Category: News

Chester croquet club took on a strong team from Pendle and Craven on Saturday 18^th August in the NW handicap league and won 5-2.
Chester’s team comprised Elmyr Hughes, David Boyd, Alan Clare (captain) and Brian Walton.
The lawns were slow as they had not been recently cut and the bald patches made judging pace a bit tricky! In the morning the wind was blustery, however the afternoon was hot and sunny.

After strong wins earlier in the week, Chester finished a very busy week with two more less successful NW league matches over the weekend, 11 – 12 August.

In the NW Handicap Golf Croquet League the Chester team of Pauline Walters (captain), Roger Haigh, Brian Hayes and Ian Graham lost 5 – 13 playing at home against Southport on Saturday, 11 August. Many of the games were very close with several golden hoops being played.

On the following day, Chester played away against Bowdon Bears in the NW Short Lawn League. The whole match was accompanied by big band music from a dancing competition in an adjacent hall. The Chester team of Roger Edwards (captain), Hugh Bray, Maureen Corrigan and Barbara Jones seemed to catch the rhythm and tangoed around the hoops rather than running them and ended up losing the match 2 – 14. Despite the score, it was an enjoyable day playing against friendly hosts.

One of the Croquet Association’s national competitions for level play golf croquet was hosted by Chester Croquet Club over the weekend of 4th and 5th August. Fourteen top class players from all over the country, including Ripon, Watford, Cheltenham and Bakewell, contested the Maggie Cowman trophy over the two days of play. Five Chester players joined the competition, Trevor Farrell, Chris Thomas, Jayne Taylor, Garry Greenwood and Roger Edwards.

The final match for the trophy was between two Chester players Garry Greenwood and Trevor Farrell. After an extremely close match the winner at 10-9 was defending champion Garry Greenwood who received the Maggie Cowman Trophy and a personal medal. The Chester Bowl for second place was won by Ann Brookes from Colchester, and Steve Marsh from Bakewell  won the Telford Plate.

David Guyton presented the trophies to the winners and thanked everyone for making it such a successful event for the third year in a row. David Crawford was manager of the tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday 4^th and Sunday, 5^th August, Chester Croquet Club will be hosting an All England golf croquet tournament in Westminster Park. This is the third year the club’s offer to host one of the Croquet Association’s national tournaments has been accepted and we are delighted that it attracts competitors from across the country who often combine it with a stay in Chester.

Games will be in progress from about 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, 4^th August, and again on Sunday morning, 5^th August, with the finals being played on Sunday afternoon finishing around 3 pm. We would like to extend a welcome to anyone who would like to visit the event at any time over the weekend and see some first class, international standard croquet.

In the pouring rain on Sunday 29^th July the Chester Short Lawn Association Croquet team struggled against an in-form team from Bowdon. Chester finally lost 9 games to 7 after a hard fought match. The Chester team was Sarah Andrew (Captain), Roger Edwards, Barbara Jones and a new player, James Thomas. 21 year old James only started learning the complex game of Association Croquet in April, so it was very pleasing that he managed to win his game against the best player in the Bowdon team.

There were mixed fortunes for Chester croquet club this week after last week’s successes.

Bowdon beat Chester 3-2 in a close match in the North West advanced B league on Saturday 15^th July. David Boyd and Robin Tasker played well to beat strong opponents in the afternoon, but the match was really decided in the doubles in the morning when one of the Bowdon team made an outstanding break after time and scored the deciding hoop. Jerry Guest was the captain.

In the level play league held on Wednesday 18^th July the Chester team of Pat Clare (captain), Chris Thomas and Paul Taylor was beaten 13-5 at Culcheth by a team of lower handicaps, playing on lawns that had absolutely no grass. A lot of the games were close, being decided at the golden hoop, but the opportunities were not taken. Some good croquet was played on the enjoyable day.

Chester croquet club has status as a community amateur sports club and often hosts community groups throughout the season, such as Mensa, Round Table, Rotary etc. On Friday 20^th July, Cheshire WI put on an event at the club when 32 ladies from different groups in the county came to have a try at croquet. The day was led by Maureen Ivens. The ladies were given a short introductory talk, then went out on the lawns with volunteers to get used to holding a mallet, hitting balls and running hoops before finishing with a game. They all really enjoyed the experience.

Playing in scorching weather at the English Seniors Championship at Budleigh Salterton, Devon, last week John Dawson of Chester Croquet Club gained the C class title by winning all his seven matches by an average of eleven hoops.

It was a very successful week for Chester croquet club in both regional and national competitions.

Chester visited Southport on Wednesday 11^th July for a North West Federation mid-week association match. The lawns were bumpy and a bit sparse of grass, but the weather was warm and not too hot. Chester won by 4 games to 3, with 7 of the 8 games going to time and most being low scoring. Chester fielded a strong team with John Dawson, Alan Clare, Robin Tasker and Paul Taylor against an inexperienced Southport side.

In the national knock out Mary Rose competition held on Thursday 12^thJuly, the Chester team of Mark Lloyd, Jerry Guest, John Dawson and David Boyd beat Bowdon 6-1. Chester now play Nottingham in the next round. Mark had to play speedily as he was appearing as Joseph in the Mystery plays at Chester cathedral in the evening!

On Saturday 14^th July Chester hosted Bury Caesars in the NW Handicap League winning 5-2 and thus retaining their season’s 100% record. Chester led 3-0 at the lunch interval following singles wins for Michael Miller and Richard Smith, and for Sarah Andrew and Robin Tasker in the doubles. The afternoon singles were shared in some tight games on fast lawns with Richard and Robin both winning their games. Richard in particular played some exceptional croquet in his two victories.

A very hot, sunny day on Sunday 15^th July saw Chester winning at Fylde in the NW Federation short lawn competition. The team of Jayne Taylor (captain), Sally Slater, Barbara Jones and Maureen Corrigan won 12-4.

The croquet lawns are extremely dry after weeks of no rain, and there has been concern about the state of them, particularly for the upcoming national competition in August, but the club members have recently been able to take advantage of using untreated water from a pond specifically for the use of watering in Westminster Park and hope that the lawns will improve.