GC A level Tournament 9-10 June

report by manager Richard Keighley

Tim King won Wrest Park’s inaugural GC A-Level Tournament, beating Lionel Tibble in the final.

The pleasure of playing in delightful surroundings on dry and mainly sunny days attracted a full field of 16 top players from around the country. Handicaps ranged from -3 to 2, with the sole exception of Jane Tewson (5) from Long Eaton Park.

The group was split into two blocks of eight players, who were set the task of completing seven games on the first day. In Block A, there was an early win for Mike Hills (Northampton) over Tim King (Ashby), but otherwise Tim’s progress to the knockout stage proceeded serenely with a total of six wins. However, hoop count was necessary to decide who was to join him as four players recorded four wins each, with only three places available. Making the cut were Chris Sheen (Colchester), Jayne Stevens (Northampton and Wrest Park) and Paul Durkin (Long Eaton Park). Missing out, an unfortunate Mike Hills.

In Block B, Les Heard was pleased to record a rare win over his clubmate from Northampton, Lionel Tibble, but this was the only blemish on Lionel’s day as he went on to record six wins. Second in his group was John Noble (Letchworth) with five wins, but hoop count was necessary to give the two remaining places to Raouf Allim (High Wycombe) and Les Heard, both with four wins. Peter Balchin (Dyffryn andNewport) missed out.

With one exception, the quarter-finals (best of three games) followed the form book with Tim King beating Les Heard 7-5,7-3, John Noble beating Jayne Stevens 7-5,7-3 and Lionel Tibble proving too strong for Paul Durkin, winning 7-6, 7-4. However, Raouf Allim surprised Chris Sheen by his calm and accurate play and won 7-6, 7-5.

Raouf’s excellent form continued and he took the first game 7-6 in his semi-final against Lionel, but the latter’s greater experience prevailed and he won the remaining games 7-5, 7-2. In the other semi-final, Tim King played some outstanding croquet to beat John Noble 7-3, 7-6.

The final proved to be a masterclass for those watching, and an interesting clash of styles. Tim’s crisp and hard-hitting stroke play produced some remarkable clearances and hoop runs. Lionel was relentless with his approach shots from all corners of the court and he adopted a gentler style of stroke-making. Inevitably, the winner was to be the one who made fewer mistakes and who was quick to capitalise on those made by his opponent. This proved to be Tim King, a worthy winner by 7-5,7-5.

The Plate competition was won by Chris Sheen.

As manager, I would like to say how much I appreciated the support of my following fellow members:

Terry Collis for setting out the lawns at the crack of dawn on both days.

George Collin for hoop-setting on both days, and general advice on lawn maintenance during a tournament.

Geoff Strutt, David Woolley and Tim Brewer for their respective catering contributions

John Bevington for mowing and white-lining on the day before the tournament, to ensure the lawns were in tip-top condition.

At the short presentation ceremony, Tim King thanked the club for organising such an enjoyable tournament. He was complimentary about both the lawns and the organisation of the event, which he welcomed to the calendar. Chris Sheen also wrote to me afterwards:

“Thanks for organising a fun competition. A great start and I hope it will continue for many years. It all went so well!”


© Wrest Park Croquet Club  

Winner Tim King with his prizes.

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