On Sunday 25th April we hosted Dulwich at Southwick for this first round match.
In this competition the venue is decided by previous ties played between the teams.
After a historical search it was found that Sussex had played at Dulwich in 2007 so this time it was due to be a home tie for us.
With COVID restrictions still in place, meaning our canteen and changing facilities were not open, it was agreed that players should bring their own refreshments and wearing of ‘whites’ would be optional. Both options strongly preferred by the home captain.
Dulwich were able to produce a very strong side with two of their players ranked in the top twenty both having -4 handicaps.
The teams were as follows:-
| Sussex in ranking order | Dulwich in ranking order:- |
| Bob Clark | Pierre Beaudry |
| Morgan Case | Simon Carter |
| Richard Brooks (Captain) | Guy Scurfield (Captain) |
| Liz Farrow | Jonathan Claxton |
Sussex names and scores are given first
Morning Doubles
Bob(-2) and Morgan(-2) lost to Pierre(-4) and Simon(-4) 7-5, 3-7, 4-7
Morning Singles
Richard(-2) beat Jonathan(0) 7-5, 7-6
Liz(-1) lost to Guy(-2) 7-4, 3-7, 5-7
Afternoon singles
Bob lost to Pierre 5-7, 6-7
Morgan lost to Simon 6-7, 3-7
Richard beat Guy 1-7, 7-4, 7-6
Liz v Jonathan 7-4, 6-7 All concerned deciding not to play the last game as the match was already won by Dulwich 4-2.
I thank my team for putting up a good fight against strong opposition and wish Dulwich well in the next round.
Report by Richard Brooks
Two blocks of six players played in separate competitions - level and handicap.
In the handicap event, both Chrissie Marrington and Bruce Carr won all their games until the final round when they met; Bruce beat Chrissie +3 to take the top place.
In the level event Chris Coull carried all before him with 5 wins.
Congratulations to them both.
| Block A | CC | LF | JI | MH | CR | JL | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Coull | +9 | +13 | +11 | +11 | +14 | 5 | 1 | |
| Liz Farrow | -9 | -1 | +2 | +5 | +1 | 3 | 3 | |
| Jonathan Isaacs | -13 | +1 | +2 | +10 | +3 | 4 | 2 | |
| Mark Hamilton | -11 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -10 | 0 | 6 | |
| Chris Rolph | -11 | -5 | -10 | +2 | -1 | 1 | 5 | |
| John Low | -14 | -1 | -3 | +10 | +1 | 2 | 4 |
| Block B | MB | SW | CM | BC | JW | RF | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malcolm Beacham | -1 | -7 | -9 | +7 | -3 | 1 | 6 | |
| Stephen Wingrove | +1 | -1 | -3 | -11 | +3 | 2 | 4 | |
| Chrissie Merrington | +7 | +1 | -3 | +6 | +10 | 4 | 2 | |
| Bruce Carr | +9 | +3 | +3 | +5 | +4 | 5 | 1 | |
| Jocelyn Wootton | -7 | +11 | -6 | -5 | +1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Rosemary Faulkner | +3 | -3 | -10 | -4 | -1 | 1 | 5 |
|
Don't forget!! An Introduction to Association croquet on Short Courts, Wednesdays 21st & 28th April 10am - 12:30pm All welcome but please let me know first as we are all still under Covid restrictions. Frances Low frances@sussexcountycroquetclub.org.uk Come and learn how to play this short version of AC |
Div 1 was won by Jonathan Isaacs and Liz Farrow
Div 2 was won by Hilary Bird and Peter Adams
Thanks to Linda Gavigan for managing this event.
