News
Sussex Open Weekend AC Tournament
The first of Sussex County's open tournaments of the season was won this year by Dominic Nunns for the second time; he last won it in 2019.
Dominic is a member of Sussex County and has appeared in the competition winners list every year since 2005 when he won the annual High Bisque tournament for new players; he won the club's most prestigious AC trophy, the Moore Cup, five years later (for the first of many times) and has played nationally and internationally in both forms of the game.
Congratulations to Dominic and thanks for also managing the event. Thanks also to Rachel, Richard, Angela and Marion who provided the lunches.
Full results
| First Round | Second Round | Third Round | Semi-Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabrielle Higgins | Gabrielle Higgins +22 | Gabrielle Higgins +26 | Philip Eardley +9 | Dominic Nunns +26, -16, +5tp | |
| Timothy Luke | |||||
| Richard Peperell | Richard Peperell +14 | ||||
| Paul Castell | |||||
| Andrew Hobbs | Andrew Hobbs +15 | Philip Eardley +26 | |||
| Neil Coote | |||||
| Jonathan Isaacs | Philip Eardley +25tp | ||||
| Philip Eardley | |||||
| Nick Parish | Nick Parish +26tp | Nick Parish +23stp | Nick Parish +17 | Dominic Nunns +26 | |
| Mark Hamilton | |||||
| Keith Ross | Chris Crowcroft +7 | ||||
| Chris Crowcroft | |||||
| John Daniels | Steve Wright +4tp | ||||
| Liz Farrow | Steve Wright +18 | ||||
| Steve Wright | |||||
| Nigel Polhill | Nigel Polhill +16 | Dominic Nunns +5 | |||
| Tudor Jenkins | |||||
| Phil Dunk | Dominic Nunns +1 | ||||
| Dominic Nunns | |||||
Nick Parish beat Gabrielle Higgins +18, +21tp in the play-off for 3rd place.
The Egyptian plate event was won by (tba). Results courtesy of Croquetscores.com
| Egyptian Consolation | Games | Wins | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Peperell | 3 | 3 | 100.0% |
| Nick Parish | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| Keith Ross | 4 | 3 | 75.0% |
| John Daniels | 4 | 3 | 75.0% |
| Nigel Polhill | 4 | 3 | 75.0% |
| Andrew Hobbs | 3 | 2 | 66.7% |
| Stephen Wright | 3 | 2 | 66.7% |
| Paul Castell | 6 | 3 | 50.0% |
| Liz Farrow | 4 | 2 | 50.0% |
| Neil Coote | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Jonathan Isaacs | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| Timothy Luke | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| Tudor Jenkins | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| Phil Dunk | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Chris Crowcroft | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
New players get partner experience for day of short croquet
This informal day was organised by Frances Low who has been assiduously coaching groups of members interested in taking up Association Croquet for several years in both summer and winter season courses.
She reports that we were fortunate to have experienced and very good AC players assist - Gabrielle Higgins, Liz Farrow, Clive Hayton, John Low, Chrissie Merrington, David Gillett, Steve Chapman and myself.
The 'newbies', most of whom started this winter, were Kathy McColgan, Paul Griffiths, Mike Akester, Andrew Baxter, Sandra Towner, Sandra Finlayson, Pat Mechen and Sue Kilby. The 3 matches ended up with Pat Mechen and John Low winning, 2nd place Gabrielle Higgins and Sandra Towner and 3rd place David Gillett and Andrew Baxter. Most games were close and many resulted in a peg out!
Thanks to all who took part and created a friendly and fun atmosphere on the day. As ever, grateful thanks to Rachel and Richard Pointon for the lunch.
There are opportunities to play short croquet which is an introduction to AC, at the Club during the season. The newcomers who have finished their course can continue playing or move on to full court play. Short croquet is 'short', games are rapid and you will develop new shots and tactics. On a short court it is easier to learn and quickly get playing. If you want to start contact Frances or Chrissie as we will do some introductory lessons for SCCC members later in May.
Frances Low (frances@sussexcountycroquetclub.org.uk)
Club Opening Day
There was a good turn-out for the now traditional summer season opener of the President's Team versus the Chairman's Team. This year (on April Fool's Day) the President's team prevailed by a score of 9-6. Games were played singles or doubles, mainly GC with some games of one-ball and all available lawns were fully used.
The weather stayed dry and players and spectators enjoyed a lovely lunch of soup, bread and cheese.
Thank you to all who took part and Rachel, Richard and Angela for the catering.
Clive
GC level play doubles competition 29th March 2024
Roger Sutton reports that again we were lucky with the weather: an indifferent forecast but sunshine for most of the day.
We had 34 entrants giving us three blocks. Block A was won by Richard Brooks and David King.
