Latest refurbishment update - by Webmaster 29/11/2025 11:05 

Refurbishment Update from Richard for the end of November

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Rain stops play again - by Webmaster 28/11/2025 16:30 

As happened to the last competition, tomorrow's GC doubles has been cancelled due to poor forecast. 

(Cambridge Croquet Club, Australia)

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Clubhouse - by Webmaster 17/11/2025 21:20 

Details of Visit to see work progress and report by Paul Brown is here.

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Chris Rolph wins Windmill Trophy - by Webmaster 11/11/2025 10:16 

Informal Summer AC competition won by Chris Rolph

Continuing for the first year the informal winter AC Hougon Trophy, the same group played over the summer for the Rottingdean Windmill trophy donated by John.

It was won by Chris Rolph who narrowly beat Chrissie on points, with David third. Hammy and John draw a large veil over theirs, but will do better in the winter event now started!

The aim of the group is to have an incentive to play competitive friendlies with players of similar ability.

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Sweden and Scotland win at WCF World Teams Championships - by Webmaster 06/11/2025 08:59 

Sweden won the Tier 2 championship at Sussex County in the six day tournament which ran from 5 to 10th August. They beat Canada in the final 4-0.

In Tier 3, Scotland beat Germany to take the trophy and additionally beat Switzerland to be promoted into Tier 2 with Switzerland taking their place in Tier 3.

The Championship in a few figures: 42 inter-country tests, 237 matches, 575 individual games and more than 4,300 hoops run during the 6 days of the competition. With 11 lawns at our disposal but 12 country teams taking part in two blocks, one half of one test had to sit out in each session of play for the first two days of block play and make up the games later in the event, something we largely managed to do. The competition had one new country taking part - Hong Kong; they were playing in their first tournament and said they thoroughtly enjoyed themselves.

We were fortunate that the weather provided almost perfect conditions for play as the timetable was very tight, with play continuing until dusk on 4 of the six days (and beyond on one day!)

It seemed to be the case that a good proportion of players hadn’t met Quadway hoops before. They struggled initially as many shots bounced back which would have been bullied through on other hoops. The hoops were set to 1/32nd clearance and as we had had an extended dry spell, the ground was very firm by Southwick standards, so that may have contributed to the hoop challenge as much as anything. Whatever the causes, a very high proportion of hoops were strongly contested as players either blobbed the hoop or hesitated to run unless closer to the hoop than usual with the consequent risk of being cleared – and we saw a very high general standard of clearances. It was one of the great excitements of the competition to see players taking on long clearances and not just hitting the ball, but hitting it full centre!

The countries were represented by players of all ages from 80+ to 17 years old. Those of us playing on the UK south coast are more used to seeing a competition of – shall we say – the more mature age group. To see so many young players hitting with skill, strength and confidence made the spectator aware that croquet certainly has a great future as well as a past. I want to pay tribute to all the teams for playing the tournament in a very congenial and enjoyable manner.

Previous contact between Sussex County and photographer David McHugh led to an excellent article about the competition in the Times newspaper, followed by reports on radio and ITV; these were all good publicity for croquet.

The club put on a good show for the event and I have had several emails thanking us for our hospitality, so thanks to all who made it possible.

John Low
Manager

Organising a group photo before play starts

Portugal: Tier 3 Bronze Medalists

Germany: Tier 3 Silver Medalists

Scotland: Tier 3 Champions and winners of promotion to Tier 2

Part of Wales team: Tier 2 Bronze Medalists

Canada: Tier 2 Silver Medalists

Sweden: Tier 2 Champions and winners of promotion to Tier 1

Ian Burridge

During the event Ian Burridge was presented with the WCF Hall of Fame Certificate for his lifetime commitment to croquet throughout his involvement with the sport - not only in his achievements in playing but also in improving the profile of croquet in his roles as Treasurer and President of the WCF.

Photos by Ray Hall

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Sussex County Annual Tournament - by Webmaster 06/11/2025 08:37 

Sussex County Annual Tournament 26-27 August 2025

24 players from across the country (and indeed, the world, as we welcomed back Dennis Bulloch from New Zealand) gathered for the annual AC tournament. Sufficient players this year for the three classes of advanced level play in near perfect weather for croquet.

