CA Diplomas Awarded in 2017
Contents...
Diploma Group (L-R): Mo Boys (Camerton and Peasedown), Tony Mrozinski (Guildford and Godalming), Quiller Barrett (President of the CA) Michael Finnigan (Nottingham), Irmgard Finnigan (Nottingham), Tess Burt (Kingston Maurward), Frances Colman (Phyllis Court), Jean Oades (Roehampton).
Mo Boys - Camerton and Peasedown Croquet Club
Following several years at Lansdown Croquet Club, during which the membership doubled and outgrew the facilities, Mo Boys spearheaded the creation of a new Club at Camerton and Peasedown which launched in 2012. She has been an inspirational Chairman: her phenomenal hard work and commitment have resulted in the establishment of an inclusive, friendly membership. She has dedicated time and skill to coach players in the Club and, for over a decade, throughout the South-West Federation. She has pioneered the development of AC within the Club and achieved significant personal success.
Besides croquet, her artistic talents and practical skills are diverse: she designs wonderful posters for our activities and created our Club logo. As a skilled carpenter, she has made numerous ingenious storage facilities for equipment. She organises and leads our monthly work party maintaining the Club grounds, equipment and buildings.
She has played a prominent role in our outreach to the local community, inviting groups from different organisations to spend an afternoon or evening experiencing croquet with us. She has devised various croquet-based activities for use at local fetes.
Camerton and Peasedown Croquet Club would not be known as it is today for its welcome and hospitality without her dedication and inspirational example.
Tess Burt - Kingston Maurward Croquet Club
Tess Burt has given outstanding service to croquet for almost thirty years, both at her home club but also further afield. Her primary contributions are extensive coaching, enthusiasm and encouragement for club and AC and GC game development, and raising interest overall. Tess sets high standards vis-a-vis match discipline and fairness; she is a qualified GC referee.
Tess joined KMCC in the late 1980s, about the time the club was founded. She took up AC shortly afterwards. In the 1990s she was an active member of the KMCC Committee, and has frequently represented the club at the SWF AGM.
She coached extensively both at KMCC and at East Dorset Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, where for many years she ran an annual tournament for GC high handicappers. She also coached the Somerset WI ladies, who now run an annual, regional tournament. Tess also regularly held coaching and training sessions at Denham College in Oxfordshire (the WI's UK educational establishment). She helped set up the Wareham croquet club.
Tess continues to be an enthusiastic and selfless ambassadress. Having celebrated her 80th birthday, she is still playing in UK tournaments, is captain of the KMCC GC Level-Play Team, and runs an annual Dorset WI competition.
Frances Colman - Phyllis Court Croquet Club
Frances Colman has been at the heart of the Phyllis Court Croquet Club for the last nine years, during which time the club has transformed from a generally social-croquet-only club into one where a competitive element now runs through all levels of ability.
Frances' potential as a croquet organiser was spotted quickly and she was invited to serve on the Club's committee in only her second year in the sport, willingly accepting the Golf Croquet brief.
She has organised beginners training that has seen over half the Club's current 150-strong membership pass through introductory classes. She quickly introduced GC handicaps for all members where previously there had been none and this then allowed competitive play in ability-based classes to be brought in. By the start of her second year in the post, the number of season-long competitions had doubled, the first Singles play one-day tournament had been introduced, and, thanks to Frances' encouragement and enthusiasm for competitive play, members flocked to fill everything new that was offered.
Under Frances' stewardship, competitive GC has blossomed, producing regular CA tournament circuit players and Club teams that have reached Inter-Club competition semi-finals, and a final in which she captained the team.
Irmgard Finnigan - Nottingham Croquet Club
Michael and Irmgard Finnigan are stalwarts of the Nottingham Club; Michael since 2001 and Irmgard since 2007.
Irmgard is a highly valued club member who will retire from her task of catering coordinator at the end of the 2017 season. She has transformed the club's catering in recent years, gaining praise on a regular basis on the quality of the club's tournament catering, with splendid and varied meals with just that extra touch. Many are in her debt for such gourmet delights.
Irmgard has served on the committee for several years and currently heads a working party putting forward plans to refurbish the pavilions. A good GC player, she has organised federation league matches for many years and is now learning to play AC.
Michael and Irmgard both starred in a short video made earlier this year, talking about how croquet helped to improve their relationship and the enjoyment of doing something together in their senior years. It can be seen on the Nottingham website.
