Finals Day

Ipswich Croquet Club's Finals Day, held yesterday, was a great success. Over 20 people took part with triple banking on both lawns all day!! The day started out rather foggy but by the afternoon it was lovely and sunny - one of the warmest days we have played this year! As well as the final of the Victory Cup (golf croquet ko tournament) and the play-offs for the golf and association croquet ladders there was a  golf croquet doubles competition!! Phil managed the day magnificently and never lost his cool despite the large number of people and the complications of fitting in all the finals around the golf competition - thanks Phil.

Steve Miller did very well winning both the Victory Cup and the Golf Croquet ladder - congratulations Steve. The final of the association croquet ladder will be played during the winter as we ran out of time.
Congratulations to Colin Hemming and Bernard Button who won the Golf Croquet Doubles competition. Particularly well done to Bernard who was playing in his first ever croquet competition. Here they are with their prize:

 A well deserved tea break in the sunshine:

 Steve being presented with the Victory Cup:

 Steve with his two "trophies":

The club is now taking a two month break to allow the groundsmen to work on the lawns.

Success at the Weekend

On Sunday Martin L, Martin H, Celia P and Jill played in a Golf Croquet Tournament at Colchester. We all had a good time and enjoyed the competition. Martin H won his block but lost in the first round of the knock out. Celia and Jill both lost their Quarter-Final match but Martin L won the event!! Here he is with the manager Dick and his trophy:

The remaining Martin - Martin F - also won an event at the weekend. He won the plate at the South of England Chamionshop. Well done!!

Dynamic Duo

Congratulations to Martin Leach and Martin French who retained their Colchester Doubles trophy - see below. The final was a repeat of last year so was against Robert and Susan Fulford who they beat once again!

What's On in September

Saturday, 15th September	Essex/Suffolk League home match versus Chlemsford
Sunday, 23rd September, 10am	Golf Croquet handicap singles tournament
Tuesday, 25th September, 10am	Golf Croquet friendly with Colchester

And just a note about our Finals day which is now on Sunday, 7th October (Please note the new date). This will be our last day before the club closes for two months so please come along and have some fun and meet other club members.

Celia wins Boddington Shield

The Boddington Shield handicap association croquet tournament was held last Sunday, 2nd September. In glorious weather six players competed and the only player to win both their games was Celia so she was declared the winner. Well done, Celia!

Chairman wins at Hunstanton

Well done to Martin Leach who won the 'B' Level tournament at Hunstanton last weekend. He is pictured below proudly holding his trophy. Congratulations to him too for becoming a granddad!

Robert Fulford wins Ipswich CA Handicap Tournament

Last weekend Ipswich held their first CA Handicap Tournament at their new venue. The weather was glorious - perhaps a little bit too hot on Saturday. It would be fair to say that most people found the lawns at Ipswich challenging - VERY fast and not entirely flat! However, Robert Fulford said he enjoyed playing on them and just to prove that he had mastered them he completed a quintuple on Sunday after not quite managing a sextuple on Saturday (failed the Rover peel). Robert went on to win the tournament by winning all his games. Susan Fulford and Alan Clark were joint runners up having won 4 out of 5 games.

#croquet

Lintern Shield Sunday 5th August

Martin Leach managed an enjoyable tournament on Sunday. With an entry of 6 players a winner was found after just two games.This was Martin Hart who was the only player to win both games. Congratulations to Martin.

What's on in August

Apologies for this being a little late - I have been absorbed in the Olympics!

Wednesday 29th August, from 6pm

HOOPS and HOLES. A new social event with the Golf Club's social committee. The idea is to have pairs - one golfer and one croquet player - try two challenges: one on the practice putting green behind our pavilion and the other on our croquet lawns. £2 to enter per person, and there will be a BBQ for £9 a head at the end.Tony Tyrrell is providing a free glass of Pimms to everyone. You don't need to enter as a pair - we'll find you a partner. Please email Martin French or sign-up on the sheet in the pavilion asap if you'd like to play - tell me if you also want to have the BBQ.

Saturday/ Sunday 18th/ 19th August

Croquet Association Handicap Singles AC tournament.A "proper" 2 day event with visitors as well as several home players. The event is full, but please feel free to come along for an hour or so to see what a serious event looks like. There's a tournament dinner on the Saturday evening in the Courtyard Bar - all members very welcome. Let Martin French know if you're going to join us so we can book a big enough table!

