3 April 2011 - Team Short Croquet
Winners Nailsea Trendlewood.
The team composed of players, from left to right...Mary Barnes, Jim Gregory, Brigit Clayton and Kathy Wallace
10 April 2011 - Short Croquet
It was Short Croquet time on Sunday at Nailsea and District Croquet Club. This is a form of Association Croquet played on a small lawn, where only 14 points are played instead of the usual 26. Brian Roynon and Peter Dyke both won all their three games to lead their Blocks. Rob Royffe and Kathy Wallace won their Blocks by winning two games each. Rob was the outright winner of his Block whereas Kathy, Mary Barnes and Brian McCausland all had two wins but Kathy edged the other two out on a net point count. Violet and Richard Delmas both played well and also had 2 wins each. Newcomer Erica Malaiperuman enjoyed some close finishes and is showing great promise.
8 May 2011 - Speed Croquet Doubles
Four pairs entered this competition so it was a simple Block with all pairs playing each other and, of course, competing against the clock. Richard Delmas and Carl Jones won their first 2 games so were favourites to take the title. However, they lost their final game to Peter Dyke and Bryan Smith. This meant that three pairs had all won 2 games each so the ranking had to be decided on net points. Richard and Carl had 4 net points so were declared winners of the competition. Peter and Bryan and also Kathy Wallace and Violet Delmas had -2 net points. As Kathy and Violet had beaten Peter and Bryan, they took the runners-up spot. The photograph shows the triumphant Richard Delmas and Carl Jones.
2 - 3 July 2011 - Nailsea B Level Tournament
There were 16 players from 10 different clubs playing in this event. The hoops were very firm and set to 1/16in for Advanced Play. After the recent hot dry weather, there were brown patches in various places on the lawns and some of the hoop approach areas were treacherous. So, these were difficult conditions and most games were unfinished after the 3 hour time limit. There were 4 Blocks of 4 with the winners of each Block proceeding to semi-finals to compete for the Margaret Fleming Shield. Geoff Hughes (Nailsea) came through on top of his Block having won two of his three matches and having beaten Andrew Wise (Bristol) who had also won two matches. His opponent in the semi-final was Chris Donovan (Budleigh Salterton) who squeaked in by virtue of a single net point lead over Pat Long (Nailsea). Pat Long had been very unlucky to lose a Golden Hoop point in her match against Neil Kellett (Cheltenham).
Tim Jolliff (Taunton), playing in his first CA Tournament, won all his matches to claim a semi-final place. In the fourth Block stood the defending champion, Paul Pristavec from Dyffryn. Paul had the lowest handicap in the field and was clear favourite. The standard of his play stood out as he showed that he could stylishly control the balls on the fiendish patches and run close hoops from awkward angles when necessary. In the cool of Saturday evening, with conditions much more benign, he suffered a -4 defeat by the manager who was standing in to make up the numbers and who snatched 19 index points from him! Paul still won his Block because he had beaten Jonathan Wolfe (Taunton) who was the other player in the Block on two wins.
Chris Donovan built up a good lead in his semi-final against Geoff Hughes as Geoff struggled to cope with the unstable area in front of Hoop 1. However, Geoff rallied and the eventual score was only +6T to Chris. In the other semi-final, Paul Pristavec had a more substantial victory of +18 over Tim Jolliff.
In the Final, Paul again showed his class and had an easy victory of +21 to take the Shield for the 4th successive year. It will no doubt be his swansong in this event as his handicap is now 1.5.
The runners up from the Blocks competed in a knockout consolation event. Here, Andrew Wise beat Pat Long (Nailsea) and Jonathan Wolfe (Taunton) beat Brian Shorney (Kington Langley). In a close final, Andrew Wise then beat Jonathan Wolfe +3T.
Ryan Cabble (Nailsea) was, as ever, interesting to watch. No spectators or out-players could feel safe from the outcomes of his hard-hitting. His tactics, always agressive, didn't get him enough wins in the Blocks but his ability to jump through hoops when the angles seemed impossible, combined with his hitting-in skills earned him success in the later play-offs.
