Croquet Report April 2010

The first tournament of the season was held at Cheltenham Croquet Club over the four day Easter break. The tournament drew an entry of forty players to the Old Bath Road lawns from as far afield as Ramsgate and Manchester. The lawns were lushness making them a little on the slow side and it required considerable weight for long shots.

Manager Penny Crowe had set the Advanced Division the challenge of playing the best of three from the early rounds. The knock-out stage of the competition saw strong local players Dave Mundy and Dave Foulser through to a best of three final. Mundy has recently returned from competing on the fast Summer lawns of South Africa and he perhaps found the early season English conditions not to his liking. He did not play to his best and Foulser did required only two games to lift the trophy. Mundy did however come out on top in the Peels section of the competition.

The Plate event for the advanced players saw success for Fylde player Lee Hartley who finished just in from of Cheltenham’s Tony Forbes. 

The Handicap Division contained some very close encounters. Richard Way from The Bear Croquet Club was steadily making his way through one half of the Draw. Klim Seabright (Cheltenham) found himself moving from his usual advanced category of play into the handicap section in order to accommodate a last minute visitor. He did well to get to the final having to give away many free shots in each round. Way was just too good for Seabright in the final and his deliberate thoughtful style overcame Seabright’s attempts at the spectacular long shots. 

The Consolation event brought rewards for Adam Moliver winning the prize for the fastest game.

 John Thirlwell and John Ross were both awarded their Croquet association Bronze Award 

The next events at Cheltenham Croquet Club are the Charity Day on the 11th April and the Open Day, when members of the public can try their hands on the afternoon of the 25th April. 

 Klim Seabright 

[Event Reports 2010] [Winter One Ball] [Easter Tournament] [May Open Day]