East v West v North of Scotland 2015
6-7 June, Meadows
Scottish Croquet's largest social handicap tournament of the year sees teams from the regions of Scotland compete for the Piersland Rosebowl. For several years the East v West competition was primarily a contest between Glasgow and Edinburgh. But in 2012 the competition welcomed players from the rapidly growing Dundonald Croquet Club, and following the formation of the Aberdeen and Crathes Croquet Club, the competition was re-named to be East v West v North.
This year the event clashed with a match between the SCA and Latvia, so several of the event's stalwarts were unable to attend. Nevertheless, the event attracted 18 players on Saturday, rising to 22 on Sunday.
One of the jobs of the tournament manager is to try to balance the teams. This, the thirteenth year of the competition, saw what is likely to be its closest result ever.
Following the pattern of last year, the event was scored as three separate matches: East versus West, East versus North, and West versus North. Within each match, a win at Golf Croquet counted for one point, while a win at AC counted for two.
Saturday saw some sunshine, but not a lot. It was generally bright, with a couple light showers, and much too much wind -- players on the left-most lawn being subjected to a steady cascade of bits of tree. All play was Association Croquet, double banked on three full-size lawns, with a mixture of full and 14-point games. A total of 12 singles and 6 doubles matches were played, at the end of which East had a 4-2 lead over West, West had a 6-4 lead over North, and North had a 12-8 lead over East, a situation which left the manager worrying about how to decide an event winner if it stayed like that!
Sunday was drier and sunnier, and slightly less windy, but still none too warm. One full-sized lawn was used for doubles AC, one for Golf Croquet and one was sub-divided into two half lawns. During the day, a further 9 games of Association Croquet and a total of 19 games of Golf Croquet. Play was scheduled to wind down around 4pm, and while most players turned their attention to the fine tea provided by Jane Coville, the manager could be found furiously cross-checking and tallying scores.
Totalling results across the two days showed that East had beaten West by 14-6, while North had beaten West 11-4. So the event would be won by the winner of East and North. The results in by the start of tea showed North were leading 18 points to 17, but the last remaining AC match between East and North, which was still in progress, was worth 2 points. So it looked like this match was in effect the final of the tournament - whoever won the match would win the tournament. And East were well ahead!
But wait! It turned out there was also a GC match in progress – the players had just stopped for tea! Should that not count?
The manager decided that it should, only to realise that this match was also between North and East, and North was on the brink of winning! Just minutes later, that victory took the scores to 19-17 to North, and meant that if East won AC match, the East v West match (and thus the tournament) would be 19 all! The looming tie would have to be broken on the basis of hoop difference, and the manager duly set about doing the arithmetic, to find that North were leading 240 to 229.
The crowd waited with bated breath, or as bated as was compatible with finishing their tea, until the result of the vital doubles was in: East had won 14-6! Meaning that over a total of 27 games, the two sides had 19 points each, but while East scored 243 hoops, West had scored 246, and were thus the winners by three hoops!
Brian Clark accepted the Piersland Rosebowl on behalf of the North team, and promised they would be trying to retain it next year.
Robert Inder
Association Croquet
R. Inder & J. Shannon (E) beat R. Williams & B. Cosford (W) 16-4
A. Adam (W) beat J. Jurasinska (E) 10-6 (18pt)
R. Inder (E) beat R. Williams (W) 26-2
R. Cross & A. Hawke (E) beat B. Cosford & R. Williams (W) 14-6 (14pt)
G. Anderson & R. Williams (W) beat C. Townsend & A. Hawke (E) 11-9
R. Inder (E) beat B. Clark (N) 13-8 (14pt)
J. Walker (E) beat W. Strachan (N) 26-18
R. Cross (E) beat M. Robertson (N) 18-13
B. Durward (N) beat J. Jurasinska (E) 20-24
R. Frith (N) beat C. Townsend (E) 13-12
M. Robertson (N) beat J. Jurasinska (E) 8-3 (14pt)
B. Durwood & W. Strachan (N) beat J. Walker & R. Cross (E) 24-12
J. Walker (E) beat B. Clark (N) 14-11 (14pt)
M. Robertson & L. Gilpin (N) beat C. Townsend & J. Shannon (E) 20-3
W. Strachan (N) beat R. Cross (E) 26-12
B. Clark (N) beat C. Townsend (E) 12-6 (14pt)
B. Durward & M. Robertson (N) beat J. Walker & J. Jurasinska (E) 26-4
R. Inder & R. Cross (E) beat B. Clark & L. Gilpin (N) 14-7 (14pt)
R. Inder (E) beat B. Durward (N) 14-0 (Short Croquet)
R. Inder and J. Jurasinska (E) beat B. Durward and W. Strachan (N) 11-6 (14pt)
R. Cross & J. Jurasinska (E) beat B. Clark & W. Strachan (N) 14-1 (14pt)
A. Hawke & R. Cross (E) beat B. Clark & M. Robertson (N) 14-6 (14pt)
B. Cosford (W) beat L. Gilpin (N) 14-1 (14pt)
G. Anderson (W) beat R. Frith (N) 5-4 (14pt)
B. Clark & L. Gilpin (N) beat G. Anderson & A. Adam (W) 21-11
B. Clark & R. Frith (N) beat G. Anderson & B. Cosford (W) 7-3
B. Durward & R. Frith (N) beat G. Anderson & B. Cosford (W) 7-6 (14pt)
Golf Croquet
R. Inder & J. Shannon (E) beat G. Imrie & E. Imrie (W) 7-3
R. Inder & J. Shannon (E) beat G. Anderson & E Imrie (W) 7–1
C. Townsend (E) beat M. Imrie (W) 7-6
J. Shannon & A. Hawke (E) beat G. Anderson & B. Cosford (W) 7-3
C. Townsend & J. Shannon (E) beat M. Imrie & E. Imrie (W) 7-1
B. Cosford & Williams (W) beat A. Hawke & V. Wightman (E) 7-4
A. Elgood (E) beat M. Imrie (W) 7-6
B. Cosford (W) beat V. Wightman (E) 7-6
J. Shannon & J. Walker (E) beat G. Imrie & M. Imrie (W) 7-4
J. Shannon (E) beat E. Imrie (W) 7-3
R. Frith (N) beat J. Walker (E) 7-6
R. Frith (N) beat A. Elgood (E) 7-3
C. Townsend (E) beat L. Gilpin (N) 7-4
J. Marshall (N) beat A. Elgood (E) 7-2
W. Strachan & L. Gilpin (N) beat G. Anderson & M Imrie (W) 7-4
W. Strachan & L. Gilpin (N) beat G. Imrie & M. Imrie (W) 6-2
W. Strachan (N) beat G. Imrie (W) 7-2
J. Marshall (N) beat E. Imrie (W) 7-4
R. Frith (N) beat E. Imrie (W) 7-5