Author: David Guyton

On a glorious sunny day on the last day of August, eight short lawn association players fought it out in this year’s short lawn open competition. There were two groups of 4 arranged according to handicap and each group played the other three players in their group. The winner of each group then played the final, which was between Jayne Taylor and Sally Slater. Most games were very close and it was a hugely enjoyable day of croquet.  In the end, Jayne Taylor won her last match 14-7 and received the award of Short Lawn Open Champion 2024 from the runner-up and competition organiser, Sally Slater.

On the following day, Sunday, 1 September, Chester travelled to Bowdon for their final fixture of the season in the Advanced B Level League with both teams in contention to be this year’s winner. The day was largely warm and dry although a heavy downpour and ominous thunder accompanied the afternoon session.

In the morning Mark Lloyd and Robin Tasker played the doubles and won a tight game by two hoops, while David Guyton was defeated by a much lower handicapped player to leave the match 1-1 at lunch.

In the afternoon Chester excelled winning all three singles games, played as ever on Bowdon’s immaculate lawns, to take the match by 4-1.

The result leaves Chester at the top of the league with Bowdon requiring a 5-0 victory in their final match to take the title. We shall see…

 

 

On Monday, 19 August, Chester played away against Bowdon in the North West Federation association croquet full lawn 14 point handicap league. This was the club’s last match of the season in this new league. Team members were Robin Tasker (captain), John Hampson, Brian Walton and Andy Wilson-Chalon.

The lawns had been cut recently and were playing well. The whole day was overcast and the rain held off until after lunch but then lasted only an hour. An experienced Bowdon team, armed with their bisques, made for a challenging day. Most of the Chester team had some successes, which was rewarding for the individuals, but overall it was disappointing to finish the 14 point season with a 5 – 11 loss for Chester.

As it was the first season for the new 14 point league,  all members of the squad are being invited to offer their views on all aspects of the format in anticipation of a general post mortem by the Federation in planning for next year.

On the following Saturday, 24 August, Robin Tasker and Brian Walton were in action again together with David Boyd in a three man team in a home match against Bury in the North West Federation advanced B-level league.

In the morning, on another cool August day, Robin Tasker and Brian Walton played the doubles game and, after a slow start by both sides, pulled away with two good breaks to take the lead. David Boyd playing the morning singles game established a healthy lead early on but a late break by his opponent made for a tense finish with Chester winning by a single point for 2 – 0 lead at lunch.

The three singles games in the afternoon were all competitive. Robin Tasker lost to his much lower handicapped opponent whereas David Boyd comfortably beat his higher handicapped opponent. The third singles was an excitingly tense match with Brian Walton behind for much of the time against an opponent hitting in and running hoops fearlessly. However a late break by Brian saw him overhaul his opponent to give Chester a 4 -1 victory for the day.

With later confirmation that Chester’s forthcoming match against Pendle has been conceded by Pendle, Chester has moved to joint top of the league level with Bowdon and the two clubs are due to compete in Chester’s last match of the season for this league this coming Sunday, 1 September, though Bowdon have one further match to play.

Two new golf croquet competitions for Chester members will be held on Friday, 13 September 2024.

Chester Cup B-Level is for players with handicaps of 3 to 6 inclusive.
Chester Cup C-Level is for players with handicaps of 7 to 12 inclusive

Both competitions will be played under Croquet England Tournament Regulations – level play (no handicaps) with no time limits. Three games before lunch and two games after lunch.

B-Level will be played on lawns 1 and 2 with C-Level on 3 and 4. Entries are restricted to 8 players for each Level.

Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries and cream will be provided at lunchtime.

Please sign-up with me at grievsontom@gmail.com for a place quoting your current handicap number. If you have any questions you can also ring me on 07801665993.

Tom Grievson
E-mail: grievsontom@gmail.com
Mobile: 07801665993

On Sunday, 18 August, Chester Croquet Club again welcomed members of Mensa for their annual croquet tournament. This year visitors arrived not just from the north-west but also flying in from Dublin and Scotland, with over 20 people enthusiastically playing both association and golf croquet throughout the day and croquet club volunteers offering tuition and guidance. This was the fifteenth visit by Mensa with many members and their families making a long weekend of the event in Chester’s shops, bars and hotels. A great day was had by all!

Grateful thanks to Dennis Holman who organised this visit and similar recent visits by CAMSOC, the Buckley Freemasons and the Saughall Rotary Club, and to members of the club who helped and provided catering throughout the day. The Mensa participants are looking forward to another return visit next year.

