News
Summer Draw
1st Prize £100 No. 1….Clive Hayton
2nd Prize £75 No. 99……David Head
3rd Prize £50 No. 83……Bob Clark
GC Open Singles 19th June 2024
On a windy but mostly fine "Summer's" day 30 players were divided into 5 blocks of six.
The winners were
Block A - Steve Chapman, 4 wins, net hoops +10; closely followed by Bob Clark with 4 wins and +9.
Block B - Brian Aikens, 4 wins + 4, followed by Konstantin Yudintsev 3 wins, +6
Block C - Michael Jay, 3 wins, +5 with Gavin Taylor second, also 3 wins, +4.
Block D - Francis Ainley, 4 wins and an impressive +12 and then Jill Richardson, 4 wins, +6
Block E - Jim Mander, 4 wins, +9; Graham Tucker, 3 wins , +5
Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to Linda Davies and Anne Stanton for all their work preparing a lovely lunch.
Further congratulations are due to the following, whose handicaps reduced following completion of the tournament: Simon Ancell 1, Francis Ainley 4, and Jim Mander 5.
Thanks to Vincent for managing the event.
Full results
| Block A | RB | BC | MC | SC | TJ | LF | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Brooks | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | |
| Bob Clark | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Morgan Case | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
| Steve Chapman | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Tony Jolly | 4 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | |
| Liz Farrow | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Block B | JI | BA | CS | SA | NB | KY | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Isaacs | 7 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | |
| Brian Aikens | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Charles Sale | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 6 | |
| Simon Ancell | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Nigel Billingham | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Konstantin Yudintsev | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Block C | AS | TN | DD | DK | GT | MJ | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Stewart | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Tony Nicholas | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | |
| David Dickins | 6 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 6 | |
| David King | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Gavin Taylor | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| Michael Jay | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Block D | RC | PG | JL | FA | SN | JR | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robyn Clark | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |
| Paul Green | 3 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | |
| John Low | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
| Francis Ainley | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | |
| Sue Nicholas | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Jill Richardson | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Block E | GT | LG | JM | RF | PB | PC | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Tucker | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |
| Linda Gavigan | 7 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | |
| Jim Mander | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Rosemary Faulkner | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
| Paul Brown | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | |
| Peter Cave | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
Half day GC doubles 14th June
Block A
1st: Brian Aikens & Steve Chapman
2nd: Bob & Robyn Clark
3rd: Ivan Segal & David King
Block B
1st: Carol & Chris Bailey
2nd: Di Langridge & Rosemary Faulkner
3rd: Pam & Gerald Gooders
Block C
Winners: Peter Goldsmith & Peter Cave
Thanks to Roger for managing the event.
Full results
| A | BA&SC | J&RS | B&RC | IS&DK | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Aikens & Steve Chapman | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Jenny & Roger Sutton | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| Bob & Robyn Clark | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | |
| Ivan Segal & David King | 3 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| B | C&CB | P&GG | R&JS | DL&RF | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carol & Chris Bailey | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Pam & Gerald Gooders | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Reg & Julie Soffe | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | |
| Di Langridge & Rosemary Faulkner | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| C | MF&PH | PG&PC | KM&LG | PM&JM | SK&DL | AJ&AP | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret Funnel & Pat Harden | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |||
| Peter Goldsmith & Peter Cave | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |||
| Kathy McColgan & Linda Gavigan | 6 | 7 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Pat Mechem & Jim Manders | 7 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Susan Kilby & David Larkin | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Angela Jones & Alan Price | 6 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
Paul Griffiths
Our congratulations to Sussex County member Professor Paul Griffiths who has been awarded an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours list for Services to Virology. Paul has had a long and distinguised career in virology research and in particular cytomegalovirus. He is the Patron of CMV Action, a charity dedicated to educating about the serious problems cytomegalovirus poses to unborn babies if a woman catches it during pregnancy.
Sussex County wins Croquet SouthEast Ladies Day
The Sussex Couny team of Pam Gooders, Deborah Marcus and Kathy McColgan won this year's Ladies Day organised by Croquet SouthEast (the new name of the South East Croquet Federation). Congratulations to them.
Full report on the Croquet SouthEast website.
Record amount raised for British Heart Foundation
This year's Charity One Ball competition across the country raised £9,382.16 for the British Heart Foundation, a remarkable achievement.
Gabrielle Higgins was our local heat winner and the Regional Final at Surbiton which was won by David Long of Blewberry Croquet Club. The national final at Nottingham was won by Peter Bell of Bristol Croquet Club.
Next autumn and spring there will be one ball sessions to prepare your skills for next year's charity competition.
Diana Brothers Drawn Pairs Competition 2024
Thanks to Vincent and Roger for managing the day, and Fiona for overall planning.
