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It was a busy spring weekend for Chester with three NW Federation league matches over the two days.

On Saturday, 25 April, Chester Senators welcomed Southport Falcons to Chester on a beautiful, sunny day for the first golf croquet handicap league match of the season. Southport made a strong start, winning both doubles sets and five of the eight singles matches played in the morning to take a 7–3 lead. Chester rallied after lunch, winning six of the remaining eight games to level the match and secure a draw. The match was played in a very friendly spirit, and both teams enjoyed an excellent day.

On the following day, Sunday, 26 April, the Chester Centurions team of David Boyd, Sam Seal, and Jude Wise (captain) welcomed the Southport team of John Hampson, Dave Venables and Paul Greenwood in the first golf croquet level play league match of the season .  In contrast with the previous Saturday, it was a grey start to the day and  not very warm but with some sunny intervals though it did warm up in the afternoon. All the games were enjoyable, challenging and well fought with seven games reaching the golden hoop – Chester won 4 of them and Southport won 3. The man of the match was Sam Seal who excelled winning all his games, and Chester succeeded in getting the upper hand winning the match 11 – 7.

On the same day, Chester’s team of Sarah Clements (captain) and brothers Michael and Ant Fletcher  played way against Bowdon Weekenders in the first association croquet short lawn match of the season. Bowdon Weekenders fielded a strong team but Chester played really well in the bright sunshine and won 6 – 3. All three Chester players managed two wins out of three each and enjoyed the hospitality and friendly atmosphere that Bowdon provided.

So, overall a good weekend for Chester with two wins and a draw in the first NW Federation league matches of the season.

Chester opened the new season with an away match against Bury in the first round of Croquet England’s national Mary Rose advanced association croquet competition. The Chester team were Robin Tasker (captain), David Boyd, David Guyton and Andy Wilson-Chalon. Typical for April, the weather alternated between short showers and sunny intervals, somewhat chilly in the morning but warming up during the afternoon. Chester found themselves facing a strong and determined team fielded by Bury and lost the doubles and the two singles games in the morning. To win the match, that meant winning all four singles games in the afternoon. However, that was not to be. Robin Tasker and David Guyton managed to win their games resulting in an overall 5 – 2 win for Bury who go on to face Bowdon or Nottingham in the next round both of whom Bury succeeded in beating in the same competition last year.

On the same day, Chester hosted its annual Taster Day with morning and afternoon sessions for potential newcomers interested in finding out more and trying their hand at the game. Over 20 people came to the sessions and everyone enjoyed the day. After learning the basic skills of swinging the mallet and connecting with the ball, they learnt how to run hoops, hit balls and move two balls together. Each session ended with a game of one ball which was fun and often quite competitive between family members! Hopefully some people will join the club and become involved in this great sport. Chester Croquet Club is happy to try and accommodate anyone who couldn’t attend the taster sessions but wishes to have a go and see if it’s the sport for them. Just contact the club through links on the home page at www.chestercroquet.club .

 

Croquet is a summer game but it was a chilly business setting out the hoops in late March. On Wednesday, 25 March, a hardy bunch of volunteers were battered by hailstones while installing hoops on the full lawns and on Saturday, 28 March, there was a distinctly chilly northwesterly wind blowing across the lawns when installing hoops on the short lawns. But all the hoops – 72 hoops and 12 pegs – were set out in record time for the start of the new season.

Chester Croquet Club held its annual end of season dinner and presentation evening at Chez Jules on Tuesday, 11 November, to celebrate successes of the season. Club Chair, Tom Grievson, thanked everyone who had helped to organise and take part in the many league matches and competitions in what had been another busy and successful year for the club.

Highlights of the season were hosting for the first time four national level play golf croquet A, B, C and D-Level tournaments, which attracted participants from many parts of the country, and winning the NW Federation Advanced B-Level league for the second year running and the Snowdonia Cup for golf croquet and short lawn association croquet for the third year running.