 

Wednesday, 14 August, was a glorious day, and the Chester Chariots Level Play Golf Croquet team rose to the occasion, beating Bowdon Bombers at Bowdon, by 10 games to 8. The team of Edward Baskerville (captain), Kerry Dadson and Chris Thomas, with an average handicap of 5 faced a more experienced team with an average handicap of 3, but were undaunted by the challenge that presented. Kerry Dadson (handicap 5) had a particularly successful day, beating the Bowdon captain (on a -1 handicap) twice. As a consequence, Kerry’s handicap triggered down to a 4. Well done Kerry.

Saturday, 17 August, proved to be rather less successful, when the Chester Chariots travelled north to face Southport. The team of Jude Wise (captain) Edward Baskerville and Kerry Dadson faced a strong team on very fast lawns, and in spite of some very close games, lost the match 17 -1. However the games were enjoyable to play, and the company was good, thus demonstrating that croquet can be fun even when you lose !

Saturday, 10 August, saw the Chester Senators golf croquet handicap team of Sandy Grievson (captain), Gail Thomas, Liz Baskerville and Leslie Newman playing at Llanfairfechan against the Dragons. The day started with a penetrating drizzle and the Dragons established a strong lead. However the sun came out at lunchtime and the Senators clawed back led by a strong performance from Gail, who won all her games. The final result of 9 games all was a fair reflection of the day’s croquet play.

Chester Croquet Club hosted Deva Rotary Club on Tuesday, 6 August, for a fun evening of croquet.

The 15 visitors were welcomed to the club, given mallets and a briefing on basic skills, then split into groups to play three rounds of golf croquet. Each group was supported by a volunteer from the club who also put out the lawns and made drinks.

Scores were kept and the person who ran the most hoops was the winner and received a prize. Third was Angela Williams, second was Alison McGill and the winner was Nikki Taylor who ran 12 hoops.

The sunshine was lovely and it was great to see everyone having fun but also improving their croquet as the evening’s play went on.

End of season short lawn competition

Our annual end of season short lawn open competition will be held on Saturday, 31  August.  The format will depend on the number of entries, so in the first instance please let me know if you would like to play. It’s a great opportunity for all short lawn association croquet players of all standards.

Please reply to

Sally Slater

Arrangements for Mason Cup on Monday, 2 September

Just a reminder that the Mason Cup tournament will be held next Monday, 2 September, starting at 9.30 am, so please arrive by 9.15 am.

There are 8 entrants and the tournament will be run as a 5-round Swiss with the first round pre-drawn.

This is a 14-point full lawn handicap event where handicaps will be reduced as per Schedule 1, Schedule of Bisques from the Laws of Association Croquet, 7th edition; and further modified (reduced by 5/6th) to reflect that the time limit of matches is reduced from 90 minutes to 75 minutes. The matches will be full bisque games, that is played from a base of 0, and all four lawns will be used.

Please don’t forget your lunch!

Cheers

Robin Tasker
E-mail robin_tasker@btinternet.com

A reminder to sign up for the 2024 Mason Cup

Please, a reminder that if you haven’t already responded then I’d be delighted to hear from you if you intend to play in this year’s Mason Cup tournament.

Many thanks

Robin Tasker
E-mail robin_tasker@btinternet.com

2024 Mason Cup on Monday, 2 September

A 14-point AC full lawn handicap tournament will be held on Monday, 2 September, for the Mason Cup.

If you wish to enter please let me know no later than Monday, 26 August.

The precise format of the tournament will depend upon the number of entrants.

All games will be 14-point and time-limited with handicaps adjusted to take account of the shorter game format. Games will be played as full handicap matches (no base).

Scoring will be one point for a win; hoop points scored will be recorded. The winner will be the person with the most points scored. In the event of a tie at the end of the competition, the tied player with the most hoop points scored will be the winner; if that fails to elicit a winner, the head-to-head results of the tied players will determine the winner; and if that fails to elicit a winner, a tie break at the manager’s discretion will be used.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Robin Tasker
E-mail robin_tasker@btinternet.com

Chester Croquet Club hosted the All England Golf Croquet A level competition over the weekend of the 3-4 August. 16 players from various parts of the country met and competed for the Maggie Cowman trophy. The weather and the lawns behaved well, though the rain on Sunday was not in the forecast. However that did not dampen the spirits of a lively and greatly enjoyed competition. The winner was Tony McCann from the Backworth Croquet Club in the North East, who narrowly beat Chester’s own Sarah Clements in the final. It was lovely to be able to welcome players from all over England to Chester, and for them to have a chance to see our City (some for the first time) during their evening stay.