The sun shines on the righteous. After 2 weeks of cloud the sun finally broke through to shine on the 24 SCCC members who entered one of our increasingly popular half day tournaments. It was great to see many of our new members playing in a tournament for the first time alongside the more familiar ones.
There were 5 divisions of 4 so everyone had 3 games some of which where so hard-fought they had to be curtailed for reasons of time. Morgan and Kathy each won 2 games in Division A with Morgan slightly ahead on net hoops (+5 to +3).
In Division B, one player had to leave early but not before being beaten by Jo Crosby who went on to comfortably beat the other 2 so winning the division. The other two players had the dubious benefit of a 'friendly' match against the TM.
Pam Gooders dominated Division C, winning all three games with +5 net hoops.
Peter Goldsmith and Sue Kilby battled it out in Division D, each winning 2 games, but Peter's net hoop margin of +5 (against Sue's +3) saw him win the division.
One of our newest members, Chris Baccarini, on Division E with 2 wins and +3 net hoops and Linda Davies was second, also with 2 wins.
Congratulations to all our winners and many thanks also to Clive Jones, newly qualified, who kindly agreed to be the Tournament Referee.
And thanks to Vincent for managing the event.
| A | MC | LM | PH | KM | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Case | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Laki Marangos | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| Phil Harrison | 4 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| Kathy McColgan | 2 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| B | TM | JC | DL | WO | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Marjoram | 1 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Joanne Crosby | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| David Larkin | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | |
| (Withdrawn) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| C | TK | PG | SC | LG | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Kent | 2 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pam Gooders | 5 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Susan Caulfield | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | |
| Linda Gavigan | 5 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| D | SG | PG | SK | AJ | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Gale | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Peter Goldsmith | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Sue Kilby | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Angela Jones | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| E | MB | LD | CB | AM | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Barnham | 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | |
| Linda Davies | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Chris Baccarini | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Angela Marjoram | 3 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
An excellent evening was had by all those who atttended the end of season dinner and presentation of club competition trophies.
Congratulations to all those who won this year in both GC and AC; especially to Gabrielle who would have needed a truck to take her trophies home, had the club not kept them all for engraving!
Thanks to Liz Farrow and Fiona Phillips for organising the AC and GC club competitions this year and for presenting the trophies.
After the awards and the 100 Club draw, those present enjoyed a supper of lasagna and salad, followed by a selection of delicious puddings; thanks to the catering team of Angela Avis, Rachel Pointon, Gill kydd, Richard Pointon, Angela Jones Susan Gale, Judith Peek, Pat Harden. Thanks to Linda Gavigan for the vegetarian lasagna and to Peter Goldsmith and Jo Mander for the palovas (two helpings for your correspondent I'm afraid)
The Croquet England GC Interclub Trophy, the Murphy Shield, was also presented to David King (Team Organiser) and Brian Aikens (Captain) for their victory over Chester Croquet Club in this year's final; along the way they beat Cheam, Surbiton and Guildford (fuller report here).
Not every winner was able to be presnt for the awards but the full list is on the website here. Pictures of the presentations to those who were at the dinner follow below, as well as the evening as a whole.
Click the > symbol top right of image to hide the grid. Other actions in top left of image
And finally some past trophy occasions
In cold and misty November weather, the 6 high bisquers left (2 withdrew due to bad knees!), played 4 rounds of 14 point games.
There was some very good play with 4/5 hoop breaks. A lot to earn still!!
Many thanks to those who supported the event. The winner was Richard Ellis who won all 4 of his matches. Runners up were Sue Kilby and Robin Wootton.
We hope to have another day for higher bisquers in March. Watch this space!!
The last AC tournament of the year is on 20th November - alternate stroke games, 14 point, handicap (enter here).
Frances
And thanks to Frances for organising the event.
A small but select band of players took part in the penultimate GC doubles competition of the year. 8 pairs played 5 rounds of an incomplete block (we could have played 2 blocks of 4 players with cross-over rounds but a format where each opponent was different was preferred).