Michael Finnigan - Nottingham Croquet Club
Michael is a highly accomplished woodworker who has used his skills to design, build and maintain lawn huts, hoop trolleys, stop boards, kitchen work surfaces, cupboards and trophy bases. He's also the man to call when repair work needs to be done: he's particularly renowned for over-boarding hut floors and clearing blockages in the toilets! He instigated a range of club clothing, served on the committee for many years (where he still helps with never-ending rent reviews) and has been known to do a mean barbecue in August Week. He is an AC referee and a stalwart member of the many Longman Cup, Secretary's Shield and Mary Rose Teams.
Michael is always an eager volunteer, who just gets on with the job in hand, and a true gentleman to the core.
Philippa Fortescue - Lym Valley Croquet Club
Philippa has worked tirelessly for the Lym Valley Croquet Club for over ten years. She has held the posts of Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer, and at times both roles, for a number of years and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the club, helping to recruit and teach new members, publicising the club, and helping to maintain the appearance of the lawns with her gardening skills.
Ron George - Cornwall Croquet Club
Ron joined Cornwall Croquet Club at its first Open Day in July 2005. Soon becoming the only expert in Golf, he had little choice but to assume the roles of its Manager, Organiser, Publicist, Handicapper, Coach, Referee and Lord High Everything. He took on the role of club Chairman in 2008. These roles were in addition to playing a full part in Club practical matters such as lawn improvement, fencing and general maintenance despite living at a considerable distance from the Club.
His great enthusiasm for the game and the club has him playing in various South West Federation GC and AC leagues. Ron qualified as a GC referee in 2007 and in 2011 he was a referee at Hurlingham for the Golf World Championships.
In 2014 he was instrumental in the formation of a new club, at his home in St Agnes, where he was Chairman until March 2017 and is now President.
Peter Gunn - Merton Croquet Club
For more than twenty years, Peter has worked tirelessly for Merton Croquet Club. He has been Club Captain, and has served two five year terms on the Committee, first as Secretary and later as Chairman of the Club. During this time he regularly hosted the club's annual barbecue at his home. During the winter he keeps us on our toes with social events, including imaginative quizzes.
He has been Club Coach for many years and almost half the members have learned their croquet skills from him. He is very supportive and encouraging to all members. Now he is mentoring two new Club Coaches.
Currently the Club's Handicapper, Entries Secretary and Competition Organiser. This means that he organises the Club's internal leagues as well as many club competitions, especially in spring and autumn. For several years he has organised the heats for the Charity One Ball in spring, introducing many to One Ball and raising hundreds of pounds for charity thereby enabling several players from our small club to progress to the finals.
Diane Kemp - Winslow Croquet Club
Twenty five years ago Diane Kemp got together a group of fellow WI members to play croquet in her back garden and this was the origin of the Winslow club.
As interest and expertise grew, she badgered and cajoled Winslow Town Council into making available a plot of land at the corner of the sports field and building a small store.
Twenty five years later, the club is still there and going from strength to strength.
She has coached most club members, mostly with patience, but sometimes with exasperation, encouraged us to play friendly and league matches and made sure players had the confidence to join in competitions such as Ladies Day at Thames Valley. She has also introduced inventive club competitions. She has continued to fundraise for improvements to the lawn and store and encourages office holders to continue to develop the club.
Now in her 80s, she only gave up her role as chairman last year and still plays with as much focus and skill as ever. She now makes sure some of the original members with mobility and sight problems get to play once a week on a short lawn and continues to organise her beloved club competitions to encourage all club members to learn and improve.
Peter Kenward - Colchester Croquet Club
Peter Kenward has been a member of Colchester Croquet Club for a number of years and always represents the club in the best possible manner in the many internal and external competitions in which he has played. However the reason for his nomination for a diploma is the hours of work he has put in to make the lawns and grounds some of the best in the country. He has personally tended the lawns, supervised the contracted groundsmen and ensured our neighbours are minimally inconvenienced. He has worked tirelessly to ensure the lawns are ready for play during competitions and received many expressions of thanks from external competitors for making the competitions memorable for the quality of the playing surface.
Additionally he is often to be seen carrying out essential maintenance to buildings or machinery, including the dishwasher or changing a light bulb! In short, Peter Kenward is essential to the smooth running of Colchester Croquet Club and the maintenance of its renowned good lawns.
