, 7-4 | Stephen Custance-Baker 3-7, 7-5, 7-5 | |
| Charles Sale | |||
| Colin Britt | Colin Britt 7-5, 7-4 | ||
| Morgan Case |
Plate
| Plate Block | DD | ES | PH | SC | MMF | MAT | NB | AS | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Dickins | 5 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Elisbet Scholles | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 8 | ||
| Phillip Harrison | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Steve Chapman | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | ||
| Manual Marcos Fal | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Maria Alcaraz Troya | 3 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Nigel Billingham | 7 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |||
| Andrew Stewart | 6 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Shield Knockout
| Semi-Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Tim King | Steinar Olsen 7-6, 4-7, 7-6 | Morgan Case 7-6, 5-7, 7-3 |
| Steinar Olsen | ||
| Charles Sale | Morgan Case 7-6, 7-3 | |
| Morgan Case | ||
3rd & 4th Playoff
Richard Brooks beat Colin Britt 7-5, 7-6
7th & 8th Playoff
Charles Sale beat Tim King 7-5, 7-6
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.
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
| Block A | RW&AC | BA&KY | DK&RB | DD&SC | FP&TJ | LT&RC | LG&LF | Games | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robin Wootton & Alan Cottle | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Brian Aikens & Konstantin Yudintsev | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 5 | ||
| David King & Richard Brooks | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| David Dickins & Steve Chapman | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Fiona Phillip & Tony Jolly | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | ||
| Louise Taylor & Richard Carline | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Linda Gavigan & Liz Farrow | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| Block B | AS&RF | BH> | DS&JR | SN&TN | FA&PG | VL&SA | DL&SR | Games | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Stewart & Richard French | 4 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Beryl Hughes & Gavin Taylor | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | ||
| Douglas Shand & Jill Richardson | 4 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Sue & Tony Nicholas | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Francis Ainley & Paul Green | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Vincent L'Estrange Simon Ancell | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | |
| Diana Langridge & Sue Rice | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Block C | TJ&GD | FB> | RP&RP | DR&JM | PM&SC | TE&PG | Games | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony James & Gail Dowd | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 5 | |
| Fran Box & Graham Tucker | 7 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | |
| Rachel & Richard Pointon | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| Diana Rolfe & Jim Mander | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Pat Mechen & Sue Caulfield | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | |
| Trish Ellis & Paul Griffith | 7 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
SCCC Finals Week Schedule
Monday 25th September
10 am
| Lawn | Competition | Format | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Freddy Reynold Cup | AC | Pam Gooders v Deborah Marcus |
Tuesday 26th September 2023
10am
| Lawn | Competition | Format | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Committee Cup | GC | Peter Goldsmith v Jerry Key |
1pm
| Lawn | Competition | Format | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Improvers Cup | GC | Konstantin Yudintsev v Jim Mander |
Wednesday 27th September 2023
2pm
| Lawn | Competition | Format | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Handicap Singles Cup | GC | David Dickins v Richard Ellis |
Thursday 28th September 2023
10 am
| Lawn | Competition | Format | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sussex Gold Cup | AC | Liz Farrow v Phil Dunk |
13 pm
| Lawn | Competition | Format | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Southwick Cup | GC | David Dickins v Konstantin Yudintsev |
14 pm
| Lawn | Competition | Format | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Doubles Div 1 | GC | Ian Cobbold & Richard Carline v Richard Brooks & David King |
Friday 29th September 2023
10 am
| Lawn | Competition | Format | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Bush Cup | AC | Pam Gooders v Richard Carline |
Saturday 30th September 2023
2 pm
| Lawn | Competition | Format | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Quaiche | GC | Bob Clark v Morgan Case |
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.
| Block A | LF | MC | RB | AW | BA | CM | RW | TJ | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liz Farrow | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Morgan Case | 1 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Richard Brooks | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Andrew Wilson | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Brian Aikens | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Chrissie Merrington | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | ||
| Robin Wooton | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 8 | ||
| Tony Jolly | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Block B | AS | JG | MJ | SA | AH | DS | TN | DK | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Stewart | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 8 | ||
| John Gosden | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Michael Jay | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Simon Ancell | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | ||
| Andrea Huxley | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Douglas Shand | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Tony Nicholas | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 7 | ||
| David King | 5 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Block C | DD | GT | JP | PG | VL | JR | PH | SN | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Dickins | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Gavin Taylor | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Jane Powell | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Paul Green | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Vincent L'Estrange | 5 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 8 | ||
| Jill Richardson | 7 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Phil Harrison | 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | ||
| Sue Nicholas | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Block D | AO | FA | LG | PB | NDS | HW | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avril Oulton | 3 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | |
| Francis Ainley | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Linda Gavigan | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Paul Brown | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| Narmada De Silva | 7 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 | |
| Helen Wilson | 7 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 |