Author: David Guyton

On Saturday, 17 August, Chester Croquet Club held the first of what may become an annual One Ball competition with the aim of providing a shared event for both association croquet and golf croquet players. The day started mild but overcast. As the day progressed the sunshine and temperature increased reaching 28° in the afternoon. After several weeks of exceptionally dry weather, the lawns were very dry and unpredictable especially around several hoops.

Fifteen members took part in the competition divided into two blocks. In one block of eight, each competitor played seven games, and in the other block of seven, each competitor played six games. An established formula was applied to generate fair handicaps for both association croquet and golf croquet players.  The format of the game has elements of hoop approaches and hoop running which are well practised by golf croquet players and elements of hitting an opponent’s ball and earning extra shots which are familiar to association croquet players. Club chairman, Tom Grievson, managed the competition and was kept busy throughout the day scheduling a multitude of games and diverse handicaps and keeping track of the results.

David Boyd, one of the club’s relatively few hybrid association and golf croquet players, emerged as overall winner, winning six of his games, and was rewarded with a well-earned bottle of champagne for his achievement. Kevin Taylor and Roger Brookes both won five of their games with Kevin Taylor leading in second place and Roger Brookes in third place based on the number of hoops scored. Jude Wise won four of her games and achieved fourth place.

It was a challenging but enjoyable day and a rare occasion when association and golf croquet players can meet and compete on a level playing field – but, being Chester,  the playing field is never level. A generous supply of strawberries, blueberries and cream kept all the competitors well nourished and sustained  throughout. Thanks to everyone who arranged and took part in the new event.

A car window sticker version of the new club logo is now available.

This version is viewable from both sides, is easy to apply and is smaller than the sew-on or iron-on badges, 50 mm diameter rather than 75 mm.  Price £1.50 each from Jayne Taylor at jaytay20ch@aol.com or 07810892311.

Clothing with club logo

If you would like any items from the Darts catalogue with our embroidered logo please let me know.

The latest info on their range of goods  will be on their website (dartschester.co.uk) and last year’s catalogue is in the pavilion.

I will be checking their current prices shortly but usually rates are cheaper when we have six or more items to order

Also please let me know if you would be interested in buying embroidered badges to stitch on yourself.

Email me direct on jaytay20ch@aol.com.

Jayne Taylor

On Saturday, 9 August, a Chester Senators team travelled to Craig-y-Don for a North West golf croquet handicap league match.

The first rounds of doubles on a warm but blustery day saw Chester’s Edward Baskerville and David Johnson beat their hosts 7 – 4 while Sandy Grievson and Liz Baskerville were defeated 7 – 3 by Craig-y-Don.

The morning singles games favoured Craig-y-Don until a late run by Sandy, David and Edward evened the scores to 5 – 5.

After lunch Craig-y-Don started to draw ahead in some very tightly fought games, and by 4.30 pm had secured a victory of 10 wins to Chester’s 8.

Thank you to Craig-y-Don for such a warm, friendly welcome and to Lorna Challinor for the delicious chocolate brownies which we all enjoyed in the sunshine.

On the following Monday, 11 August, a Chester short lawn team playing at home against Llanfairfechan started its defence of the Snowdonia Cup won last year.

In a closely competitive match on a hot sunny day the Chester team of Nigel Worthington, Sally Slater and Andy Chaolon-Wilson won 5 – 4 with three of the nine matches going to golden hoop, a sure sign of a close match.

Deva Rotary Club made a welcome return visit to Chester Croquet Club on Tuesday evening, 5 August, for one of their meetings. After a swift introduction, as they had played before, the group split into pairs to practise then play some games.

Much fun was had by all and the Air Ambulance charity benefitted by a charity donation from the club.

Chester Croquet Club held a National A-Level Golf Croquet tournament on Saturday and Sunday, 2 and 3 August 2025, at its Westminster Park club. 16 players from as far away as Surrey, Lincolnshire, and Durham, and including three from Chester, gathered to compete in two intensive days of croquet.

