GC Singles competition 20th March 2025

Congratulations to the winners of this day competition.

Division A winner Brian Aikens

Division B winner Konstantin Yudintsev

Division C winner Kathy McColgan

Division D winner Robyn Clark

Thanks to Linda for running the event.

Full results

Chrissy Isaacs

Our club member Chrissy Isaacs died on 19th February, after a long struggle against cancer. We all mourn her loss.

I was reminded by another club member of the first time we met Chrissy at a club social function, and we wondered who this petite and stylishly-dressed lady was, who had come into Jonathan's life. We didn't then realise how important to the life of the club she was to become.

Chrissy didn't then play croquet, and in truth it never really became her main sporting interest - that place was taken by golf. Chrissy didn't make her mark in the club - and a huge mark it was - on the croquet lawns but elsewhere - in our canteen.

Over the years we have been treated to so many wonderful occasions where Chrissy masterminded a feast: Christmasses, formal events for major competitions, and lovely, simple club get-togethers. Her presence in the kitchen, always ordered, calm and with a ready smile, meant we would be in for a treat.

We shall miss all that of course; but we shall miss above all, her warmth, her smile, her friendship to us all.

We are privileged to have had Chrissy has a member of the club and as a friend, and our hearts and condolences go out to Jonathan and to his and her families for their great loss.

(Photos by family, Ray Hall, John Low)

AC Charity One ball 14 April 2025

Our local heat of this national and annual charity event has been fixed for 14th April. Every year money is raised for one charity. Search the Croquet England website for details of previous years and the amounts raised.

You don't need to be an AC player to enjoy this fun competition.

Please sign up in the usual way on our website.

Note you will need to bring your own lunch.

GC doubles competition, March 7 2025

The manager's optimism that 5 rounds in a full day wouldn't need much of an eye to be kept on the time was shattered in the first round by a particularly hard-fought battle between Tony & Sue Nicholas and Rosemary Faulkner & Linda Gavigan lasting almost an hour and a half before Tony and Sue, the top seeds in Division B, clinched their 7-6 win.

At the other end of the scale, Liz Farrow & Brian Aikens, the top seeds in Division A, crunched up three pairs of opponents in short order, finishing their third game before some players had even started their first, and giving them a long wait for the delicious soup and cheese lunch prepared by Angela Avis and Jo Mander to warm us all up.

But slow and steady was evidently the way to go: despite a blip in the form of a 7-1 defeat to Graham Tucker & Fran Box immediately after lunch, Tony & Sue ended up the clear winners of Block B as the only pair with 4 wins.

Liz & Brian tired after lunch, which opened up Division A. Richard Brooks & David King and Bridget Goodman & Jane Powell both finished the day on 4 wins, but Richard & David's string of convincing victories gave them the chocolates on net points.

David King and Richard Brooks, Division A winners, with Manager Gabrielle Higgins

Division B winners Sue and Tony Nicholas

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to Gabrielle for managing the event.

Full results

GC Singles competition 21 February 2025

Manager Linda brought some meteorological magic to the day by providing dry and sunny weather until nearly the end of the day when we were sent home in a few spots of rain. The lawns played well, and fairly dry and it was a thoroughly enjoyable competition.

Before play a minute's silence was held to remember our dear member Chrissie.

Thanks to Linda Davies and Judith Price for providing an excellent lunch of baked potatoes and salad.

There were outright wins in three of the four divisions. Division A was won by Richard Brooks 5-0; Division B by Simon Ancell 5-0 and Division D by Michael Pudney 5-0. Division B was won by Sue Nicholas 4-1. Congratulations to them all.

Thanks to Linda for managing the competition

Full results

Curry Lunch

Thanks very much to Angela, Rachel and all the volunteers for putting on a curry lunch this month. By all accounts it was a great success so thanks also to those who supported it.

The new dishwasher proved a irresistible attraction. The Catering Teams are thinking of issuing tickets for future occasions.

Sussex County Open Half Day Singles – 12 February 2025

An unusually dry afternoon allowed us to play the first GC competition of the year. 20 hardy souls braved the cold weather to play some excellent croquet across 5 blocks. 

Division E was the first to finish, with Sue Kilby winning all her games and only dropping 9 hoops.

Division D was very hard fought, with all games being very close. Eventually Stephen Collett won all his games to take the division, but everybody won at least one game.

Diana Rolfe stormed through Division C, winning all her games.

The lower handicap Divisions, A and B, were much closer, with both going to the final game. In Division B, Tony James and Robyn Clark both played some excellent croquet early on, only to lose their final games. Tony, nonetheless, held on to win by one net hoop over Kathy McColgan, who played exceptionally well against lower handicapped players.

Finally Division A went right down to the wire, with everybody having won one game going into the final round. Konstantin beat Bob Clark leaving Paul Green and Morgan Case both requiring a good win to take the title on net hoops. Paul won 7-4 to put him tied with Konstantin on wins and net hoops, but as Konstantin had won the head to head, he took home the much prized box of chocolates.

Thank you to everybody who made it such a good natured and enjoyable afternoon. David

And thanks to David for managing the event.

​​​​

Full results

Richard Carline: Coach of 2024

The 2024 Coach of the Year Award went to Richard Carline for his outstanding contribution to GC coaching.

As a member of the coaching team at The Academy at Southwick he has shown his strength as an innovator, embracing new methods in coaching including slow motion video capture techniques and supporting students’ learning and development through on‐lawn visual aids.

His popular GC Workshop targets players’ individual needs. The demand for this type of coaching course continues to grow, much of it created by Richard’s undoubted enthusiasm. 

Beyond his own club, Richard runs GC coaching pods at various locations which have been instrumental in player improvement, and he has helped on several Club‐Level Coach training courses. 

All this is done with Richard’s characteristic organisation, enthusiasm, calmness, and a positive approach which engenders a sense of ‘can do’ in his students 

Well done Richard - fully deserved!!

Richard is the latest Sussex County coach to receive the honour of Coach of the Year. Others are Janet Hoptroft (2014), Frances Low (2011) and Daphne Gaitley 2003).

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It's not often I post on a matter not immediately about Sussex croquet; in fact, this is only the second such.

I am passing on an important warning about a scam which is increasingly popular.

You will be very familiar with Captcha boxes - we use them on this website.

You tick the box to prove you are human and believing it's a valid security measure. Chances are you do this so often that you don't even think much about it.

However, this has not gone unnoticed by scammers who are using corrupted captcha boxes to lead the user to download damaging software. When you click, code is copied to your clipboard. Then you’re prompted to paste and run the script under the guise of completing the verification process. If you follow this instruction, malware is downloaded, a sophisticated information thief capable of stealing passwords, financial data, and personal information.

The danger lies in its familiarity. CAPTCHAs are everywhere. We’ve clicked them so many times that we don’t hesitate when we see one. Cybercriminals weaponize this routine behavior to avoid suspicion and guide you to install malware onto your own system.

My antivirus provider Avast offers the following advice

• Question the unusual. If a CAPTCHA appears on a site that doesn’t typically require one or asks you to perform additional steps like running scripts, stop immediately.
• Never follow manual instructions. Legitimate CAPTCHAs won’t ask you to copy-paste or run scripts. If they do, it’s a red flag.
• Keep security software updated. Reliable antivirus software can help catch and block malicious scripts before they do any damage.