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Another Social Funday this Sunday, 4 July,  2.00-5.00 pm.

Strawberries and Bucks Fizz provided.  Please bring something to share.

Family and friends welcome.

See you there!

The Secretary’s Shield competition is one of three national competitions which Chester Croquet Club is entering in 2021. It is a full lawn association croquet handicap knock-out competition for winners of regional competitions in the previous year, in this case 2019 as matches were cancelled in 2020.

On this occasion Chester faced Nailsea near Bristol on neutral lawns midway between the two clubs at Edgbaston near Birmingham on Tuesday, 29 June. Nailsea were able to muster a team of only three players rather than the usual four and Chester were represented by David Boyd (captain), Brian Walton and Paul Watson.  In the two  morning games Chester lost the doubles game but won the singles game and then went on to win the three singles games in the afternoon. The overall result was a 4 – 1 win for Chester who now go on to face the winner of Sheffield v Hampstead Heath.

 

Chester Croquet Club clocked up another win on Wednesday, 23 June, in a home match against Westmorland in the NW Federation midweek association croquet handicap league. At the start of the match the weather was dull and cool but the lawns were dry and fast running. The Chester team of David Guyton (captain), Sally Slater, Brian Walton and Paul Watson made good progress and finished the morning winning the doubles game and two singles games giving Chester a 3 – 0 lead at half time. By then a damp drizzle had started which turned to more incessant rain during the lunch break. Westmorland returned to the lawns re-invigorated after lunch and at one stage were ahead of Chester in all four singles games during the afternoon. By this time the players and lawns were getting wetter and wetter and it was becoming more and more difficult to hit the balls accurately over any distance. However, Chester held on doggedly and managed to win two of the four singles games in the afternoon.  This gave Chester a satisfying 5 – 2 result for the match which implies a much easier win than was felt at the time. By the end of play the lawns were totally saturated with widespread puddles. After several weeks of dry weather the lawns will have welcomed the rain but the players would have preferred fewer umbrellas and rather more sunshine.

 

Last September after a weekend competition Sally Slater won the club’s AC full lawn handicap tournament and with it the Mason Cup.

Unfortunately, because of various Covid-19 lockdowns in force at that time, the Mason Cup itself was marooned in Wales along with the 2019 winner James Thomas.

However, today we welcomed James back from exile in Wales and voluntary service in Uganda to full lawn AC activity at Chester, and with him the repatriated Mason Cup!

This year’s annual Mason Cup competition will be held over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, 25-26 September. Plenty of time for practice between now and then!

Chester Croquet Club played a North West Federation golf handicap match against Culcheth on Sunday, 20 June,  on a surprisingly warm and sunny day.

Chester was represented by Pauline Walters (captain), Jude Wise, Kerry Dadson and Paul Cronin. Jude, Kerry and Paul are all relatively new to the club and Paul has only been playing croquet for about 6 weeks after he attended one of the taster days in April!

After an exciting match Chester emerged the victors with 12 games to 5 with one draw.

There was a festive feel at Chester Croquet Club’s first Social Sunday this season. A gazebo was set up for drinks and food outside in the glorious sunshine and members and visitors played croquet throughout the afternoon. Ages ranged from 5 to 89!

Croquet is an ideal sport for social distancing, with 8 people safely allowed on a lawn, and much fun was had by all who came. This was the first of six Social Fundays arranged this season.

We have another few more Social Fundays planned through the season – not all are on Sundays – so please put the following dates in your diaries:

Sunday, 4 July
Sunday, 18 July
Sunday, 1 August
Sunday, 22 August
Saturday, 11 September
Sunday, 3 October
Sunday, 17 October

We can’t always promise Buck’s Fizz and scones, but you never know!

Hi everyone

We are resuming our Social Sundays (now called Fundays as they won’t always be on a Sunday!) on Sunday, 13 June.
2 pm -5 pm.
Bring something to share if you can.
Buck’s Fizz, juice, tea and coffee and scones are provided.
We will be playing croquet, either GC or AC,
and you are welcome to bring along your friends or family.
We won’t be able to use the pavilion, apart from toilets, so we will be outside.
See you there!

