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AGM REPORT
Twenty-one members attended our AGM and Social Evening on Wednesday 15th
November. The AGM was unusual in
that it was chaired by three people (but not all at the same time!), the
retiring chairman Eileen Buxton handing the reins over to our new
chairman Mick Haytack during
the meeting. Mick then had to leave for another engagement later and
handed over to vice-chairman Tim King.
We also had three of our previous chairmen present at the meeting!
Our thanks and best wishes to Eileen on her "retirement". We welcome two new committee members,
Marilyn Murray and Arthur Rowe.
The expected increase in lawn expenditure and reduced
fund-raising resulted in a deficit for the year of £236. The meeting
voted for a small increase in subscription rates for the 2007 season: up
£2 to £46 for individuals, and the other categories increased roughly
pro-rata. See below for details of the new rates.
The trophies for the year were presented during the
meeting. Pictured is new chairman Mick, and Tim with (just a selection
of) his trophies and certificates.
After the meeting we had a buffet (thanks to Chris),
and a quiz set by Mick, and won by Tim, Derek and Richard.
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SUBSCRIPTIONS 2007
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Standard £46 (up £2)
Family £84 (up £4)
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Unwaged £38 (up £2)
Unwaged Couple £73 (up £4)
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Country £34 (up £1)
Country Family £65 (up £2)
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Junior £13 (unchanged)
Non-Playing £5 (unchanged)
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AUTUMN MAINTENANCE: We had a willing team of volunteers to
apply 6 tonnes of top dressing to Lawn 1 in what were ideal conditions as
soon as the frost had thawed out.
It's amazing how quickly the big pile disappeared into the
lawn! We have also laid down some
additional grass seed, and given the croquet balls a good wash, and
tidied up the store too. Many
thanks to Mike, Ray, Geoff, Marilyn, Anthony, Mick, Richard and John for
all their hard work.
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ASHBY WIN THE EAST
MIDLANDS 14 POINT ASSOCIATION LEAGUE
The last match
in the East Midlands 14 point league was Woodhall Spa v Ashby on Saturday
14th October.
Geoff Ellott
became ill the evening before the match and Rachel willingly stepped in to
fill the breach.
Ashby won all 3
first round games, Mick beat Nigel Harding +6, Arthur beat David Eckford +5
and Rachel and Derek beat Bob Thompson and John Norman +9.
Second round
game results: Derek lost to David (+7), Mick (+8) beat Bob, Arthur (+4)
beat Nigel and Rachel lost to John (+6).
The 5-2
victory kept Ashby unbeaten in the league thus giving us the title.
All team members including Marilyn, Geoff and Richard are to be
congratulated.
Report by Derek
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GOLF CROQUET INTERNAL DOUBLES
LEAGUE: Five pairs competed in our club doubles
league this year. The clear winners
were Tim
King and Mick Haytack with 12 points, but only two
points separated the remaining four pairs.
The runners-up (on "who beat whom") were Ray and Chris
Mounfield with 8 points. Remaining
positions: 3rd Dave Davis and Barrie March 8 pts; 4th Anthony Finch and
Mike O'Brian (on "who beat whom") 6 pts; 5th Eileen and Derek
Buxton 6pts. Many thanks to Barrie for running the
Golf Croquet internal leagues.
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The BUXTON VASE, our club's Golf Croquet
Singles Handicap League trophy, has been won by Ray - for the second
year running!
The final,
between Mike and Ray was played on the afternoon of the last Thursday
of the season in wet conditions that were not conducive to consistent,
inspired croquet. Ray won the first game, but failed to
take a hoop in the second! The deciding game however was very closely
contested, with Mike taking an early lead, but with Ray fighting back to
win at the thirteenth hoop. Scores
: 7-4, 0-7, 7-6
The final
positions in the two blocks were:
Block A:
1st Mike O'Brian 10 points; 2nd Derek Buxton 9 pts; 3rd Tim King 8 pts; 4th Barrie March 6 pts; 5th Chris Mounfield 3
pts.
Block B:
1st Ray Mounfield 10 points (through to final on "who beat
whom"); 2nd Mick Haytack 10
pts; 3rd Eileen Buxton 8 pts; 4th Dave Davis 4 pts; 5th Susan Taylor 3 pts.