Richard Way (Bear of Rodborough) won the play-off in those placed 4th in the Blocks by beating Peter Dyke (Nailsea) +1T
17 August 2011 - One-Ball Competition
There were 12 entrants for the level play version of the competition but a late withdrawal made the format very difficult. Carl Jones won his Block having won only one game out of 3 so he had a play-off against Brigit Clayton who had been a close runner-up with two wins out of three in another Block. Carl won the play-off. Peter Dyke and Rob Royffe had an equal number of wins so will also have a play-off. Brian McCausland and Geoff Hughes were outright winners in their Blocks.
In the afternoon, the handicap play version took place. In the quarter finals, Robin Hendry beat Jim Gregory, Brenda Roynon beat Carl Jones, Peter Dyke beat Brigit Clayton and Tony Hinchliffe beat Brian Roynon.
21 August 2011 - High Bisquers Competition
There were five entrants in this competition for players with handicaps of at least 20 so they all played each other. Newcomer Neil Devine won all his games to take the trophy. This is a great achievement after only three months playing the game. Erica Malaiperuman played some very good croquet but, in her game against Neil, she made a tactical error in her use of bisques and ran out of time before she could use them. Erica won her other 3 games and continues to show great promise. Doreen Wallace took 3rd place by winning two games and Don Clayton won one game to take 4th place. Doreen was involved in two exciting Golden Hoop finishes, winning one and losing one. The photograph shows Neil and Erica after their match.
2011 Semi-final Results
Short Croquet
Rob Royffe beat Mary Barnes +1T
Brian Roynon beat Peter Dyke +4T
Alternate Stroke Doubles
Rob Royffe & Alan Longdon beat Brian McCausland & Carl Jones +18
Brigit Clayton & Mary Barnes beat Mike Tracy & Erica Malaiperuman +1T
One-Ball (Advanced Play)
Peter Dyke beat Carl Jones +1
Brian McCausland beat Geoff Hughes +3
One-Ball (H'cap Play)
Brenda Roynon beat Peter Dyke +1
LARS Plate
Ian Telfer beat Carl Jones +6
Rob Royffe beat Jim Gregory +4T
Over 50s
Brian McCausland beat Carl Jones +7T
Peter Dyke beat Alan Longdon +4T
Open Advanced Singles
Kriss Chambers beat David Richards +26
Marcus Evans beat Geoff Hughes +9TP
Unequal Bisques
Polly Reynolds beat Alan Longdon +4T
Golf Croquet Doubles
Brian McCausland & Carl Jones beat Rob Royffe & Brigit Clayton 7-3
Jim Gregory & Polly Reynolds beat Margaret Robinson & Don Clayton 7-5
Golf Croquet Singles (Level Play)
Brian McCausland beat Jim Gregory 7-4
Golf Croquet Singles (Handicap Play)
Brian McCausland beat Jim Gregory 5-4
Marshall Midda
Polly Reynolds beat Alan Longdon 6-5
Lynda Longdon beat Brian McCausland 7-5
Finals Weekend 2011
Finals weekend took place on 24 - 25 September 2011. On the Saturday,
Brian McCausland was involved in 5 separate finals, of which he won 3, including the Golf Croquet Level Play and Handicap events (over Andrew Buchanan and Carl Jones respectively). He was prevented from a Golf Croquet hat-trick in the doubles (partnering Carl Jones) by Jim Gregory and Polly Reynolds, but he secured his third trophy by beating Peter Dyke in the Advanced One-Ball competition by a single point, in an exciting finish to the final game of the day. Peter had earlier beaten Brian comfortably in the Over 50s event.
Meanwhile, Marcus Evans beat Kristian Chambers in the Open Advanced Singles to take the trophy for a record eighth time, and Polly Reynolds triumphed over Lynda Longdon in the Marshall Midda Shield. Brenda Roynon beat Tony Hinchliffe in the Handicap One-Ball event, but her husband Brian Roynon lost to Rob Royffe in the Short Croquet. Rob also won the LARS Plate competition, beating Ian Telfer in the final by the narrowest of margins.
