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All England Association Handicap Competition

Newport Croquet Club, near Cambridge held the area finals for the All England Association Handicap Competition on Saturday/Sunday 2/3 September 2006, where David Eckford and Bob Thompson, both members of Woodhall Spa Croquet Club were among eleven players competing for a top three placing to be eligible to play in the finals on 16/17 September 2006 at Nailsea, near Bristol.

A rather wet and windswept start to play later improved to dry but windswept conditions.

The competition format was `flexible Swiss`, where players with handicaps varying from -1 to 18 played five games over the weekend, the winner of game one then plays against another winner, all players are then rated as a percentage with regard to the number of wins per games played.

Each game was timed to a maximum of three hours, however the each game could be won if a player was successful in completing twenty four hoops and hit the peg with both balls within the time limit.

At the end of play on Saturday, all players had played three number three hour games, both David and Bob had won all 3/3, thus were rated as 100%, with four players on 66%, they had won 2/3.

Sunday morning saw a keenly fought battle between David and Bob, with David gaining the upperhand by running several hoops, after the early encounters saw one of Bobs long takeoff shots rolling off the lawn, thus allowing David to take the advantage from where he was never overtaken. David was the eventual winner by +9 hoops.

At the end of Sunday’s play the top three players who were now eligible to play in the All England Finals were, David Eckford 100% 5/5 wins, Bob Thompson 80% 4/5 wins and Tim Brewer of Wrest Park, Beds 60% 3/5 wins with the best overall percentage of his opponents wins.

Both David’s and Bob’s handicaps are now reduced from 12 to 11.

Report by Patricia Duke-Cox (Woodhall Spa CC)

Last modified: September 13, 2006