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GOLF CROQUET UK
RANKINGS: Tim's Golf Croquet ranking (both UK and
World!) has risen yet again ... he's now ranked at UK number 4
(clearly his career best - yet again!). The interesting point is
that he's played no ranking games since the last rankings came out …
this could mean that he may soon reach number one spot without playing
another game! Congratulations Tim. Golf Croquet UK rankings list
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ASHBY 'A' TEAM WINS THE EAST MIDS LEAGUE
– with a little help from Ashby 'B'!
(Report by
Eileen)
On a lovely
sunny but breezy day on Sunday 24th September, Eileen, Marilyn and
Geoff fought valiantly in their match against Sapcote in the East Midlands
Golf Croquet League. This was a crucial match in the League because if
Ashby "B" was victorious Ashby "A" would win the
League. Prestige for Ashby Croquet Club!
The score was
Ashby "B" 6 Sapcote 3 with the final three games to be
played. Eileen lost to
Sapcote's Joyce Critchley! Geoff lost to Sapcote's John Hansen! Nails were
being bitten! Time was called on the match between Marilyn and Sapcote's
Christine Rider! 8 shots to play! Victory for Marilyn !!! Well-done
Marilyn. The match was won by Ashby "B"!! The score was
Ashby "B" 7 - Sapcote 5. (Ashby "A" had previously lost
their game against Sapcote.)
The League
Trophy will have Ashby "A" on it again this year, but I hope they
remember who assisted! Perhaps Ashby "B" could appear in
brackets--Ha! Ha!
Sapcote
finished as very close runners-up in the League.
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THE 2006 BOTTLE CHALLENGE
For
the benefit of new members and others who cannot remember for whatever
reason, the Bottle Challenge is for golf croquet players with a handicap of
zero or less. The entrance fee is one bottle of wine, winner takes
all.
By
tradition the match report should inform, entertain and offend in equal
measure. This years entrants were:
Tim King - winner of the Italian
open. Apparently the Italians didn't put up much of a fight, but at least
they got the tournament running on time.
Tom Brandt - what a polite, well
mannered young man. Reminds me of myself at his age.
Chris and Ray Mounfield - when they play as a
doubles team the tactical harmony is an example to us all.
Richard Thompson - his technique of placing
the mallet on the ground and walking away to line up the shot is
frustratingly difficult to master with round mallets. Obviously extra coaching is needed.
Yours Truly - a player that recognises
that it's bad form for the manager to win his own tournament.
Nothing
of any interest happened during the tournament. Tim won, Ray second.
The
entrants' choice of wine was far more interesting. Too cheap, tight fisted. Too expensive.........., I think you all
get the point.
I've
found soaking the label off a decent wine and sticking it onto a bottle of
cheap plonk is best. The winner will never notice the difference.
Mike
(The Manager)
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Ray beat Mike 7-4, 7-5 in the final of the club's Golf Croquet Knockout Tournament,
in front of a large audience (Eileen
throughout the match, Chris for the second game and Arthur for the last two
hoops!). A well-deserved
victory particularly bearing in mind the tough matches (against Arthur,
Derek and Tim) that Ray had to get through just to reach the final.
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EAST MIDLANDS
GOLF CROQUET LEAGUE RESULT (Wed 20th Sept): Ashby B 8 – 4 Long Eaton
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CLIVE
PEARSON DOUBLES
Five pairs competed, using a high/low handicap pairings
format. Barrie and Lindsey were the
winners.
Results and report here
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FARRANT SALVER: Geoff
has won this year's Farrant Salver, beating Arthur in the final. Results here.
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JIM KIRBY CUP: Sunday 20th August. Unfortunately there were no takers from
any of the other East Midlands clubs this
year, but Ashby still managed to provide six players for the event despite
a clash with the Inter Counties Golf Croquet. Geoff was the clear winner of
the cup, with 4 wins out of 5.
Jeremy finished as runner-up.
Full report, results and picture on the JK Cup page.
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The English National Golf Croquet Doubles event was held at Surbiton over the weekend of
August 12th and 13th. Ashby club was well-represented, supplying five of
the 20 players (Tim, Ray, Chris, Derek and Eileen).
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EAST MIDLANDS
14 POINT ASSOCIATION CROQUET LEAGUE RESULT (Sun 3rd Sept): Leicester 1 - 6 Ashby Full details here
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The CA All England
Golf Croquet Handicap regional final, which was due to have taken place at Moira on
Saturday 5th August, has been cancelled, as a regional final is not now
required. Ashby's qualifier Arthur
Rowe therefore goes straight through to the national finals which are to be
held at Parkstone in September.
