Nottingham Week Results

[<<] [>>] by Peter Death at Nottingham Croquet Club
20 Aug 2016 (AC)

The Nottingham week was oversubscribed this year, with 36 players in the
singles events, and two more who were only in the doubles. The first four days
were hot and sunny, so that the lawns became quite fast and interesting.
This was reflected in the big handicap, the Robin Hood Cup, where five of the eight
quarter-finalists came from the A class. Friday, however, was wet all day,
the lawns became easier, and the bisques of the C class players came into
their own, so that Saturday's final was between Anna Giraud (Huddersfield,
11) and Sue Wileman (Nottingham, 12. In a tight contest, Anna came from
behind to win +1t.

Joel Taylor (Oxford University) won the A class, beating Omied Hallam
(Nottingham) +26tp, +26tp in the final. Joel completed 5 triples during the
week, and was the only one to be able to record a triple in any of his
games, though David Brydon (Nottingham) failed rover having done all the
peels of a tpo.

The B-class final was an all Ramsgate affair, with Charlie Martin beating
Trevor Longman +11, +11.

The C-class, one of the few events in the tournament calendar where Ordinary
Level Singles are played, was won by Neal Bacon (Nottingham), who beat
France Colman (Phyllis Court and Surbiton) +25 in the final.

The D-class, full-bisque base 10, was played as two American blocks (the
same 4 players in each) and was won by Rena Souten (Huddersfield) who beat
Andrew Beaumont (Nottingham) +10 in the play-off.

In the Handicap Doubles, where 12 pairs entered, the partnerships between
minus players and long-bisquers were, as usual, hamstrung by the unfairness
of the current handicapping system and failed to win a game. This was no
surprise: in the years since the new system was introduced, no pairing
including a minus player has won a single game. All that can be said for the
tweaks made to the system this year is that the margin of defeat may have
been reduced slightly. Omied Hallam & Neal Bacon (Nottingham) beat Charles
Ostler (Hunstanton and Pinchbeck) & Sue Wileman (Nottingham) +1t in the
final, bringing the tournament to a close shortly before 6p.m.

Event 1: The Robin Hood cup, handicap singles.36 players. Played as a
flexible Swiss until Thursday, then a knockout for the top 8.
Semi-finals: Sue Wileman (12)beat Joel Taylor (-1) +13, Anna Giraud (11)beat Omied Hallam (0) +12
Final: Giraud beat Wileman +1t

Event 2: Open Singles, Advanced Play. 13 players. Played as a flexible Swiss
until Friday lunchtime, then a knockout for the top 4.
Semi-finals: Joel Taylor beat Martin Beacon +23tp, Omied Hallam beat Ian Vincent +12
Final: Taylor beat Hallam +26tp +26tp

Event 3: B Level Singles, Advanced Play, handicaps 3 and over. Played as a
flexible Swiss until Friday lunchtime, then a knockout for the top 4.
Semi-finals: Charlie Martin beat Roger Staples +23, Trevor Longman beat Michael Finnigan +18
Final: Martin beat Longman +11 +11

Event 4: C Level Singles, Ordinary Level Singles, handicaps 8 and over.
Played as a flexible Swiss until Friday lunchtime, then a knockout for the
top 4.
Semi-finals: Frances Colman beat Anna Giraud +20, Neal Bacon beat Peter Hallett +26
Final: Bacon beat Colman +25

Event 5: D Handicap Singles, full bisque base 10. 4 players. Each player
played each of the others twice, in two American blocks.
Block A: Rena Souten 3/3 beat Andrew Beaumont 2/3, Alastair Davis 1/3 and
Jane Collier 0/3
Block B: Andrew Beaumont 3/3 beat Alastair Davis 2/3, Rena Souten 1/3 and
Jane Collier 0/3
Play-off: Rena Souten beat Andrew Beaumont +10

Event 6: Handicap Doubles, 12 pairs, knockout.
Semi-finals: Neal Bacon & Omied Hallam beat John Filsak & Rena Souten +18, Charles Ostler & Sue Wileman beat Ken and Margaret Anderton +14
Final: Bacon & Hallam beat Ostler & Wileman +1t