Congratulations to:
Llanfairfechan - winners of both the Golf League 10 and the Short League 10.
Fylde - winners of both the Advanced League 10 and the Handicap League 10.
Chester - winners of Midweek League 10.
Chester - winners of NWFCC annual club Jamboree.
Bowdon - winners of Mary Rose competition.
Bowdon and Bury - for hosting the north west rounds of the 2010 MacRobertson Tournament.
05/11/10 - Report on the Annual NWFCC Autumn Meeting at Culcheth
19/10/`10 - CA Diplomas for north west members
06/10/10 - Fylde lend lawns to Crake
19/10/10 - Ian Lines wins Southport September Advanced
12/10/10 - Bob Thompson crowned champion at Bury Coronation
02/10/10 - Bowdon win Mary Rose Trophy
05/09/10 - Three Players sent from Pendle to Budleigh Salterton
22/08/10 - Mark Lloyd wins Southport Super B
20/08/10 - Pendle reach quarter finals of Longman Cup
04/08/10 - Australia beat North West Fed
25/07/10 - Peter MacDermot Wins Southport B Level
11/07/10 - Paul Rigge Wins Pendle Midweek Tournament
04/07/10 - Alan Mayne Wins Bury Advanced Tournament
27/06/10 - Chester Win Fed Jamboree for first time
27/06/10 - Pendle host open day
06/06/10 - David Maugham Wins Bowdon June Advanced Weekend
30/05/10 - Pendle Double in CA Tournaments
30/05/10 - Eileen Gallagher wins Southport Jubilee Handicap.
24/05/10 - Flying Circus goes Bronze in Chester
23/05/10 - Pendle B Level Trophy Goes South
16/05/10 - Matt Holmes wins Millenium Handicap at Chester
14/05/10 - Flying Circus in tip top form at Pendle.
09/05/10 - Abdul Ahmad, Gail Curry, Nigel Graves and Patricia Duke Cox win 2010 Peels
08/05/10 - Garry Greenwood (Chester) wins Millenium Golf
26/04/10 - Flying Circus visits Pendle
26/04/10 - Lancashire Team for 2010 Inter Counties
20/04/10 - Flying Circus visits Llanfairfechan 19/04/10 - Ian Lines wins Southport Advanced Weeked
06/04/10 - Matt Holmes succeeds in John Beech Easter Tournament
09/11/09 - Llanfairfechan double celebration at Fed Meeting
Mary Rose:
02 Oct - Bowdon 4 East Dorset 3;
07 Sep - Bowdon 4 Wrest Park 2;
30 Jul - Bowdon 6 Bristol 1;
22 Jul - Nottingham W/O against Pendle & Craven;
07 Jul - Wrest Park W/O against Bury;
28 Jun - Bowdon 5 Newport 2;
03 Jun - Pendle & Craven 6 Shrewsbury 1;
17 May - Bowdon 7 Cheltenham 0.
Longman Cup:
03 Oct - Parsons Green 5 Bury 2;
02 Oct - Wrest Park 5 Bury 2;
13 Sep - Bury 4 Pendle 3;
25 Aug - Pendle 4 Nottingham 3;
27 Jul - Southport 3 Bury 4; 28 Jun - Bury 6 Shrewsbury 1;
14 Jun - Southport 4 Bowdon 3; 06 Jun - Fylde 1 Pendle & Craven 6.
Secretary's Shield:
19 Jul - Hampsworth 5 Pendle & Craven 2;
04 Jun - Pendle & Craven 4 Shrewsbury 3.
NWFCC Autumn Meeting at Culcheth by Tony Thomas (05 Nov 10).
9 members representing 10 clubs in the north west attended the Annual Autumn meeting at Culcheth on Saturday 5 November 2010. Especially welcome were Frances Rollinson and Irene Valentine representing our newest club at Salford.
Chairman David Barrett described the exceptional success of staging the Opening Test for the MacRobertson Shield at Bowdon and Bury and the joy of a Federation team playing the Australian team in a warm up match at Southport.
The Flying Circus has had a busy season running coaching courses at Llanfairfechan, Pendle, Bowdon and Chester.
The league has progressed well and league winners trophies were presented to Fylde (Advanced and Handicap), Chester (Midweek) and Llanfairfechan (Short and Golf). An amendment to League Rules was agreed for Golf matches where the format will now be either (a) 18 point matches - two doubles and sixteen singles, or (b) 16 point matches - sixteen singles. Final scores will be scaled as appropriate to 18 points.
