News
Sussex County hosts 2024 GC Veterans Tournament
Sussex County played host to the CqE Vterans Tournament from 23-25th July this year. It followed the usual format of two large blocks and knock stages.
Poor weather was expected on the final day so the two semi-finals started early and in fact the final was finished by late lunchtime. The winner was Tim Russell who beat Liz Farrow; however, Liz took the Brooks Vase as consolation. Neil Adams won the Plate.
The prizes were presented by Bill Arliss and he gave a short background to the event as he was instrumental in starting it originally.
Winner Tim Russell with Bill Arliss
Full results are on CroquetScores.
GC Singles Competition 19th July 2024
30 players took part in 4 divisions.
The winners were: Block A - Liz Farrow; Block B - Beryl Hughes; Block C - David Dickins and Block D - Jill Richardson. Congratulations to them and thanks to Gerald O'Brien for managing the event.
Full Results
| Block A | KY | BC | RB | LF | MD | CS | TJ | SC | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Konstantin Yudintsev | 5 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 5 | ||
| Bob Clark | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Richard Brooks | 7 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | |
| Liz Farrow | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | |
| Martin Daniels | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 7 | |
| Charles Sale | 3 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
| Tony Jolly | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 | |
| Steve Chapman | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| Block B | AS | DS | MG | AH | GT | RW | VL | BH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Stewart | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | ||
| Douglas Shand | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 8 | |||
| Michael Gentry | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | |
| Andrea Huxley | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Gavin Taylor | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 5 | ||
| Robin Wootton | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | |||
| Vincent L'Estrange | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 | |||
| Beryl Hughes | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| Block C | DD | JP | JL | PG | JM | SN | FA | AG | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Dickins | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 1 | |
| Jane Powell | 3 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | |
| John Low | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 | |
| Paul Green | 6 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | |
| Jim Mander | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 7 | |
| Sue Nicholas | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | |
| Francis Ainley | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | |
| Alan Grundy | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Block D | JR | RE | GT | LG | KM | PH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jill Richardson | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Richard Ellis | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | |
| Graham Tucker | 7 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Linda Gavigan | 2 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 6 | |
| Kathy McColgan | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Peter Hill | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Narrow defeat for SCCC A in R League
We travelled to the lovely surroundings of Guildford & Godalming Croquet Club for a Croquet SouthEast Federation R League fixture. It was a hot, humid and mostly sunny day so plenty of (non-alcoholic) liquid refreshment was taken in.
It was a close match, played in a friendly but competitive spirit, and stood at 3-3 as the final encounter was played out which narrowly went the way of our hosts.
Report by Vincent
Longman Cup
An early start for our team travelling to Roehampton for 9am to play the next round if the Longman Cup. Not sure which of us were yawning the most!
Their lawns were tremendous, even though it drizzled all day but our team still managed to win 5/2 So now into the Semi Finals - fingers crossed.
Report by Chrissie
Further report by David Gillett
The Sussex Longman Cup team headed north from the secret car park once again, this time to the marvellous lawns of the Roehampton Club. It was difficult for out team to adapt to the speed of the lawns but some drizzle in the morning reduced it slightly. Sussex were giving away bisques in all games. Wins in the singles for Steve Chapman and Simon Fenn-Tye and in the doubles for Chrissie Merrington & David Gillett gave us a three-nil lead at lunchtime. Lunch included exquisite but tiny chocolate brownies. Chrissie and David lost their afternoon singles but further wins for Steve and Simon gave Sussex County a five-two victory. We meet either East Dorset or Guildford & Godalming at home in the semi-final.
Congratulations to the team and success next round!
Littlehampton Centenary Tournament
Eight teams took part in the annual, whole day,Littlehampton Centenary Tournament at Littlehampton. The format was timed games of Golf Croquet, handicap play, using ExtraTurns. The Sussex County team had a challenging start but dug deep to make a strong finish. By the end of the day we had 5 wins, 1 Draw and 3 Losses which, sadly, was not enough to keep us in contention - The winners, Fishbourne, with 8 wins, being decided on net hoops won.. Many thanks to my team players, Rosemary Faulkner, Susan Gale and Jo Crosby, for their competitive play enduring throughout the day-Graham Tucker (Captain).
Photo: Jo Crosby
Short Croquet Jamboree 17th July 2024
The 2nd Short Croquet Jamboree was held at Southwick on 17th July. Blue skies, sunshine, warmth!! Hurrah!
