Ian Draper won the Robin Hood Cup

[<<] [>>] by Peter Death at Nottingham Croquet Club
19th August 2014 (AC)

Thirty three players took part in the Nottingham week, ranging in handicap from -2 to 20, and in age from 12 to 80+. There were three parent-child combinations among the competitors - Ian and Euan Burridge, Peter and James Death, and Beatrice and Sophie McGlen: is this a record?

The torrential showers which affected part of the Midlands during the week missed the croquet club, and a full week's play was possible.

Event 1, The Robin Hood Cup (handicap singles) had 32 entries and was played as a flexible Swiss until Thursday night, when the top 8 were drawn into a knockout

Semi-finals: Bob Thompson (3.5) beat Peter Moore (2) +5

Ian Draper (10) beat Omied Hallam (1) +10

Final: Draper beat Thompson +16

Event 2, Open Singles had 11 entries. Played as a flexible Swiss until Friday, when the top 4 were drawn into a knockout

Semi-finals: James Death beat John Davis +26tp +24tp

Ian Burridge beat Ian Vincent +24 +14tp

Final: James Death beat Ian Burridge +25qp +6oqp -16tp -14otp +26tp

The 5-game final took just over 3.5 hours, and the final game was a 4th turn triple from James. As the scoreline shows, both players played to an extremely high standard.

Event 3, B Level Singles (handicap 3+, advanced play), had 7 entries, played as an American block followed by a play-off between the 3 players who tied for first place

Semi-final: Roger Staples beat Barbara Young +2

Final: Roger Staples beat Cliff Daniel +24

Event 4, C Level Singles (handicap 8+, Ordinary Level Singles), had 7 entries, played as an American block followed by a play-off between the top 2 and ties

Semi-final: Anna Giraud beat Jane Collier +6t

Final: Anna Giraud beat Ann Brookes +1t

Event 5, D Handicap Singles (handicap 14+, full bisque base 10), had 5 entries, played as an American block followed by a play-off between the top 2 and ties

Semi-final: Sophie McGlen beat Rena Souten +16

Final: Sophie McGlen beat Judith Moore +11

Event 6, Handicap Doubles has 14 pairs, played as a straight knockout

Semi-finals: David Brydon & Beatrice McGlen beat Ann Brookes & Jane Collier +13

Omied Hallam & Ian Draper beat Clive Goode & Derek Buxton +10

Final: Hallam & Draper beat Brydon & McGlen +8

It was noticeable that the traditional pairings of high handicap players with scratch or minus players did not survive the first round. The general consensus was that the new handicapping experiment has gone too far: a pairing of a 20 handicap with a -2 ought not to be giving a half bisque to a 1.5 and a 4.