The Federation Club Championship weekend will continue in 2011 at Southport on 25./26 June 2011 and will now be known as the North West Federation Festival of Croquet. The Advanced Doubles will be replaced by an Advanced One Ball event and the Handicap event will consist of 18 Point games. The playing of each format will be shared as equally as possible between the South and North lawns and north lawn play need not be entered on Handicap Cards provided both players a
Recruitment and club membership across the north west remains healthy and clubs reported a generally successful season.
Please see the Minutes of the Meeting for a detailed account.
Images (top first) show NWFCC Chairman David Barratt presenting league winners trophies to:
Lee Hartley on behalf of Fylde - Advanced Winners
Betty Bates on behalf of Fylde - Handicap Winners
Peter Morgan on behalf of Chester - Midweek Winners
Carolyn Ratcliff on behalf of Llanfairfechan - Short Winners
Anwen Williams on behalf of Llanfairfechan - Golf Winners
CA Diplomas for Four Fed Members (19 Oct 10)
Congratulations to Carol and Brian Lewis (Southport), Heorgina Llewellyn (Llanfairfechan) and John Saxby (Bowdon) who were awarded CA Dipklomas for services to croquet at the CA Annual General Meeting held at Hurlingham on 19 October 2010.
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Fylde lend Crake two Lawns by David Barrett (06 Oct 10
)
Advanced League Match Wednesday 6th October 2010 - Crake Valley v Bury.
Due to Crakes lawns being flooded overnight, the team captains hurriedly ageed to accept an offer made by Liz Wilson, on the previous Sunday, that if there were any problems at Crake we could play at Fylde. Phone calls were exchanged shortly after dawn today and although Liz and Peter were literally leaving to go on their holidays, they mobilised the club members immediately and then still found time to call in at the club to ensure everything was in order. It certainly was, so off they went. From then on Ian and Betty looked after us like royalty. By the time the Bury team arrived at 9.15am Ian had already re-painted the white lines on both lawns and was busy putting in the hoops etc. The whole place was a hive of activity as the Fylde Club members and contactors were dismantling the existing wooden shed and moving it further into the corner of lawn 1. Play started immediately on arrival of the Crake team at approx 9.45am Throughout the match Betty plied us with teas, coffees and she even went to the local Butchers, from whom she bought the most delicious hot meat and potatoe pie which they had made specially for us. By close of play the 'workers' had re-erected not only their existing shed, but also a ' new larger sized shed' in place of the original, so there will now be about three times more accommodation space. It was an excellent days croquet which everyone enjoyed and both teams wish to express their thanks and gratitude to the Fylde Club for all their help and kindness. Match Result : Crake Valley 3 Bury 6
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Bowdon Win Mary Rose Trophy (02 Oct 10)
Bowdon beat East Dorset to end 9 long years of waiting. Bowdon went 3-1 up before East Dorset pulled it back to 3-3, only for Martin Granger Brown to beat William Ormerod in the final game.
Round 1 (East Dorset names first) William Ormerod & David Williams lost to Martin Granger Brown & Mike Sandler -23 John Crowe beat Mark Lloyd +15 Jonathan Wood lost to Frank Moir -21 Round 2
William Ormerod lost to Martin Granger Brown -3 David Williams beat Mike Sandler +4 Jonathan Wood lost to Mark Lloyd -12 John Crowe beat Frank Moir +4
Bowdon Mary Rose squad - 2010 - Back row, left to right: Richard Smith, Alan Mayne, David Cotton
Front row: Mark Lloyd, Mike Sandler, Martin Granger Brown, Frank Moir
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.
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.
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Bob Thompson (Nottingham) crowned champion at Bury Coronation by Geoff Young (12 Sep 10)
Bury HandicapBury 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.
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 Above - Competitors in the Bury September HandicapLeft - Bob Thompson presented with trophy by Barbara Young |
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. 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.
