GC A level Tournament 9-
report by manager Richard Keighley
Tim King won Wrest Park’s inaugural GC A-
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 -
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-
Raouf’s excellent form continued and he took the first game 7-
The final proved to be a masterclass for those watching, and an interesting clash of styles. Tim’s crisp and hard-
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-
Geoff Strutt, David Woolley and Tim Brewer for their respective catering contributions
John Bevington for mowing and white-
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.
Club
Croquet
Wrest Park