Our Winter Lawn set up started on November 1st. It was decided not to reduce the lawn size to 6/7ths, as in previous years, but to keep the Full lawn divided into two half lawns, with the default of a half lawn being set up. It remains very important for us to routinely change the patterns of wear and tear on the lawn over winter and so you may find, when you come to play, that the half lawn in use is nearest the Car Park. The starting corner on either lawn may also vary from the Bowling Green side to the Tennis Court side – remember that Hoop 1 is the Blue Hoop and that you should in GC be playing clockwise from the corner towards it at the start.
Remember that Winter Rules now apply – so no jump shots allowed!
Tim Leverton says that he has never before won a sporting competition, so here he is holding the GC Doubles Plate having just won our GC Doubles Competition this year.
Tim and his Doubles Partner, Charles Briggs, made it through 3 tough Rounds, winning their first two, each 7-6 at the Golden Hoop, to go on to beat John Wakeford and Chris Barnard in the Final by 7-4, 2-7, 7-4.
In the GC Singles Competition Neil George beat Will Watson 2-0 in the best of 3 games Final, despite Will getting off to a good start at the first hoop.
In the AC Winslow Cup there was no stopping Will Watson who, after a slow start against Mike Reddy in the first round, romped through two more rounds to reach the Final in which he beat Chris Barnard by 15-4.
Trophies will be presented on members Day on Saturday August 24th.
In our first AC League Match against Oxford University we finished 3-1 ahead. Here is the scoresheet.
Oxford University Charles Sharpe H10 26-3 v Gareth Hobby H12 Oxford University Danny Dawson H18 15-23 v Charles Briggs H14 Oxford University Josh Jackson H24 11- 18 v Neil George H16 Oxford University Sam Reynolds H24 7 -26 v Will Watson H20
Congratulations to Neil whose handicap has now come down to 14.
In the Advantage GC Handicap League Caversham Blue, Jane, Timbo, Chris and Charles, travelled to Winchester to secure an 11-5 victory.
Judy (most colourful hat) and Mike Reddy hosted our annual Club Open Day in May, ably assisted by several other Club members. Anne Small even produced a children’s set for the very young!
Our Club coach Tim Small gave instruction to some of the 10 visitors who came on the day ably assisted by 2nd hat Tim Leverton.
Even our treasurer Chris Barnard (right hat) learned a thing or two from Timbo.
Hats off! Joan Crossman stands at ease and Linda Allan lends an ear!
Great to have had a sunny day and good interest from the public. We had ten visitors in all, which was four more than last year. So, well worth the effort and many thanks to all who helped promote our sport on the day. Our waiting list for membership has now been added to!
All our GC League teams have been in action during May. All matches were played at Caversham where the players enjoyed plenty of homemade cake to boost their energy. Thank you to all members who have played, helped prepare the lawn, provided refreshments and come along to support our players.
The One Court League saw Red V Yellow (12 May) with the Yellow team winning 4-1. Red represented by the two Tims (Small and Leverton) and Liz Walker and Jane Probitts playing for Yellow.
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18 May – Yellow (Charles Briggs and Liz Walker) won 5-0 against Black (Pam Briggs and Mike Reddy)
23 May – Black (Judy Reddy and Chris Barnard) won 4-1 against Red (Neil George making his debut appearance alongside Tim Small )
In the Advantage League our Blue team went to Phyllis Court for their opening match on 20 May. Two courts are required with 4 games of double banked singles. It was neck and neck at the half way stage after the first 8 games, but then home advantage for Phyllis Court gave them an 11-5 overall win. Well done to Tim Small, Pam and Charles Briggs and Liz Walker.
Welcome to May, and the start of our new Caversham Climbers croquet ladder competitions – organised by Gareth Hobby.
You can challenge anyone on the ladder within 5 places of you, up or down.
If the higher player wins then they advance one position up the ladder.