The August dry conditions had made the hoops tough to run and a lot of games went to time as a result; there were no recorded peels. An easy schedule of five games over the two days meant a fairly relaxed competition with time to chat between games.

Thanks to Linda Gavigan, aided by Rosemary Faulkner, Robyn Clark for the excellent BBQ which was very popular with the players and did a very good trade.

With 8 players in each of the three classes, the format for each was the same: each class was divided into two blocks of four; the top two players in each block played semi- and final for the trophy and the lower two played in a notional plate knockout, so the class was to be played out to all 8 places. In practice, the non-championship players preferred to play someone they hadn't already met in the last round so there was a general mix-up rather than a strict order.

The A Class trophy, the Abbbey Challenge Cup, was won by Thomas Cullis who beat Antipodean visitor Dennis Bulloch in a tight match which ended +2. Thomas was previously a club member and has now returned so we welcome him back.

The B Class trophy, the Scott Cup, was won by Simon Turner who beat David Houston by one point in the final. David had won all his games in his block, whereas Simon, in the same block, had only one win and got through on net hoops (the remaining three players all on 1 win were not resolvable by matches won between them). Simon met the winner of the other block Tony Elliott in the semi-final and beat him, setting up the very close final victory.

The C Class tropy, the Daldy Cup, was won by up-and-coming Sussex member David Dickins. Both David and his opponent, Adam Newbould, had won all their games in their blocks; Adam was probably favourite to win but was convincingly beaten +12. 

It was a pleasure to manage such a friendly group of players and I hope to see everyone back again for next year's competition.

John Low
Manager

Thomas Cullis with the Abbey Challenge Cup

Simon Turner with the Scott Cup

David Dickins with the Daldy Cup

Full results

Class A

Knockout

Semi-Final	Final	Winner
Thomas Cullis	Thomas Cullis 26-4	Thomas Cullis 26-24
Paul Castell
Jonathan Isaacs	Dennis Bulloch 26-6
Dennis Bulloch

3rd-4th playoff: Paul Castell beat Jonathan Isaacs +13

Class A 'Plate'

	Games	Wins	Results
Jon Diamond	2	2	Peter Thompson +6, John Greenwood +10
Peter Thompson	2	1	Jon Diamond -6, Liz Farrow +1
John Greenwood	2	0	Jon Diamond -10, Liz Farrow -20
Liz Farrow	2	1	John Greenwood +20, Peter Thompson -1

Class B

Knockout

Semi-Final	Final	Winner
David Houston	David Houston +9	Simon Turner +1
Stephen Wingrove
Tony Elliott	Simon Turner +7
Simon Turner

Class B 'Plate'

	Games	Wins	Results
Tim Dutton	2	1	Mike Rice +4, Christine Rice -5
Tony Elliott	1	1	John Low +9
John Low	2	0	Christine Rice -8, Tony Elliott -9
Christine Rice	2	2	John Low +8, Tim Dutton +5
Mike Rice	2	0	Tim Dutton -4, Stephen Wingrove -5
Stephen Wingrove	1	1	Mike Rice +5

Class C

Knockout

Semi-Final	Final	Winner
David Dickins	David Dickins +16	David Dickins +12
David Gillett
Chris Williamson	Adam Newbould +21
Adam Newbould

Class C 3rd-4th Playoff: David Gillett beat Chris Williamson +2

Class C 'Plate'

	Games	Wins	Results
Richard Ellis	2	1	Richard Platt +10, Simon Ling -16
Simon Ling	2	1	Karen Newbould -2, Richard Ellis +16
Karen Newbould	2	2	Simon Ling +2, Richard Platt +7
Richard Platt	2	0	Richard Ellis -10, Karen Newbould -7

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Dodging the rain in GC singles competition - by Webmaster 05/11/2025 11:50 

GC Open Singles 30th August 2025

After the long hot summer the weather did not look particularly promising for the singles competition on Saturday. In the end we managed to get through event without any disruptions. Just an odd light shower.

There were four divisions with six players each so everybody only had to play five games each.

The first division, Division A, had a clear winner with Tony Jolly winning all his 5 games. With the other divisions things were a little closer.

Division B had four players with three wins each and Francis Ainley and Andrew Fall each had net hoops of +4. Andrew had however beaten Francis so was declared the winner of the division.

