Nottingham Annual Week

[<<] [>>] by Alex McIntyre at Nottingham Croquet Club
26th July (AC)

Commonly known as 'Nottingham August Week' but brought forward this year to accommodate the re-laying of the clubs eastern 5 lawns, Nottingham Croquet Club's Annual Tournament was held between 15th & 20th July, which turned out to be a busy week to choose, as it coincided with the West Indies Test Match at Trent Bridge and the Touch Rugby World Cup across the road at the Hockey Centre. To say traffic and parking were a challenge would be an understatement....

After a rainy first afternoon, the weather rapidly improved and by Saturday both kegs of beer had been drained and the fridges were near empty.

Handicap singles (the Robin Hood), handicap doubles and three class events were intermingled throughout the week, with 243 matches being scheduled on the 9 lawns over the six days.

Light relief was provided at one point by one of the antipodean touch rugby men's teams, who apparently decided to change their shirts on the path between the east and west lawns, much to the hilarity of the croquet competitors.

The winners in the tournament were:

• Robin Hood Gold Cup: Rick Harding. runner up (the Taylor Salver): Omied Hallam
• Opens: Omied Hallam. Runner-up: Charlie Martin
• B Level: Bob Thompson. Runner-up: Rick Davis
• D Handicap: Tom Dewar. Runner-up: Tim Ash
• Doubles: Omied Hallam & Sarah Butler. Runners-up Rick Harding & Peggy Dellar