If the lower player wins then they advance to just above the higher player
Please adjust your positions on the ladder in the clubhouse, but also send all results to me (garethhobby@aol.com) and enter them in your handicap cards
You can only play each other person once per month, in each competition
The GC games are played using the Advantage system
The AC games are 14 pt games with 1:45 timelimit, played using a base handicap of 5
Starting positions have been drawn at random and the ladders have been set up as follows:
GC Ranked List
Position
Name
Handicap
1
Chris Barnard
10
2
Mark Keogh
6
3
Mike Parker
10
4
Maureen Stewart
14
5
Wil Watson
8
6
Kate Armitage
12
7
John Wakeford
10
8
Liz Walker
10
9
Tim Leverton
8
10
Brian Jamieson
4
11
Dave Murray
10
12
Mike Reddy
7
13
Linda Allen
12
14
Marjorie Tierney
14
15
Anne Small
5
16
Judy Reddy
10
17
Katherine Molyneux
14
18
Bill Runacre
10
19
Tim Small
7
20
Charles Briggs
8
21
Jane Probitts
12
22
Jill Murray
12
23
Pam Briggs
8
24
Carol Jamieson
6
25
Gareth Hobby
7
26
Stella Kendall
11
27
Neil George
9
28
Molly Anderson
14
29
Carol Hill
10
30
Pauline Fisher
11
31
Deanna Nield
12
32
Sally Judge
12
Starting positions have been drawn at random
AC Ranked List
Position
Name
Handicap
1
Will Watson
20
2
Terry Marsh
20
3
John Wakeford
22
4
Mark Keogh
16
5
Chris Grieves
16
6
Michael Kay
4
7
Francis Brown
20
8
Carol Jamieson
20
9
Mike Reddy
24
10
Phil Sweeney
24
11
Bob Eales
11
12
Brian Jamieson
9
13
Gareth Hobby
12
14
Chris Barnard
20
15
Charles Briggs
14
16
Jasmine Marsh
24
17
Liz Walker
24
18
Neil George
16
19
Ben Hargreaves
16
Starting positions have been drawn at random
If anyone who wants to play in the competition has been missed off the lists, then please let me know and I’ll add you to the bottom of the ladder.
If you don’t yet have a handicap then don’t let that stop you taking part – you can play off a handicap of 20 in AC or 10 in GC, but your scores won’t count towards handicap cards for you or your opponents.
Gareth will provide a separate sheet to illustrate how to calculate bisques for the AC games (to hopefully avoid confusion)
If you have any questions, please drop Gareth an email or a text on 07557 347420.
Ladder Rules
Starting positions on each ladder have been assigned at random.
You are allowed to challenge anyone on the board within 5 places, above or below.
You may only play each opponent once per month in each competition (once in AC and once in GC)
You can book the lawn as normal, up to 7 days in advance.
Please double-bank where possible (however AC and GC games should not play at the same time)
If the lower player wins, they move above the higher player, if not the higher player moves up one place
Matches
Each game is a formal match, using your AC or GC handicap, and should be recorded on your handicap card(s)
AC games should be played to 14-pts with a time limit of 1:45 and a handicap base of 5
GC games should be standard 7-pt game using the Advantage system
At the end of your game, please adjust the relative position of your lollipops, update your handicap cards and email me your results (with date and time of match)
Handicaps
You should use your current handicap from the start of that day.
Players without handicaps can still take part. They will be assigned a temporary handicap for the purpose of the competition (AC:20 and GC:10) but matches they take part in will not count towards anyone’s handicap and should not be recorded on handicap cards by either player.
AC ‘Handicap base of 5’ explained:
if both players have a handicap greater than 9 then each player gets bisques, calculate their bisques as if they were playing a player of handicap 0, and then take off the base of 5
If either player has a handicap of 9 or below then handicaps are calculated as normal for a 14 pt game
Monthly Updates
Each month, I will check the order of the ladder and email out a set of results and an updated ladder position.
After two months, any player who has not played any games at all will be removed from the ladder.
If they wish to rejoin at a later stage, then they are welcome to do so, and will do so at the bottom.
Good luck everyone and play well.
Rgds
Gareth
Many thanks to Gareth for volunteering to take on the organisation of this new initiative and thanks to Neil George for suggesting the ladder and actually making it!
A great sunny start to the Croquet season at Albert Road with our Charity 1 Ball Club Heat on Saturday 13th April raising £130 for British Heart Foundation – a great result for our Treasurer Chris Barnard who also won the day!
Semi finalists Will Watson, Charles Briggs, Chris Barnard and Brian Jamieson.
