|
This is an annual inter-club
Association Croquet (26 point) handicap tournament, organised by the
Federation of East Midlands Croquet Clubs, and open to affiliated clubs. It
is run in a form of a league over one or two days depending on the number of
clubs taking part. The event was held at Moira for the first time in 2010.
We play a match against each of the
other clubs. The format has been modified slightly from 2007 onwards: Each
match now consists of three games of singles; there are no longer any doubles
games. The players in the team can be varied from one match to the next. All
games have a three-hour time limit.
|
Previous
winners:
|
|
|
|
|
1997 Northampton
|
2001 Leicester
|
2005 Ashby
|
2009 Ashby
|
|
1998 Leicester
|
2002 Woodhall Spa
|
2006 Nottingham
|
2010 Ashby
|
|
1999 Leicester
|
2003 Nottingham
|
2007 Nottingham
|
2011 Ashby
|
|
2000 Nottingham
|
2004 Woodhall Spa
|
2008 Ashby
|
|
2011 DETAILS Played at Moira on Saturday 6th August
|
As in previous years this was
a close competition, once again hinging on the result of the final match of
the day which this time was between Ashby and Leicester. This match didn't
get off to a good start for Ashby, with Mick struggling for form and
quickly losing to Richard White. At this stage all three clubs were still
in with a chance of winning, depending on the results of the final two
games. But wins for Derek and Richard in these games sealed overall victory
for Ashby for the fourth successive year.
|
Ashby 2–1 Nottingham
Mick Haytack (7) 26-21 Sanaa Hallam (2.5)
Richard Sanville
(9) 26-20 Don Martin (4.5)
Derek Buxton (9) 15-26 Dave Gunn (11)
Leicester
1–2 Nottingham
Richard White (-1) 0-26 Sanaa Hallam (2.5)
Lawrence
Whittaker (3.5) 26-14 Don Martin (4.5)
Richard Whiting (9) 8-26 Dave Gunn (11)
Ashby 2–1 Leicester
Mick Haytack (7) 9-26 Richard White (-1)
Richard Sanville
(9) 21-16 Lawrence
Whittaker (3.5)
Derek Buxton (9) 26-8 Richard Whiting (9)
Final placings:
1st Ashby (2 wins)
2nd Nottingham
(1 win)
3rd Leicester
(0 wins)
|
2010 RESULTS Played at Moira on Saturday 7th August
|
Ashby hosted the event at
Moira for the first time. Three clubs took part this year – Nottingham,
Leicester and Ashby – so only two lawns were required. Conditions
were difficult after the hoops were set by Richard White – very hard
in the ground and some of them pretty tight, often taking several attempts
before successfully running them.
The competition was very
close as usual. The first two matches of the day saw Ashby and Nottingham
both winning against Leicester, which nicely set up the last match Ashby v Nottingham as the decider. In this deciding match,
Arthur won his game with plenty of time to spare, at which stage Mick and
Richard were both roughly level in their respective games. Mick eventually
lost by one point on time, but Richard had a good spell late in his game
against an in-form Peter Moore, and pulled ahead to win 22-13, ensuring
victory overall for Ashby.
This is our third consecutive
win in the 26-point League, and ensures qualification for the 2011
Secretary's Shield. If we win the
2010 Secretary's Shield final against Hamptworth, Nottingham
would then also qualify for next year's Shield.
|
Ashby 2–1 Leicester
Arthur Rowe (4.5) 16-26 Richard White (-1)
Mick Haytack (9) 26-1 Lawrence Whittaker (2.5)
Richard Sanville
(10) 26-8 Richard Whiting (9)
Leicester
0–3 Nottingham
Richard White (-1) 11-26 Gordon Hopewell (3)
Lawrence
Whittaker (2.5) 17-19 Bob Thompson (9)
Richard Whiting (9) 1-26 Peter Moore (9)
Ashby 2–1 Nottingham
Arthur Rowe (4.5) 26-4 Gordon Hopewell (3)
Mick Haytack (9) 19-20 Bob Thompson (9)
Richard Sanville
(10) 22-13 Peter Moore (9)
Final placings:
1st Ashby (2 wins)
2nd
Nottingham (1
win)
3rd
Leicester (0
wins)
|
2009 RESULTS Played at Nottingham
on Saturday 8th August
|
Ashby have
won the East Midlands 26-Point Association
Croquet League for the second year running.
It was good to see the event contested by four clubs once again,
making it more of a tournament than last year. As so often happens in this competition,
it went right down to the wire, with the overall outcome being decided by
the result of the last game in the last match.
The Ashby
team started well, winning the matches against Leicester and Woodhall
Spa. But in the final match against Nottingham, Derek and Richard failed to keep the
momentum going and lost their games.
This meant that Nottingham had an unassailable lead in the match,
and Nottingham and Ashby would end on two
match-wins apiece, meaning that it would go down to the total number of
games won. With the final game
between Geoff Ellott and Peter Moore still in progress well into the
evening, the games-won score was currently 4-4, and a huge crowd (about a
dozen people anyway) gathered to watch the thrilling climax, the players
unaware that the game was so crucial.
Geoff managed to hold on to his lead when time was called, ensuring
overall victory for Ashby.