On Saturday two blocks of eight players started at 9.30 am in an
all-play-all competition; a total of 56 games across Chester’s four lawns. The playing day finished at about 6.30pm with the top five players, led by Chester’s Sarah Clements, each winning five of their seven games. They were followed by six players each winning four of their seven games – a very unusual close result of a keenly competed, long, day. The leading pack also included John Carr (an Australian on a two month tour of the UK), Tony McCann from Durham and Robbie Dodds from Shrewsbury.

The weather on Saturday had been fairly kindly but Sunday threatened rain and gusty winds. Twenty three games were scheduled for Sunday’s knockout 19 point rounds. The sixteen players were again split into two sets; the top eight competed for the Cup and eight for the Plate. By the semi-final stage in the Cup the early showers of Durham Tony, Australian John and Shrewsbury Robbie were joined by Chris Higgins from Bishop Monkton, North Yorkshire.

The Plate groups semi-final was dominated by Northern players. Peter Tymms and Andrew Carpenter from Durham, Bob Strover from Bishop Monkton with Pamela Dawson from Gainsborough.

All the Cup and Plate games were close, hard fought contests with very little margin separating them.

The threatened rain arrived but did not last for too long but the increasing wind put both the gazebos and the players in a bit of a flap. The gazebos were dismantled but the competitors played on.

The Cup final was between the Geordie Tony and Aussie John. After a long and skilful tussle the Cup was won 10 to 7 by Tony, for the second year running.

Bob Strover played Peter Tymms in the Plate final. This was a somewhat quicker affair with Peter quickly establishing a commanding lead and winning by 10 to 5.

So, Tony McCann and Peter Tymms, both from County Durham, scooped the prizes and headed for the long drive North with big smiles and bottles of champagne.

On Tuesday, 29 July, Chester Senators travelled up to Southport to play the Southport Falcons in a NW Federation Handicap Golf Croquet League match. David Johnson (captain), Sandy Grievson, Lesley Newman and David Mann, playing off handicaps 12,9,11 and 11 respectively, faced John Marsh, Mike Armstrong, Simon Hancock and Cheryl Sherwood, playing off 8,5, 9 and 12. Given the overall lower handicap of the Falcons, a competitive day’s play was expected, and the teams were not disappointed.

The day started cloudy, with a light, refreshing, drizzle, and by lunchtime the Falcons led 6 games to 3. The weather brightened in the afternoon, and at 3.00 pm a three minute silence was observed in memory of the three girls murdered in the town the previous year. The afternoon games were closely fought, but the Senators managed to pull back to end the day at a draw (9 games each), a very fair reflection of the calibre of play of both teams and the overall standard of the competition. Our thanks to the hosts, Southport, for an enjoyable and challenging day’s play.

On the following day, Wednesday, 30 July, Chester Centurions visited Bowdon to play the Bombers in a NW Federation Level Play Golf Croquet League match. Bowdon’s more experienced team of Nigel Matthews, Alan Mayne, and Alan Dix ( handicaps 0, 0 and 5) presented a challenge to the Chester team of Mark Lloyd, Rick Davies and Andy Wilson-Chalon (handicaps 1, 3 and 5) were leading 6 -3 by lunchtime. However the afternoon saw Chester pull back, with Bowdon ending the day with a narrow victory of 10 games to 8.

In the Advanced B level AC League, Chester travelled to Crake for this match on Saturday, 2 August, which was played in bright warm sunshine on flat and beautifully green courts.

The team of Mark Lloyd, David Boyd and Robin Tasker lost a tightly contested match to a Golden Hoop finish of the final game to be completed.

At lunch the score was tied at 1 – 1 with the doubles lost, and after a scintillating start Mark held on to win his singles game. The three afternoon singles matches were all close affairs. Robin Tasker was just unable to keep pace with his opponent; David Boyd caught up right at the end to win by a single hoop; and Mark Lloyd missed out in the most tense of finishes.

The match was played with great spirit and was thoroughly enjoyed by both teams although the long journey back would undoubtedly have been improved if Chester had won!

The defeat – Chester’s first of the season in this league – leaves them tied with Crake but still top of the league with a healthy hoop difference lead going into the final round of league fixtures: Chester away at Bury, Crake away at Bowdon and all to play.