From L to R: Graham Saunders, Peter Dewhurst, Colin Irwin, Ian Theakestone
Mark Lloyd (Chester) wins Southport Super B by Brian Kerr (22 Aug 10)
At the end of Day 1 only two players had a 3/3 record, Carol Lewis & Peter McDermott. However to the manager's horror by lunchtime on Day 2 we now had 6 players tying on 3 wins out of 4, namely Carol Lewis, Peter McDermott, Mark Lloyd, Alain Giraud, Richard Smith & Brian Kerr. There followed some entertainment for the spectators as a skill test of a two ball break was used to determine the finalists. Three rounds of this test had to be played (due mainly to a challenging Hoop 4) before we arrived at the two finalists, Peter & Mark. Mark getting the better of Peter in a close fought game. The weather was great, the lawns were great, the company was great and the catering was great, only the management (or perhaps the players' skill) was left a little wanting!
Manager Brian Kerr presents prizes to Mark Lloyd (winner) and Peter MacDermott (runner-up) before celebrating his birthday with everyone
Pendle Reach Quarter Finals of Longman Cup by Robin Delves (20 Aug 10)
Nottingham C.C. v Pendle & Craven at Nottingham on Thurs August 19th.2010. An extremely tense finish in heavy rain after a day of generally good weather resulted in a win for Pendle & Craven. A golden hoop victory for Robin Delves against Sue Wileman after a 3 1/2 hour battle decided the match at 6.40 p.m. Andrew Webb and David Pollitt had beaten Bob Thompson and Omied Hallam in the afternoon singles; David giving 3 bisques & Andrew 5 bisques and both played having been many hoops behind until the last few minutes of epic battles. Andrew won +6; David won +4; Ron Welch battled manfully in both the morning & afternoon singles but did not contribute to the score. In the morning singles, Clive Goode beat David Pollitt + 14; Omied Hallam beat Ron Welch +18; Andrew Webb & Robin Delves beat Bob Thompson & Sue Wileman +1.
Match result: Nottingham 3 Pendle & Craven 4. Pendle & Craven are now at home to Bury in the quarter finals.
Australia Beat North West Fed Team 29-11 by Ian Lines (4 Aug 10)
A team of 7 from the North West Federation played the Australians (the Mac team plus Greg and Malcolm) at Southport this week. The lawns at Southport were in good condition, though quite green and easy after all the recent rain. The day started well for the NW Fed with two wins in the doubles, but the Australians began to assert themselves in the afternoon singles. The star performance from the NW Fed was Dave Nick, with a win in the doubles and 3 wins in the singles against Stephen Forster, Ian Dumergue and Greg Fletcher. Southport provided an excellent lunch and afternoon tea, which were enjoyed by all the players and about 30 spectators. By the end of the day Australia were leading 19-6.
Doubles (NW Fed names first): Ian Lines & Andrew Winn lost to Stephen Forster & Martin Clarke -11tpo (C); David Walters & Dave Nick beat Robert Fletcher & Ian Dumergue +12tp (N); Ken Cooper & Lee Hartley beat Pete Landrebe & Kevin Beard +4.
Singles (NW Fed names first): Paul Rigge lost to Greg Fletcher -20qp; Dave Nick beat Stephen Forster +13tpo; Ken Cooper lost to Robert Fletcher -25; Ian Lines lost to Ian Dumergue -26tp; Paul Rigge lost to Malcolm Fletcher -13tpo; Lee Hartley lost to Martin Clarke -7tpo; David Walters lost to Pete Landrebe -5; Ken Cooper lost to Stephen Forster -26tp Andrew Winn lost to Kevin Beard -8 Paul Rigge lost to Martin Clarke -14 Lee Hartley lost to Robert Fletcher -24tp; Dave Nick beat Ian Dumergue +16; Ian Lines lost to Greg Fletcher -17tp; David Walters lost to Malcolm Fletcher -24; Andrew Winn lost to Pete Landrebe -13tpo; Ken Cooper lost to Kevin Beard -17; Lee Hartley lost to Stephen Forster -24tp; Paul Rigge lost to Robert Fletcher -26tp; David Walters beat Ian Dumergue +15; Ian Lines lost to Martin Clarke -16tpo; Dave Nick beat Greg Fletcher +3; Andrew Winn lost to Malcolm Fletcher -26.
On Day 2, Australia cemented their overnight lead and won overall 29-11. Many thanks to the Southport Club for their very kind hospitality.