Sally Slater

After more than a year when inter-club games have been suspended, North West Federation league matches are back in full swing. In the past week, the club has fielded teams in three more matches.

On Wednesday, 2 June, the Chester Centurions level play golf croquet team played Culcheth in glorious sunshine. Sally Slater (captain), David Boyd and David Crawford were ahead by 8 games to 1 at lunchtime, but the score line belied how closely fought some of the games were. The Chester team held the lead through the afternoon and the final score was a satisfying 15 – 2 win for the club

On the following day, the club’s other level play golf croquet team, the Chester Chariots, played away against Llanfairfechan. It was another enjoyable day but the outcome was less successful with a 11 – 7 win by Llanfairfechan.

Then on Sunday, 6 June, Chester played at home against Fylde in the NW Advanced B Level league. On a day that started cloudy and cool but became gloriously sunny Chester, represented by Jerry Guest, David Guyton and Robin Tasker, managed to win a finely balanced match.

The morning games were shared with Chester winning the doubles game by only a single point as time was called and Fylde winning the singles game. After a picnic lunch in the park in warm June sunshine, the three afternoon singles games were all closely fought. Ultimately all went Chester’s way to secure an overall 4 – 1  victory with some skilful and entertaining croquet played by both sides.

The Chester lawns were commended by the Fylde team and a thoroughly enjoyable and competitive day was shared by all.

 

It was a home derby clash at Chester Croquet Club on Wednesday, 26 May, when the Club’s two level play golf croquet teams of Chester Centurions played Chester Chariots. The Centurions – Garry Greenwood (captain), Sally Slater and David Boyd – quickly went ahead in the morning matches, leading by 5-1 at lunchtime. There was a late pull back by the Chariots – Pat Clare (captain), Pauline Walters and Roger Haigh – but not enough to change the outcome. The Chester Centurions won their first game of the season 15-3.

On Saturday, 29 May, a North West Federation golf croquet league match took place at home against Southport. The Chester team was Pauline Walters (captain), Jude Wise, Kerry Dadson and Jill Foley. It was a hugely enjoyable and exciting match, with the final score being a 9-9 draw. Kerry and Jude were playing in their first match for Chester.

After a gap of more than a year, the competitive season has finally got underway again at Chester Croquet Club, with the first games being played in the North West Federation leagues.

The first match of the season was played away on Sunday, 16 May, at Pendle when the weather was pleasantly sunny through the morning but increasingly damp in the afternoon. The lawns started off damp and turned increasingly soggy but remained just about playable.

Chester got the perfect morning start winning both the doubles and the one singles game, although in the latter Chester gained the lead for the first time in the game as the golden hoop was run.

The afternoon was a tighter affair with Chester winning the single game needed to take the match 3-2. The Chester team of Brian Walton, David Boyd and Robin Tasker were rewarded with long drives home through torrential rain and thunderstorms but nonetheless very satisfied.

The first round of the national Longman Trophy competition was played on Wednesday, 19 May, in glorious sunshine on Bowdon’s lovely super-fast lawns and although they lost the Chester team fought strongly through the day. Particular mention should be made of Nigel Worthington making his Chester full lawn debut who won his afternoon single convincingly.

The morning session was lost 1-2 with both the doubles and one singles game going to Bowdon. This made for a tough afternoon where the four singles were shared equally 2-2 which allowed Bowdon to get over the finishing line to win the match 4-3.

There was a great deal of good croquet played in what for Chester were challenging conditions as adjusting to the faster speed of the lawns was always tricky and often rather too much so. The team of David Guyton, David Boyd, Nigel Worthington and Robin Tasker were disappointed to lose but a full and enjoyable day was had by all.

Chester Croquet Club has signed up 25 new members this season, a record for the club. Nearly 60 people had expressed an initial interest in playing croquet, and after the taster days where 45 people turned up to have a go, 25 people joined the club and participated in two new members days on 1st and 9th May. They braved rain, cold and hail storms but all enjoyed their first proper games of croquet and hopefully will go on to become team members and further promote the great sport of croquet.