Twelve contestants battled it out in the First rounds – each playing 3 matches, first to peg out with 13 points but with a 40 minute time limit per game. With 3 players each winning all 3 of their games the 4th semi final position was between Brian and John, each with 2 wins but with Brian having a net hoop score of 9 and John with 5, Brian went through.
Player
Handicap
Hoops run
Games won
Brian Jamieson
9
36
2
Jasmine Marsh
20
23
Will Watson
20
39
3
Carol Jamieson
15
27
1
Heather Hanshaw
20
19
John Wakeford
20
31
2
Pam Briggs
20
31
1
Chris Barnard
20
36
3
Gareth Hobby
12
32
1
Neil George
16
36
1
Sarah Weeks
20
28
1
Charles Briggs
14
39
3
Anne Small entered but had to withdraw and we wish her a speedy recovery from her knee surgery.
Jasmine Marsh sees red! Drawn first to play against Brian!
Time for a chat – size up the opposition and eat lunch.
In the final rounds Chris beat Will by 10 hoops to 9 , Charles beat Brian by 13 hoops to 10 and then Chris beat Charles 13 hoops to 9. Thanks to Anne Small donating her entry fee we managed to exceed the £125 fund raising that allows us to qualify for 2 places in the Regional Finals. Unfortunately Chris is unable to make either of the scheduled dates and so it will be Charles and Will going to Surbiton on May 5th.
Tim Leverton has kindly agreed to take over the Club clothing ordering from Carol. The range includes new items this year, the full list is shown below. The prices include the club logo and about £1 per item to go to club funds. Be proud to wear the clothing.
It is hoped that members playing in Club matches will purchase tops and caps with the Club Logo. Players are expected to wear whites for Club matches. Why not get other colours for when you are using the lawn out of competition?
Tim has an amazing orange polo shirt, other colours available. Be brave.
Order Forms will be on the table in the Clubhouse in the next week, so watch that space. Pictures of all the clothing will be available soon. Payment up front please, full details will be on the order forms. Orders will be sent weekly where possible and will take approximately 4 weeks.
1993 – 25th May. Kevin (Buchanan) organized a Meeting of all interested parties at the Grosvener Hotel. Only three people turned up (Kevin, Myself, and Marjorie Turril) and apologies from Joe and Claire King, Derek Winslow, G Lawton and M Jefferies. After suitable lubrication and sandwiches organized by Kevin we set about the business of forming a Committee. I must have had too much to drink as I finished up as Treasurer, with Kevin as the Chairman. Now we really had ourselves a Club, and to make it official we decided to join the Croquet Association.
At the 2009 AGM someone decided (quite rightly) that having a treasurer who lived in Spain for 6 months of the year wasn’t a good idea and so Michael Kay took on the job.
John and Monica Pallier at Albert Road for the Club’s 30th Anniversary in June 2023.
“John has over 30 years been a pillar of the club from when it was 4 members. So, membership of the committee and the AGM were identical, and he recruited his wife Monica to act as secretary.” JW.
“He played a very active role in the early years and helped the club develop on the, then new, Caversham lawn. He was largely instrumental in the club making its first venture into competitive croquet in the Southern Federation’s AC Handicap league”. BJ.
The Charity 1-ball, now well established on the National croquet calendar and continuing into its eighteenth season, will be played this year in support of the British Heart Foundation. Competitors, as is the tradition, fashion their attire in the house colour of the chosen charity, so it’s RED for ’24. The louder the costume the better!
This fun day of 1-ball play, a hybrid of AC and GC, quick to play, easy to pick up, and as skilful and strategic as you can make it, is well supported by clubs nationally. 2 players, each with one ball, compete on a full lawn to run 12 hoops and peg out in under 40 mins. Each player is given a One Ball Handicap, calculated from either their GC or AC handicap, and gains extra strokes for running a hoop (continuation shot) and hitting the opponent’s ball (roquet and continuation shots).
If we raise £50 we can send a qualifier from our club to the regional finals on May 11th at Nottingham or Surbiton. Entries Now – to Charles Briggs on wbxenia@gmail.com. Entry fee £10 per person (going to Charity). Format of play to be decided once I know the numbers, but allow for all day play.