Doubles: Ian Lines & Andrew Winn lost to Pete Landrebe & Kevin Beard -24; David Walters & Dave Nick lost to Stephen Forster &Martin Clarke -17tp; Lee Hartley & Ken Cooper beat Robert Fletcher & Ian Dumergue +4; Paul Rigge & Steve Jones* lost to Greg Fletcher & Malcolm Fletcher -7. (*) honorary NW Fed player
Singles:
Dave Nick beat Pete Landrebe +26tp;
David Walters beat Martin Clarke +26;
Ian Lines lost to Kevin Beard -22;
Andrew Winn lost to Steven Forster -4;
Lee Hartley lost to Greg Fletcher -13tp;
David Walters lost to Kevin Beard -20;
Dave Nick lost to Robert Fletcher -13tpo; Andrew Winn lost to Martin Clarke -26tp; Ian Lines beat Malcolm Fletcher +12; Ken Cooper lost to Ian Dumergue -6; Paul Rigge beat Pete landrebe +4.
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Peter MacDermott (Beverley) Wins Southport B Level (25 July 10)
Another successful tournament. The B Level attracted 18 competitors from far and near. The weather varied from hot sunshine to showers but our lawns continued to play well. The catering was excellent and Manager Fergus McInnes from Edinburgh made sure there were sufficient games for everyone. Peter Mac Dermott (Beverley) won the coveted trophy and a handicap reduction to 1.5. Matt Holmes (Bury) won the consolation event and a handicap reduction to 3.5. Keith Roberts (Southport and Alan Wilson ( Edinburgh) were runners up.
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Paul Rigge Wins Pendle Midweek Tournament by Barbara Dutton (11 July 10)
Sixteen players took part in the singles with one extra player entering the doubles. Lionel Tibble who won the recent Advanced weekend tournament was beaten into second place this time by Paul Rigge from Bury. Lionel did play the most games of the tournament, 16, and with a handicap of minus 1.5 was giving away bisques to the other players. The A class winner was Paul Rigge beating Lionel Tibble in their final, the B class winner was Peter Wilson who beat Chris Donovan, and the C class winner was Howard Bowron who beat Ken Harper. The Overall winner was Paul Rigge. Local player Peter Dewhurst gained a silver badge for a round without using bisques. In the doubles Ian Theakstone and Paul Rigge beat John Filsak and Howard Bowron. The weather was mostly kind although the impromptu washing line erected on Wednesday tells another story.
Alan Mayne Wins Bury Advanced Tournament by Geoff Young (4 July 10)
Fourteen entrants (handicap from -1.5 to 8) competed to Egyptian format beginning with a random draw. The first day ended with David Walters and Alan Mayne having each won for out of four and on the same rating. The Sunday play begin by Walters beating Mayne while on the second pairing Andrew Winn beat Dave Nick. Walters then lost to Nick while Mayne beat Winn. The losers in these interchanges could not quiet assemble enough points, though Nick tried hard by beating Paul Rigge, leaving Mayne the winner. New boy Matt Holmes began nervously but found his feet on the second day winning three games to reap a net 46 handicap points.
Chester Gain Historic Victory in Jamboree Championship 2010 by Tony Thomas (27/06/10)
On the hottest day of the year can there be anywhere better than Southport? Once again the Southport club hosted the wonderful croquest fest that is the Federation Jamboree Weekend. For those who did not attend this year, you missed a treat - beneath glorious blue skies, we basked in mediterranean like conditions, enjoying great company and the usual 'food par excellence' of the Southport catering team. No wonder we love croquet!Although not as well supported as in previous years, this unique event still attracted 19 teams representing six clubs, who competed in Golf, Short, Association and Advanced Croquet formats. As always, this annual event provides a broad platform for players of all abilities - there was some excellent croquet played by some of the A and B class players but how marvellous to also see new members participating and enjoying tournament play. About 150 people were catered for over the weekend and once again this event reminds us that together we can take our enjoyment of Croquet to new levels.The South Lawns were a delight to play on (speed in the high Plummers), whilst in contrast, the North Lawns presented their usual frustratingly tricky challenges (speed low Plummers - very low!) - the event was organised this year so that all formats had similar times on both sets of lawns. For the first time in their history, Chester were crowned Jamboree Champions for 2010, winning the Association, Short and Golf events, beating Fylde to the title, who won the Advanced event. Congratulations to Chester who also entered teams in all four competitions for the first time. The Red Arrows even 'flew past' to add to their celebrations. Congratulations also to Abdul Ahmad who won all his eleven games and gained a golf handicap reduction from 5 to 4.