Division C was again decided on net hoops with five players having three wins each. Joanne Crosby was the winner on +9 against Phil Harrison with +5.

Tim Bick came out the winner of Division D with four wins after a last game decider which went to the Golden Hoop.

We managed to get away before the rain set in around 4pm.

Andrew Stewart

Thanks to Andrew for managing the event

Tony Jolly

Andrew Fall

Jo Crosby

Tim Bick

Full results

Division A	MH	JI	TJ	SW	VL	DK	Wins	Position
Mark Hamilton		2	6	5	7	7	2	4
Jonathan Isaacs	7		4	5	7	6	2	3
Tony Jolly	7	7		7	7	7	5	1
Stephen Wingrove	7	7	3		3	6	2	5
Vincent L'Estrange	3	3	5	7		1	1	6
David King	3	7	6	7	7		3	2

Division B	FA	TN	JP	RW	AF	SN	Wins	Position
Francis Ainley		7	7	7	3	3	3	1
Tony Nicholas	6		5	7	7	7	3	3
Jane Powell	1	7		5	6	7	2	5
Robin Wootton	2	5	7		7	7	3	4
Andrew Fall	7	6	7	5		7	3	2
Sue Nicholas	7	5	2	4	5		1	6

Division C	JM	JC	JB	PH	PH	KM	Wins	Position
Jim Mander		7	7	0	7	1	3	5
Joanne Crosby	5		7	7	5	7	3	1
John Bartlett	3	3		6	3	4	0	6
Peter Hill	7	2	7		1	7	3	4
Philip Harrison	3	7	7	7		4	3	2
Kathy McColgan	7	3	7	4	7		3	3

Division D	GT	FF	TB	TK	JH	DL	Wins	Position
Graham Tucker		7	5	7	6	7	3	3
Fiona Fall	2		2	7	7	2	2	5
Tim Bick	7	7		7	7	6	4	1
Tim Kent	5	6	6		7	7	2	4
Jo Huffener	7	4	6	4		3	1	6
David Larkin	5	7	7	6	7		3	2

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Sussex Open GC Championship - by Webmaster 05/11/2025 11:24 

The Sussex open championships were held this weekend. We had an entry of 22 which was an awkward number to deal with But the weather was fine and there close fought matches in all of the blocks.

On the Saturday the tournament was divided into four blocks two having 6 players and two having 5 players. The format allowed the top four in each block to progress to the first round of the knockout on Saturday afternoon which was a single 19 point game.

The local interest saw Liz Farrow, Richard Brooks, Ben Harwood, Jonathan Isaacs and Robin Wootton progress into the last 16.

On the Sunday the quarter final - again a 19 point match - saw Richard Brooks and Ben Harwood progress to the last 8. Richard played an old club member Neil Humphreys and won,  putting him into the Semi Final.

Ben had a very close match with the eventual winner of the tournament Miraslav Havlik, Miraslav winning through by 10 hoops to 8.

The semi final saw Richard against Andrew Hobbs and losing a best of three match 5-7 7-3-6-7.

The final, another close match, saw Miraslav beat Andrew Hobbs 7-6 7-6. The playoff for 3rd and forth places Alex Wood beat Richard Brooks 7-6.

Elsewhere, the Shield for positions 9- 16 was won by Richard Gardiner who beat Stephen Custance-Baker 7-3, 7-5 The play off for the Shield was won by Liz Farrow who beat Gerald O Brien 10-8.

The Plate which was for players who did not qualify for the Championship Knockout was won by Paul Green who won all 4 of his block matches.

Sussex Champion Miroslav Havlik

Andrew Hobbs, runner-up

Colin Britt, Bowl winner

Richard Gardiner, Shield winner

Paul Green, Plate winner

Thanks to Roger Sutton for managing the competition and to Andrew Fall for photos

Full results

Block A	AH	BH	JI	JH	AF	B	Wins	Position
Andrew Hobbs		6	7	7	7		3	1
Ben Harwood	7		4	7	7		3	2
Jonathan Isaacs	3	7		5	7		2	3
Jane Humphreys	4	2	7		4		1	5
Andrew Fall	4	4	6	7			1	4

