Archive 2022
Merry Christmas!
We should like to wish everyone who pops on to our website, from near and far, a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.
This page will shortly be archived, so if there are any pictures or reports that you wish to keep, please download them asap as we shall start afresh with a new page for 2023.
Thank you for being with us!🔵🔴⚫🟡 🌲🥂⛄
Coffee Morning
Wednesday 23rd November, 10-12 at Norfolk Lavender.
☕☕☕
Despite the miserable weather, over 30 members and guests enjoyed meeting up at Norfolk Lavender. Thank you, Pat, for organising such a lovely event.
AGM 2022
(The following notes are not official minutes – merely my observations)
No club or organisation wants to make membership more expensive for its members, so the proposal to increase subs was not made lightly, but considered necessary to offset diminished income and increased costs. A majority of members present voted to agree the increase of £15 (£80 to £95) for full membership. This increase equates to an extra 50p per week over the 30 weeks of the playing season. To put it into context the Treasurer pointed out that the cost of 4 cappuccinos at Blyth Motorway Services came to over £16! Increases were also agreed for the other categories of membership and are detailed on the Home Page.
The existing officers and committee members had agreed to stand for a further year and were all proposed and voted on by the members. The point was made by President Simon Carter and others, that more volunteers are needed to help with the smooth running of the club – in particular with hoop setting, putting out lawns and maintenance jobs, as so much has fallen on the shoulders of so few for many years.
A ballot was held to determine whether members preferred to play with the same partner for all three games on a club afternoon or to change partners. A clear majority voted for the latter and the committee will discuss how best to accomplish this in a fair way.
President Simon has very generously offered two days of coaching next season. Details will be posted when dates have been organised. Hopefully this will give participants more confidence to enter tournaments as well as enhancing their enjoyment of the game.
Everyone was exhorted to spread the word about how enjoyable our sport is and to introduce new members to the club next season.
Lots achieved today! Look out for details of future work parties. Please come and help – tasks for all abilities! 🔨🧹🧺
Annual Presentation Lunch 12th October
Good company, good food, good venue = good times!
Over 30 members gathered at The Pavilion Restaurant, Heacham Manor for a delicious lunch, some lovely conviviality and the presentation of trophies.
Many thanks to our President, Simon Carter for travelling to present the trophies and to Janet and Pat for their usual superb organisation. Also thanks to the staff who looked after us so well.
Congratulations to the winners below and to the winners who were unable to attend. (Roger won two trophies!)
Kendal Cup – 24th September 2022
Despite it being a miserable day weather wise with a biting north wind with occasional showers forecast, the tournament got under way with 10 entrants with the manager deciding to use the cross-block system of play so that nobody had to sit out in the cold.
Play went well and up to time to just after lunch, but with one game of the first round left to play, the day was interrupted by quite a drawn-out downpour. So, at this point, it was decided once the rain ceased to impose a time limit on the games. It was also decided that in view of the inclement weather the semi-final round would also be abolished and that only the winners of each block would proceed to the final round.
In Block B this proved no problem. David Boxell won outright undefeated on 5 wins. Block B was not that clear with Tony Lee and Gary Lewis both being on 3 wins each. However, as Tony’s net hoop score stood at -2 to Gary’s -3 Tony progressed through to meet David.
In the final round David’s current form continued and despite a gallant effort from Tony he could not stop David running out the overall winner 7 – 3.
As this was the final tournament of the season, Janet Kendal thanked all those who had volunteered over the summer to set up the lawns and provide the refreshments. Also, thanks were given to the Tournament Secretary Terrey Sparks for all the input that he had put in as well. This was duly seconded by the day’s winner David.
Terrey Sparks – Manager
Club (GC) Doubles Tournament – 22nd September 2022
As only 13 club members had entered for the annual club (GC) tournament the Manager made up the numbers to 14 so that nobody needed to withdraw. As is the club custom, the pairings were arranged using the top to toe format which meant the event became something of a Pro-Am.
This made for some interesting pairings as evidenced by the closeness of the games – reflected in the scores. In fact, of the 21 games played 1/3rd of them went to the 1/13th hoop. Over a third of the games, which meant the play went slowly as the tournament ran through to the early evening. Still the less experienced players found the experience well worth the effort.
Towards the end of the day, 6 of the 7 pairs stood on 3 wins each. However, with only one game left to play, the decider was between Terrey Sparks & Marion Pile against David Thirtle-Watts & Wendy Davis to fight it out to determine who would be the overall winner on 4 wins. As to be expected this proved to be a very close match and went to an exciting final 1/13th hoop finish that kept the watching crowd engrossed as Terrey and Marion just pipped it.
