Fettes College
The entry for this year's Edinburgh Tournament was slightly lower than ever before (so far as the current manager's records go), with 26 players taking part, against the previous minimum of 28 attained in 1998. The number of players in the doubles was particularly low: 14 entered, and only 12 - which was half as many as in recent years - ended up playing, as Ruth Goudie had to withdraw with a shoulder injury too late for a replacement (player, not shoulder) to be found. For those who did play, the small total entry had the benefit that they could get more games each (though not in the doubles event, which was a straight knockout), as the demand for lawn space was often exceeded by the supply. Indeed the total number of games played, at 110, was slightly over the average of the past three years, though a lot lower than in some years with larger entries.
Taking part here for the first time were David Harrison-Wood (handicap -2), Richard and
Diana Stevens (8 and 12 respectively), Bryan Sykes (3) and Helena Urban (20) - all visiting
from south of the Border except that Bryan had just bought a flat in Edinburgh. They
joined returning visitors Graham Brightwell, Graeme and Kathy
Holland and John Seddon, and 17 Scottish resident players - though Jonathan Kirby's
Scottish residence on this occasion was only transient, a sojourn of a few weeks between
his doctoral studies in Oxford and his departure for a year in Chicago.
As usual Monday was devoted to games in the unrestricted handicap event. This
had 18 players, and after three rounds of games those in contention for the main knockout
event had been reduced to three: Richard Stevens had got a place in Saturday's final, and
had won a handicap reduction to 7, and David Harrison-Wood and Fergus McInnes (3.5) were
to play the semifinal in
the other half of the draw. There were games for most players in the flexible Swiss
consolation event, with more of these to follow later in the week. The tricky
Fettes lawns, abundantly supplied with slopes and on this occasion fairly fast, took
their toll, with 12 out of 26 games going to time.
Tuesday was occupied with games in the four class events. The Open had two players
at handicap -2 - David Harrison-Wood and Jonathan Kirby - and they won all their games
as expected, playing level against opponents of positive handicap. The other level
advanced event was for players of handicap 4 or above; the eight entrants were divided
into two blocks, and by the end of the day James Hopgood had won the first block (he had
a long day, with three games to time, but narrowly won them all) and
Martin Stephenson and John Seddon were in contention to win the second. Events 3
and 4, for handicap ranges 8+ and 14+ respectively, had five players each (before Ruth's
withdrawal from Event 3), and here it was less clear who was likely to win, with everyone
having at least one loss except for Joe Lennon, whose third game in Event 3, against
Richard Stevens, was pegged down at the end of the day.
Wednesday was doubles day, and with the very small entry it was a sparse day,
although a few singles games were fitted in as well (including the conclusion of the
pegged-down game, which Richard won to leave Event 3 still very open). The outcome
of the doubles was that Graeme and Kathy Holland (handicaps 12 and 18) would meet
Fergus McInnes and Alan Wilson (3.5 and 5) in Saturday's final.
On Thursday and Friday the courts were more populated again, with a mixture of Swiss
handicap games and further games in the class events. Fergus McInnes nearly
achieved an upset in the Open, getting both balls to the peg against David Harrison-Wood,
but failed to finish on the difficult slopes of court 3 before David hit in and
overtook. The next day they were to play the handicap semifinal, and Fergus felt
he had a good chance in this with 5.5 bisques, but they didn't quite last out and the
result was +8 to the still-unbeaten minus player. David did have a loss after that,
-26 with four bisques standing, in a handicap game against James Hopgood (9 at the start
of the tournament but now down to 7), who thereby established himself as unbeatable in
the Swiss with seven wins from eight games.
The weather had been kind on the earlier days of the week, with some sunshine every day
and nothing worse than a little drizzle, but heavy rain arrived on Friday afternoon, and
in early evening it turned torrential. Only one game had been started in the evening,
between Brian Murdoch and David Harrison-Wood in the Open, as others declined their
optional Swiss games and chose to depart or watch from the pavilion while the two players
braved the rain. David was taking his first ball round when the really heavy rain
came on; he played valiantly for a while on the increasingly soggy lawn, but eventually
decided that approaching 3-back through a large puddle was not on, and walked off with his
red ball in hand. After a few minutes' wait for the rain to ease off so that the
positions of the balls could be marked, the game was pegged down for completion on Saturday.
To everyone's relief, the weather on Saturday was benign, with none of the further rain
that had been predicted. The croquet was good too. Richard Stevens, receiving 9
bisques, defeated David Harrison-Wood in short order, +26, in the morning's handicap
final. David had his own +26, with his second triple peel of the tournament, in the
resumed game against Brian Murdoch. Meanwhile Jonathan Kirby had also had a triple,
in an Open game against Bryan Sykes, the score this time being +24. The two triplers
met in the decider of the Open in the afternoon, and by way of a change Jonathan won it
with a TPO - believed to be the first one ever at Fettes - after David broke down at
hoop 3 on his second break. John Clark won the 8+ final against Joe Lennon in the
morning, and the remaining finals were played in the afternoon and were all won by wide
margins: +21 for Graeme and Kathy Holland against Fergus McInnes and Alan Wilson in the
doubles, another +21 for Martin Stephenson against James Hopgood in the 4+ singles, and
+24 for Sheila Tibbels against Jamie Edgar in the 14+ (after narrow wins for both of them
in the morning against Helena Urban and Kathy Holland). Only one of the final day's
11 games went to time, bringing the proportion of games to time during the week down to
38.2% - still above average but well below the 2004 record of 43.6%. Tea and cakes
and the presentation of prizes - by Edinburgh Club President Ian Wright, with Sheila
Tibbels as Club Chairman presiding - rounded off the day.
A good time appeared to be had by all, and we hope to see this year's visitors again, and
others joining them, in 2007. The lawns at Fettes may be far from flat, but for those
who like their croquet to be entertaining that can add to the amusement. (Also
Graham Brightwell's feat of running hoops 5 and 6 in a single stroke would have been more
difficult on a flat lawn!) And of course Edinburgh
at Festival time has a lot to commend it in other ways as well.
Fergus McInnes
Results
Event 1 (Open Singles): Jonathan Kirby
Event 2 (Advanced Singles for players of handicap 4 and over): Martin Stephenson
Event 3 (Advanced with Bisques, handicaps 8 and over): John Clark
Event 4 (Handicap Singles, handicaps 14 and over): Sheila Tibbels
Event 5 (Handicap Doubles): Graeme Holland and Kathy Holland
Event 6X (Unrestricted Handicap): Richard Stevens
Event 6 Swiss: James Hopgood
The Lauder Bowl (player getting furthest without winning any event): David Harrison-Wood
Results in full
Photographs
