Category: News

Good End of Year Results for Canterbury Croquet. 

Canterbury Croquet Club, based at Polo Farm, has had a very successful year with teams represented in three of the Croquet South East Leagues. Individual  members have performed well in national open competitions  with Mark Gardner winning the Roehampton Open Handicap 2025 Association Croquet Tournament and Helen Reeves winning both the Colchester Golf Croquet Ladies Open in July and the Women’s Golf Croquet National Championship in New Zealand  on the 13^th October. 

Croquet South East is an association of croquet Clubs in London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. As members of this association Canterbury were drawn to play teams from Dulwich, Surbiton, Compton, Ramsgate, Ivy Church and Purley Bury. In each of the two Golf Croquet (GC) Leagues we won 3 of the 4 games and this gave us sufficient points to be ranked 3^rd out of 11 teams in the Level Play league and 5^th out of 19 teams in the Handicap League. 

As well as competing in the Leagues mentioned above we have regular club sessions and a variety of Internal Tournaments held throughout the year. Congratulations to this year’s winners who include ;  Anne Johnson and Helen Reeves (GC Doubles Trophy ), Miles Gouldstone (GC High Handicap), Ian Harrow (GC Handicap Play Singles), Stephen Barber (GC Level Play Singles), Roger Loram and Mark Gardner (Association Croquet Doubles), John Letts (14pt Association Croquet). 

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Canterbury Croquet Club always welcomes new members, and we are happy to provide taster sessions for those who may be interested in joining the club.  

The Club Secretary can be contacted on 01227 451329 and further details can be found on the club website. Canterburycroquetclub.co.uk. 

Photos on next page 

Annual Trophy presentation and Lunch. 

L-R: Ian Harrow, John Letts, Roger Loram, Anne Johnson, Susan Bones, Stephen Barber 

Helen Reeves with the Women’s GC National Championship Trophy in New Zealand (Helen is a member of both the Canterbury Club in the UK and the Heretaunga Croquet Club in Hawke’s Bay New Zealand. 

2025 GC League Results

3^rd Nov 2024

Thanks to help from Ashley, we have managed to compete in two Leagues this year.

SECF Golf Croquet Restricted League

Cheam                             2-5

Medway                           6-1

Ramsgate                         5-2

Compton                           2-5

Overall 6^th position out of 13 clubs

SECF Golf Croquet Handicap League (East)

Ramsgate                         4-5

Dulwich B                         4-5

Ivychurch                          5-4

Bromley B                        2-7

Overall 13^th position out of 18 clubs

A full table of results is appended together with a table showing team members

Kent Cup – 23rd July

Canterbury hosted the Kent Cup again this year and we managed to field two players Dave Buckman (last year’s winner) and Tim Baker. The match consisted of 5 preliminary rounds in two blocks followed by a semi-final and final. Dave managed to get through to the semi-final where he was beaten by Martin Daniel. In the final Charlie Martin from Ramsgate beat Martin taking the Kent Cup.

Internal Competitions

Doubles Tournament (Frank Hughes Cup) – 20th June

Congratulations to Rosie and Robert for winning the doubles Tournament and with it the Frank Hughes Cup. 
Despite rain delaying the start we went on to have a very enjoyable and sunny day. From the initial six pairs in the preliminary rounds the semi-finals saw Sylvia and Henry Williams beat Ashley and Ian, and Rosie and Robert beat Pam and Tim. This led to a very close 7-6 final with Robert clinching the golden hoop with an excellent long shot. 

Level Play Singles Tournament (Alf Moat Cup )- 11th July

With twelve entries for the singles tournament everyone played in the two morning rounds. These narrowed the field down to Dave, Ashley, Jeremy and Steve going into the semi finals. Jeremy went into the final with a 7-5 win over Ashley and played against Dave who beat Steve 7-4 in the other semi final. In the final Jeremy put up a stiff fight against Dave the current holder of the Alf Moat Cup, but Dave managed to retain it for another year winning the game 7-4

High Handicap Singles Level Play Tournament (Debbie Buckman Cup) – 15th Aug

We had a good turn out with 12 players. In the semi-finals Jeremy beat Ian 7-2 and Keith beat Eve 7-0. The final saw Jeremy beat Keith 7-2 to win the Cup.