On the Sunday, Rob was in action again in the Association Croquet Doubles final, playing with Alan Longdon. However, they were beaten by a determined Mary Barnes and Brigit Clayton, after a tense four hours of play in rain and sunshine. The afternoon saw Jim Gregory win the
Open Handicap Singles for the first time, just edging out Carl Jones in the final. Meanwhile, Polly Reynolds secured another trophy by winning against Tony Griggs in the Unequal Bisques event.
Short Croquet
Rob Royffe beat Brian Roynon +2
Alternate Stroke Doubles
Mary Barnes & Brigit Clayton beat Rob Royffe & Alan Longdon +1T
One-Ball (Level Play)
Brian McCausland beat Peter Dyke +1
One-Ball (H'cap Play)
Brenda Roynon beat Tony Hinchliffe +3
Marshall Midda
Polly Reynolds beat Lynda Longdon 7-5
LARS Plate
Rob Royffe beat Ian Telfer +1T
Over 50s
Peter Dyke beat Brian McCausland +16
Open Advanced Singles
Marcus Evans beat Kriss Chambers 2-0 (+5TPO, +18TP)
Open Handicap Singles
Jim Gregory beat Carl Jones +3T
Unequal Bisques
Polly Reynolds beat Tony Griggs +9T
Enginuity Plate
Winner: Pat Long
Runner-up: Ian Telfer
B Class Advanced
Winner: Ryan Cabble
Runner-up: John Grimshaw
Golf Croquet Doubles
Polly Reynolds & Jim Gregory beat Brian McCausland &Carl Jones 7-3
Golf Croquet Singles (Level Play)
Brian McCausland beat Andrew Buchanan 7-5
Golf Croquet Singles (Handicap Play)
Brian McCausland beat Carl Jones 7-5
Buchanan Cup
Ryan Cabble & Brian McCausland beat Rob Royffe & Carl Jones
Sergeant Cup
Ryan Cabble beat Brenda Roynon 7-5, 7-5
Speed Croquet Doubles
Winners: Richard Delmas & Carl Jones
Runners-up: Violet Delmas & Kathy Wallace
Beginners Competition
Winner: Neil Devine
Runner-up: Libby Howard-Blood
High Bisquers
Winner: Neil Devine
Runner-up: Erica Malaiperuman
Ladies Singles
Winner: Pat Long
Runner-up: Kathy Wallace
C Class Level Play
Winner: Brian McCausland
Runner-up: Ian Telfer
Wild Wednesday
Winner: Brian McCausland
Runner-up: Richard Delmas
Most Improved Player award
Winner: Pat Long
Runner-up: Erica Malaiperuman
Most Improved Male player award
Winner: David Richards
Runner-up: Carl Jones
...and finally, the event of the year
Marcus and Emma's Wedding
On Saturday 29 October Marcus Evans the current Chairman of Nailsea and District Croquet Club (NDCC) married Emma Packham at The Holy Trinity Church at Abbot's Leigh near Bristol.
Marcus started playing croquet at Nailsea as a junior and has progressed to represent the country on several occasions.
Unbeknown to the happy couple eight members of NDCC assembled on a grey, damp day to form a ceremonial arch as the "newly weds" emerged from the church.
The team dressed in their whites and brandishing their mallets arrived at 12.45 ready for the impending exit from the church only to find that things were running a little late and that they had actually arrived before the bride!! Luckily they were able to hide in the car park until the bride was safely inside the church and preoccupied.
It was decided that they should have a practice to see if they could actually stand with their mallets supported and extended at arms length for the requisite length of time for the bride and groom to pass though without major injury.
The team lined up and Janet Dyke and Brenda Roynon took the place of the Bride and Groom (and their lives in their hands) and paraded through the arch.
All was well and the team was able to keep their mallets under control.
The team then moved and positioned themselves at the church door.
The team consisted of Peter Dyke, Mike Tracy, Geoff Hughes, Brian Roynon, Brian McCausland, Ryan Cabble, Pam and Robin Hendry with Brenda Roynon and Janet Dyke on camera duty.
