CAMERTON and Peasedown Croquet Club have staged the national final of the All England Golf Croquet Handicap Tournament.

Thirteen players, who had come through the regional finals, were involved in the event. Clubs represented in this final were Bath, Phyllis Court, Kenilworth, Wrest Park, Guilford and Godalming, Maldon, Ealing, Merton, Surbiton and Camerton and Peasedown.

The players held handicaps of between a low of +2 and a high of +11. Played under the Advantage system those with high handicaps received either extra hoops to start with or extra time (because their stronger opposition started on a minus number) to reach the magic total of 7 hoops.

On the Saturday the weather was fair and was even, at times, warm and sunny. So, with the forecast for the Sunday looking problematic in the extreme, the tournament manager Jill Shaw, decided that eight rounds of the scheduled twelve ‘All- play-All’ singles matches were to be played on the Saturday. This proved a pivotal decision as, come mid-day on the Sunday, the severe weather had arrived.

The contest was close and a large number of the games went to 7-6. With eight rounds of games completed by the Saturday evening there were leaders but, with four rounds still to be played on the Sunday, absolutely nothing was certain. It was time for the stronger players to make their move; in the end second place came down to a measure of hoops won against hoops lost.

The eventual winner was Fiona Walker from Merton Croquet Club who won ten of her twelve games. Jill Parker from CPCC (eight games won) was placed second just ahead, on percentages, of Margaret Page (also eight games won) from Ealing.

At the end Brian Wilson, retiring trustee of Croquet England, tournament referee and CPCC member, presented Fiona with the silver challenge cup and a bottle of fizz.