The successful Chester squad being presented with the Jamboree trophy for 2010
Thank you to managers Alan Mayne and Terry Foster, ably assisted by Ray Lowe, Brian Lewis, John Taylor and Don Williamson. CA vice chairman, Barry Keen thanked the Southport club for hosting the event, paying tribute to the many home club members who prepared the lawns, set out fourteen courts each day and catered for so many people. He also stressed the need for regional clubs to continue to support this event if they wished it to continue in its present format.
See you all again next year - same place, about same time?
See you all again next year - same place, about same time?
Adv Pts |
Hcp Pts |
Sht Pts |
Glf Pts |
Tot Pts |
Pos |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHESTER | 3 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
18 |
1 |
| Fylde | 4 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
16 |
2 |
| Bury | 2 |
2.5 |
1 |
3 |
8.5 |
3 |
| Southport | 1 |
2.5 |
2 |
1 |
6.5 |
4 |
| Culcheth | 0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
| Bowdon | 0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
|
|---|
Chester Handicap team
Chester Short Team 
Chester Golf Team    |
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Pendle Host Open Day by Barbara Dutton (27/06/10)
The weather could not have been better, the profusion of events on offer in the area gave everyone choice and we had a succession of visitors all keen to try the game. Andrew Stephenson MP couldn't spare the time to play this visit, but he did accept a brew as he continued his very busy day in the region. Visitors and members all enjoyed the day and we hope to see more visitors in the future, always welcome to watch a match or come along and play.
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The 2010 Bowdon June Advanced Weekend was won by David Maugham who beat James Hopgood in the final (+26tp, +15tp, +26tp). James had played well to beat Ian Lines in the semi-final, and hence earn his CA Silver Medal for getting to his first final in a 16 player knockout in a first class level singles event. The consolation Egyptian Event was won for the second year in a row by David Walters, who beat David Mooney in a closely contested final game. The Peterson Trophy was presented to David Maugham by John Saxby, and thanks were recorded to Alan Mayne for the excellent lawns, Barry Keen and Colin Irwin for setting the hoops, and to John Saxby and his team of helpers who provided the magnificent catering.
The Bowdon lawns on Saturday were just becoming interesting at about 11.5 Plummers in the sunshine, and with hoops firmly set at 1/50" there was a reasonable level of interactivity in most games, although breaks and tps were still relatively easy once established. Unfortunately, overnight rain made the lawns and hoops comparatively easy on Sunday.
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Pendle Double in CA Tournaments by Barbara Dutton (30/05/10)
A team from Shrewsbury travelled up to Pendle for a weekend playing in two of the prestigious association croquet tournaments. On Saturday it was the Mary Rose advanced croquet match, first round, and the home team of Peter & Liz Wilson, Andrew Webb and Roger Schofield went forth to do battle in the drizzle. The lawns soon dried up and the match went expeditiously with doubles and singles going Pendles way before lunch to leave the home team 3-0 up. After lunch only Robert Dodds from the visitors managed to snatch a win in a tight match against Liz Wilson, the final result being a resounding win for Pendle 6-1. They now progress to face Nottingham in the second round.
On the Sunday after an overnight in Barnoldswick at Monks House, the
Shresbury team of Peter Dork, Roberts Doods, Sean Sheridan and Brian Christmas went out to meet the home team of David Pollitt, Robin Delves, Ron Welch and once again Roger Schofield for the Secretary Shield defence. Chilly but sunny dry weather gave good conditions and in the morning the visitors won the doubles but the singles went Pendles way, so 2-1 at lunch. In the afternoon honours were even with two wins each, so the final result was a win for Pendle and Craven 4-3 and they go on in further pursuit of retaining the Secretary Shield.
Eileen Gallagher Wins Southport Jubilee Handicap by Tony Thomas (30/05/10)
Spring Bank Holiday in Southport means another Handicap Tournament (for the Jubilee Tankard) and weather to wonder at. This year was a two day event rather than the traditional three days. Waterproofs were the order of the first day, with continual rain throughout - yet the lawns remained playable all day. Come day two and the sun shone brilliantly giving us a glorious sunny Southport day. Sixteen players battled through five rounds of a Swiss event over the two days, very well managed by Barry Keen. Eileen Gallagher (Southport) emerged victorious winning all five games, beating Peter Hallett (Bowdon) in a close game. She wins the Jubilee Tankard and a handicaop reduction from 14 to 12. Tony Thomas (Southport) won the runner-up prize with four wins and a handicap reduction from 6 to 5. An enjoyable event, supported as always by excellent catering, no wonder there are requests to return to the three day format next year.
