The 4 last news
GC Doubles Competition, 6th November
I knew it was going to be a dry day on Friday but I did not expect to see mid morning players stripping off layers of clothing, discarding heavy coats and jumpers everywhere. A lovely late sunshine surprise!
32 players (16 pairs) played in two divisions in a format based on an 8-player block to ensure every pair played a new pair each round without the delay of Swiss calculations: random matching in the 3 morning rounds and the two afternoon rounds selected to ensure leading pairs had met each other.
Division A provided a complete spread of results from 5 wins to zero and at the end David Dickins & Douglas Shand were the unbeaten winners; David King & Richard Brooks came second.
In Division B there was no clear winner, with both David Larkin & Mark Barnham and Linda Gavigan & Martin Daniels losing a game; David Larkin & Mark Barnham won by 5 points (helped by a 7-2 win in their last match) over the second placed pair.
Congratulations to the two winning pairs and thanks to all who took part; especially to Rosemary Faulkner, who 'volunteered' to fill the final 32nd place; without that 3 players would have had to be withdrawn, so thank you again.
Thanks also to our Tournament Referee Martin Daniels.
We were very grateful that the tea area of the canteen was still available for use, even though, with the warm weather, most sat outside for the lunch break.
Just to note that the remaining two competitions of the year are both full; the singles on 21st November has several reserves but reserves will be welcome for the Christmas doubles on 19th December; enter on-line as usual.
John Low
(full results to follow)
As we use WhatsApp a lot in club communications, this warning is perhaps helpful:
Club Competition Winners 2026
Association Croquet
| Winner | Runners Up | |
|---|---|---|
| Bush Cup | Bob Clark | Kathy McColgan |
| Daldy Cup | Bob Clark | Richard Ellis |
| D’Esterre Bowl | Nigel Billingham | David Dickins |
| Franc Cup | Rob Harper | Kathy McColgan |
| Freddy Reynold Cup | Mike Akester | Gerald O'Brien |
| Hazel Parker Salver (Short Croquet) |
Richard Ellis |
Rosemary Faulkner |
| Millennium Shield |
Richard Pepperell |
Clive Hayton |
| Moore Cup | Richard Pepperell | Alan Cottle |
| New Challenge Cup | Alan Cottle | Richard Pepperell |
| Shine Salvers | Rob Harper & Jonathan Isaacs | Bridget Goodman & Morgan Case |
| Sussex Gold Cup | Nigel Billingham | Paul Castell |
Golf Croquet
| Winners | Runners Up | |
|---|---|---|
| GC All England Competition | Tony Marjoram | Richard Ellis |
| President’s Cup | Rob Harper | Ben Harwood |
| Chairman’s Cup | Rob Harper | Nigel Billingham |
| Committee Cup | David Funnell | David Harding |
| Handicap Singles | Tony Marjoram | David Larkin |
| Handicap Doubles | Jo Crosby & Ben Harwood | Tony Marjoram & Laki Marangos |
| Diana Brothers Drawn Pairs | Jackie Thwaites & Rob Harper | Chris Baccarini & David Funnell |
| Quaich Trophy | Bob Clark | Brien Aikens |
| Southwick Cup | Alan Kydd | Alan Price |
| Supervets (Dawson Cup) | Laki Marangos | Angela Avis |
| GC Improvers Competition | Angela Jones | Diana Rolfe |
| GC Level Play Doubles Division 1 | David Dickins & Douglas Shand | Brian Aikens & Ivan Segal |
| GC Level Play Doubles Division 2 | Gerald O'Brien & Alan Price | Jo Crosby & Nira Scutt |
| Victor Ludorum (AC) | Nigel Bellingham | |
| Victor Ludorum (GC) | Rob Harper (93) | Tony Marjoram (87) |
| Most Improved GC Player | Diana Rolfe | |
|
Most Improved AC Player |
Rob Harper | |
| Rookie of the Year | GC: David Funnell |
Awards winners in pictures
Pictures courtesy of our official website journalist (she had the badge to prove it!), Trish Ellis, with many thanks.
Thanks to Fiona Phillips and Liz Farrow for organising the Club Competitions again this season.
Informal AC Summer Competition
Chris Rolph won the Rottingdean Trophy for the informal summer group of AC players, with Chrissie Merrington, David Gillett, Mark Hamilton and John Low.
The same group plays a similar winter competition (both level advanced).