Block B	RG	RB	AW	DH	SH	B-	Wins	Position
Richard Gardiner		4	6	7	7		2	3
Richard Brooks	7		3	7	7		3	2
Alex Wood	7	7		7	7		4	1
Debbie Hayns	3	5	6		5		0	4
Stephen Hayns	3	4	6	7			1	5

Block C	MH	KT	SC	NH	PG	MW	Wins	Position
Miraslav Havlik		7	7	7	7	7	5	1
Kim Taylor	2		7	7	7	7	4	2
Stephen Custance-Baker	5	6		7	7	7	3	3
Neil Humphreys	4	4	5		7	7	2	4
Paul Green	6	6	3	1		7	1	5
Marilyn Wood	4	6	2	5	4		0	6

Block D	LF	CB	TJS	MH	RW	GO	Wins	Position
Liz Farrow		7	7	7	7	7	5	1
Colin Britt	3		7	7	7	7	4	2
Trevor J Smith	4	4		7	5	4	1	5
Mark Hamann	3	3	6		5	7	1	6
Robin Wootton	1	1	7	7		4	2	4
Gerald O'Brien	4	1	7	6	7		2	3

Championship Knockout

First Round	Second Round	Semi Final	Final	Winner
Andrew Hobbs	Andrew Hobbs 10-5	Andrew Hobbs 10-7	Andrew Hobbs 7-5, 3-7, 7-6	Miraslav Havlik 7-6, 7-6
Stephen Hayns
Stephen Custance-Baker	Colin Britt 10-7
Colin Britt
Richard Brooks	Richard Brooks 10-6	Richard Brooks 10-7
Jonathan Isaacs
Neil Humphreys	Neil Humphreys 10-5
Liz Farrow
Miraslav Havlik	Miraslav Havlik 10-4	Miraslav Havlik 10-8	Miraslav Havlik 7-2, 7-6
Robin Wootton
Richard Gardiner	Ben Harwood 10-9
Ben Harwood
Kim Taylor	Kim Taylor 10-5	Alex Wood 10-8
Gerald O'Brien
Andrew Fall	Alex Wood 10-6
Alex Wood

3rd-4th place playoff

Alex Wood beat Richard Brooks 7-6

Plate Block	JH	DH	TJS	PG	MH	MW	Wins	Position
Jane Humphreys		7		6	7	7	3	2
Debbie Hayns	4		6	5		4	0	6
Trevor J Smith		7		3	7	7	3	3
Paul Green	7	7	7		7		4	1
Mark Hamann	5		3	6		7	1	5
Marilyn Wood	6	7	6		4		1	4

Shield Knockout

Quarter Final	Semi-Final	Final	Winner
Stephen Hayns	Stephen Custance-Baker 10-3	Stephen Custance-Baker 10-8	Richard Gardiner 7-3, 7-5
Stephen Custance-Baker
Jonathan Isaacs	Liz Farrow 10-8
Liz Farrow
Robin Wootton	Richard Gardiner 10-6	Richard Gardiner 10-8
Richard Gardiner
Gerald O'Brien	Gerald O'Brien 10-6
Andrew Fall

Shield playoff

Liz Farrow beat Gerald O'Brien 10-8

Bowl Knockout

Semi-Final	Final	Winner
Colin Britt	Colin Britt 10-3	Colin Britt 10-7
Ben Harwood
Neil Humphreys	Kim Taylor 10-8
Kim Taylor

Saucer Knockout

Semi-Final	Final	Winner
Jonathan Isaacs	Jonathan Isaacs 10-9	Jonathan Isaacs 10-6
Stephen Hayns
Robin Wootton	Robin Wootton 10-7
Andrew Fall

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GC Singles competition 20th September 2025 - by Webmaster 05/11/2025 10:08 

GC Singles competition 20th September 2025

Congratulations to the four division winners: Douglas Shand, Andrew Fall, Jo Crosby and Tim Bick.

Thanks to Richard Ellis for managing the event.