Left: Eileen Gallagher receives the Jubilee Tankard from Southport Vice President, Don Williamson. Right: Tony Thomas receives the Runner Up prize.
Flying Circus Goes Bronze in Chester by Janet Davies and Paul Rigge (23/05/10)
An excellent bronze level training day on Sunday 23rd May at Chester. Lead Coach, Paul Rigge (Bury), assisted by Ken Cooper and Barry Keen (Bowdon), provided insights into the game for the benefit of a group of 10 students (handicap 14-20) from Chester and Bowdon. In brilliant sunshine, amidst the idyllic surroundings of Westminster Park, a most valuable day ensued as they battled dehydration on the lawns. They particularly appreciated Paul's appropriation of his refrigerator door for use as a magnetic board. A very effective demonstration of the application of lateral thinking to croquet problems. A good enjoyable day was had by all.
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Pendle B Level Trophy Goes South by Barbara Dutton (23/05/10)
The weather really did us pround, two blisteringly hot days and many hard fought games between the 12 players who travelled from as far apart as Woking and Edinburgh with 10 clubs represented. Five of the players hold Pendle & Craven membership, however with handicaps varying from 1.5 to 8 they weren't successful in gaining the trophy this year. That honour went to Alan Edwards from Woking, runner up was Richard Smith from Chester and the Manager's Peeling prize went to Ken Jones from Edgbaston.
Flying Circus in tip top form at Pendle by Peter Wilson (15/05/10)
Players from Pendle were treated to a visit from the Flying Circus for a Gold Course. The lawns looked wonderful on arrival, newly lined and mowed, thanks to Robert. The course was run by Ken Cooper from Bowdon and if this was not enough, he was accompanied by International player Ian Lines (playing off minus two and a half and with well over four hundred competitive triple peels under his belt). The course started on the lawns by looking at modern openings being used in A class play and the theory of the nuances behind them. One of these included a promotional cannon. This was followed by a discussion regarding 4-back leaves. The OSL, NSL, & MSL were all looked at in depth and in particular what to do should the lift be missed. After lunch, we concentrated on the TP. We did this by working backwards from the Rover peel and every opportunity to complete it that arises. The Penult peel and the 4-back peel were also considered in turn. We split up and were given the chance to do it ourselves. Oh how easy it was for all of us with Ken and Ian whispering in our ears! This wonderful day ended with a look into some top level thinking behind a typical three ball ending. We all chipped in with ideas but we seldom got the ‘right' answer, What a marvellous insight into the game. The students presented the Flying Circus with Pendle Mug & Pen sets and an apple for each teacher. We are very lucky in the NW Federation to have the Flying Circus. It is working very hard this year putting on courses for all handicaps and disciplines. It was a fantastic day.
The following day, Ian & Ken went to Bowdon to give a Silver Gilt Course to 8 of their members
Millenium Handicap at Chester 15/16 May 10
Chester Croquet Club hosted the annual North West Millennium Handicap Tournament in Westminster Park. This was the fourth time the event has been held in Chester. Eighteen players from six North West clubs - Bowdon, Bury, Chester, Fylde, Pendle & Craven, and Southport - took part in the competition. Each participant played three three-hour full lawn matches on Saturday followed by two three-hour matches on Sunday. With a 9.30 am start on both days, this makes it quite a gruelling event particularly for those having to travel some distance to Chester. In contrast to heavy rain and blustery winds in previous years, this year's tournament enjoyed good playing conditions and mostly sunny weather though for much of the time there was a distinctly chilly westerly breeze.The overall winner of the competition was Matt Holmes of Bury who succeeded in winning all five of his games. Two others managed to win four of their five games and the runner up was determined on points with second place going to David Holland of Bowdon. The losing finalist was David Boyd of Chester.
