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Lou Pell Wins Fed 2021 Millenium Hcp Golf Croquet

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Simon Robins (Crake Chair) presents Lou Pell with Millenium GC Hcp Trophy

The North West Federation Millenium Handicap Golf Tournament featured 12 players (handicaps 7 to 12) from seven different clubs – Westmorland, Chester, Fylde, Penrith, Pendle & Craven, Crake Valley & Bury

A heavy soaking of the lawns the night before meant they ran slow to start but speeded up as the sun smiled and the standard of play was high.

2 blocks of 6 meant everybody got 5 games at the end of which it was calculated who had won most games and most hoops if equal to determine semi finalists

Howard Bowron (Penrith & North Lakes), despite giving free shots galore being a 2 handicapper, still managed to get to the semis where he succumbed to Chester’s Tom Grievson 4-7. The other semi was contested between David Carpenter, of Pendle & Craven, losing out to Fylde’s Lou Pel also 4-7.

Tom and Lou then contested the final, watched by all competitors, with Lou coming out the eventual winner 7-4 !

2 trophies were awarded, one to be given back next year and another that Lou will keep for ever presented by Simon Robbins

A big thank you to Sandra Cornes who ran the tournament in a truly beautiful location.

(Some additional information provided by David Cornes)

Pendle Retain Festival Cup in Record Breaking Event

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Covid prevented it in 2020, delayed it in 2021, but it finally happened … the Great North West Annual Festival of Croquet made a very welcome return at Southport last weekend for the 26th time.  Was it worth the wait? Well record numbers provide the answer – 41 teams played in the five competitions and it is estimated over 107 people attended each day, supporting the claim this event is the largest gathering of Croquet players in the UK (some claim the world!). It started in sunshine, finished in sunshine, between we had wind and rain, but this could not deter the wonderful ‘great to be back’ atmosphere at Southport & Birkdale Croquet Club.

Teams clad in different colours, the mix of beginners and experts, contesting five different croquet competitions, produce an unrivalled spectacle of excitement and enjoyment making this the premier event in the north west croquet calendar.

The Southport club presented 16 lawns in excellent condition, a tribute to the many weeks of preparation led by the Grounds Manager Don Williamson and over the weekend the club members who arrived early to set out all equipment needed and kept refreshments flowing throughout the event.

The number of games required to be played put pressure on the lawn availability and gave a logistical headache to Manager Ivan Wheatley, who managed the event superbly. As always, the Federation was willing to try new ideas – Triple Banking was used again in the Level Play AC event, the strange colours not causing too much hassle, whilst Doubles teams were controversionally utilised in the Short AC event without causing any major problems – another first for the Federation.

As always, some excellent croquet was played, with rounds of applause from watching spectators in abundance, of course not forgetting cries of anguish from players who fluffed their shots.  The standard of play was high with many close contests in all sections.  Tales of games ‘given away’could be heard all over the weekend.  The most outstanding performance was produced by the two youngest players – Jack Good and Will Mellor representing Bowdon, who won every match they played and securing the Level Play Golf Croquet shield for their club.

Jack Good and Will Mellor
Pendle 2021 Festival Champions
Back Row: Sharon deMaine, Paul Dowdall, David Carpenter, Garry Wilson, Gediminas Smolskas, Andrew Webb, Bob Burnett, Paul Rigge.
Front Row: Karen Bamforth, Libby Dixon, Gabiji Smolskiene.

And the Winners Were:
Level Play AC Winners – Pendle.
Full Lawn Handicap AC Winners – Westmorland.
Short Lawn Handicap AC Winners – Fylde.
Level Play Golf Croquet Winners – Bowdon.
Handicap Golf Croquet Winners – Pendle.
The overall Festival Champions – Pendle (who also won in 2019).

Paul Rigge, Federation Chairman summed it all up in his closing remarks – “Isn’t it great to be back, what a wonderful weekend, thank you everyone for making this Festival such an incredible event”.

Southport Croquet Raises £600 for BHF

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Ann Major from the British Heart Foundation receives a £600 donation from club President, Brian Lewis, flanked by Peter Williams (Treasurer) and Tony Thomas (Organiser)

Wow! What an afternoon! Nearly 70 members turned up for the Southport Charity One Ball event to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, who are celebrating their 60th anniversary.  The larger than expected attendance tested the organisation plan to the limit, but with players wearing articles of red clothing to match the Heart Foundation house colour and to the background sound of the Rave Music Festival in the Park next door, a great atmosphere was enjoyed by everyone.  Beginners and experienced players had a great deal of fun on our beautiful lawns as twenty minute, One Ball and Golf Croquet games kept everyone on their toes. 

We even had some extraordinary prizes for ‘hoop of the day’, ‘shot of the day’, ‘blob of the day’, etc, and eventually the mathematical skills (don’t ask!) of the scorekeepers produced an overall winner for the afternoon.  Step forward Sue Wilkie whose accurate shot in a final ‘Shoot Out’ gained her the prestigious trophy, presented to her by Club President Brian Lewis. Afternoon Tea was fantastic as the table sagged under the feast of food donated by members, trade was brisk on the Refreshment Table, the Tombola Table had an array of ‘quality’ gifts and when added to the Donation Bucket, we raised £600 for the British Heart Foundation. A great achievement by everyone.

New member Sue Wilkie receives the One Ball Trophy from Club President Brian Lewis

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