The weather was hot and so was the competition.
There is no doubt that the heat was on right from the word go on Saturday 23rd May at Guildford and Godalming Croquet Club when 32 competitors gathered in the morning sunshine to compete in the Annual GC Doubles Target Advantage Handicap Tournament for the Doubles Dish (aka the Bird Bath). The four blocks of all play all in the morning were all completed in good time, leaving the players to have a leisurely and delicious lunch prepared by Maggie Boyd and served by Wendy Lockwood (with granddaughters Grace and Ellie) and Marion Sizeland, while Tournament Manager, Andrea Huxley sorted out the target percentages very efficiently to arrive at the knockout pairings for the afternoon.
As the lawns continued to run faster, the sun-dried competitors continued to battle it out, only bolstered by gallons of water/tea/coffee/squash and stacks of delicious cake supplied by Heather Longson. The final reckonings came as the sun softened slightly. Jason Carley and Mike Grossmith prevailed in the Plate Final, while the Main Final saw two GGCC pairs Paul Stroud with Giles Carpenter up against Ian Taylor with AndrewLockwood. Given their relative handicaps, Giles and Paul needed only five hoops, while Ian and Andrew needed the full seven. It was nip and tuck all the way round until the score reached 6/7 to Ian and Andrew and 4/5 to Giles and Paul and on to the golden hoop eleven (now that was strange!) where Ian and Andrew swung home.
Lots of thanks to all the competitors who helped to make the day go without any hitches by playing with due dispatch despite the heat, to Andrew Jackson and Andrea Huxley for providing their referees’ wisdom on the few occasions it was needed, to Mike Huxley for being there to provide necessary moral support, and Richard Carline for actions above the call of duty.
See you next year.
from Professor Andrew Lockwood