Terrey Sparks – Manager
Extra congratulations to Wendy Davis for such a strong performance in her first tournament.
Many thanks to David Boxell and helpers for hoop setting and to Terrey Sparks for being player manager.
Work on Lawn One 20/9/2022
Veterans’ Tournament
The final of the summer-long tournament took place today, 20th October, with 8 participants playing their final 3 games. All to play for. It was most encouraging to see two new members taking part and adding to their experience of handicapped play. The top three places went to Ellie Lewis, 4 wins; Gren Perry, 5 wins and the outright winner, Gary Lewis with 7 wins.
Congratulations all and thank you to Ellie for refreshments and a big thank you to Pat Dawson for managing the tournament.
Save the date
Coming up in September: 20th – Veterans’ final; 22nd – Club doubles (rearranged); 24th – Kendal Cup.
Coming up in October: 5th – Committee meeting; 12th – Annual presentation lunch; 27th- Committee meeting; 29th – AGM ; Probably starting Sun 30th – putting the club to bed for winter – lots of help, please!
Carpenter Cup Handicap Singles Thursday 8th September
A few short, sharp showers could not dampen spirits on a mainly sunny day as 6 competitors all played each other in five 50 minute games. Janet Kendal was the clear winner having won all her games but net hoops were needed to separate 4th and 5th with Colin Spence just beating Zena Penty. 2nd and 3rd places were even closer with equal wins and equal net hoops. Ellie Lewis took 2nd having beaten husband Gary in their game. It was a lovely competition – we hope next season a few more members will feel encouraged to take part.
Nigel Munton, Colin, Gary, Janet, Ellie and Zena. Janet Carpenter presenting the Cup to Janet Kendal
GC B level finals 3rd – 4th September
The weather was once again kind for the two days of competition and there was a lovely buzz as spectators were treated to some super games. A glance at the scores shows how many tight matches went to the ‘golden hoop’. Full report follows; meanwhile, big thanks to Terrey for keeping everything running smoothly – especially after a late change to the format- and to David Boxell for providing invaluable assistance and for posting the scores. Thanks, too, to the early morning teams, the catering helpers and the lawn fairies for taking in the lawns at the end of each day.
Full results can be found here: https://croquetscores.com/2022/gc/ca-b-level-final-hunstanton
Patricia Duke-Cox, President elect of the CA, presenting the trophy to Mark Buckley of Leicester.
Tournament Report
Croquet Association (GC) B – Level Championship Series
Mark Buckley lifts the 2022 (GC) B – Level Series Trophy
16 players from all over the country gathered at the Hunstanton Club on the 3rd/4th September to partake in this very popular national event. Living up to its name of Sunny Hunny the weather went against that forecast and throughout proved very pleasant at around the late 70* with light winds. The lawns although fast were in reasonable, good condition and play throughout was very competitive and high, which was proved by the relatively high number of 13th hoop finishes.
The final round between Mark Buckley (Leicester )and Peter Adams (Guildford) playing to a best of three games for the first time kept the watching crowd engrossed for some time however, Mark raising his game ran out the overall winner utilizing only two games.
The C.A. President Elect Patricia Duke-Cox presented the trophy and thanked all those present for attending, some travelling from quite long distances. She also offered thanks to those who had prepared the club in the early morning and provided refreshment throughout the day which enabled the weekend to be such an enjoyable experience.
Terrey Sparks (Manager)
123rd Annual 4 Day AC tournament 27th-30th August
Apologies that there is no formal tournament report and I am afraid that as a social GC player, the intricacies of AC elude me – I can but admire the skill of hitting a target ball from one end of the lawn to the other and the stamina of playing all day four consecutive days!
20 players contested 6 trophies over the 4 days of competition. The weather was kind, and thanks to the excellent skills of Phil Eardley managing the tournament, everything ran smoothly. We are grateful, as always, for the help given by committee members and other volunteers before, during and at the end of each day, as well as to the competitors themselves who pitched in to help.
Congratulations to all participants – we hope to welcome you again next year.
Please see the link below for a full list of results.
https://croquetscores.com/2022/ac/hunstanton-123rd-annual-tournament
Neil Adams, Betty Bates, Tony Hicks, David Houston, Martin Russell
Hunstanton (GC) Championship (Series-Ascot Cup) 13/14th Aug 2022
Ten top players from all over the British Isles, including two from Eire, gathered at Hunstanton to determine who would go through to play in the Ascot Cup, a national championship event. The weather as forecast was hot and sunny and nearly reaching 30 deg C. However, this was made more bearable by a moderate east wind.
