On Sunday 26 September 2021 the CCA GC Handicap Singles Croquet Tournament was held at Fendalton Park Croquet Club and St Martins Croquet Club.

There were 32 entries which were organized into 4 blocks of 8 players with two blocks at each of the venues. The weather forecast wasn’t great but all 32 hardy souls turned up for the tournament. In spite of the cold and fortunately very little rain, there was some great croquet and a very pleasant though competitive spirit among the players.

Each player had five games in their block and the winners of each block then played a semi-final and final. The top players were Mark Winter from Cashmere, Galina Worley from United, Pat Pidgeon and Graham Jones from Akaroa. The semi-finals saw Mark and Graham battling it out in the finals for the trophy. It was a keenly contested game, going into overtime at an equal score.

Final results were Mark Winter as winner of the GC Handicap Singles tournament, Runner up Graham Jones and third place Pat Pidgeon.

My thanks go to Cheryl Morrall for managing the blocks of players at St Martins; to Gay Jones and Tim Slack for being the referees for the day; to John Borner and St Martins for agreeing to host the extra players at very short notice; and to Mike Dawson and others at Fendalton Park for their help in hosting the tournament at Fendalton. It was a great day !

Vilna Gough-Jones (Tournament Manager)