Setting out hoops for the new season

During a rare spell of sunshine between heavy rain overnight and more rain in the afternoon, a small but resolute band of volunteers managed to set out hoops for the four full lawns as planned  on Thursday morning, 28 March. The lawns were sodden with large areas of standing water across all four lawns but a minor benefit was that the ground was so soft it was possible to hammer in the hoops relatively easily without needing to drill holes into hard clay. Depending on the weather, it is hoped to complete setting out hoops for the eight short lawns on Saturday, 30 March, ready for the new season to start on Sunday, 31 March, with the first Social Funday of 2024. However, with more rain forecast, there is no guarantee that the lawns will be suitable for play so check before planning to play.

Paul Watson, Robin Tasker and David Boyd after setting out the hoops in record time on Thursday, 28 March. Note the pools of water visible across all the lawns.

Golf croquet Teatime Twosomes

You may have seen on the Club calender a new entry called GC Teatime Twosomes from 4 pm to 5.30 pm each Thursday afternoon. This is very similar to Tuesday’s Progressive Doubles – lose and you stay put and swap partners, win and you move on and swap partners. Three thirty minute games then tea and biscuits.

The difference is that the winner gets a pin badge. If there is a draw it is decided by a simple ‘nearest the centre peg from the boundary’ play off. Every week there is a pin to win and wear in your hat, lapel, piercing, mallet bag.

The first Teatime Twosomes is on Thursday,  4 April, at 4.00 pm sharp. You know the rules and routine so come along and win some Thursday Teatime Twosome pins.

See you there!

Tom Grievson

Welcome to the 2024 season

The 2024 croquet season starts on Sunday, 31 March 2024. The lawns are white lined and hoop laying will be done later this week. On our opening day please come to the Sunday Funday starting at 12 noon. Bring friends and family and a plate of food to share if you wish. Bubbly, drinks, scones and berries and cream will be provided.

There is a full programme of matches, tournaments and events planned for this year. All the usual regular weekly events continue with a couple of additions. As last year June is set to be a very busy month so please try to make a habit of looking at the calendar on our excellent website before setting off to your favourite croquet event.

Our website is full of up to date information about the Club and its doings, its members, its events and news of the successes or otherwise of our teams and players. It also contains details of Club policies and documents (Home – Policies and Documents) including our Child Safeguarding Policy. Mavis Sellars (07715 050850) is the Safeguarding Officer.

Subscriptions are due now but should be paid by 1 May at the latest please. Use either Bank transfer (details on website) or directly to our new Treasurer, Ian Graham. Ian lives very close to the Club; you can see his new roof from the Clubhouse.

The lawn booking system continues this year which is helpful to those who do not live close by the Club but please remember that your booking does not guarantee sole occupancy of a lawn. Double banking is the norm but we do not mix AC and GC on a lawn.

More info on existing and new tournaments and events to follow but, in the meantime, please come and enjoy your Club and see you at Sunday Funday perhaps?

Tom Grievson
Chair

End of season dinner and awards

Chester Croquet Club held its annual end of season dinner and presentation evening at Chez Jules on Thursday, 9 November, to celebrate successes of the season.

In national competitions, at the beginning of the season Chester emerged as winner of the Croquet Association’s Secretary’s Shield for association croquet in a re-play of the final against Newport, Essex, which was rained off at half time in October 2022. In this year’s events, Chester reached the final of the Murphy Inter-Club competition for golf croquet but lost to East Dorset.

The Secretary’s Shield for 2022 won by Chester against Newport, Essex, in a re-played final on 29 April 2023

In  North West Federation league matches, Chester came first in the golf handicap league, first in the level play golf league and second in the advanced B level association league. They also won the Snowdonia Cup.

In internal competitions there were three played in association croquet, with David Guyton winning the Mason Cup for full lawn handicap association croquet, Roger Brooks winning the short lawn open and Paul Taylor winning the Hasting Wang short lawn. Five competitions were played in golf croquet. Sarah Clements won both the golf croquet challenge cup and the RAT trophy. Jude Wise won the Peter Bingham award, Ian Meadows won the Christine Long trophy and at the end of her first season Wendy Lord won the Newbies competition.

There were also cups given out for the most improved players of the year. Michael Fletcher was awarded the association cup and David Mann the golf.

Chairman Tom Grievson presenting awards to this year’s winners. Top row David Guyton and Paul Taylor for association croquet and bottom row Sarah Clements, Jude Wise and Wendy Lord for golf croquet. Other winners were unable to be present to receive their awards.

A full set of results is posted in the Members Only area.

 

 

Storm Babet visits Chester

Storm Babet visited Chester on Friday, 20 October, and considerately gave the lawns a good autumn watering – 50 mm of rain, the average for a whole month, in just twenty four hours. They always say water flows downhill but the largest puddles were on Lawn 4. Photographs courtesy of Sally Slater who braved the elements.

Autumn round up

The club’s annual internal short lawn association croquet competition was held on Monday, 9 October, when 10 members played on a gloriously hot sunny day. It consisted of five rounds where, after a random selection to start round 1, the best two play and so on. The winner is the one with the most wins, or if there’s a tie, then the head to head or hoop difference is taken into consideration. The winner was Roger Brooks with Sarah Clements a close second.