Unrestricted Handicap Tournament (Henry Williams Cup ) – 12^th Sept

Our last Tournament of the season, the Handicap Tournament ( Henry Williams Trophy ), won last by Gary Walters was played on the 12^th Sept. A number of people were not able to take part this year but with 8 entries we were able to play two games in the morning and a final in the afternoon. Using the new advantage handicap system meant that all the games were very close with a number going to the golden hoop. In the morning session Henry Williams and Jeremy St John won both their games so went on to the afternoon final. This was won 7-3 by Henry after a hard-fought game.

Everyone had an enjoyable day and luckily we managed to complete the games before the forecast afternoon rain began.

Friendly Matches

In addition to the above we had three enjoyable friendly matches – Home and away to Chartham Hatch (23^rd Aug and 13^th Sept) and on 21^st Sept we had a very good turnout for an away friendly with Ramsgate.

Doubles Tournament – 21st June

Twelve members signed up for the Level Play doubles tournament and we drew straws for the pairing. With 6 teams everyone was able to play in each of the 5 rounds and results we based on total hoops run. It was an enjoyable days play and the results were fairly close. Rosie and Ashley did particularly well scoring 31 hoops to win the Frank Hughes cup. The runners up were ‘H’ and Ann Poole with 28 hoops.

Home to Ivychurch, H League – 5th July

The Canterbury team represented by Ashley, ‘H’, Christopher and Steve produced a winning score of 7 games to 2.

Singles Tournament – 12th July

Twelve of us took part in the Level Play Singles competition for the Alf Moat Cup with Dave winning in the final 7 – 4 against Steve.

Away to Ramsgate, H League – 18th July

(Ashley’s Report)

We played away at Ramsgate today, in warm conditions. Our team was myself, Aitch, Jim and Christopher.

The lawns were extremely fast, and the Ramsgate team obviously had the advantage of local knowledge.

Nevertheless, we gave them a run for their money, and managed to beat them 5-4.

Away to Tunbridge Wells, H League – 22nd July

The Canterbury team were Ashley, Jeremy, Dave and ‘H’ and the final Score was 3 – 6 giving a win to Tunbridge Wells. This was the final match of the H League giving Canterbury a very respectable 3 out of 4 overall result.

Kent Cup – 24th July

Canterbury hosted the Kent Cup again this year and we managed to field four players Dave (last years winner), Steve, Ashley and ‘H’. Ramsgate also provided four players and there were two more from other clubs. The match consisted of 5 preliminary rounds in two blocks followed by a semi final and final. Both Dave and Steve were able to go through to the semi finals with the final being fought between Dave and Stephen Harbron. This was a very close game and went to the golden hoop which Dave managed to win with an excellent shot from the boundary to retain the Kent Cup.

We have two more fixtures in the R League. 31st Aug home to Ramsgate and 12th Sept away to Dulwich.

For the 2022 season we would like to offer members as many opportunities as possible to develop playing skills and, if they wish, take part in both internal and external competitions, whilst still enjoying our social games during club sessions.

Coaching

Playing friendly games with a wide variety of partners and opponents is always a good way of improving skills and everyone is encouraged to ask advice from other players. The drawing of straws at club sessions is our way of ensuring as wider mix as possible. We are also keen to establish some more formal coaching and will be seeking the views of all club members to determine the best format for this.

Club Sessions

We will continue with our Monday morning level play singles session together with Tuesday and Friday PM doubles (handicap) sessions.

Monday – These level play singles sessions are an opportunity for members to experience using the handicap score card and to progress to their natural level within the handicap system. Games will be limited to 45 minutes so that everyone can change to a new opponent.

Tuesday & Friday – Where numbers permit these will be doubles games and the handicap system can be used to make a close game and give people experience of using the doubles handicap system. Games will be limited to 45 minutes so that everyone can change to new opponents and a new partner.

Drawing Partners/Opponents – It is suggested that we continue with a ‘draw of straws’ for initial partners and that for subsequent games either a simple swap of winners play winners, losers play losers or a redraw of straws is used (on the off chance that the same pairs are drawn there should be a redraw ).