Full results
| Block A AM | BC&PG | GO&RB | CH&JC | LG&KM | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Clark & Peter Goldsmith | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| Gerald O'Brien & Roger Buxton | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| Clive Hayton & Jo Crosby | 4 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 2 | |
| Linda Gavigan & Kathy McColgan | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Block B AM | TJ&SK | DK&PM | CA&RW | PG&DR | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Jolly & Sue Kilby | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| David King & Pat Mechen | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | |
| Chris Ardley & Rosemary Wyld | 7 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pam Gooders & Diana Rolfe | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Block C AM | DD&MK | VL&H | JM&PW | LA&NS | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Dickins & Marion King | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Vincent L'Estrange & Pat Harden | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Jim Mander & Peter Wyld | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Les Ardley & Nira Scutt | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Block A PM | SA&JS | IJ&AS | FB&DL | RP&RS | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Ancell & Jenny Sutton | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | |
| Ian Johnson & Anne Stanton | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Fran Box & David Larkin | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | |
| Richard Pointon & Richard Stewart | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Block B PM | RS&MK | RP&MS | TE&ST | TW&AM | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Sutton & Marion King | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | |
| Rachel Pointon & Mike Stanton | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Trish Ellis & Sandra Towner | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Trevor Wright & Angela Marjoram | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
The knock-out stage is as follows:
Best of 3 games,
Quarter final played by 1 August, semi by 1 September.
| Quarter Final | Semi-Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Harden & Vincent L'Estrange | Pat Harden & Vincent L'Estrange | Pat Harden & Vincent L'Estrange | Pat Harden & Vincent L'Estrange |
| Anne Stanton & Ian Johnson | |||
| Pam Gooders & Diana Rolfe | |||
| Rachel Pointon & Mike Stanton | Rachel Pointon & Mike Stanton | ||
| Linda Gavigan & Kathy McColgan | |||
Half Day singles tournament 1st June 2024
16 players were drawn into 4 blocks, evenly handicapped on a cold but dry morning.
The winners were as follows:
Block A
1st Gerald O’Brien,
2nd Konstantine Yudintsev
3rd Paul Green
Block B
1st Pam Gooders
2nd Rosemary Faulkner
3rd Linda Gavigan
Block C
1st Diana Rolfe
2nd Angela Avis
3rd Jo Crosby
Block D
1st Pat Harden
2nd Martin Avis
3rd Hilary Jolly
Thanks to Roger for managing the event.
Full results
| Block A | DG | GO | KY | PG | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daphne Gaitley | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 4 | |
| Gerald O'Brien | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Konstantin Yudintsev | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | |
| Paul Green | 6 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| Block B | LG | RF | PG | RB | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linda Gavigan | 6 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| Rosemary Faulkner | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Pam Gooders | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Roger Buxton | 7 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Block C | RS | DR | JC | AA | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Stewart | 6 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| Diana Rolfe | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Jo Crosby | 7 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | |
| Angel Avis | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| Block D | LD | MA | PH | HJ | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linda Davis | 6 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| Martin Avis | 7 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Pat Harden | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Hilary Jolly | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
SCCC GC Singles Tournament 31st May 2024
36 players entered the SCCC One Day GC Singles Tournament on 31st May. The tournament was split into 4 sections with the top 2 sections split into 2 blocks of six followed by a cross block final. The higher handicap sections were split into two blocks of 6 and played 5 games each.
Conditions were cold and slightly windy but fortunately the predicted rain failed to materialise, & most of the sections completed their games in time to beat the Friday rush hour.
The catering team of Rosemary Faulkner and Pat Mechen put on a splendid buffet lunch
And some very tasty cakes were offered at tea time.
The results were as follows:
A Section:
Block 1
Winner Liz Farrow
2nd Richard Brooks
3rd Andrew Wilson
Block 2
Winner Steve Chapman
2nd Martin Daniels
3rd Simon Ancell
Final play off: Steve Chapman beat Liz Farrow 7 – 4
B Section:
Block 1
Winner Douglas Shand
2nd Vincent L’Estrange
3rd Michael Gentry
Block 2
Winner David King
2nd Gavin Taylor
3rd David Dickens
Final play-off: Douglas Shand beat David King 7-5
C Section:
Winner Francis Ainley 5 wins
2nd Steve Baldwin 3 Wins (+7)
3rd Sue Nicholas 3 Wins (+6)
D Section:
Winner: Jim Mander 5 Wins
2nd Paul Griffiths 3 Wins
3rd Paul Brown 2 Wins
Thanks to Jonathan Isaacs for managing the competition.
Steve Chapman
Liz Farrow
Douglas Shand & David King
Francis Ainley
Jim Mander
Sussex County beats High Wycombe in Longman Cup
Report by David Gillett:
Sussex County travelled to High Wycombe Croquet Club on Saturday 25th May for the first round of the Longman Cup, a national AC handicap knock-out event. High Wycombe have two excellent lawns and a compact clubhouse. There was some distraction due to a large boys and girls football tournament next door and a number of red kites circling overhead. Because of the former some assertiveness was required from our driver to be able to park near the lawns.
Mark Hamilton and Chrissie Merrington lost in the doubles against a pair including a rather under-handicapped player on 20. Wins by Simon Fenn-Tye and David Gillett in the singles meant Sussex sat down to an enjoyable lunch with a 2-1 lead. Simon, as anyone would, struggled against the 20 and Mark also lost to give High Wycombe a 3-2 lead. David Gillett won to restore equality.
The deciding match had an exciting finish. Chrissie's opponent scored a point to level the scores in the turn when time was called and put his ball in front of the its hoop ready to make the "golden hoop" in his next turn. However, Chrissie hit in in the extension period and made the one hoop required for a win. The 4-3 victory means that Sussex County travel to Hurlingham in the next round.