As expected, play was of a high standard resulting in a final round between Richard Bilton (Gainsborough) and Simon Carter, HCC President. Richard ran out the winner after some exciting and skilful play.
Peter Haydon of Dulwich won the Subsidiary Plate.
Terrey Sparks. Tournament Secretary.
Our thanks, as always, to all those who work tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of events.
Please see link below for full list of results.
https://croquetscores.com/2022/gc/hunstanton-championship-series
Hunstanton (GC) Invitation weekend 30/31st July 2022
Green Shutters (Unrestricted Handicaps) (GC) Doubles Handicap
Derek, Gwenda, Andrew, Ruth, Colin, Janet, Grenville, Hazel, Gary, Ellie
Hunstanton (GC) A – Level (0+) Series
16/17th July 2022
Due to the unfortunate late withdrawal of two players, the total entry of entrants who met at Hunstanton was reduced to 14 in number. However, the manager was prepared for this occurrence and the format was rapidly re-arranged into two blocks of 7 who then cross-blocked in the first round with the top four of each proceeding to meet in the knock-out quarter-finals.
As forecast on the Saturday, the weather was unusually hot, but luckily this was compensated by a fresh north wind which kept the temperatures at a passable level. The lawns were extremely fast and the hoops set reasonably tight which meant running hoops proved a challenge to say the least. However, as expected, play was of a high standard with no prisoners taken and many games going to the of 13th hoop.
On the Sunday the temperature, as forecast, started to rise with the north winds being replaced by the milder south-westerlies. Play slowed, but fortunately the quarter and semi-finals all managed to play the best of three games. Due to the extreme heat in the mid-afternoon, it was decided on health grounds that the final round would be one game of 19 points.
The final game contested between Stephen Custance-Baker and Mike Bilton, proved a very close match in which hoops were regularly exchanged and kept the spectators glued to their seats. At one point Mike held an 8 -6 lead. However, Stephen put in a late rally to run out the 10 -8 winner.
The Shield play-off winner was Mark Buckley who manged to over-come Mike Hills, whilst the Plate Block winner was Rick Lilley who was tied on 3 wins with Alison Murray but was declared the winner on a better net wins total.
Handicap changes were recorded for: Stephen Custance-Baker 0 to -1; Mike Bilton 2 to 1; Mark Buckley 3 to 2.
Winner: Stephen Custance-Baker.
R/U: Mike Bilton.
3rd John Taylor.
4th John Hauge.
Thanks go to those members who turned up early on both days to get the lawns and club ready for play and those mainly lady members who provided the refreshments and afternoon teas which was most appreciated.
Terrey Sparks, Tournament Manager
Janet with winners Stephen, Rick and Mark
Hunstanton (GC) Green Shutters Singles Unrestricted Handicaps, 30th June 2022
Ranging in handicaps from 1 – 12 this year attracted 8 participants. Split into two groups of 4, the first round was played as a Cross – Block and the top two of each block proceeded into a round of Semi – finals leading to a final round. The bottom two of each block continued to play for a subsidiary prize.
Taking into account the gap in handicaps, it was surprising to see the two lowest handicaps Derek Cole (2) and Terrey Sparks (1), winning through to the semi- final rounds despite the number of free turns conceded, but play was keen and competitive with no quarter given. The other two qualifiers were Colin Spencer (6) and Roger Platt (8).
In the final round (which consisted of Roger Platt and Terrey Sparks), Roger found some hidden strength and his form improved considerably. He made better use of his free turns – managing to increase his hoop score early in the match which Terrey was unable to counteract. Roger was the deserved winner 7 – 2.
In the Subsidiary Play – Off Final between Janet Kendal and Gary Lewis, play was much closer, ending with a 13th hoop which Janet won in fine style with a magnificent final shot to clinch the match.
Overall, despite the low take up of entries, a successful and enjoyable day in which several of the high Handicappers were heard to express how much the tactical experience had been beneficial to their play.
Thank you as always for the help given in setting hoops, lawns and providing refreshments.
Terrey Sparks
Hunstanton C – Level (7+) Series (GC) Tournament – 26th June 2022
Held on the day following the B- Level, again the entries were below previous years and substantially down – only attracting 8 players. However, not to be discouraged the Manager decided to run it as 2 blocks of 4 in which they crossed-blocked play to increase the number of games. Also, to take into account the fast lawns and relatively higher level of handicaps to impose a one-hour time limit on all the games. Surprisingly, only one game went to time which reflected the relatively high standard of play.
As on the previous day the weather was very dry and sunny and play was at times made difficult due to the very high gusting SW winds.