South East Croquet Federation League Games

We are proposing to enter two leagues this year so that more members can enjoy playing against other clubs. Four players will play in each match and these will be drawn from those club members who have registered an interest in playing.

Handicap League (SECF GH East)

Restricted League (SECF GR )

Other Competitions

We will again be entering a team for the Southern Challenge. This is a full-on weekend of matches at the Southwick where there are 11 lawns. It is always an enjoyable weekend with a good friendly atmosphere so please let me know if you are interested in playing.

The Kent Cup competition is an opportunity to play against some of the top players in other clubs within the county and compete for the prestigious Cup which is currently held by Dave

We will be holding a Singles Tournament this year (Alf Moat Trophy) and depending on numbers entering may make it a two day event. There will also be the usual mixed Doubles Tournament competition for the Frank Hughes Trophy and a High Handicap Competition for the Debbie Buckman Trophy.

In addition to the above we are looking forward to taking part in friendly matches with local teams such as Ramsgate and Chartham Hatch and we hope to be able to welcome new members with our taster sessions.

Stephen Barber

Golf Croquet Captain

CANTERBURY Croquet Club got their 2021 external league season off to a flying start by winning the Kent one-ball tournament.

They beat teams from Ramsgate, Surbiton and Medway on their home ground at Polo Farm on Sunday. It was their first victory in the annual competition, which they hosted this year.

The prize of bottles of prosecco for the player who scored the most hoops in one turn, three, was won by Charlie Martin of Ramsgate.

THERE was no stopping Dave Buckman at the annual Kent Golf Croquet Cup tournament at Polo Farm, Canterbury.

Twelve players from Ramsgate, Tunbridge Wells, Surbiton and Canterbury competed and only tournament organiser Trevor Longman (1) beat Buckman (3) on his way to the final.

Buckman defeated, among others, scratch player Bob Ellis, Ramsgate and David Dray (minus 2).

In the first game of the best-of-three final Buckman and Ramsgate’s Todd Ballantine (3) were neck and neck all the way. Buckman won the golden hoop decider. When Buckman went 3-2 ahead in game two Ballantine lost momentum and Buckman went on to win 6-3 and take the trophy.

Aug 3rd The Canterbury Croquet Club singles tournament

 John Letts received the Alf Moat Trophy from club chairman Henry Bryant at Polo Farm, Canterbury, on Tuesday (August 3). Letts defeated Carolyn Millen in the final of the club’s golf croquet singles tournament. Sixteen players entered the event which was managed  by Stephen Barber

Aug 10th The Canterbury Croquet Club mixed doubles tournament

Former club chairman Barry Sales and Mick Grady clinched the Canterbury Croquet Club golf croquet mixed doubles tournament in a close encounter at Polo Farm, Canterbury, on Tuesday.

The scores were level for most of the final against tournament organiser Stephen Barber and Pam Godden but Sales and Grady scored the final hoop for a 7-5 victory.

It was Sales’s third win in this competition.   twenty players took part in the eliminating rounds.

Club chairman Henry Bryant is pictured handing the Frank Hughes trophy to Grady, left, and Sales, watched by Pam Godden and Barber.

 7th Sept High Handicap Tournament

Simon Roberts, won the Canterbury Croquet Club high handicappers golf croquet tournament at Polo Farm on Tuesday. (Sept 7) In the photo he is receiving the Debbie Buckman Cup, from Debbie’s mother, club member Ann Poole. Left is runner up Ashley Lupin. The final went to the wire with Roberts winning the golden hoop. The cup was given by Debbie’s husband, David Buckman, in memory of his late wife, a key member of the club who died recently. Tournament organiser Stephen Barber, said the event gave the 14 higher handicap players who took part a chance to gain matchplay experience.

Mixed Doubles

TOURNAMENT croquet returned to Polo Farm, Canterbury, in style last week (Jul 29) with a nail-biting finish to the Canterbury Club’s golf croquet mixed doubles finals.

Club chairman Henry Bryant and Aitch (Henry) Williams won the first of their best-of-three final games against Dave Buckman and Jim Godden 7-5 but soon found themselves 1-5 down in the second game.