We had 8 clubs enter which was very pleasing. We welcomed Bromley and Chichester for the first time. Other teams entering were Littlehampton, Rother Valley, Hove Beach, Rottingdean and Sussex who fielded 2 teams.It was encouraging to see some newer players emerging and realising how challenging and interesting AC/SC can be.
The tournament was a mixture of 14 point singles and doubles, all played on short courts.
The contest ended up very close with Bromley emerging winners after pipping Chichester in the last round. Well done to them and indeed to all who took part. Do encourage players of GC to try Short Croquet. They will obtain new skills in shots and tactics.
I am grateful to the team captains, the players, and of course Clive and Ben for sorting out the lawns. The lawns played beautifully!
My thanks to all of you who played and supported this event. I look forward to another one maybe in the autumn!!
Frances Low (Manager)
Thanks to Frances for organising and managing this event.
The winning team of Martin Daniels, Frances (Manager), Karen and Adam Newbould
Compton win Croquet SouthEast Challenge Teams South Tournament
The Sussex County team of Graham Tucker, Vincent L'Estrange, Phil Harrison, David Dickins and Paul Green (not pictured) were beaten into 5th place by very strong competition. Compton won the event. Full details on the Croquet SouthEast website and CroquetScores website in due course. Commiserations to the Sussex players.
I will leave the Hut Buddy for Lawn 8 anonymous to save their blushes but isn't this a great improvement:
I'm thinking of some further improvements - maybe this is going too far? Surely not!
Oh well, back to image manipulation school ...
How about a competition for the most artistic hut?
GC Doubles Competition 4th July
22 pairs competed on a dry but windy day.
In Block A, 8 pairs completed 6 out of a possible 7 rounds. The last round produced an effective final between the two top seeds, with the winner being the only pair who could reach five wins. Nigel Billingham and Steve Chapman came out on top and a 7-2 victory for Martin Daniels and David Dickins in their final game meant that they took second place with four wins and +11 net hoops.
Block B also had 8 pairs playing 6 rounds and was won by Beryl Hughes and Gavin Taylor as the only pair with 5 wins. The runners up were Sue and Tony Nicholas with 4 wins and +6 net hoops.
In the 6 pair Block C, Richard and Rachel Pointon went into the final round with an unassailable unbeaten record of 4 wins. Kathy McColgan and Mike Akester won that final game, to take them to second place with 3 wins and +9 net hoops.
Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to Pat Harden and Marion King For all their work preparing a lovely lunch.
And thanks to Gabrielle for managing the event.
| Block A | TJ&LF | NB&SC | RB&DK | VL&SA | S&DH | MD&DD | BG&JP | LT&AH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Jolly & Liz Farrow | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Nigel Billingham & Steve Chapman | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Richard Brooks & David King | 4 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Vincent L'Estrange & Simon Ancell | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 | ||
| Stephen & Debra Hayns | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Martin Daniels & David Dickins | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Bridget Goodman & Jane Powell | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 7 | ||
| Louise Taylor & Andrea Huxley | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| Block B | S&TN | DS&JR | BH> | PG&FA | PC&AC | FB> | LG&RF | L&CA | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sue & Tony Nicholas | 7 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Douglas Shand & Jill Richardson | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Beryl Hughes & Gavin Taylor | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Paul Green & Francis Ainley | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Peter Cave & Alan Cottle | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 | ||
| Fran Box & Graham Tucker | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Linda Gavigan & Rosemary Faulkner | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 7 | ||
| Les & Chris Ardley | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Block C | R&RP | KM&MA | JC&NS | LD&AF | SK&DL | R&PW | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard & Rachel Pointon | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Kathy McColgan & Mike Akester | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | |
| Joanne Crosby & Nira Scutt | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 4 | |
| Linda Davies & Arthur Flatt | 5 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 5 | |
| Sue Kilby & David Larkin | 6 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
| Rosemary & Peter Wyld | 4 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
Sussex County play social match against Hove Beach
We played a social match against Hove Beach Croquet Club on Friday and had a magnificent 6-2 victory. Everyone who played won at least one of their games.
We owe a great thank you to Hove Beach who - as usual - provided a wonderful spread of food washed down with refreshing Pimms. A great time was had by all.
Thanks to Francis Ainley for report and photo