Tues 27th August, Moira
Ashby C (Pete B, Jill G and Richard T) drew at home against Sheffield Parkhead B. Very well-fought games, 6 wins each and 69 points each.
John and Richard win the Clive Pearson Doubles
Mon 26th August, Moira Manager: Martin
Nine pairs (18 people) took part, with manager Martin called in as a last minute substitute player for injured Avril.
Block A had 5 pairs, playing slightly shorter games (best of 9 points). Three pairs finished on 3 wins from 4 games: Martin and Andy (+8 hoop difference) and Mike and Janet S (+6) qualified for the semi-finals, while Colin C and Ray (+3) just missed out.
Meanwhile, the four pairs in Block B played normal 13-point games. Three pairs finished on 2 wins out of 3: John and Richard (+4) and Pete B and Stephanie (+3) progressed to the semi-finals, just ahead of Arthur and Jill (+2).
In the semi-finals Martin and Andy won 7-5 against Pete and Steph, whilst John and Richard beat Mike and Janet by the same score.
John and Richard played well in the final, beating Martin and Andy 7-2.
Mick and Jane T won the Plate competition.
Samir and Edward Patel win the National Forest GC Doubles 2024
August 24th & 25th, Moira Manager and reporter: Ray
Eight pairs competed in our National Forest GC Doubles tournament (for combined GC handicaps 0+) on a rather wet bank holiday weekend. Father-and-son Samir and Edward Patel from Surbiton were the winners, beating Ashby couple Arthur and Judith Rowe in the final 7-3, 7-5. The tournament progressed at a fast pace despite the intermittent rain, with the final completed by around 3pm on the Sunday.
The fifth National Forest GC Doubles (subtitled “Total Zero Plus” to reflect minimum joint handicaps) was played on the last weekend of August at Moira. Eight pairs, including players from the North East, Wales, London and the Midlands, competed for the trophy.
Manager, Ray Mounfield used the same format as in recent years. On Saturday, using just two lawns, two blocks of four pairs played two games against the other teams in their block.
Block A : Mike O’Brian & Christine Wood, Arthur Rowe & Judith Rowe, Jane Pringle & Jane Bailey and Andrew Grant & John Palframan
Block B : Tom Grievson & Martyn Seal, Samir Patel & Edward Patel, Ross Bagni & Marilyn Robinson and Chris Jackson & Pauline Donner
The two Janes emerged as winners on five wins in Block A, with Arthur and Judith as runners-up. In block B, with four wins each, Ross & Marilyn and Samir & Edward qualified for the semi-finals.
On Sunday the semi-finals were both completed in two games and with Samir & Edward and Arthur & Judith winning their matches.
So the final was a two family tussle between the Patels and the Rowes. Samir and Edward took the first game with relative ease, but the second game became a tighter affair. At hoop twelve it looked to be going to the golden hoop until an uncharacteristic miss by Judith allowed the father and son partnership to take the game. So Edward, at 16, (the youngest player by far) and Samir were deserving winners of the unique trophy.
The losing semi-final pairs played a third place decider which was won by Jane Pringle and Jane Bailey.
In the plate Mike and Christine won 4 of their 6 games , but with 5 wins the plate went to Andrew and John.
The weather was somewhat unkind, with persistent rain throughout most of Saturday but not quite bad enough to hold up play on either day.
Results (CroquetScores)
E Mids GC Div 1: Leicester A 9-3 Ashby B
Sat 24th August, Leicester
Ashby B (Julie, John and Peter R) lost 3-9 in the rain at Leicester.
E Mids GC Div 1: Ashby A 9-3 Branston A
Fri 23rd August, Moira
Ashby A (Keith, Mike and Andy) won 9-3 against Branston A.
Pinchbeck win East Midlands 26-point AC league
Sat 17th August, Nottingham (Lenton Recreation Ground)
Keith, Andy and Mick completed for Ashby in the 26-point league, finishing in third place behind Pinchbeck (1st) and Nottingham (2nd).
E Mids GC Div 1: Ashby A 8-4 Bakewell A
Mon 12th August, Moira
Ashby A (Mike, Chris and Ray) beat Bakewell A 8-4.
E Mids GC Div 1: Sheffield Parkhead A 10-2 Ashby B
Mon 12th August, Sheffield Parkhead
Maurice, Julie and Richard S travelled up to Sheffield Parkhead (U3A) club but could only manage to win two games, giving Sheffield Parkhead a 10-2 victory.
League results (FEMCC)
League tables (FEMCC)
David Brammer wins Ashby B-Level GC tournament
Sat 10th August, Moira Managers: Martin and Keith
Our B-Level GC tournament (handicaps 3+) attracted another full entry of 12 players, with some reserves missing out.
This was a broadly similar format to the C-Level on the previous day, but the block results here were a lot more clear-cut, so no play-offs needed.
Local player Stephanie White (Long Eaton and Ashby clubs) reached the semi-final but she lost 6-10 in a best-of-19 game to David Brammer (Branston, Lincs). In the other semi-final Colin Spencer (Downham Market) beat Ki Hulme (Sheffield) 10-8.
As the semi-finals had overrun, the finalists agreed on a normal 13-point final (rather than the planned 19-point). In a very closely-fought and thrilling decider, particularly at the golden hoop when both players made some superb clearance shots, it was unfortunately an error by Colin which handed David a 7-6 victory. There were still at least a dozen spectators (including a cat) at this stage when the final reached its conclusion at around 6.30pm.
Results (CroquetScores)
Janet Sherwood wins Ashby C-Level GC tournament
Fri 9th August, Moira Manager: Mick
Twelve players competed in our C-Level GC tournament (handicaps 7+). The results of both blocks were remarkably close; in each case, three players finished on 4 wins each and almost identical hoop differences. However, only two from each block could progress to the semi-finals, and in one of the blocks this had to be decided by a play-off, Ashby’s Colin Carr just losing out 6-7.
Well done to home player Janet Sherwood who won the final 7-5 against Nicky Newberry (Nottingham).
Results (CroquetScores)