They fought back doggedly to level the scores at 6-6 and went to win the golden hoop to take the Frank Hughes Cup.

In the first round Barry Sales and Heather Bryant won their opening game against Buckman and Godden 7-1 but narrowly lost the next two games.

Henry Bryant and Williams beat Stephen Barber and Hugh Pearson 7-2,7-6.

Jeremy St John and Lois Sales defeated John Millen and Sylvia Bowsher 6-5 (at time) 7-4.

In the semi-finals Henry Bryant and Williams earned a bye on points difference.

Buckman and Godden beat St John and Lois Sales 7-6, 7-5.

Tournament organiser and referee, Judy Sturrock, who presented the cup, said it was good to see competitive croquet being played again.

Blob: Interest in croquet nationally has increased dramatically since the Covid outbreak as being one of the sports more able to cope with social distancing and hygiene rules.

Canterbury’s roll-up association and golf croquet sessions have re-started and its golf croquet singles tournament is scheduled for Saturday (August 8)

Blob: Want to try your hand at croquet? Call club secretary Roger Loram on 01227 451329.

Singles

PRACTICE makes perfect they say and this adage must certainly apply to Henry Williams.

While other Canterbury Croquet Club players enjoy a cuppa between games at club sessions Williams practises hoop shots.

Last week, at Polo Farm, he defeated one of the two top-seeded players in the semi-finals of the club’s annual internal level play singles tournament. Then he beat the other top-seeded player, Dave Buckman, in the final.

Buckman, who has been mentoring Williams, said: “His win was no fluke. He has beaten me before lately.”

Tournament organiser and referee Judy Sturrock said there was now little doubt as to who would win the club’s cup for the most improved player of the season.

Results, round one, Jeremy St John 7 Jim Godden 2, Henry Bryant 6 Lois Sales 5 (time), Barry Sales 7 Henry Williams 3, Stephen Barber 5 Eve Pearson 4, Dave Buckman 7 Hugh Pearson 3.

Round two, St John 7 Hugh Pearson 4, Barry Sales 7 Bryant 3, Williams 7 Lois Sales 4, Eve Pearson 6 Godden 5, Buckman 7 Barber 4.

Round three, Barry Sales 7 St John 3, Godden 7 Lois Sales 5, Williams 7 Bryant 1, Barber 7 Hugh Pearson 4, Buckman 7 Eve Pearson 4.

Semi-finals, top four hoop scorers, 19-point games, Buckman 10 St John 4, Williams 10 Barry Sales 5.

Final, best of three games, Williams beat Buckman 7-4, 7-5.

Croquet Lawn Booking Information

In addition to the sheduled club sessions members are able to book lawns using the Croquet Lawn Booking System.

If members are unable to access this system then bookings can be made by contacting one of the committee members who will be able to make a booking on their behalf.

On entering the Booking System you will be prompted for a username and password. The password for everyone is initially set to (please contact Steve Barber for this information). This can subsequently be changed. The usernames are generally your first and surnames as one word in lowercase.

Once logged in you should be taken to a calendar centred on the current date, if not press the ‘Go to’ button. The calendar shows the three lawns and currently only primary (p) is available, no secondary games.

To book a time slot click on one that is clear and a form will pop up where you can enter the following details as a minimum:

Brief Description: – eg Henry v Roger

Start :                           select start time

End:                              select end time or duration

Lawns:                          check correct lawn is selected

Type:                             select Golf or Association

Confirmation Status: should show confirmed.

Click the save button.

Note: Thursday pm and Saturday am are reserved for Association play.

    The booking duration should be limited to a max of 2 hours.

If a match cannot be played or you need to cancel a booking then this should be done by the person who made the booking by clicking on the booking then selecting ‘Delete Entry’

Any issues with the booking system or this document please contact:

Stephen Barber 07923 620938  stephen.barber@btinternet.com                      Issue 20/05/21

GOVERNMENT ADVICE
If you are clinically vulnerable, meaning you are at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus, you are advised to stay at home as much as possible and, if you do go out, take particular care to minimise contact with others outside your household.
Clinically vulnerable people are those who are:
aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)
under 70 with an underlying health condition (that is, anyone instructed to get a flu jab as an adult each year on medical grounds):

CANTERBURY CROQUET CLUB

The following information describes how members may use the croquet club while COVID-19 remains a threat and will be updated as we gain experience and learn more.