Roger Brooks with his awards after winning the club’s annual short lawn association croquet competition

The Peter Bingham Award was also decided this week. This is a season long competition where points are scored every Tuesday morning golf croquet roll up session. It is to reward consistent attendance and play over the season. The winner was Jude Wise with 276 points. Equal second was Ian Shaw and John Hampson on 257 points and Lesley Newman was fourth.

End of season dinner

Book now for End of Season Dinner

It’s time to look forward to our end of season presentation dinner and social evening.  To be held this year at Chez Jules on Northgate Street on Thursday, 9 November, at 6.30 pm.

Chez Jules changes its menu daily so they can’t give me the menu for our evening, but there is a sample menu on their website to give you some idea if you’ve not been there before. Two courses for £27.95. They will take the orders on the night and individual/couple payments too.

There is a bar in the room upstairs where we will be holding our dinner.

Parking is nearby at Delamere Street car park or the New Market car park – both have evening rates.

We still have 20 places available, so don’t hesitate, come and have fun, and meet fellow members away from the croquet lawns.

Please let me have your names if you would like to attend.

Thanks

Sally Slater

End of Season Dinner on Thursday, 9 November

We are holding our annual presentation end of season dinner at Chez Jules, Northgate Street, Chester, on Thursday, 9 November, at 6.30 pm.

You will be able to order on the night. There is a bar in the room for drinks. Payment will also be done on the night so please remember to add a tip individually if you wish to.

This is a lovely, sociable evening where we give out the trophies of the various competitions held during the year and we have an optional table top quiz too, with prizes.

We can only accommodate 60 people so I’m afraid we can only have members attending, no partners. Please let me know by e-mail  if you would like to come. Once 60 has been reached we will have a waiting list if necessary.

Many thanks

Sally Slater

 

Newbies competition

The end of first season Newbies competition was held on Friday, 6 October, with 12 members participating.

The weather stayed dry and mild all day and the lawns were running well. There were two groups of 6, who all played each other, with the winners of each group battling it out in the final to decide a winner.

The standard of play was excellent and it was a closely fought contest. In group 1 Rhia Taylor and Doreen Jones both had 3 wins, but Rhia had won their head to head and so progressed to the final.

In group 2 Wendy Lord was the only player to have three wins so automatically went into the final. Second place went to hoop difference with David Mann beating Peter Rhodes and Christine Fryer by one hoop.

The final play offs were both closely fought matches, but in the end Wendy beat Rhia by 7-5 thus winning the title and the trophy. David beat Doreen by 7 games to 4 to come third.

Everyone is to be congratulated on an excellent day’s croquet, played in good spirits, and it was heartening to see how far everyone had improved in their first season.

The winner of this year’s Newbies competition, Wendy Lord, receiving her award from competition organiser Sally Slater
Competitors in the 2023 Newbies competition for ths year’s new members

Christine Long tournament

The club held its annual end of season Christine Long golf croquet handicap tournament on Sunday, 24 September. This year there were  12 contestants  with handicaps ranging from minus 1 to 12, which proved to be a challenge in the new “Advantage system” for handicap games, given the wide range of handicaps and the need to apply time limits to the games.

Following quite a soggy week the weather was kind, some exciting play took place and good fun was had. The results were close, with Doreen Curtis narrowly winning Group A ahead of Jude Wise and Roger Brooks, and three players on equal points in Group B requiring a calculation of “net hoops” to establish a group winner between Ian Meadows, Liz Griffiths and Rick Davies, with Ian scraping ahead by just one hoop. The overall final was enjoyed by all participants with Ian Meadows lifting the cup and Doreen Curtis securing the runner-up position. Congratulations to all the participants and to the winner and runner-up.

Snowdonia Cup victory

Chester has succeeded in becoming this year’s winner of the Snowdonia Cup taking the award from last year’s winner, Llanfairfechan. It is a local inter-club competition including both handicap golf croquet and short lawn association croquet and is played between four Cheshire and North Wales clubs – Chester, Tattenhall, Craig-y-Don and Llanfairfechanl. It started in 2019 with the aim of encouraging newcomers and less experienced players to take part in team events. After two more matches this month, Chester emerged top with 16 points, ahead of its local neighbour Tattenhall with 11 points, and Craig-y-Don with 8 points and Llanfairfechan with 3 points. Congratulations to the Chester teams!

In another match on Monday, 18 September, Chester’s association handicap team of David Boyd (captain), David Guyton, Robin Tasker and Paul Watson played at home against Fylde in a postponed NW Federation weekend association croquet handicap league match. The day started with torrential rain causing extensive puddles across the lawns. This delayed the start of the match by a couple of hours. Reversing the normal order of play of a doubles game and two singles games in the morning followed by four singles games in the afternoon, it was agreed to play the four singles games in the morning. The lawns were still very wet and slow and the score was two games each by a late lunchtime. At that stage it was decided to abandon the rest of the games and to agree an overall draw for this last match of the season in that league.