Full results

BLOCK A	VL	KY	BA	DS	TJ	DK	Wins	Position
Vincent L'Estrange		6	5	4	3	4	0	6
Konstantin Yudintsev	7		4	5	7	7	3	4
Brian Aikens	7	7		4	6	7	3	3
Douglas Shand	7	7	7		6	7	4	1
Tony Jolly	7	5	7	7		7	4	2
David King	7	4	1	4	6		1	5

BLOCK B	PG	FA	RC	AF	SH	JR	Wins	Position
Paul Green		5	7	4	7	7	3	3
Francis Ainley	7		7	7	7	6	4	2
Robyn Clark	3	2		5	3	7	1	6
Andrew Fall	7	6	7		7	7	4	1
Stephen Hayns	3	6	7	3		7	2	4
Jill Richardson	3	7	6	5	3		1	5

BLOCK C	PH	RW	JM	KM	JC	PH	Wins	Position
Peter Hill		7	4	6	2	4	1	6
Robin Wootton	5		3	5	7	7	2	5
Jim Mander	7	7		7	4	5	3	3
Kathy McColgan	7	7	6		5	5	2	4
Joanne Crosby	7	4	7	7		7	4	1
Philip Harrison	7	5	7	7	6		3	2

BLOCK D	RE	JB	TB	TK	FF	TE	Wins	Position
Richard Ellis		7	6	7	7	7	4	2
John Bartlett	5		7	5	3	6	1	6
Tim Bick	7	5		7	7	7	4	1
Tim Kent	4	7	3		7	6	2	4
Fiona Fall	6	7	2	6		7	2	3
Trish Ellis	4	7	6	7	3		2	5

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Heavy showers for GC competition on Friday - by Webmaster 01/11/2025 06:35 

GC Singles Friday 31st October 2025

On a blustery day all 24 players turned out despite the rather suspect forecast. With rain expected and lawns 1/2/3 ruled out resulting in double banking, the manager decided the best option was to play timed games of 55minute + 8 shots. This proved to be a sensible choice with heavy showers throughout the morning.

After lunch the weather improved and afternoon games where mostly played under blue sky and a moderate breeze.

Only 2 games across the 4 blocks ran out of time which makes one wonder if having a time limit focusses the mind somewhat!

Block A was won in style by Ben Harwood who won 4 out of his 5 games and also provided us with lawns in extraordinary condition going into the winter.

Block B winner was Robin Wootton who also won 4 of 5 games, narrowly missing out on a clean sheet with a 6:7 loss to Paul Green in his final game.

Block C was won with his usual enthusiasm by Michael Pudney from Chichester & Fishbourne, also on 4 wins out of 5.

Block D was a much closer run affair with 4 players each having 3 wins. Dena Howlett from Cheam won the block with +12 hoops, closely followed by Mark Barnham + 5 hoops, Tim Kent +3 hoops and Tim Weller, also from Cheam, with -1 hoop.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all for a very enjoyable day.

Linda Gavigan

And thanks to Linda for managing the event.

Full results

Block A	LF	DS	BH	DD	RB	JI	Wins	Position
Liz Farrow		5	5	4	7	7	2	4
Douglas Shand	7		7	7	2	7	4	2
Ben Harwood	7	6		7	7	7	4	1
David Dickins	7	5	4		7	7	3	3
Richard Brooks	3	7	3	3		4	1	6
Jonathan Isaacs	4	5	6	3	7		1	5

Block B	TN	PG	BH	FA	RW	LM	Wins	Position
Tony Nicholas		5	4	7	5	6	1	5
Paul Green	7		6	7	7	1	3	3
Beryl Hughes	7	7		3	4	7	3	4
Francis Ainley	4	3	7		4	6	1	6
Robin Wootton	7	6	7	7		7	4	1
Laki Marangos	7	7	5	7	6		3	2

Block C	SN	JL	RE	TB	MP	AD	Wins	Position
Sue Nicholas		6	6	5	4	6	1	6
John Low	7		3	3	5	7	2	5
Richard Ellis	7	7		7	6	5	3	2
Tim Bick	4	7	6		7	4	2	4
Michael Pudney	7	7	7	4		7	4	1
Alan Dickerson	7	6	7	7	4		3	3

Block D	TM	TK	MB	TW	TE	DH	Wins	Position
Tony Marjoram		3	7	5	7	2	2	5
Tim Kent	7		4	7	1	7	3	3
Mark Barnham	6	7		6	7	7	3	2
Timothy Weller	7	6	7		7	1	3	4
Trish Ellis	2	3	6	4		0	1	6
Dena Howlett	7	4	4	7	7		3	1

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