Author: David Guyton

Chester Croquet Club hosted the CAMSOC group on Sunday, 7 July, on its annual get together on the croquet lawns. Members were soaked putting out the lawns in advance but amazingly, despite the forecast, the sun then came out and fun was had in the glorious sunny afternoon. A mixed group of 16 people attended and were put into 4 groups to play progressive doubles of golf croquet. Most had played before but members were on hand to organise the day, give advice if needed and make refreshments. Scores were counted at the end of the number of hoops ran and the winner with 20 was Daniel.

Chester sent three teams to the annual Southport Festival of Croquet over the weekend of 29 and 30 June.

Ten clubs from the North West Federation saw 80 competitors play in six different classes of croquet matches, in both association croquet and golf croquet, over the two days.

Poor weather dominated the festival, particularly on Saturday with very large puddles covering many of Southport’s twelve lawns.

Chester’s association croquet team of David Boyd, Robin Tasker and Andy Wilson-Chalon lost two of their three matches on Saturday in often driving rain but they managed to draw the third as conditions eased. On Sunday, Chester decisively defeated Pendle and drew against Bowdon in an exciting finale.

The golf croquet level play team of Sarah Clements and Rick Davies were in sparkling form despite the almost continuous rain and puddles, and they won all their Saturday matches in great style. Although Sunday was much drier, the cold and strong north easterly wind was unpleasant but the Chester pair won two of their three matches to finish an overall second in their class.

The Chester golf croquet handicap team was led by Sandy Grievson with newcomers Doreen Curtis and Christine Fryer who were having their first taste of this form of competitive croquet. Although they lost their four matches on Saturday, two were very close. On Sunday, they were soundly beaten by Fylde, the eventual winners of the class, but they came much closer in their remaining two matches.

 

 

The summer solstice, Thursday, 20 June 2024, was the day assigned for Chester Chariots to play Bury Sovereigns in the NW Federation golf croquet level play league. It did not disappoint, possibly being the warmest day of the year so far with little breeze in the morning. This was a home match of 18 games captained by Edward Baskerville, supported by Kerry Dadson and Jude Wise. The Sovereigns were led by Bernard Lord with Bury members, Vi Richards and David Parrott. The home team’s average handicap of 5.3 compared with the Sovereigns 6.3 indicating a close match might be anticipated. In the event Chester Chariots won by 14 games to 4 which did not truly reflect the pressure the Sovereigns imposed. The fact that the Sovereigns managed to run 111 hoops against the Chariots 117 gives, perhaps, a better reflection. Both captains won and lost against each other, 7-5, in games that lasted well over an hour. Jude closed the afternoon for Chester Chariots with an impressive 7-0 win, the only white wash of the day.

Another fine day two days later on Saturday, 22 June, with beautiful weather and two very evenly matched teams – Chester Senators playing at home against Bowdon Bounders in the NW Federation golf croquet handicap league. Play started at 10.00 am prompt and finished at 3.00 pm. In between it was nip and tuck all the way. So evenly matched were the teams that we ended with a well-deserved draw of 9 games all. Maybe that shows the handicap system works well? What did work very well was the chemistry between the two teams with everyone able to thoroughly enjoy the match.

 

On Wednesday, 12 June, Chester was host to Southport in a NW Federation Association Short Lawn league match. Jayne Taylor (captain), Nigel Worthington, Sarah Clements and Val Sanders put up a strong fight against the more experienced visiting team and managed to hold them to a draw, 8 games each, with Sarah winning three of her four games.

The following day Chester sent a team of three north to the lovely venue of Levens Hall to play a Golf Croquet Level Play league match against Westmorland. Fortunately the rain held off until after lunch, and Sally Slater (captain), Jayne Taylor and Kerry Dadson managed to secure a draw against the home team on quite difficult lawns, with both teams winning 9 games. Three cheers were raised for Kerry who won 4 of his six games, including the last game of the day which secured the draw for Chester.

Two draws in two days!

 

On Saturday, 8 June, at Westminster Park the Chester Senators played Craggy Dons from Llandudno in an 18 game match in the NW Federation golf croquet handicap league. Chester, under captain Edward Baskerville ably supported by Christine Fryer, David Johnson and Rhia Taylor began well by winning both the doubles games. However, the Dons captained by Nick Challinor and supported by Beth McClelland, John Hannah and Linda Taylor began to fight back in the singles. The Dons, despite scoring 103 advantage points against the Senators 109 points, were held off by Chester Senators who won the match 11 games to 7. An excellent performance by David Johnson who finished the afternoon winning all four of his games in glorious sunshine, albeit with a rather chilly wind.