Playing croquet at CCC is not as safe as staying at home, but these measures mitigate in part the major risks. Each individual is responsible for their own safety and must decide for themselves what risks to take. Make no assumption that someone else has done something for your safety

Do not enter the club grounds if you are showing coronavirus symptoms, or if you or any of your household are self-isolating

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19 within 7 days of attending the club, DO inform Henry Bryant, or Roger Loram. We can then inform others who have been at the club and take any appropriate action

Observe Social Distancing by remaining at all times at least 2 metres away from any other person who is not a member of your household. Stay alert!

Be aware that anything at the club might be contaminated with the virus: entry gate, door handles, surfaces, playing equipment, mallets, balls, bench arms. Observe all necessary precautions by washing your hands thoroughly if you are touching anything without gloves. Try to avoid touching your face

The club will provide soap and paper towels plus surface cleanser/sanitiser for members to use

We recommend the wearing of protective gloves that are washable or disposable. Gloves or any other items for disposal should be taken home.

For maximum protection, we recommend that you wear protective gloves to open the gate, and keep them on right through until you have left the Club and shut the gate.

Only the toilet and the equipment shed will be open for use. The first aid box is now located in the shed.

Mallets should not be shared, and any member using a club mallet should mark it appropriately & keep it in the shed when not in use. Other members should NOT use marked mallets.

Bring your own snacks, drinks, chair, hand sanitiser, towel and gloves.

Please keep personal bags outside but off of benches.

Do not shake hands before or after a game.

Do not use clips: agree the score at the end of turn (AC) or point scored (GC).

Do not use bisques or extra-stroke markers: use your own method or agree at each turn.

Minimise touching any court equipment, including stop-boards.

Do not touch the balls with your hands during play: if possible position them with your feet or mallet.

There will be no club sessions until further notice and no gatherings are allowed.

Play will only be allowed by a pre-booked time slots, see separate booking information document.

All games are to be singles and no double-banking is allowed. Maximum booking slot time for Golf Croquet will be two hours and three hours for Association. A revised session time document is available.

No visitors, guests or spectators (even if members, sorry): only booked-in players on site.

I hope that this newsletter finds all of you well. As yet I cannot give you any indication of when we will be able to resume croquet at Polo Farm but one hopes that there will soon be some news on this front.

Your committee has met using the Zoom video-conferencing system.

Dave regularly mows the lawns so that they are fit for play when we can restart. Dave and Roger have trimmed the laurel hedge surrounding the lawns. I helped to clear the cuttings, which filled two large skip bags. Groundsman Tim Smith kindly towed these away.

Dave, our treasurer, says that almost all of our 2019 players have paid the 2020-2021 membership fee. He believes this will ensure that our club can survive the crisis. Your support is greatly appreciated.

 According to the latest Croquet Association news the only croquet being played is in people’s gardens. Judy has a couple of hoops and two croquet balls so she and I have been able to practise hoop running on our front lawn.  We miss playing with you and our social gatherings. Let me know if you have played any croquet in your gardens. My mail address is: richardffhughes@gmail.com

Frank.

Chairman’s Message

Firstly, I want to thank you for your continuing support of our club. This has enabled us to maintain the facilities of the club and for us to plan ahead with confidence.

Dave, Roger and Frank have done sterling work in keeping the lawns mown and cutting the laurel hedge. A huge “thank you” to them for doing this.

Looking forward, I am getting more confident that we will be playing croquet again before too long.

This may well have to exclude use of the clubhouse and social distancing will have to be strictly enforced.

Thought will have to given to how we allocate partners. I am a great believer that most problems can be solved with thought and determination.

I am heartened to read a letter in The Times of Tuesday May 5 calling for croquet to have restrictions lifted. Hopefully the Croquet Association will be pressing for this.

Rest assured that we will resume play at the first opportunity. I long for the day that we meet again on the lawns…

STAY WELL!

Henry