The event was comprehensively won by David Dickins and Douglas Shand who won all their games. Congratulations to them and thanks to Jo Mander who provided a warming bowl of soup and cheese for lunch.
| Competition | BH> | FBGT | DR&JM | LF&TJ | JC&NS | F&WA | DD&DS | BA&NB | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beryl Hughes & Gavin Taylor | 3 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | =5 | |||
| Fran Box & Graham Tucker | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | =5 | |||
| Diana Rolfe & Jim Mander | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | |||
| Liz Farrow & Tony Jolly | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |||
| Joanne Crosby & Nira Scutt | 3 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 7 | |||
| Francis & Will Ainley | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | =3 | |||
| David Dickins & Douglas Shand | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |||
| Brian Aikens & Nigel Billingham | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 3 | =3 |
The Alternate Stroke Doubles attracted 12 players with a good range of handicaps.
I was struck down with a very heavy cold a few days before so although I managed to get the order of play, rounds and details ready, I had to return home soon after the start.
The day was damp and wet underfoot. The format was 14 point handicap games, 1.5 hour limit. David Dickins kindly took over from me and despite persistent rain, 3 rounds were managed. The winners turned out to be David himself and his partner, Sue Kilby. The runners up were Deborah Marcus and Tony Marjoram.
It was good to see some of the newer players taking part. All pairs won at least one game so a good day out!
Again my thanks to all the players for keeping going in such a stoical way. To Steve Chapman who stood in for me at the last minute, and must have regretted volunteering! Thanks to David for helping out and to Deborah for taking the money.
Another tournament in November so fingers crossed to a dry day! Frances
There were two divisions: Division A was comprehensively won by David Dickins and Douglas Shand with 6/6 wins. Similarly, Division B was won by Jim Mander and Diana Rolphe with 5/5 wins.
Congratulations to them and thanks to Roger for managing the event.
| A | RB&DK | LT&AH | G&RC | S&AN | DD&DS | FA&PG | LD&TJ | RW&IC | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Brooks & David King | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Louise Taylor & Andrea Huxley | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| GavinTaylor & Richard Carline | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | ||
| Sue & Anthony Nicholas | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | ||
| David Dickens & Douglas Shand | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | ||
| Francis Ainley & Paul Green | 3 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8 | ||
| Liz Drury & Tony James | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Robin Wootton & Ian Cobbold | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| B | JM&DR | LG&RF | LD&AF | ABB | BH&SB | R&TE | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Mander & Diana Rolfe | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Linda Gavigan & Rosemary Falkner | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Linda Davies & Arthur Flatt | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | |
| Anne Bolland & Fran Box | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | |
| Brenda Hawkins & Steve Baldwin | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |
| Richard & Trish Ellis | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
Our AC U-league team have recently become the South-East Federation winners. In a series of home and away matches the squad managed to be the only team to win every match.
The team was made up from players with a wide range of different handicaps from low to high and provided an opportunity to improve match play with the support of more experienced players. Every game was hard fought and the team managed wins against some excellent opponents.
The squad consisted of Liz Farrow, Chrissie Merrington, Steve Chapman, Simon Fenn-Tye, David Dickens and Rosemary Faulkner. Everyone involved played so well and had memorable wins.
As a result of winning the league, next season Sussex County are nominated to represent the Federation to challenge for the Croquet England Secretary's Shield where you get to compete against all the other regional winners to become the overall national champions.
Report by Simon Fenn-Tye
Congratulations to our Murphy Shield Team on their victory over Chester in the final played at a neutral venue, Wrest Park in Bedfordshire, on Sunday 6th October 2024.
The Murphy Shield is a national knock out GC Competition organised by Croquet England and was established in 2010. Twenty clubs entered the competition this year and, although coming close in 2014 when we lost a very even match to Durham, Sussex County have never won the competition before.
Each team is made up of four players who must have an aggregate handicap of at least 8. The restrictions are that the competition is for players with a handicap of 2 and above, although one player in the team may have a handicap of 1.
In each fixture there are six individual singles matches and one doubles match (all the best of three games).