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Regrettably
the East
Midlands Golf
Croquet league match between Ashby
A and Southwell had to be cancelled, with Ashby being given a walkover
by Southwell.
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MAX MORRIS TROPHY: Ray has won the Max Morris Trophy for the
second year running, beating Mike 7-6 in the final. Details and pictures on
the Max Morris Trophy page.
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EAST MIDLANDS 26-POINT
ASSOCIATION CROQUET LEAGUE (played at Nottingham,
Saturday 22nd July): NOTTINGHAM 5 – 1 ASHBY. There
were only two clubs taking part in the "league" this year –
Nottingham and Ashby – so this year's event was played as a Longman
Cup format, i.e. a team of four, each player getting two games, time limit
3 hrs 15 mins each. The Ashby team
of Tim, Derek, Geoff and Marilyn were beaten quite convincingly by a strong
Nottingham side. Unfortunately the stormy weather
intervened before all the scheduled games were completed. Congratulations to Nottingham
who will represent the East Midlands Federation in the Secretary's Shield
next year.
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SPAGHETTI HOOPS: Many congratulations to Tim King – winner of the Italian Golf
Croquet Open,
held at Busto Arsizio near Milan over the weekend of July
15th/16th. Tim had eight straight
wins in the competition, which attracted an entry of 20 players comprising
10 different nationalities.
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DATE CHANGES: We have new
dates for two Ashby 'A' matches in the East Midlands Golf Croquet
League. The Ashby 'A' v Leicester fixture, postponed from earlier in the season,
has now been re-arranged for Saturday 16th
September. Meanwhile, the Bakewell v Ashby
'A' match, previously
scheduled for September 23rd, has now been brought forward to Tuesday 8th August.
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EAST MIDLANDS GOLF CROQUET LEAGUE RESULT (Sunday 16th July): Wooodhall Spa 5 - 7 Ashby
A
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INTER-CLUB
GOLF CROQUET RESULT: Hurlingham 5
– 2 Ashby (Tim, Ray,
Christine, Derek)
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EAST MIDLANDS GOLF CROQUET LEAGUE RESULT (Wednesday 5th July):
Sapcote 7.5 – 4.5 Ashby A
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ASHBY
ANNIVERSARY SHIELD
(Saturday/Sunday 1st/2nd July):
Ashby's very first 26-point tournament has been won by Ray, with a
100% record over his five opponents.
For a tournament report, results and pictures, see the Anniversary Shield page.
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MEMBER AND
GUEST COMPETITION & BARBECUE (Thursday 29th June): After what appeared to be a poor
attendance there were quite a number of last minute arrivals and we started
the competition with a respectable seven teams. Ray arranged for each team
to play five twenty minute seven hoop games and Chris & John, Ray &
Janet, Eileen & Catherine had three wins with Mike & Gaynor the winners with four wins. The weather was
glorious and the food was just about edible. (I promoted myself to catering
manager!) Report by Mike
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SECRETARY'S SHIELD RESULT (Tuesday 27th June): Beverley 4 – 3 Ashby (Derek,
Richard, Mick, Geoff) This was
Ashby's debut match in the Secretary's Shield – a national knockout
tournament for the winners of the previous year's regional Association
Croquet (26 point) leagues. It
resulted in a narrow defeat for us at Beverley in Yorkshire, although Derek
almost pulled off a remarkable victory in the deciding game – he was
five hoops behind when time was called, and in a seemingly impossible
position, but managed to claw back two points and set up a break in the
process before being thwarted by a ball getting stuck in 2-back. An enjoyable day in a lovely rural
setting – a Georgian country hotel with nice views of the surrounding
countryside, and peacocks roaming the grounds.
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EAST MIDLANDS 14-POINT
ASSOCIATION CROQUET LEAGUE RESULT (Saturday 24th June): Ashby (Derek,
Richard, Geoff and Marilyn) 6
– 1 Northampton
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PERRY BOWL Ladies'
Tournament: Well done to Rachel Rowe for
winning the Ladies' Day tournament – Rachel's second tournament
success of the season. Many thanks to
Eileen for running the competition.
For a report by Eileen and the full results, see the Ladies Tournament Page.
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The All England Golf Croquet handicap
heat was won by Arthur Rowe. Arthur now goes on to play in the regional
final of this national event. Full results here.
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GOLF CROQUET KNOCKOUT: The draw is on the Golf Croquet Knockout tournament
page.
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LONGMAN
CUP RESULT (played on Tuesday 6th
June): Pendle 4 – 3 Ashby Full results here.