After the completion of the cross-block play the format changed into a quarter- final knock-out in which Tim Barzycki beat. Grenville Perry 7 -6, Roger Platt beat. Gary Lewis 7 – 2, Ken Knock beat. Jean Faulkner 7 – 3 and Colin Spencer beat. Susan Boxell 7 -6.
The two semi-final rounds also proved very close with Ken winning against Tim, and Colin winning his game against Roger with the same scores 7 – 2.
However, the final round proved to be a quick affair in which Ken did not rise up to his previous level of play and succumbed to Colin 7 -1.
Winner: Colin Spencer (Downham Mkt.), R/U: Ken Knock (Pinchbeck), 3rd Roger Platt (Downham Mkt.), 4th Tim Barzycki (Pinchbeck).
Terrey Sparks
Hunstanton B – Level Series (+3) (GC) Tournament, 25th June 2022
Eleven Players from several clubs entered this year’s tournament – down on numbers from previous years but strangely all the entrants fell within the handicap range of between 5 – 6 which led to some very close games and a high percentage closely finished on the 13th hoop.
The weather was bright and sunny and despite a gusty SW wind which made play difficult at times it was still very pleasant. However, due to a prolonged dry spell the lawns were dry and very fast which led to slow and on occasions difficult to play resulting in a late evening finish.
Played using the two-block system each player completed five games each in the first round after which the two highest placed met in a semi-final round play-off. These being Pauline Donner v Steve Tarrant and Martyn Palmer v Paul Williams. Pauline and Martin won – both games ending 7 – 2. The scores did not reflect the closeness of the games.
The final game between Pauline and Martyn proved to be very different and very close. Home club member Pauline just won through with a score of 7 – 6 which could have gone either way. A very fiercely hard – fought tournament.
Winner: Pauline Donner (Hunstanton), R/U: Martyn Palmer (Northampton), 3rd Steve Tarrant (Norwich), 4th Paul Williams (Leicester).
Terrey Sparks
Club Golf Singles Competition Thursday 9th June
Eight senior players took part in the Club Singles competition on 9 June. Split into two groups followed by a short knock out , all played 5 matches before the best 4 took part in the semi finals, with the victors Terrey Sparks and Derek Cole duelling in a hard fought final before Derek edged through the final hoop for a well deserved victory.
The sun shone ( most of the time), all the matches were played in good spirit and a nice day was had by all.
Gary Lewis
Over 50s 3 day AC Tournament 3-5th June 2022
A full entry of twenty gathered for this sociable tournament on Hunstanton’s five wonderful lawns, managed in inimitable style by Celia Pearce. This event is always a coming together of friends old and new. It attracts locals and visitors from afar, keen to sample the resort’s own very special flavour. One such was the eventual winner, after a thrilling double encounter in the last two games which determined who would take away the splendid Jane Neville-Rolfe salver which holds names dating back to 1988.
The scoring of the tournament is run on the Hands-Irwin Egyptian system which basically means that everyone begins with 100 points and increases their tally with wins and vice versa for losses. If you beat someone with a higher tally you accrue more points so you never really know for sure who will be the victor until the final stroke has been played.
In those two closing games, John Henderson was playing Gordon Mills and Charles Ostler was battling Bob Thompson. Two of the four could win the tournament depending on who beat whom. In the event Bob beat Charles and John beat Gordon ( in a very close, two point finish) meaning that Bob was runner up with 144 points and John Henderson, with 146 points, took the salver home to Penrith.
We give thanks for these events to all those people behind the scenes, without whom nothing would be possible. Peter, who set out the hoops every morning, Ellie for keeping everyone fed and watered all weekend, Noelene for her delicious cheese scones and Janet for drawing it together and making us feel so welcome.
Jonathan Toye
Charles in action
Janet Kendal presenting the salver to John Henderson
Handicap Calculator
Brian Waiman of Plymouth Croquet Club has developed a simple to use website which calculates the number of bisques / extra strokes / change in index for all GC/AC/Short/1 Ball games and their variations.
It allows the user to select all the different game lengths (GC: 7pt, 13pt & 19pt. AC: 14pt, 18pt, 22pt & 26pt), singles/doubles (Yes, it even calculates the extra strokes for GC Doubles) as well as handicap/level (Yes, it calculates the change in index for level games), different court sizes and other variations like GC Advantage 2022 and AC York Variable Base and a ‘User select bisque base’ for AC games. It goes from ‘0 – Full bisque’ to a base of 10. It works with singles/doubles, 26/22/18/14 pt games and smaller courts.
The idea is that any player can use the website (on their smartphone) just before they start their game to get the right bisques / extra strokes without the need for all the tables / rules in the law books.