| Div 1 | RBK | CMCH | LFI | N&JH | RSP | AH+LT | IC | MHT | Wins | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Brooks+David King | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 6 | |
| Chrissie Merrington+ Chris Heath | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 2 | -1 | |
| Liz Farrow+Jon Isaacs | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 14 | |
| Neil & Jane Humphries | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | |
| Roger Sutton+Fiona Phillips | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | -1 | |
| Andrea Huxley + Louise Taylor | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | |
| Ian+Jean Cobbold | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | -19 | |
| Mike Huxley+Gavin Taylor | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | -5 |
| Div 2 Block A | ASK | TJF | PAB | TN | SRL | FLC | Wins | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Stewart+Kathy Kirkby | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Tony Jolly+Rosemary Faulkner | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | -7 | |
| Peter Adams+Hilary Bird | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 11 | |
| Tony+Sue Nicholas | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Sue Rice+Diana Langridge | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Frances Low+Bruce Carr | 4 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 1 | -9 |
| Div 2 Block B | B+KH | EPB | LA | NBB | PWW | AA | Wins | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beryl + Ken Hughes | 4 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | -1 | |
| Eileen Prodger+Fran Box | 7 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |
| Les+Christine Ardley | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | -8 | |
| Nigel Barton+Paul Brown | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 9 | |
| Peter Wyld+Trevor Wright | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | |
| Angela+Martin Avis | 6 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | -6 |
The BBC News reported on Croquet clubs 'inundated' during lockdown.
Forget tea on the lawn, pressed slacks and the genteel clacking of balls, croquet is enjoying a modern comeback.
Free for SCCC Members
Introduction to one ball croquet
Saturday 10th April 10am
One ball croquet, an exciting mix played by Golf & Association players. Its easy to learn and is a fast game typically taking 20 minutes a round.
A number of SCCC players have asked if we could organise some coaching sessions followed by some regular sessions.
We are going to run a taster session on Saturday 10th April at 10am – 1pm for those new to the game. There will be a short coaching session followed by supervised games.
For those who have already played you are also welcome and we will run a fun tournament on an adjoining lawn/s.
Due to covid restrictions can you please register by emailing: jonathan@sussexcountycroquetclub.org.uk by Wednesday 7th April. Please state whether you are a beginner or have played before. Please also state your GC & AC Handicap so that I can calculate your one ball handicap.
I will confirm entry and lawn allocations on Thursday 8th April
Apart from being a very easy introduction to Association Croquet, it is great fun in its own right.
Come have a go and have some fun!
This club competition is now open for entries here. The deadline for entries is 31st May 2021
There is no need to pay the entry fee now as you will be sent an email after the closing date.
The competition will take place on 8th - 9th June 2021
When Sussex County Croquet Club Chairman, Clive Hayton, awoke on Thursday morning to the news that the club’s marquee was on the roof of the club, he and a neighbour rushed to secure it before it could travel further. Clive said: “We hoped to tie it down until we could arrange to retrieve it but with the high winds continuing into the afternoon, we were concerned that the marquee could get blown into the neighbouring gardens or worse, into Victoria Road I decided to call the Fire & Rescue Service to see if they could assist and within minutes the crew from Shoreham Fire Station arrived.”
Chris Witten, the station’s Crew Manager said: “When members of the Croquet Club saw that the marquee had blown up onto the roof of the pavilion, they quite rightly rang for emergency assistance. With the high winds we have been experiencing over the last couple of days, it would have been extremely dangerous for them to try and climb onto the roof to try and retrieve the marquee themselves. We were able to safely scale the building using a short extension ladder, and working as a team the crew were able to dismantle the marquee safely and pass it down to ground level where it was stowed away.”
Clive said: “Under normal circumstances the marquee would have been dismantled and stored in the Autumn but with the club house out of bounds due to Covid-precautions, it had been left up as temporary shelter for members who usually play all year round and we were unable to take it down before the latest lockdown. We’re extremely grateful to the Shoreham Fire Station crew for their speedy assistance. Chris and his team would be most welcome to come back when the weather improves and try their hands at Croquet!
With more bad weather forecast over the weekend, Chris Witten urged anyone with similar structures in their gardens to double check that they are assembled securely, and to consider taking them down until the bad weather has passed.
Sussex County Croquet Club is located in Kingston Lane, Southwick and expects to re-open on 29th March www.sussexcountycroquetclub.org.uk t. 07771 752719
The new season approaches and you can now enter for this season's club competitions.
The main and very much preferred method is to enter on-line; please do so if at all possible.
Here are the pages you can use on the website:
This page gives you the brief competiton details to help you decide which to enter.
You can enter the competitons here. Please read the instructions on the form!
You can see who has entered each competiton on this page.
If you have any difficulties, please contact competitions@sussexcountycroquetclub.org.uk
Once the deadline for entries has passed you will receive an email (if you have given an email address) setting out how much to pay and the bank details required. There is no need to pay before then.