Saturday, 1 June, saw Chester host its first ever nationwide “B” series tournament for Level Play Golf Croquet, drawing players ( and Bertie the dog) from all over the country, in a competition for players with a 3 handicap or above, playing in at least 7 games each. The winner Chris Higgins from Bishops Monkton triumphed over Robert Purcell from Ludlow Castle, in a close fought final, with Edwin Bone from Eynsham winning a close battle with Jill Brent (and Bertie the dog) to win the plate competition ( which happened to be a bottle of champagne !). Local Chester members, Edward Baskerville and Rick Davies battled it out for third and fourth place in the main competition, with Edward wining the cup (or rather the tankard). This was a well fought and sociable competition on a lovely day; enjoyed by participants, helpers and those watching. We look forward to another one next year !

On the following day, Sunday, 2 June, David Guyton, David Boyd, Mark Lloyd and Andy Wilson-Chalon played for Chester at home against Crake Valley in the NW Federation Association Croquet 26 point handicap league. For a change the weather was sunny if a little chilly, and the lawns benefitted from being cut for the golf croquet tournament on the previous day. They were dry and fast, prompting more overshoots approaching the hoops and at the boundary than players might have wished. Fortunes varied during the day, with Crake Valley forging ahead in the morning, but Chester regaining the upper hand in the afternoon leading to a 4-3 win by the Chester team.

At the same time, the Chester Senators Golf Croquet team travelled to Southport to play a Golf Croquet handicap league match, and also benefitted from the dry and windy weather which had helped to dry out some of the Southport lawns that had been waterlogged earlier in the week. Gail Thomas (capt), Sandy Grievson, Doreen Curtis and Mel Hagan had a long but enjoyable day, and succeeded in holding the home team to a very close result, losing by only 10 – 8.

On Tuesday, 4 June, Chester Chariots faced a much more experienced Golf Croquet team from Crake Valley in a NW Federation Level Play league match. Not surprisingly the low handicap players of Crake (at levels 1 and 2) soundly beat the Chester team of Jayne Taylor, Edward Baskerville and Kerry Dadson ( all on level 5) but the games were well fought with Edward and Jayne prevailing in two of them, which eased the pain. Unfortunately the already wet lawns became waterlogged under a downpour in the afternoon and the last four games of the match had to be abandoned, leaving the score at 12 games to 2.

In contrast on Thursday, 6 June, Chester Centurions, with Mark Lloyd, Garry Greenwood and David Boyd (all on level 1 handicap) faced a team from Westmorland (on handicaps 6, 10 and 10), and produced an equally convincing result, winning 17 games to 1 in a Level Play golf croquet league match. Fortunately the weather was somewhat kinder !

It’s a busy season !

Chester fielded teams in two NW Federation league matches on Sunday, 2 June.

At home Chester played against Crake Valley in the association croquet 26 point handicap league. The Chester team for this match were David Guyton (captain), David Boyd, Mark Lloyd and Andy Wilson-Chalon. For a change, it was bright and sunny throughout the day though at times with a distinct chill in the wind. The lawns were in good condition and had been cut specially for the golf croquet tournament held on the previous day. After the early morning dew had evaporated, they were dry and faster than at any time so far this year. As a result there were more than average overshoots at hoop approaches and at boundaries. By lunchtime, Chester were lagging behind having won one singles game but losing the doubles game and another singles game in the morning. Fortunes improved in the afternoon when Chester won three of the four singles games and losing the other by a single golden hoop after both sides had equal scores when time was called. The overall result was a 4 – 3 win for Chester.

In an away match against Southport in the golf croquet handicap league, the Chester team were Gail Thomas (captain), Doreen Curtis, Sandy Grievson and Mel Hagen. As at Chester, the forecast had been good – dry and sunny all day – but further north and on the coast it turned out to be overcast but with the same chilly wind in the morning. The afternoon brightened somewhat and the sun came out as we were leaving! Apparently the lawns had been very wet early in the week and one of the four was still unplayable. We had two lawns to play on and they were fine – a little dew early on but that soon dried. A long day but enjoyable with a final score 10 – 8 to Southport.

 

A new six week AC beginners course will start on Tuesday, 11 June, at 5 pm.

It is aimed primarily at those new members who joined partway through the first course and those that wish to repeat part or all of it.