Ashby win
the league for the third time, and once again qualify for next season's
Secretary's Shield.
|
FINAL PLACINGS
|
Matches won
|
Games won
|
|
1st
|
Ashby
|
2
|
5
|
|
2nd
|
Nottingham
|
2
|
4
|
|
3rd
|
Woodhall Spa
|
1
|
5
|
|
4th
|
Leicester
|
1
|
4
|
|
Ashby 2–1 Leicester
Mick Haytack (10) 26-5 Richard White (–1)
Derek
Buxton (10) 19-26 Lawrence
Whittaker (2.5)
Geoff
Ellott (14) 26-5 Richard Whiting (9)
Ashby 2–1 Woodhall Spa
Mick Haytack (10) 17-26 Roy Ware (3.5)
Richard Sanville (10) 26-9 Patricia
Duke-Cox (8)
Geoff
Ellott (14) 26-15 John Norman (16)
Ashby 1–2 Nottingham
Derek
Buxton (10) 23-26 Martin Beacon (3.5)
Richard Sanville (10) 7-26 Don Martin (7)
Geoff
Ellott (14) 25-20 Peter Moore (16)
Other matches:
Nottingham 0–3 Woodhall Spa
Leicester 1–2 Nottingham
Woodhall Spa 1–2 Leicester
|
2008
RESULTS
Played at Nottingham on Saturday
23rd August: NOTTINGHAM
2 – 3 ASHBY. Disappointingly, there were only two clubs
taking part this year: Nottingham and Ashby,
fielding a team of three players each.
Due to clashes with other events at Ripon and Pendle and a golf
croquet league match at Moira, the Ashby team more or less decided itself
this time – Jeremy, Geoff and Richard being the only three players
available. The Ashby team just managed
to squeeze through by 3 games to 2, with two of our wins decided by just a +1
margin on time, so hardly a convincing victory! The team now wins the mythical East Midlands 26-point Salver. (Does this trophy really exist? Yes it
does! The editor did catch a brief glimpse of the salver at the club
AGM. It will be formally presented at
the Federation AGM.)
TEAMS
Nottingham: Roger
Berkeley (4.5), Don Martin (8), David Woodhouse (12).
Ashby: Jeremy Staley (10), Richard Sanville (10), Geoff Ellott (16)
RESULTS
Roger & David 15-16 Richard
& Geoff
Don 9-23 Jeremy
Roger 26-11 Jeremy
Don 26-8 Richard
David 19-20 Geoff
Match result: Nottingham 2 - 3 Ashby
2007
RESULTS
Played at Nottingham on Saturday 25th August. A slight change to the format this year,
each match comprising three singles games (no doubles games this year). Four clubs competed: Ashby, Leicester, Nottingham and Woodhall Spa. Nottingham
won all of their matches and therefore retained the trophy.
2006 RESULTS
Played at Nottingham on 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
King, Derek Buxton, Geoff Ellott and Marilyn
Murray 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.
2005 RESULTS
|
Played on Saturday 16th July at Nottingham
After several years in which we finished a very close second or third,
Ashby finally gets its name on the 26-point regional trophy with a clean
sweep of victories in our matches against Nottingham, Woodhall Spa and Leicester. We had a squad of six players, allowing
each person to play a singles game and a doubles game, and then sit out the
third game - a tactic which seemed to work!
Our first match, against Nottingham,
was a lot closer than the 3-0 scoreline suggests - two of the three games
being decided by just one point after time was called - and in the end the
results of these games proved to be pivotal to the outcome of the whole
competition.
The trophy will be presented at the East Midlands Federation AGM in
November.
The tournament success means that Ashby will now compete in next year's
Secretary's Shield - a national tournament for the winning clubs of the
regional tournaments.
|
RESULTS
Ashby
v Nottingham
Derek Buxton (11) & Richard Sanville
(12) 19-18
Roger Berkeley (6) & Michael
Finnigan (11)
Tim King (7) 19-14
John Hansen (9)
Jeremy Staley (10) 21-20
William Gee (14)
Match
result: Ashby 3 - 0 Nottingham
Ashby
v Woodhall Spa
Tim King (7) & Jeremy Staley (10) 20-14
John Norman (20) & Bob Thompson (18)
Geoff Ellott (18) 26-3 Patricia Duke-Cox
(10)
Marilyn Murray (20) 10-17
David Eckford (18)
Match
result: Ashby 2 - 1 Woodhall Spa
Ashby v Leicester
Geoff Ellott (18) & Marilyn Murray
(20) 18-13
David White (0.5) & Brian Kerr (3.5)
Derek Buxton (11) 26-0 Lawrence Whittaker (0)
Richard Sanville (12) 12-26
Richard Whiting (10)
Match
result: Ashby 2 - 1 Leicester
Other matches:
Woodhall
Spa 2 - 1 Leicester
Nottingham
2 - 1 Leicester
Nottingham 2 - 1 Woodhall
Spa
|
Overall result:
|
|
1st
|
Ashby
|
3 matches won
|
|
2nd
|
Nottingham
|
2
|
|
3rd
|
Woodhall Spa
|
1
|
|
4th
|
Leicester
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