Block B by Liz Drury and Gail Dowd.
Block C by Graham Tucker and Fran Box.
Thanks to Rachel for putting on the lunch and to Roger for managing the event. Some photos below (including Cruchy the dog).
Full results
| Block A | RC< | RB&DK | IC&JC | DH&SH | TJ&FP | BG&JP | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Carline & Louise Taylor | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | |
| Richard Brooks & David King | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | |
| Ian Cobbold & Jean Cobbold | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |
| Debbie Hayns & Steven Hayns | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 5 | |
| Tony Jolly & Fiona Phillips | 7 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |
| Bridget Goodman & Jane Powell | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Block B | FA&PG | PB&JI | BH> | SN&TN | MD&LG | LD&GD | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Ainley & Paul Green | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Paul Brown & Jonathan Isaacs | 6 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| Beryl Hughes & Gavin Taylor | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Sue Nicholas & Tony Nicholas | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |
| Martin Daniels & Linda Gavigan | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 6 | |
| Liz Drury & Gail Dowd | 2 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Block C | FB> | RF&KM | JM&AM | PC&RH | P&RW | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fran Box & Graham Tucker | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Rosemary Faulkner & Kathy McColgan | 3 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 4 | |
| Jim Mander & Angela Marjoram | 2 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 3 | |
| Peter Cave & Ray Hall | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Peter & Rosemary Wyld | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
Some photos of the event
Summer Club Competitions
Entries are now closed to all competitions EXCEPT the Diana Brothers Drawn Pairs which you can enter here.
If you have already entered the Drawn Pairs you will find it on your entry confirmation email. Please note it has not been included in the entry fees as it is pay-on-the-day. Please don't pay for it now as it causes confusion and you are likely to be asked to pay again!
The winter GC Doubles results page is back on-line here
GC half day competition 16th March 2024
Manager Roger Sutton reports: The Sun shone for a change for our first half day tournament of the year.
The field was divided into 5 blocks of four and then all played all in each block.
Block 1 won by Konstantine Yudistev
Block 2 won by Paul Green
Block 3 Won by Les Ardley
Block 4 won by Susan Caulfield
Block 5 won by Pat Harden
Well done to the five winners.
Thanks to Roger for managing the event.
Full results
| Block 1 | JL | DG | RS | KY | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Low | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| Daphne Gaitley | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Reg Soffe | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| Konstantin Yudintsev | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Block 2 | GG | CA | RH | PG | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerald Gooders | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| Chris Ardley | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| Ray Hall | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | |
| Paul Green | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Block 3 | LA | PG | JM | JS | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Ardley | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Pam Gooders | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Jim Manders | 6 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 3 | |
| Julie Soffe | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Block 4 | NS | PC | SC | RS | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nira Scutt | 7 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 | |
| Peter Cave | 6 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| Susan Caulfield | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | |
| Richard Stewart | 5 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| Block 5 | KM | HJ | SK | PH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kathy McColgan | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 4 | |
| Hilary Jolly | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| Susan Kilby | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Pat Harden | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Some pictures of the morning courtesy of Vincent L'Estrange. (click picture to enlarge)
Club Quiz Evening
An enjoyable quiz evening was held Thursday 14th March at the club. Four rounds of quiz questions interspersed with lasagne, salad and pudding. Winners were the Church Mice, led by Gabrielle. Not that their success was anything to do with questions about church buildings of course!
Grateful thanks to Fran Box for organising the evening, to Angela and Linda for the supper and to Anthony Bone for preparing the quiz and being an excellent quizmaster.
A few pictures of the evening.
A little of the social side of the old Sussex Croquet Club can be found in this final winter article from the archives. (illustration above: Illustrated London News, 18 January 1868)
Everything you need to enter the Club Competitions
The new season approaches and you can now enter for this season's club competitions.
Entry is on-line; if you are unable to enter on-line, please contact Fiona or Liz. If you do not use email, if at all possible please find a club member to receive your emails about these competitions.
Here are the pages you can use on the website:
This page (GC) or this page (AC) gives you the brief competiton details to help you decide which to enter.
You can enter the competitions here. Please read the instructions on the form!
You can see who has entered each competiton on this page.
If you have any difficulties, please contact competitions@sussexcountycroquetclub.org.uk
Deadlines for entries
To all competitions except Diana Brothers Drawn Pairs: Monday 18th March
Diana Brothers Drawn Pairs competition will be played on Tuesday 4th June and the deadline for entry is 28th May. This competition is pay-on-the-day (£5).
Paying for entries
Once the deadline for entries has passed you will receive an email (if you have given an email address) setting out how much to pay, the bank details required and the payment reference. Please do not pay before then. pay before then.