The event was organised by the Secretary of Chester Croquet Club, Janet Davies, another member of the club, Elmyr Hughes, managed the competition over the two days. David Guyton, the Chairman of Chester Croquet Club, thanked all the participants and members of the club who helped with the catering and organising the event and presented trophies to the winner and runner up at the end of the tournament on Sunday afternoon
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Peels Tournament 2010 (09/05/10)
Winners:Womens Singles - Gail CurryMens Singles - Abdul AhmadMixed Doubles - Patricia Duke Cox & Nigel Graves
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Garry Greenwood Wins Millenium Golf 2010 (08/05/10) by Jean Hargreaves
12 players from Bury, Culcheth, Chester, Bowdon and Fylde, played in 2 blocks at Heaton Park. The winner and 2nd of one block playing 2nd and winner of the other. inals involved Margaret Russell (Bowdon), Garry Greenwood (Chester), David Barrett (Bury) and Jean Hargreaves (Bury).Garry Greenwood (Chester) eventually won the final, beating Margaret Russell (Bowdon), 7-6, on a golden hoop.top picture - NWFCC Chairman David Barrett presents Winner Garry Greenwood with trophy.
lower picture - Margaret Russell, David Barrett, Garry Greenwood and Jean Hargreaves.
Flying Circus Visits Pendle by Ken Cooper (26/04/10)
NW Federation Chairman David Barrett and Coaching Officer Ken Cooper vis ited Pendle & Craven Croquet Club to give a Golf Croquet tuition course to 12 of the club's members. A thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all and the players now have a good platform to work from to improve their game.
Lancashire Team for 2010 Inter-Counties (26/04/10)
The Lancashire team for the AC Inter County Championships selected by playing captain David Openshaw is Dave Nick, Ailsa Lines, Bob Burnett, Paul Rigge and Lee Hartley. Lancashire will take on twenty other Counties plus a Chairmans Select team at two venues in Sussex between 29th May and 1st June. Lancashire are in Division 1 and consequently will play ten matches and three games of doubles.
Flying Circus Visits Llanfairfechan by Ken Cooper (20/04/10)
The Flying Circus made its first visit of the season to Llanfairfechan Croquet Club who made the two coaches very welcome. Don Williamson and Ken Cooper passed on their knowledge of Golf Croquet to 8 members of the club and, hopefully, their expertise will have benefited and inspired them for the coming season.
Ian Lines won the Southport Advanced Weekend by Ian Lines (19/04/10)
Ian Lines beat Keith Aiton +15, +26, -5tp, -24tp, +26 in a closely contested final to win the Jubilee Tankard at the Southport April Advanced Weekend. All the preceding rounds of the 16 player main event also went exactly according to seeding, with no great surprises.
The consolation plate (a flexible Swiss) was won by James Hopgood with 5/6, only losing to Lionel Tibble who was also playing well.
The final was a fairly interactive match, with both players making uncharacteristic errors, generally caused by the slight hills around some hoops (all set at ~1/32") leading to some difficult hoop approaches. The early season top dressing and sand was also sticking to the balls a little in the morning, which also made things slightly tricky. However, both players shot quite well throughout the match. Keith's tps in the afternoon, when conditions got drier and easier, were very neat, but he just failed to hit a few shots in the final deciding game. Many thanks to Southport for laying on an excellent tournament, and particularly to Terry Foster for all his work setting out the lawns, and for stepping in at the last minute to replace Lee Hartley, who was stranded abroad (is this the first time a croquet tournament has been affected by a volcanic eruption?).
Congratulations also to Paul Rigge for getting his handicap down to -0.5
Matt Holmes Takes John Beech Easter Trophy by Barbara Dutton (06/04/10)
Tournament novice Matt Holmes won the John Beech Memorial Easter Tournament. Matt, a young player from Bury, arrived with a handicap of 14, and took the Overall Winner trophy. He was also awarded a silver medal for running 12 consecutive hoops in a game which he won.
Twelve contenders took part over the four days to win one of the five trophies on offer. Local man Roger Schofield battled hard to beat Roger Staples from Middlesborough to take the Low Handicap trophy, only to find he was in a shoot out for trophy with level score with David Turner from Tyneside. They tossed a coin for which side to shoot from and unfortunately Roger lost out to David. Joe Lennon from Glasgow took the High Handicap trophy.
Liz Wilson of Fylde and Pendle took the Fastest Game trophy in just 48 minutes. Playing time is up to 3 hours 30 mins for each game.
