The last of the current series of GC High Handicap tournaments was held on Tuesday 5 March. Due to the unpredictability of the wonderful British weather the start time was delayed to avoid any risk of frost!! From then on the weather improved until the sun shone on 8 wonderful players having a great time competing for the coveted bottle of Cava!
There were some skilful tactics and super shots throughout the day. Particularly commendable was Joy Biggs playing her ball from the side line (by the starting square) diagonally across the lawn so that her ball sat within inches of Hoop 2. The Final was another exciting battle between Kenny Weir and Barry Stanton with Barry securing No.1 position at the 12th hoop. Penny Austin took third place after some wonderful play and Chris Stanton very bravely took part in her first match (and I hope first of many!!) Thanks to Jane Gloster for all her support during the day. Sharon Clark
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The club has invested in two sets of Ultra Championship hoops. They are silver in appearance and should hold a bit firmer in the ground. They are now on the trolleys. Enjoy!
Seen here setting the holes for the new hoops are outgoing Equipment Manager Keith Toovey and his successor Kenny Weir. Thank you, Keith, for all your work keeping the club's gear in good order, and welcome, Kenny, to this important role. Raouf Allim One of the pleasures of running our autumn and winter GC tournaments is to welcome people from other clubs who are new to High Wycombe. Yesterday it was the turn of Liza from Eynsham and John from Ealing who joined two other guests and four home members to compete in the latest Handicap Zero trial competition.
Many of the games ended with a close result (7-5 or 7-6). This extended to the game that determined the overall winner. Barry Stanton held his nerve well at the 13th hoop to win with his second ball and took home a well-earned bottle of bubbly. Our visitors were full of praise for the friendly welcome that High Wycombe extends at these events. Chris Webbley Sunday 18th was another of those AC Tournament days that didn’t dawn bright and sunny! Indeed six intrepid players from four clubs braved rains, partially flooded roads and diversions even to get to High Wycombe – only to be greeted by the entrance gate sitting in a lake of about an inch of water.
Having arrived for set-up around 08.15, we were greeted by a miserable scene – Lawn 1 with several deep puddles, and probably nearly a quarter of Lawn 2 with free-standing water. By dint of hard labour with that great new brush, good luck with the rain stopping, and mostly the super lawns and drainage at HW, three matches were underway on time at 09.15 with no water showing except on the paths and surrounds! As the day went on, things improved further – lawns firmed up, ran true if a bit slower than usual, and all was set for a good day. We were all delighted that the manager (Mike Porter) hadn’t taken the easy option and cancelled – we would have missed out on 8 hours of fun, and even a bit of sun in the afternoon. Much of the croquet was more than worthy of the effort – as you would expect with four of the players being under-3 handicappers (with 2 sub-zero). We were able to play an all-play-all tournament, with Roger Tribe (Blewbury) emerging as ‘king of the day’ with 5 wins, followed by Mike flying HW’s flag with 4. As the sun came out it was a fine scene – of craftsmen at work (in most cases!) – smooth rhythmic control of the balls, interspersed occasionally with raw power. All standards were on display – from very strong and experienced players to one who had never played a ‘level’ or ‘advanced’ tournament. While the latter frequently showed how confusing the game could be, he thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to gain new experience in a very friendly and supportive environment – one of the clear benefits of these friendly winter tournaments! A good day was had by all – despite the unpromising beginning – and thanks to the quality of our lawns and their upkeep. Richard Coward More pictures from the annual Prizegiving and Dinner. (Select a picture to see it in full)21/2/2024 It is pleasing to report another successful GC Winter Tournament on Saturday 17th. We had some mist to start the morning before it cleared and even a minimal amount of sun later on.
The morning sessions comprising the red and blue blocks matches were played at pace and we were well ahead of schedule and had an early lunch. In Blue Block, Roger Booth (Eynsham) won all his block games followed by Martin Dock with two wins. In Red Block, Richad Coward won his 3 matches, followed by David Dibben (Blewbury). Of note was Mike West’s very narrow 6-7 defeat to Richard, the eventual overall winner of the day. Richard and Roger proceeded to play a closely contested final, Richard winning 7-4. All power to the strength of our AC representative! Nigel Moore The clubhouse toilet roof is being renewed today. It remains available for use while the work is being carried out.
In 2023 we ran 39 events (including courses, seminars and clinics) with over 220 players coached. While the money has never been a primary consideration, we were able to transfer about the same as last year to High Wycombe as our host club, with most of that going into the club’s Development Fund (i.e for the new lawns project) - a reasonable return for our use of their lawns.
This is a notable achievement and on behalf of the Academy Management Board, I want to thank all the coaches and other supporters who played a part. Looking ahead, we currently have 30 events planned for 2024 (including one in Latvia!), but we expect several more to be announced over the coming weeks. If you would like to be involved at any level, please let me know. Ian Shore Manager, Chiltern Coaching Academy |
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