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SHAKESPEARE
CUP: The Shakespeare Trophy was won by Tim
King. Full
results on the Shakespeare Cup tournament page.
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The Novices' Tournament (Golf Croquet) took place on May 20th, and
was open to members with a GC handicap higher than 3, its aim being to encourage
"novices" to enter competitions.
The format for the six entrants was level play, time limited
13-point games. The rain just held
off, and there was sufficient time for an "all play all"
event. Congratulations to Rachel
Rowe who came through as a clear winner with 5 wins. Second was Arthur Rowe
with 3.5, and third was Susan Taylor
with 3 wins. Many thanks to Barrie for organising
the event.
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Derek reached the final of the First Pendle & Craven Golf Croquet Handicap Tournament.
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EAST MIDLANDS GOLF CROQUET LEAGUE RESULT: Leicester 1.5 – 10.5 Ashby B (Eileen, Marilyn and Geoff).
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CHARITY ONE BALL TOURNAMENT
Our 2006 season has got underway with a Charity One Ball
Tournament in aid of Cancer Research. Seven
people braved the rain and hail to play in the tournament - an all-play-all
competition. Eileen started off well with three straight wins, but Ray was
the eventual clear winner with 5 wins overall. Ray now has the opportunity of an automatic
place in the Winchester One Ball tournament on the weekend of 22nd/23rd
April 2006. Many
thanks to Derek for running the tournament. More details/pictures are on
the One Ball Tournament page.
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Tim recently arrived
back from the 2006 WORLD GOLF CROQUET CHAMPIONSHIP in New Zealand. There is also a DVD of hundreds (literally!)
of still photographs taken by Tim at the championships, which is
circulating around club members.
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ASTROTURF GOLF CROQUET COMPETITION:
BASS
SHIELD and COORS CUP
Southwell were the winners,
in very wintry conditions. For results and pictures, see the
Coors Cup tournament page.
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WINTER SOCIAL EVENTS
ROUND-UP
PRE-SEASON SUPPER
Around 20 club members attended this
pre-season social. An excellent buffet again, from Chris F. Eileen ran a Fun Quiz which involved a combination
of general knowledge, mental arithmetic and guesswork to arrive at a
mystery number; Audrey, Ena & Joyce came closest with 24 (actual answer
23). Mick later ran a 15-to-1 quiz, which this time was won by Ray,
defeating Marilyn and Geoff in the final. Many thanks to everyone who
contributed to the evening.
TEN PIN BOWLING: A
good turnout of 16 people. The
Haytacks dominated: Mick was the leading scorer by a long way, averaging
137 over the three games which included an impressive 161 in the first
game. The second highest average was
Derek with 112. The competition for the highest-scoring female was much
closer: Sheena (averaging 95) just finishing ahead of Chris (93) and Eileen
(91). Many thanks to Derek for organising.
COUNTDOWN: Good to see a few new faces
at this year’s Countdown competition.
An innovation this year was a “guest presenter” for each
round, allowing everyone to take part.
Well done to Margaret, winning for the fourth year running. Chris finished a close runner-up. Ray achieved the only nine-letter word:
Gatherers. Thanks to everyone who
took part.
WINE
TASTING: We had an excellent Wine Tasting social evening,
with eight wines to sample and identify by matching each one against a
list. A wonderful selection of wines
- ranging from Kent to Argentina. There were also five general multiple
choice questions. The winners of the
competition were Chris Philliskirk and David Bagshaw, each scoring 10 out
of 13. Many thanks to Jeremy for a
great evening. Chris and Val were the
winners of the Curling tournament held afterwards. Thanks also to Chris.F for the buffet
which included a good selection of cheeses to complement the wine.
QUIZ
NIGHT: We had no fewer than nine teams taking part in
the quiz, thanks to the welcome support of a good number of visitors
including members of other MMW user groups.
Many thanks to Noel for running the Quiz. The top four teams were:
1st (89½ points) Just Passing
(a team of visitors);
2nd (87) Lynx (Ray,
Christine, Dave, Richard);
3rd (81) Fab Five (Jayne +
visitors); 4th (80) Flower Power (Mick, Arthur, Rachel)
CURLING: The planned Curling match between Ashby Croquet
Club and the Moira Sports & Social Club didn’t actually happen in
the end as they were unable to raise a team. Instead we ran an individual competition
between the eight ACC players; Ray beating Barrie in the final.
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