|
|
 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
|
Tournament Reports 2010
|
![]() |
|
Smith Proves Presidential Again!
The field for the President's Cup was arguably the strongest ever to line up for a CA tournament at Bath in the modern era with handicaps ranging from -0.5 to 2.5.
The defending champion, Richard M Smith from Bristol, was rocked in the opening round by a defeat against Gabrielle Higgins playing precision croquet of the finest order. Andrew Willis, playing on his home lawns, snatched what he admitted was an undeserved victory in the final minutes of his opening match against last year's runner-up, Richard H Smith from Bowdon.
Having won the battle of the minus players against Jim Field in the opening round, Kevin Carter notched up another win against Andrew in the next round. Gabrielle played Carol Smith in the second round which was a repeat of the final of last year's Women's Championship, only this time Gabrielle emerged the winner. It was back to business as normal for the holder as he won against Mike Hammelev who struggled for form throughout the weekend.
Kevin remained undefeated after Day 1 which proved to be a long day for some. Gabrielle ended the day on three wins out of four having succumbed to Kevin in the third round. The defending champion (Richard M Smith) had battled back after his opening defeat to also end the day with three wins out of four and he was to win what proved to be a critical match against Kevin in the morning on Day 2.
The manager had offered a bottle of wine to the player with the most peels on Day 2 and this appeared to inspire Jim as he returned to winning ways against Carol in the morning on Day 2 with some audacious but probably unecessary peels along the way. Andrew pulled off a surprising and yet decisive victory against Gabrielle in the next round which left Kevin and Richard M Smith on five wins and Andrew and Gabrielle on four wins with just one round left to play.
A return to form for Carol put paid to Kevin's chances in the final round and similarly any hope of a tournament victory for Andrew was denied by Jim. Gabrielle finished her weekend with a win against Mike who was still not playing at his best but this was not enough for Gabrielle to snatch the trophy from Richard M Smith who finished his weekend with a narrow victory against his resilient namesake leaving him with six wins out of a possible seven.
Having accepted the President's Cup from Bob Whitaker, it was just left to Richard to thank the Tournament Manager, Roger Hayes. Will anyone be able to deny him a hat-trick of victories?
(report by Andrew Willis)
8th June 2010
High Bisquers Report from Budleigh
Timothy Cantell, Hester Henebury and Connie Stopforth decided to enter the High Bisquers (high handicap) weekend tournament at Budleigh Salterton over the weekend of 24/25 April.
We had already heard much about the hospitality and wonderful setting with their 10 courts. The handicap range was 16 to 24, games were 18 point and timed at 2 hours 15 minutes.
It was Hester's first weekend tournament and as Budleigh Salterton offered a relaxed croquet environment, ample refreshments and plenty of sunshine, the experience was very enjoyable. Despite winning only two games out of five, two of the games were very close, and it was only a lack of consistency which let her down. It was good to encounter different styles of play and, by watching other people, pick up useful ideas for the future.
Timothy did very well winning four of his five games and as a result came 3rd in the 'Egyptian' tournament for his overall score and reached the semi-final stage in the simultaneous knockout competition. Well done Timothy!
Connie managed to win three out of her five games and enjoying the friendly, yet competitive atmosphere. We all agreed that it was a good weekend and a tournament to be recommended to all our up and coming new members.
(report by Connie Stopforth)
26th April 2010
Short Croquet Success in Division 1
Having won Division 2 last year, Bath's team (pictured above) of Andrew Willis (captain), Leonie Wilkinson, Connie Stopforth and Hester Henebury set off to Nailsea with the modest aim of retaining Bath's status as a competitor in Division 1. An initial 2-2 draw against the Nailsea II team settled the nerves and gave the team some confidence, particularly since Andrew and Hester both lost their matches by only one hoop.
It was Bath's turn to sit out in the next round which meant a long break in play since this round was followed by a break for lunch. Team Bath's competitive nature, perhaps inspired by their captain, was evident though as all four players were to be seen practising during the lunch break!
Bath's next opponents were Fowey (from Cornwall) and again the match ended in a 2-2 draw with Connie seemingly unstoppable and Hester breaking her duck.
The third round against the eventual winners Nailsea I produced the most exciting match of the tournament. Local golden boy Ryan Cabble decided to peg out his own ball as well as his opponent's, leaving a two ball ending with him on hoop 1 and his opponent on hoop 2. What he had not accounted for was the superb shooting and shrewd tactics of Leonie who eventually won, to the great delight of the crowd that had gathered to watch. The match ended in yet another 2-2 draw with Hester also adding to her tally of wins. The captain was yet to get off the mark.
Bath won their final match of the day 3-1 against Dyffryn with Andrew at last being able to contribute to the team's success. Leonie and Connie both won again leaving them both with three wins out of four for the day. Hester finished the day with a respectable two wins out of four. This left Bath with a total of nine wins for the day placing them in third place just behind Nailsea I (11 wins) and Nailsea II (10 wins).
Bath will be back in 2011 and this time with higher ambitions.
(report by Andrew Willis)
12th April 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