#croquet

Our Chairman wins at Nailsea

Congratulations to Martin Leach who recently won the Nailsea B Level tournament.
Here he is with his trophy (please note his very smart hat!):

Martin Hart wins Golf Croquet Tournament

Ipswich Croquet Club's first one-day Golf Croquet Tournament was held this Sunday and was won by Martin Hart which was his first ever victory in a GC event. He won all 6 of his games and saw his handicap drop from 6 to 4!! It was a very enjoyable day particulary as summer finally arrived and we were able to play in sunshine which made a nice change!
#croquet

News from British Open Championships

Two Ipswich players reached the Quarter Finals of the British Open Championships.  Mark Avery - seeded 7th - eventually lost to the World #2, Rob Fulford, while Martin French lost to David Maugham, World #6 and 4th seed.  Martin - unseeded - staged an upset the day before by beating World #12 and 5th seed, James Death by 3 games to 1.  This is the best showing by Ipswich players for some years.

AC Coaching July 10th at 6pm

Don't forget that Celia will be holding an Improver's coaching session this Tuesday from 6pm. Her topic for this session will be "Building and Maintaining Four Ball Breaks". Do please feel free to come along.

Captain Smith's beaten by the weather

Three hardy - or foolhardy - players arrived to play in the Captain Smith's trophy despite the rain. After a couple of hours - once we had all got soaked to the skin - play was abandoned and we relocated to the bar to dry off. In an interesting format all three were playing each other at the same time and as Celia was well ahead in both her games she was declared the winner. One good thing - we learnt that the lawns drain extremely well!

Ipswich win GC league match

Ipswich beat Bury St Edmunds 12 - 6 in their latest Golf Croquet league match. The day started out extremely wet but ended in sunshine and everyone won at least one of their matches. Well done to Martin H for winning all his games.

What's on in July

Sunday, July 8th, 10am	Captain Smith's Association Croquet Handicap one-day tournament
Tuesday, July 10th, 6pm	Celia's Association Croquet Improver's coaching - improving your breaks
Sunday, July 22nd, 10am	Golf Croquet One-day tournament
Tuesday, July 24th, 6pm	Celia's Association Croquet Improver's coaching
Wednesday, July 25th	Golf Croquet Friendly against Colchester - sign up in pavilion if interested
Thursday, July 26th, 6pm	Part One of Martin French's Association Croquet beginner's course - for complete beginners
Saturday, July 28th, 9.30am	Part Two of Martin French's Association Croquet beginner's course - for those who have been to part one or have played golf croquet and know how to hit a ball.

For those interested in playing in a tournament please sign up on the lists in the pavilion.
For those interested in attending Martin French's course please contact him.

Grand Open Day

Ipswich Croquet Club's Grand Open Day on Sunday was a great success. As the day went on numbers picked up as the weather improved!! Many games of one-ball and golf croquet were played and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. The highlight of the day was the delicious tea of sandwiches, including cucumber of course!!, scones and many varieties of home-made cake all washed down with Pimms! Martin Leech made a speech thanking all those who have helped the club this year particularly Martin French who has worked tirelessly for the club. He then presented prizes to the winner of the Golf Croquet competition - Bob Sutherland who won despite not having lifted a mallet since 1989! - and the winner of the One Ball competition - Andrew Paris - well done to them both.

Below are a few pictures from the day.

People in play on the lawns:

 Everyone gathered for tea, speech and presentations:

 

The winners

Grand Open Day

Ipswich Croquet Club are holding a Grand Open Day this Sunday, June 24th from 10.30am at Fynn Valley Golf Club, Witnesham. It will be a fun day with one-ball and golf croquet, lunch in the club house and tea on the lawns. Don't worry if you've never played before as full instructions will be given. Please feel free to come along to either the whole day or just part of it and please bring friends and family along too.

Ipswich win their first Golf Croquet league match

Ipswich beat Colchester 13-5 in their first ever Golf Croquet league match on Friday. The team had a very enjoyable day at Colchester as the weather was much better than forecast and the home team were extremely welcoming hosts. Three of the Ipswich team had handicap reductions with Martin French becoming a scratch.
#croquet

Ipswich 3 Colchester 4

Ipswich narrowly lost to Colchester in the second Essex Suffolk league match of the season this Saturday. Ipswich were 2-1 up at lunchtime but eventually lost 4-3 with three of the four afternoon games ending +1T!! Better luck next time.
#IpswichCroquet

What's On in June

The two big events in June are the CA Handicap Golf Croquet tournament on the weekend of 16th and 17th June - there is still time to enter - and the GRAND OPEN DAY on Sunday, 24th June - more details to follow.