The Club also held a record number of internal club competitions including, for the first time, a one-ball competition in which players of both association croquet and golf croquet took part. Several members were successful in winning more than one award. Not all the winners were able to attend but a full list can be found in the Members only area.

And thanks to Gail Thomas for organising the dinner and to Sally Slater for compiling a novel and almost impossible quiz and for taking the photographs.

Sunday,  28 September, saw another victory for Chester Croquet Club.  An association croquet short lawn team of Nigel Worthington (captain), Andy Wilson-Chalon and Jayne Taylor faced a team from Craig-y-Don in North Wales in the final match for this year’s ‘Snowdonia Cup’.  This is a local competition between Llanfairfechan, Craig-y-Don, Tattenhall and Chester, played over the full season,  involving games between the clubs within the two disciplines of handicap golf croquet and short lawn handicap association croquet.  This last match saw some close, but friendly, games,  finally resulting in a win for Chester at 7 games to 2.

The result was particularly important as it determined the final result of the whole competition.   On equal points at the top of the group are Chester  and Tattenhall, with 12 , followed by Llanfairfechan with 9 and Craig y Don with 3. However, Chester lifted the cup, having won the greatest number of games, 46 compared to Tattenhall 40.

So Chester retain the Snowdonia Cup for the third year in 2025. Congratulations Chester !

 

The Christine Long Cup is a golf croquet handicap competition for Chester Croquet Club members held each year on the last Saturday of the croquet season. And so it was that 16 players, with handicaps of 5 to 12, assembled at 9.30 am on Saturday, 27 September, to compete for this end-of-season trophy. It was decidedly chilly and grey with rain forecast from about 5 pm.

The plan for the day was for four blocks of four players each playing three games in the morning and knock-outs after lunch meant that everyone played a further three games in the afternoon.

Three players, Ian Meadows, Greg Orriell and Lesley Newman, came through the morning with unblemished records winning all their three games. A further five players dropped only one game apiece. Lunch was a BYO affair but strawberries and cream were provided by Sue Kendall who won this competition last year. It was a real pleasure to sit in the warm clubhouse for a while.

The afternoon knock-outs were divided into the Cup and the Plate awards. In the Cup group the first games were all extremely close and no obvious favourite emerged but the three clean sheet morning players, Ian, Greg and Lesley were joined by Rhia Taylor (who had a slow morning start) in the semi-final. The semi was however more decisive with convincing wins by Lesley and Greg who moved into the final. The final was as close as can be in a thrilling game where both players seemed to be on the cusp of victory, but at the very last hoop of the game Greg crept through to win the Cup

Over at the Plate knock-out the progression to the final was clearer with Denise Buchanan and Sue Kendall destined to meet each other to decide the Plate victor. This, like the Cup, was an exciting battle which could have been won by either player until the last hoop which Denise ran to win the Plate.

This competition defied the cold weather to be a great finish to the season. The rain held off and the first drops arrived just as the last of the equipment was being put away.

 

On Sunday, 21 September, Chester played Southport at home in the final match of the NW Federation association croquet 26 point handicap league. After continuous heavy rain the previous day and another downpour a few days earlier, the lawns had made a remarkable recovery from their parched state earlier in the summer. It was bright and sunny all day though with a distinct autumn chill in the air. Altogether, good conditions for a croquet match.

The Chester team were David Guyton (captain), Sally Slater, Brian Walton and Andy Wilson-Chalon.  Sally Slater and Brian Walton managed to win their singles games in the morning with narrow margins of just two hoops and one hoop leads respectively but David Guyton and Andy Wilson-Chalon lost their doubles game giving Chester a 2 – 1 lead by lunchtime.  In the four singles games in the afternoon, Chester won two with good leads of fifteen hoops and seven hoops but lost the other two, in the last game being pipped at the post in the final minutes. The overall result was a 4 – 3 win for Chester with all the games being played in good spirit with a good humoured visiting team.

