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Ian Lines Wins in Two Places

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Ian Lines Wins Southport Advanced Weekend in Two Venues by Ian Lines (19 Sep 10)

Ian Lines won the Southport September Advanced Tournament to win the Sandiford Salver, beating Lionel Tibble in the final +4tp, -17tp, +26. There was no play at all at Southport on Sunday as there was very heavy overnight rain, and when competitors turned up at 9.30am the lawns were at least 20% under water, with no prospect of improvement with rain forecast all day. I think its the first time I’ve had a washout day at Southport in 15 years! Terry Foster, Chairman of Southport, presented the Consolation Event prize to Robert Dodds, who had played well on Saturday to get to 3/4.

Southport after heavy rain
Southport after heavy rain

John Haslam, who was game down in a semi-final, conceded to Ian Lines, and Ian and Lionel Tibble then transferred to lawn 1 at Bowdon to play the final. The final was quite good, with just a few errors and some good shooting by Lionel in the first two games, although the wet Bowdon lawns were pretty easy, even with the hoops set to 1/32nd. In game 1, Lionel hit a long standard tice on 4th turn, but then took off the lawn (Bowdon is a wee bit quicker than Southport). Ian went to 4-back with a DS, Lionel missed the long lift, Ian stuck in hoop 2, Lionel hit in 14 yards and went to 4 back. Ian missed the long lift, Lionel’s straight rover peel went wrong (peelee stuck in jaws with SB 1cm from it). Lionel put the SB safe, but Ian still finished +4tp. In game 2, Ian hit on 4th turn and went to 4 back with a DS. Lionel hit and finished in two turns +17tp. In game 3, Ian went to hoop 5 on 5th turn with a leave (difficult precision pick up). Lionel missed and Ian went to 4 back with a DS. Lionel missed the short lift, Ian was on a standard tp but took off into a hoop before hoop 5 (huge pull on a thin take off) so had a scatter leave. Lionel missed the 12 yarder. Ian went to peg with one peel and a tight horizontal DS. Lionel missed and Ian finished +26. So the cunning managerial ploy of shifting the final to a lawn where Lionel has never been, and I’ve played a few hundred games, worked out :-). Many thanks to Southport for the excellent catering on Saturday, and for the lawns there which are as good as they’ve ever been. It was also great to see a few new faces, including Tom Crawford from Perth, Australia. Thank you also to the Bowdon Short team who kindly provided lunch for the Finalists at Bowdon on Sunday.

Bob Thompson Wins Bury Handicap by 53 Hoops

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Bob Thompson (Nottingham) crowned champion at Bury Coronation by Geoff Young (12 Sep 10)

Bob Thompson being presented with 2010 Bury Handicap Trophy by Bury Chairman, Barbara Young.
Bob Thompson being presented with 2010 Bury Handicap Trophy by Bury Chairman, Barbara Young.

Bury club promoted their first-ever Coronation Park tournament, owing to a mixup about dates forcing a move from Heaton Park. As Coro has only two lawns this restricted the entry to eight and the format chosen was all-play-all, seven two-hour 18-pointers, base 8. In spite of intermittent rain some very good croquet was played with a gripping conclusion.

In the final round one contestant had already five wins and three others four. At the end there was a three-way tie which had to be broken by hoop count. Malcolm Daines (Huddersfield, 5) had zero net, Betty Bates (Fylde, 16) +39 and Bob Thompson (Nottingham, 9) had +53 and was thus declared the winner.

Players at the Bury Handicap October 2010
Players at the Bury Handicap October 2010

From Pendle to Budleigh with Luck

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Three Players sent from Pendle to Budleigh Salterton by Barbara Dutton (05 Sep 10)

There were 12 competitors challenging for the chance to go through to the All England finals in Budleigh Salterton in Devon. Each had won in his local club and competitors were drawn from Bowdon, Bury, Pendle, Fylde and Southport. Their handicaps ranged from minus 1.5 to plus 16. With the extra bisques (chances) the high handicap players had, it made it extremely challenging for the low handicapped players to win.

Over the two days, managed by Peter Wilson ably assisted by Liz Wilson, the competition ran like clockwork. The weather was pleasant and eveyone commented on the excellent state of the lawns. On the Saturday a hedgehog came for a closer look at one of the hoops, which caused a hiatus in play until it ambled away, flamingoes not being available.

Finally the places were worked out and Peter Dewhurst of Pendle & Craven gained the first place, Ian Theakstone from Fylde was second, Graham Saunders from Bury was third. They go forward to represent the north west in the finals at Budleigh Salterton. The Manager’s Peel prize went to Colin Irwin for his 6 peels, some recompense for having the lowest handicap and battling against all the bisques.

All England regional winners for 2010.
All England regional winners for 2010.
l to r: Graham Saunders, Peter Dewhurst, Colin Irwin, Ian Theakstone.

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