Scottish Croquet Association

Secretary Trophy 2014

12 July 2014, Meadows

There was a very welcome increase in the turnout for the Tournament this year.  The format was 14-point advanced games with bisques and it was good to see two players take this opportunity to enter their first advanced tournament.

The twelve entrants were firstly seeded by handicap, then allocated alternately into two American blocks of six.  Even with a time limit of 90 minutes, plus 1 minute per bisque, 42% of the played games went to time, usually due to some high bisque differentials and also double banking.

At the end of the block games, Jola Jurasinska and David Houston each had four wins in block A but, by dint of beating Jola in their encounter, it was David who won the block and progressed through to the final.  In Block B, as Hamish failed to win his final game, it left Martin Stephenson as the sole player on four wins.

Congratulations to Jola whose handicap reduced to 12, and mention must also be made of Rachel's first game won in an AC tournament.

The intent had been to play cross ties to decide the final order for the day, but a combination of the long day and the rapidly deteriorating weather meant that it was only Martin and David who took to the court to determine the outright winner.  Those who stayed to watch were treated to an interesting game, as David used up his bisques to build a lead before Martin's resurgent form deservedly saw him through to his second win in as many weeks.

Hamish Duguid

Read more: Secretary Trophy 2014

Golf Croquet Handicap 2014

28 June 2014, Meadows

As there were ten entrants for this year's Tournament, the event was run using the Egyptian System to allow seven rounds to be played and still leave time for a short lunch break.

Jamieson had sourced small flat lollipop sticks and these were trialled, with some success, to use in exchange for free turns.  I note James appears to be in the minority of those who prefer the pleasure of strolling the lawn to pull markers.

By the end of the fifth round, John Graham remained unbeaten and was comfortably leading the points table.  However, in round six he lost a game and going into the final round he, George Geis and Janice Duguid were on 115, 112 and 110 points respectively.  Although they all recorded wins in their final game, it was John who prevailed and received the plaudits for winning the Tournament.

Read more: Golf Croquet Handicap 2014

Summer Weekend 2014

5-6 July 2014, Glasgow

Martin Stephenson won the Summer Weekend, played at Alexandra Park in generally pleasant conditions with just a few brief showers - winning five of his seven games, despite giving away bisques in all of them as the lowest handicapped player in the tournament.  David Houston was not far behind with 4/5, having lost only to Martin.

Read more: Summer Weekend 2014

Middle Bisquers 2014

14-15 June 2014, Glasgow

An eleventh hour entry by Brian Durward brought the number of entrants in this year's tournament to six. Brian was making a welcome return to competitive play after a work-enforced absence of some 10 years.

Although this is a level play tournament, the entrants were ordered by current handicap and, thanks to a David Appleton design, then went on to play in a seeded American Block.

At the end of day 1, Robert Inder was the sole player not to have lost a game, although he had required a golden hoop to win against Hamish.

After the penultimate round on the Sunday morning, with Joe beating Robert I. and Janice beating Brian, we were left with the possibility of a three way tie. However, Brian showed signs of his fast-returning form by then beating Robert I. whilst Joe beat Robert Lay and Janice came from behind to beat Hamish in her final turn.

While Janice and Joe both finished on four wins, Janice won the Tournament by dint of having beaten Joe in their particular tie.

Congratulations to Janice and also to Joe, who deservedly reduced his handicap to 9.

Hamish Duguid

Read more: Middle Bisquers 2014