Chester played a further match in the annual Snowdonia Cup series on Tuesday, 22 July. This was a GC handicap match against Llanfairfechan played at the seaside in North Wales. The recent hot spell of weather had given way to uncertain conditions and there was some doubt whether we would play. However, despite a wet drive from Chester the teams started playing by 10 am in very light drizzle which soon cleared away. It remained cloudy but pleasantly cool.

Chester was captained by Edward Baskerville supported by his wife Elizabeth, Sandy Grievson and Arnie Banford; a team with a 37 combined handicap against Llanfairfechan with 39 including Anwen Williams, Margaret Evans, Sandra Ibbotson and Trish Jones. The home team’s  non-playing captain Liz Griffiths very neatly ensured both teams had an enjoyable and thoroughly well organised day. Many tight games could have been expected but in the event Chester ended the afternoon with a 12 – 4 win, one of the team dropping two games, two dropping one game and the captain just managing to avoid defeat by Anwen Williams.

A lovely location at Llanfairfechan, and both teams had a very happy day’s golf croquet hosted by its non-playing captain who ensured a regular supply of tea, coffee and cake.

On the following day, Wednesday, 23 July, Chester played Fylde at home in the club’s second match of the season in the NW Federation Advanced B Level association croquet league. For this match the Chester team were Mark Lloyd (captain), David Boyd and David Guyton. On a grey day oscillating between cool and mild, the morning round of one singles game and one doubles game resulted in one win for each club, the doubles game being lost by Chester by just one hoop after a closely balanced ebb and flow throughout the game. This left the outcome to be determined by the three singles games in the afternoon. Mark Lloyd finished first by pegging out well before time with a 17 hoop lead. The two other singles games played to time but also resulted in wins for Chester, one by a 13 hoop lead and the last by a 2 hoop lead. In a cordial and good humoured match all round, the overall result was a satisfying 4 – 1 win for Chester making it the club’s second win in the league out of the four matches due to be played this season.

Saturday, 12 July, saw the last two Chester Cup competitions in level play golf croquet for Chester Croquet Club members. The lawns at Westminster Park were already hot when play got under way at 10 am and the heat increased as the day progressed.

Six players competed for the C-Level trophy, playing 3 games before lunch and 2 games in the afternoon. Greg Orriell and Gail Thomas set the pace in the morning, winning all their 3 games, but Greg’s winning streak continued into the afternoon. Hence he won the trophy, as it happens in his first year of competitive croquet.

In the D-Level competition three of the seven players had gained two games apiece by lunchtime. After lunch Lesley Newman pulled steadily ahead of David Johnson and Denise Buchanan, and despite a late rally by Liz Baskerville, Lesley won a decisive five games out of six to win the first ever  D-Level Chester Cup.

All welcomed the strawberries and cream and choc ices which helped to alleviate the oppressive heat. Congratulations t0 Greg Orriell and Lesley Newman.

Wednesday, 9 July, proved to be a hot day both in terms of weather and croquet competition. The Chester Centurion team team of Mark Lloyd (captain), David Crawford and Jude Wise faced up to Roger Brooks, John Armer and Mark Hattinett from Westmorland in the NW Federation  level play gold croquet league. Whilst the morning saw Chester forge ahead at 6 games to 3, the afternoon brought a valiant fight back from Westmorland. Clearly, they were better able to cope with the searing temperatures and had also got the measure of our lawns. Chester hung on though, and after 17 games the score stood at 9 games to 8. It all depended on the last game, between David Crawford and John Armer, and David prevailed in the last few hoops to win by 7 -4, thus resulting in an overall victory for Chester at 10 games to 8. A thoroughly enjoyable, if testing, match, and well played on both sides. Well done Chester Centurions and thank you Westmorland.

It was another hot, sunny day on Thursday, 10 July, when Chester played Craig-y-Don in the club’s second golf croquet match in this year’s Snowdonia Cup competition. Despite the temperature, it was an enoyable day’s croquet and the result was a 12 – 4 win for Chester.