BLEWBURY CROQUET CLUB

The Founder's Cup

Manager Deirdre Cochrane

Nick Butler was the emphatic winner of this year's Founder's Cup competition, defeating Deirdre +26 in the final.

This individual Association Croquet tournament was contested by four club members under Advanced rules, level play, on Saturday 27th August. Nick had overcome David Spear slightly less convincingly, +23, in the morning session, while Deirdre had beaten David Moren-Brown who had courageously taken up the fourth place at short notice.

A busy day in the local eateries resulted in a very long but enjoyable lunch break at the Red Lion, attended by spectators as well as players (and including Nick's new son Isaac, along to see Dad in action), so the afternoon's play was confined to a single match each to determine the winner and runner-up, and for the two Davids to settle the third and fourth places.

The Prebendal Manor Cup

Manager Deirdre Cochrane

This is an association croquet handicap competition for the cup which was presented by the club President, The Lord of the Prebendal Manor of Blewbury, and first competed for in 2003.

The competition has again been arranged in two preliminary blocks, giving a winner and runner-up in each. Play is to full bisque base 8, meaning that each player has a number of bisques - optional extra turns - equal to his or her handicap less 8; provided that when one player had a handicap of less than 8, the higher handicap player has bisques equal to the numerical difference between the two players' handicaps.

The winners and runners-up of the two blocks played off on Sunday 18th September. Deirdre Cochrane beat David Spear +10, and Paul Wolff beat David Moren-Brown (playing in place of Bruce Gallop who was away) +3 on time (22 - 19). After lunch, David Moren-Brown beat David Spear +18 to decide third and fourth places, and Paul beat Deirdre +13 to retain the Cup. Our President Rustom Patel was pleased to present his trophy to the winner.

All England Handicap (local rounds)

Manager Paul Wolff

We had nine entrants for this national Association Croquet handicap competition, which entitled the Club to send two entrants to the Area Finals at Nailsea on 27/28th August, a date brought forward from the originally advertised weeked of 3/4th September. Play in the All England Handicap is to full bisque base 10.

We customarilly hold the local rounds as a knock-out competition. This year we added a supplementary 'plate' competition for first-match losers, so every entrant could be guaranteed at least two matches. Having nine entrants meant that one match was needed in a preliminary round.

As it turned out, bringing the Area Finals forward meant it clashed with the Founder's Cup, so the two winning semi-finallists, Deirdre Cochrane and David Spear, who were the first qualifiers for the Area Finals, were faced with a decision. They opted to stay in Blewbury for the Founder's Cup (which Deirdre was managing anyway). Counting back to find substitutes, Paul Wolff and Bruce Gallop were selected (or were volunteered) to represent the Club at Nailsea. Bruce played very well, to finish in second place and qualify for the National Finals, but unfortunately he isn't free to play on the set date.

Results of the local rounds so far:

Preliminary round:
Bruce Gallop bt Simon Jones +12

Round 1:
Deirdre Cochrane bt Bruce Gallop
Nick Butler bt David Seed +3
David Spear bt David Moren-Brown
Paul Wolff bt Andy Robertson +13

Qualifying competition, semifinals:
Deirdre Cochrane bt Nick Butler
David Spear bt Paul Wolff +6

Plate competition, semifinals:
David Seed v. Simon Jones - to play
David Moren-Brown bt Andy Robertson

The two local finals, for the qualifying competition and for the plate competition, will be played if possible on Finals Weekend.

The Icknield Trophy

Manager David Moren-Brown

This golf croquet competition is played in two preliminary blocks. In each block, each competitor plays a match against each of the others. Each match is decided by the best of three 13-point games, in which the winner is the first to run seven hoops.
This year, the games are being played to handicap rules, with extra turns to the higher handicap player.

The three-way tie in Block A was resolved by hoops difference, with Paul Wolff and David Grinstead qualifying for the semifinals in first and second places respectively.

Play-offs between the block winners and runners-up were held on the Saturday of Finals Weekend. In one semifinal, Paul beat Ken Walsh 7-5, 75, and in the other David Moren-Brown beat David Grinstead 5-7, 7-6, 7-4. In the playoff for third and fourth places, David Grinstead beat Ken 7-4, 7-5, and in the final match Paul beat David Moren-Brown 7-4, 7-2 to win the Icknield Trophy for 2011.

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