Here is a full list of the events in June:

Sat. 2nd	Essex Suffolk League match vs Colchester at home, 10am start
Wed. 13th	Golf Croquet "Tulips" competition at Bury St Edmunds
Sat/Sun 16th/17th	CA Handicap Golf Croquet Tournament
Sun. 24th	GRAND OPEN DAY and BBQ - more details to follow

Allen Salver has been found!!

The Allen Salver has been found - it was with Phil who won it in 2010!! It was therefore presented to the winners, Martin H and Steve, at the club night last night:

An all Ipswich final at the East Anglian Golf Croquet Championship

Well done to Mark and Martin F for making it an all Ipswich final in the East Anglian Golf Croquet Championship which was held last weekend at Colchester. In the semi finals Mark beat the current Women's World Champion, Rachel Rowe and Martin beat the top Belgium player, Pierre Beaudry. In the final Mark beat Martin 3-7, 7-6, 7-4. Below is a photo of him receiving his prize from Jane Collier, Secretary of Colchester Croquet Club.

Martin and Steve retain the Allen Salver

Three and a half couples took part in the Allen Salver - our Association Croquet doubles tournament - on Sunday with Pam kindly joining us after lunch to make it four couples!! Martin H and Steve won both their games and so retained the Allen Salver for another year. In the absence of a trophy the couple were each presented with a cup cake - many thanks to Diane for making these for our tea - they were really delicious. Can whoever has the Allen Salver please own up?!?

The presentation:

  The 'trophies':

Mark Avery wins Plate event at World Championships

The 13th WCF Association Croquet World Championship in which the top 80 world ranked players from 24 countries competed has just finished. The first stage was 8 all-play-all blocks. The top 4 players from each block then progressed to a knockout stage. The winner of the main event was Reg Bamford from South Africa who beat Robert Fletcher, Australia, in the final.

However all the players who did not reach the knockout stage played in an event called "The Plate" and this was won by Ipswich Croquet Club member Mark Avery!! Many congratulations, Mark!!

Mark is one of Ipswich Croquet Club's longest standing members and has been playing croquet at a high level for many years. He lost narrowly in the final of the 1st World Croquet Championship held at Hurlingham in 1989.

Below is a picture of Mark being presented with The Plate by Amir Ramsis, the President of the World Croquet Federation.

Victory for Martin French at Hunstanton

Congratulations to Martin French who won the Advanced Play Association Croquet Tournament held at Hunstanton Croquet Club over the May Bank Holiday weekend. He won 7 out of his 8 games to win the Lady Fermoy cup and is pictured below being presented with the cup by Ken Wheeler the president of Hunstanton Croquet Club. Well done to Martin!!

Grand Opening Day Postponed

Our Grand Opening, planned for next Sunday, 13th May has been postponed because of the large number of people who could not attend.

It will now be on Sunday, June 24th

More details to follow.

Bury St Edmunds 4 Ipswich 3

In the first Essex-Suffolk league match of the season Ipswich narrowly lost to Bury St Edmunds, 4-3.

Congratulations though to Steve who won his first 'proper' match, beating Chris +9T and almost pegging out, getting as far as Rover and Peg.
Congratulations also to Simon who won both his games which means that his handicap is now 6.

What's On in May

The following events are coming up in May:

Saturday, 5th May	Essex/Suffolk League Match versus Bury St Edmunds, away
Thursdays, 10th, 17th & 24th May	Association Croquet Course. Three Half Days from 1pm. Sign up in club hut or contact Martin for more details. (01473 288448)
Sunday, 20th May	Allen Salver - one day Association Croquet Handicap Doubles tournament. Start 9.30am No need to bring partners they will be sorted on the day
Tuesday, 22nd May	A chance to try and buy a new mallet from club member and mallet maker Mike Percival. From 6pm
Saturday, 26th May	Ipswich Institute Day from 9.30am
Sunday, 27th May	Butler Salver - one day Association Croquet Advanced tournament. Start 9.30am
Thursday, 31st May	One day Golf Croquet beginner's course. Starts at 9.30am. Sign up in club hut or contact Martin (01473 288448)

Golf Croquet - Handicap Weekend Tournament

Ipswich Croquet Club is holding its first Handicap Golf Croquet Tournament on:

Saturday 16th June and Sunday 17th June 2012

Format: American Block, probably Best of 2, 13-point games, depending on numbers.

Manager: Martin French

All handicaps from 12 to 0 welcome

Entry fee: £18 (£15 full-time students )
This is a CA Calendar Fixture
People who are not CA members may play in one such event before joinin.

For more details email ipswichcroquetclub@gmail.com