Because of shifting handicaps of our squad throughout the season, making some players no longer eligible to take part, we have called upon a variety of players to represent us from the first round right through to the final. Fortunately, we seem to have been always able to field a strong team for each match which shows the depth of quality players within the Club. In addition to our winning finalists, Simon Ancell, Vincent L’Estrange, David Dickens and David King, other players who represented us in the earlier rounds were, Brian Aikens, Simon Fenn-Tye, and Konstantin Yudintsev.
Finalists David King, Vincent L'Estrange, Simon Ansell and David Dickins
The earlier rounds were regional and, in our path to the final, we had had wins against Cheam, Surbiton and Guildford.
Waiting for us in the final were Chester who had battled through against Ashby, Durham and Watford.
In the morning’s play there were some very hard fought games with each individual match having one 7-6 scoreline. However, things went well for us and we went into the lunch break with a 2-1 lead meaning that, in the afternoon’s play, we needed to win two of the remaining four individual Singles matches to clinch the match.
Vincent came up with the first of the required two wins and Simon scored the winning hoop in his three set match to bring the Murphy Shield to Sussex County for the first time in its fourteen year history. The final score was Sussex County 4.5 Chester 2.5.
The trophy was presented by George Collin who represented Wrest Park in hosting the match as well as representing Croquet England in his capacity as Trustee.
Thank you to Chester for a very enjoyable match and well done to our history making team.
(Report by Brian Aikens)
This will be a slightly smaller event than formerly as we have no mechanical dishwasher. For this reason it will be a 2 course meal, and we will be limiting the numbers to 50.( Prize winners have priority!)
Numbers please, and choice of food to angela@sussexcountycroquetclub.org.uk
A rare break in the recent weather allowed for an excellent day’s croquet on Tuesday 24th September.
Three divisions were played, with the two blocks in Division B having a final set of playoff matches to complete the afternoon and determine bragging rights.
Divisions A & C had seven players in each and did well to complete all the games within time, given that there had to be a bye in each round.
In Division A both Simon Ansell and Tony Jolly got off to a flying start, both winning their first four games. This set up what looked to be the decider in round 6, which Simon edged 7 – 6. However, Michael Jay put the cat among the pigeons by beating Simon in the final round, leaving Tony needing a victory against Chrissie Merrington to win the group. However, Chrissie prevailed 7 – 5, leaving Simon as the group winner.
David King ran out comfortable winner in Division 2 Block 1, just losing one game 7-6 to Jill Richardson, who finished second in the group. Division 2 Block C was sadly reduced to 5 players due to one no-show.
Notwithstanding, Robyn Clark had a good day, winning three of her four matches, and then beating David King 7-6 in the B v C crossover match to win the division. In fact, Block 1 finished the day with bragging rights over Block 2, winning 4 of the 5 playoff matches.
Performance of the day, however, goes to Kathy McColgan, who won all of her matches in Division. Thanks to all who took part in a very good-natured day.
And thanks to David Dickins for managing the event.
| Division A | SC | RB | SA | TJ | CM | MJ | AS | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Chapman | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | |
| Richard Brooks | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | |
| Simon Ancell | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |
| Tony Jolly | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Chrissie Merrington | 3 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | |
| Michael Jay | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 6 | |
| Andrew Stewart | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Division B Block 1 | DK | FA | RW | JP | JR | PH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David King | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Francis Ainley | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |
| Robin Wootton | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 5 | |
| Jane Powell | 7 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Jill Richardson | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |
| Peter Hill | 3 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Division B Block 2 | AH | RC | SN | JM | RF | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea Huxley | 3 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | |
| Robyn Clark | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Sue Nicholas | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Jim Mander | 2 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 | |
| Rosemary Faulkner | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
Division B Crossover Round
Robyn Clark beat David King 7-6
Jill Richardson beat Sue Nicholas 7-4
Andrea Huxley beat Jane Powell 7-6
Jim Mander beat Francis Ainley 7-4
Rosemar Faulkner beat Robin Wootton 7-5
| Division C | LG | SC | KM | AP | CM | HW | MB | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linda Gavigan | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 6 | |
| Stephen Collett | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | |
| Kathy McColgan | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | |
| Alan Price | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |
| Christopher Mabley | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | |
| Helen Wilson | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| Mark Barnham | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 |