It will also be linked into a developers/improvers course that will run in tandem. The improvers course will focus on one particular aspect each week.

With a short introduction/demonstration followed by a practice session and then rounded off with conditioned games.

Anyone wishing to learn the rudiments of the game or develop and enhance their existing skill set will be very welcome. Just come along!

Robert Jones

The season is proving to be a busy one, with very variable weather !

On the Thursday, 16 May, the Chester Centurions, a three player team, travelled to LLanfairfechan  to play a Golf Croquet Level Play league match.  The day started bright and sunny with a sea breeze, but by lunchtime the Welsh mountains were shrouded in mist and  the rain came down bringing a wet afternoon. The match was a close one, with Llanfairfechan 5-4 at lunchtime, but Chester pulled back to 9-8 in the rain. The last game was won by the closest of margins, closing the match at a draw 9-9. A fitting score for two well balanced teams.

The annual club tournament for the Fletton Trophy took place on Sunday, 19 May, at Chester under blue skied and wonderful sunshine. This is an advanced association croquet competition and Richard Smith, David Boyd, David Guyton, Robin Tasker, Mark Lloyd and Roger Brooks  played each other in five rounds of games, each game limited to 70 minutes. That was a lot of croquet under a hot sun ! The games were hard fought, with a high standard of play, and the final round decider between the two highest seed players saw Richard victorious over Roger at 14 points to 8.

In stark contrast, on Wednesday, 22 May, an all ladies team of Jayne Taylor, Val Sanders and Sarah Clements ventured northwards in heavy rain and very heavy traffic to play a short lawn assciation croquet league match against Westmorland.  The setting of Levens Hall was beautiful, and the host team was very welcoming, but the continuous rain, low temperature and soggy lawns proved physically testing. The final result was very close with Westmorland winning 5 games and Chester 4, Sarah excelling in her first ever AC match by winning all her 3 games.

Then on Sunday, 26 May, an association croquet handicap team of Sally Slater (captain), David Boyd, David Guyton and Andy Wilson-Chalon played Bury Peelers at their Whitehead Park venue in Bury. Unsurprisingly there had been a lot of rain, making the lawns heavy and wet and difficult to play on at the start. The rain came in patches, interspersed with periods of warm sunshine and the lawns got faster during the day. Chester won the doubles but lost both singles in the morning giving a score of 2-1 to Bury at lunchtime. In the afternoon the singles matches were very closely fought and each side won two games, giving Bury a final score of 4-3. The day finished in a thunderstorm and torrential rain!

A week that demonstrated just how much nicer it is to play croquet when the weather is good !

The club’s annual tournament for the Fletton Trophy took place on Sunday, 19 May, under blue skies and wonderful hot sunshine.

The Fletton Trophy is an association croquet competition played under Advanced rules and, this year, as a 14-point, time-limited all-play-all one day tournament.

There were six entrants with a handicap range between -0.5 and 5, and so five rounds of matches each limited to 70 minutes. And that equated to a lot of croquet under a hot sun on excellent lawns, and by the finish some tired croquet players.

The tournament draw meant that the top seeds would play in the final round and, if they had both managed to win in their previous rounds, would determine the winner of Fletton Trophy. And so it proved – just.

In the first round Richard Smith (-0.5) was easing to victory until David Boyd (5) staged a remarkable comeback running 6 hoops and pegging out his front ball to draw level as time was called. In the ensuing Golden Hoop cat and mouse play Richard eventually sneaked to an 8-7 victory. Elsewhere Roger Brooks (-0.5) had swept to a commanding 14-1 win to start his campaign.

Richard continued his progression through the rounds beating Mark Lloyd (0.5), David Guyton (4.5) and Robin Tasker (4.5) but never being entirely convincing without a pegged out game. By contrast Roger sailed through his subsequent rounds failing to peg out on only one occasion and that with a close fought 12-9 victory over Mark.

In the final round decider Richard took his front ball round to peg with a good diagonal spread leave. Roger hit in from the lift and proceeded to go round also to peg and took the opportunity to peg out Richard’s front ball for a 3-ball game. Whilst Roger started well, Richard hit in with his single ball and took that round to peg out for a 14-8 victory to win the Fletton Trophy.

And so after more than 7.5 hours play, and 15 matches, six weary sun-drenched croquet players made their ways home. Congratulations go to Richard for his win, and many thanks to the others for a thoroughly enjoyable day.