James Hopgood (Edinburgh) and Peter Wilson (Fylde & Pendle) shared the Most Games Played trophy, getting in 12 each over the four days. The weather was mixed but mostly kind and players contended well with the odd puddle, unlike the member who drove onto the green car park and became bogged down and remained so in spite of several efforts to free him. Croquet whites do not go well with mud splatter, rendering those players, who offered to push, to a semblance of monochrome Jackson Pollock's.
Llanfairfechan Celebration at Fed Autumn Meeting (09 Nov 09) by Tony Thomas
Federation Chairman David Barrett welcomed 32 people, representing 10 clubs, to the NWFCC Autumn Meeting at Culcheth last Saturday. He also thanked all the Officers and Coaches who have worked hard to make the 2009 a success. Treasurer Peter Wilson presented the audited accounts showing the Federation has a healthy balance of over £3,500. Concern was expressed about the change in Development Grant Procedures adopted by the CA this year which has reduced the expected allocation to the North West. Development Officer Janet Davies described the financial support given to clubs this year - Storage Shed at Southport; Lawn Mower at Penrith; Lawn levelling at Bury; Electricity supply at Chester. Coaching Officer, Bob Burnett described the coaching activities during the year which has covered all levels of play, all croquet formats and at many locations. He thanked all the coaches and handed the role over to Ken Cooper. There followed a discussion on whether the Federation should charge members for coaching which was resolved by a majority vote that we should continue to offer free coaching.
League Manager, Tony Thomas, reported on a successful season involving 134 league matches and thanked all the team captains for efficiency in completing all fixtures and reporting results. The changes to the league rules agreed last year were all implemented without any major problems. There was a discussion on changes for season 2010 and it was agreed: (a) to continue with the Bonus Points system in the Advanced League, (b) to place time limits of 2.5 hours on Advanced Games, (c) allow captains to agree earlier start times than 10:00 if appropriate and recommend a 9:30 start in Advance Matches. These changes to be incorporated in the League Rules, available on the Fed website. It was also agreed Llanfairfechan could play their Golf League matches as 'Singles Only' when playing Away but 'Singles and Doubles' when playing at Home.
A new Disciplinary Procedure was agreed and this to be published on the Fed website. It was accepted this was a sensible procedure to adopt, so that Officers knew how to handle the very rare but potentially difficult situations that can occur.
The highlights from the Club Reports included:
(a) Bowdon - 94 playing members, new Mentor programme, Groundsman appointed, Winter croquet programme planned.
(b) Bury - Won the Longman Cup in 2009, significant levelling of lawns has had problems with weather, but expected to be ready for 2010.
(c) Chester - Membership now 86, installed new electricity supply, very active coaching programme, developing Advance team for 2010 Jamboree.
(d) Culcheth - Finished 2nd in Golf League, despite low membership have run many corporate events, now have four Golf Coaches, Winter Mat still available.
(e) Fylde - New lawn now in use, Betty Bates won the All England Handicap, have increased range of equipment.
(f) Isle of Man - Development restricted by illness of major players, lost facilities at Port St Mary due to low membership, hosting many corporate events .
(g) Liverpool - Forced to change location, low membership, will continue till next Summer to develop a Croquet facility in Liverpool.
(h) Llanfairfechan - Opened an excellent new clubhouse, won first trophy in history - Short League, membership now 88, saddened by four bereavements.
(i) Pendle - Professional Greenkeeper appointed, new lawn drainage, won Secretary's Shield and Handicap League, very active programme on lawns.
(j) Penrith & N Lakes - membership increasing slowly, purchased new Lawn Mower, brought additional lawn into use, had successful club competitions.
(k) Southport - Lawns much improved, expensive advertising generated 19 new members, new CCTV and broadband installed, new storage shed ordered.
(l) Westmorland - Membership 23, will have 2 full lawns for 2010, recruitment drive planned, with Crake Valley will play in 2010 Midweek and Handicap Leagues.
Chairman David Barrett presented Llanfairfechan Chairman, Jack Pattenden, with a CA Diploma for Services to Croquet. This was followed by presentation of league trophies to league winners: Bowdon Saints (Advanced League); Pendle & Craven (Handicap League); Bowdon Earls (Midweek League); Llanfairfechan (Short League); Southport (Golf League).
Jack Pattenden, Chairman of Llanfairfechan receives the CA Diploma for 'Services to Croquet', from NWFCC Chairman David Barratt.
Carolyn Ratcliff, Captain, Llanfairfechan Short Team, receives the clubs first title in the clubs history.