Chester’s win was just enough to lift it from last position in this year’s league. On the basis of games won and lost, Fylde emerged as this year’s winner ahead of Bowdon Griffins in second place and Bury Caesars in third place with Chester finishing fifth out of eight.

 

Five people who joined the club this season entered the annual new members competition on Friday, 19 September. It was a mild day and the rain and wind held off, so very good conditions for a fun day of gentle competition.

It was an all play all format, with the winner being the person winning the most games. The trophy was presented to Kevin Taylor who won all four of his games. Helen Thomas was the runner up with two wins and a draw, but pleasingly everyone won at least one game.

Chester Croquet Club held its annual association croquet handicap competition for the Mason Cup on Monday, 15 September. After heavy rain  the previous day and more forecast on Monday, the weather was mercifully kind on the day and remained dry though with a grey overcast sky and sometimes a brisk breeze.

Eight members took part in the competition divided into two blocks of four. Games were limited to 14 points with a time limit of 60 minutes and handicaps adjusted accordingly.

David Boyd emerged as overall winner with Helen Brophy as runner-up.

In another busy week nearing the end of the competitive season, Chester fielded teams in four NW Federation leagues, losing one but then winning three in a row. After several spells of unsually hot weather and prolonged periods without rain from the spring through to August, September has been marked by a distinct change in the weather with lower temperatures and intermittent but recurring rain which has been welcomed by parched lawns everywhere.

On Wednesday, 10 September, Chester Centurions played away against Southport in the golf croquet level play league. In a well fought match Southport emerged in the lead winning 11 games against Chester’s 7.

Two days later on Friday, 12 September, Chester played Ellesmere at home in the golf croquet handicap league. The Chester Senators team comprised Arnie Banford (captain), Doreen Curtis, David Mann and Rhia Taylor. Play commenced at 10.00 am and finished by 3.30 pm. Fortunately, the rain held off and the day was largely sunny. Every game was played in good spirits, some being very close-run, and everyone agreed that it was a most enjoyable day with a final score of Chester 13 and Ellesmere 5.

Next day Chester’s short lawn team welcomed the Bowdon Weekenders on Saturday, 13 September. The weather was an interesting mix of sunshine, rain and some windy gusts, and the grass was greener than it has been all summer resulting in slower moving balls and the need to wield the mallet more strongly.

The Chester team for this match was Sarah Clements (captain), Helen Brophy, Ant Fletcher and Andy Wilson-Chalon. Chester emerged ahead in the first rounds of play but Bowdon caught up and had the potential to draw the fixture after lunch. Having a home advantage, Chester eventually won the match 10 games to 6. The Bowdon players helped with refereeing decisions as well as giving some coaching tips, which were gratefully received, and all in all it was a very friendly encounter between the two clubs.

Then on Sunday, 14 September, a Chester team of Robin Tasker (captain), David Boyd and David Guyton travelled to Bury for the club’s final match in the NW Advanced B Level association croquet league. Chester went into this match top of the league and knowing that a 4 – 1 win or better would give them the league title. Any less and if Crake, who were playing away at Bowden, were able to win 5 – 0, they would become this year’s champions.

The lawns at Bury were green and lush after recent rains and it was a pleasure to play on them. In the morning Robin Tasker won a difficult singles game while David Boyd and David Guyton held on to win the doubles by a single point. So 2 – 0 to Chester by lunchtime. Rain was forecast from about 1 pm. It arrived on time and became heavier during the afternoon with strong gusts of wind scattering leaves and twigs across the lawns, enough to be a nuisance but not enough to halt play. Robin Tasker was able to win his game quickly to give Chester a winning lead. The remaining singles games were hard fought with both going Bury’s way although the last game in play with David Guyton going to a golden hoop after a draw when time was called. The result was a 3 – 2 win for Chester.

The overall result for the season came from Bowdon where Crake had won 3 – 2 and, with that result, confirmation that Chester had won the league retaining the title they won in 2024.