Janet and John Leech - Rottingdean Croquet Club
Thirty-five years ago John and Janet Leech were sitting at a meeting of the Rottingdean Preservation Society which, having stopped the building of houses on the picturesque large walled garden of the home formerly owned by Rudyard Kipling, was considering what use might be made of the area.
The Chairman put forward the suggestion of using it as a croquet lawn and asked the question "Is there anyone who would be interested in exploring the development of this area as a croquet lawn?" Janet Leech, who knew nothing about croquet at all, raised her hand.
Janet and husband, John, promptly went on a course at Loughborough College to learn how to play Association Croquet and returned to Rottingdean and formed Rottingdean Croquet Club which is now a thriving Club with 53 members and a long waiting list.
Janet and John have held various positions at the Club over the years and are both still honorary members with Janet being our President. They still both attend as many events at the Club as they can.
Rottingdean Croquet Club exists as a direct result of Janet's decision to raise her hand, and both she and John have given dedicated work to the Club over thirty-five years.
Vaun and Eunice Legerton - New Maldon Croquet Club
Some years ago Vaun and Eunice Legerton, together with a small group of like-minded croquet players, recognised that there was a potential demand for people in the Maldon area to experience and develop the game of croquet. As a result of their labours, Maldon Croquet Club was founded in 2011 with Vaun elected as an inspirational Chair. Vaun and Eunice were at the centre of the fledgling club's applications to play on local playing fields and for funds to procure essential equipment.
Vaun and Eunice recognised the importance of developing a club which welcomed all regardless of ability but which encouraged a sporting and competitive culture. To that end they presented the Legerton Trophy to the Club to be played for by all members on the annual Club Day which they have organised every year.
They continue to play very regularly on roll-up days, encouraging members of all abilities and regularly referee and time-keep at the Club's matches with visiting clubs showing a very clear understanding of CA rules.
Tony Mrozinski - Guildford and Godalming Croquet Club
Put simply, Guildford and Godalming Croquet Club would not exist without Tony Mrozinski. He founded the club in the mid-1980s, borrowing some space from the local rugby club, and served as its first chairman for about 20 years. The club has evolved over time and now features four lawns and a clubhouse, Tony being actively involved in every development.
He is a prodigious mower of lawns. A conservative estimate would put the distance he has walked behind a mower, over more than 30 years, at around 4,000 miles - it could well be much more. Added to that are the white lining, hoop setting, general grounds maintenance, etc. That speaks of commitment of the highest order. His regular tournament management activity and the fact that he maintains low handicap performance in both Association and Golf forms of croquet are evidence of his input to the club across the whole spectrum of its activities.
The club has acknowledged this contribution locally by appointing Tony as Hon. President.
Rita Nunn - Southern Federation
Rita has served on the Federation committee for over ten years as Treasurer, a task which is far from straightforward given the infrequency of meetings and the different ways member clubs handle their finances. The Federation is particularly indebted to Rita, who having first retired before the start of the 2016 season for more family time, answered a distress call to return, when her replacement as treasurer sadly passed away within months of taking office. Rita didn't have a moment's hesitation in helping the Federation out in its hour of need by taking on the Treasurer role again for the remainder of that year.
Rita has also been an equally vital part of her own club, Winchester.
Not only has she over the years served on the committee as Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary, but has also devoted much time to coaching beginners and managing tournaments at Club and Federation level.
Jean Oades - Roehampton Croquet Club
Jean joined Roehampton Club in 1989 to play bridge and croquet. She immediately became an active club member, not only playing croquet and encouraging other people to do so, but tirelessly volunteering to do all the small things that make a club a success. She became a committee member in 2006 and served as club captain for three years, 2009 - 2012, responsible for everything to do with playing and equipment. She was busy, not only organising all the internal and external matches, but also promoting golf croquet. It was not uncommon to have over 50 players enter an event. Undaunted, Jean would always use the format that was best for all the entrants, never taking the easy option. Once she cheerfully organised an event with 11 American blocks, followed by play-offs.
Jean played a key role during the design and building of the new pavilion. She advised on the interior fitting of the pavilion and, after it opened in 2010, she ensured that the building ran smoothly.
Jean is one of those people that every club needs; enthusiastic, kind and cheerful. If croquet had saints, Jean would more than qualify.
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