It doesn’t need any instructions to use, but just select the type of Croquet first (AC/GC etc) as this resets the handicap ranges, select the players’ handicaps, and then press calculate to get your answer.
The website address is https://chc.eu.pythonanywhere.
Brian would love feedback via email from players and is happy to add other popular variations if required: wanderingwainmans@blueyonder.
Grass Roots 8+ Level Play Thursday 19th May
On a sunny day with a chill to the wind the internal Grass Roots 8+ handicap level play took place with 7 contestants with handicaps ranging between 9 – 14 on three lawns that were running exceedingly well.
Unfortunately, because of the odd number block play was not possible so the Tournament Manager had devised an all play all format of 7 rounds which meant one player had to sit out for each game.
Play went well up to the lunch break with Roger Platt and Gren Perry leading the field. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond his control, Glen had to withdraw from the tournament and all his games played were deleted.
After some quick reallocation of games by the manager, play resumed and Roger Platt became uncatchable; he won all his games to take the trophy resulting in a handicap deduction to 8.
Three players:- Janet Kendal, Gary and Ellie Lewis all won 3 games each for second place. Ellie also had a handicap drop to 12.
A very pleasant, day enjoyed by all.
Terrey Sparks
Our thanks to Terrey for managing the tournament and to all those who helped behind the scenes.
C.A. (GC) Open Series Tournament 14th/15th May 2022
The weekend saw the Club host the first National GC Tournament of the year which attracted entries totalling fourteen in number. These were split into blocks of seven who played the first-round cross – blocking with the top four of each block proceeding to a quarter, semi and final round. The remaining six players competed in a subsidiary plate event which was all play all.
The weather remained reasonably fine with the rain holding off until everybody was on the way home and the play was of a high standard with the overall winner being Richard Bilton of the Gainsborough Club, who incidentally who was the youngest competitor. The plate winner was Paul Durkin of the Ashby Club. Debbie lines of Peterborough lifted the Runner Up subsidiary prize.
Main talking point of the tournament was the superb two hoop break in the final through 5 and 6 by Richard which caused many eyes to check that the centre peg was correctly set, which of course it was.
With regards to local members David Boxell played well off a 4 handicap, winning a place in the last eight playing in the Quarter Final where his luck ran out. But nevertheless an outstanding performance.
Thanks to the ladies who provided the refreshments and cakes which were most appreciated and it can be said everybody went home in a good mood.
Terrey Sparks
Robert Prichard May Bank Holiday Tournament
The May Bank Holiday saw the resumption, post Covid, of the annual Robert Prichard AC competition. All five lawns saw action as a strong field of 20 competed over 3 days of fierce competition played in good weather. Again, thanks to Ellie and her team for the catering and all the behind the scenes work done by volunteers before and after each day’s play.
The eventual winner was Mark Avery, pushed hard by runner-up, Sam Murray. (Mark has been playing at the top level for close to 40 years, representing his country in four MacRobertson Shields, winning three of them. Mark won the President Cup in 2021, and has been selected for the fifth time to represent England / GB in the MacRobertson Shield, in 2022)
Super ‘Come and Try’ day, Saturday 23rd April 2022
Despite the cold wind, 25 new players took advantage of our free, ‘Croquet, Cake and Chat’ Come and Try Day. Hope you all enjoyed it! Good to see some of you on subsequent club afternoons.
Thank you to Helen for taking the pics (see more on our facebook page) and to committee members and club members for giving their time before and on the day.
See more pics on Hunstanton Croquet club facebook page.
Preparing to open – Work party, 19th March 2022.
Thursday 17th February Work Party
Many, many thanks to the dedicated, hardy souls who braved the bitter cold to work so hard last week . There is still lots to do so if you can spare an hour or two please join us, there will be further opportunities to help between now and reopening.
Feb 10th 2022
Coffee Morning Wednesday 23rd Feb ☕☕☕☕☕
All members – old, new and prospective – are welcome to join us at Norfolk Lavender from 10:00 on Wednesday, 23rd February. See you there! (Thank you to the eagle-eyed Pauline who spotted my earlier mistake!)
Happy New Year
Please note that a link to the entry form for the Invitation weekend (30/31 July 2022) is now available on the Tournaments’ page.
We now have a facebook and an Instagram page – if you have a fb account just search Hunstanton Croquet Club. At the moment they are quite empty, but as the season progresses we shall be adding more information/reminders and pictures. Please share with friends and neighbours!
Lunch and Trophy Presentations October 2021
The presentation lunch was enjoyed by 27members and guests. Many thanks to our President, Simon Carter, for attending and presenting the trophies and to Pat and Janet for their excellent organisation.