Tyneside CC

The Fab Four - Andrew C, David M, Eric N & Derek J

Saturday 15th September

CN GC Handicap Doubles

Six pairs contested this year's tournament which had to be switched to Exhibition Park from Albert Park Middlesbrough just six days beforehand. Jean Thompson and Colin Chun from Belsay were making their debut in this competition; everyone else were regulars.
The format was best-of-13 games in an all-play-all round robin with extra turns.
P W D L F A Pts.
Eugene Brady (2) and Carol Brady (3) 5 4 1 0 27 18 9
Brian Johnson (1) and Brenda Johnson (9) 5 3 1 1 29 22 7
Chris Wood (3) and Derek Johnson (5) 5 3 0 2 29 21 6
Jane Pringle (1) and Freda Vitty (4) 5 2 0 3 24 30 4
Andrew Carpenter (1) and Roger Carpenter (2) 5 1 0 4 22 29 2
Jean Thompson (12) and Colin Chun (12) 5 1 0 4 18 29 2

So 15 years after they first won the title and nine after they last won it, Eugene and Carol Brady win it for the third time.

Sunday 9th September

CN AC Handicap League

The fixture list had Vickers playing Endeavour at Exhibition Park and Parsons making the journey in the other direction to play Resoluton at Albert Park. because of the traffic restrictions associated with The Great North Run vickers decided to switch their match to Albert Park as well.

Tyneside Vickers beat Middlesbrough Endeavour 3-1

David Millener (7) & Nora Burbridge (16) beat Charles Waterfield (2.5) & Julian Gibson (12) 21-15
Andrew Carpenter (14) beat Nigel Roberts (9) 26-12
David Millener (7) & Andrew Carpenter (14) beat Charles Waterfield (2.5) & Nigel Roberts (9) 26-0
Nora Burbridge (16) lost to Julian Gibson (12) 19-21

Tyneside Parsons lost to Middlesbrough Resolution 1-3
(Remarkably, both singles games went to the Golden Hoop)

Eric Nixon (8) & Alan Thwaite (20) lost to Dennis Scarr (1) & Nigel Durie (16) 16-21
Derek Johnson (14) beat Ken Spragg (14) 23-22
Eric Nixon (8) & Derek Johnson (14) lost to Dennis Scarr (1) & Ken Spragg (14) 14-26
Alan Thwaite (20) lost to Nigel Durie (16) 9-10

Saturday 8th September

Club GC Tournament - Roger Russell Trophy

What has been described as "the Club's premier Golf Croquet tournament" managed to draw four entrants with a handicap average of 8.5, one of whom had only been playing for four months. To make it last beyond lunchtime it was decided to make every match a best-of-nineteen match. Brenda Johnson emerged as this year's winner with a 100% record.

Brenda Johnson (9) beat Sarah Follmann (10) 10-6, Derek Johnson (4) 10-7 and Sue Caygill (8) 10-8
Sue Caygill beat Sarah Follmann 10-3 and Derek Johnson 10-9
Derek Johnson beat Sarah Follmann 10-4

Saturday 25th August

CN GC League Division 1

Durham beat Tyneside 16-2

Peter Lowe was forced to pull out because of illness the day before match and for most of the rest of that day it looked as though Tyneside would be forced to play with three players until Sue Caygill valiantly volunteered to stand in at 10.38 on Friday night.
Durham had clinched the league title two weeks earlier when they overpowered a full-strength Belsay team, who had been champions for the last three years, by an impressive 13-5 scoreline. We were therefore fearful of a whitewash. Fears that were heightened on seeing that Durham were fielding an even stronger quartet than they had against Belsay!
Those fears appeared to be well-founded as Durham racked up the first 16 games despite three going to the 13th hoop before Brenda Johnson (playing off a handicap of 9 that she had only reached two days before) upset the apple cart and the form book by beating Nigel Martin (2 handicap) to garner 19 points on her handicap card. Tyneside were clearly just getting into their stride though as Derek Johnson and Nora Burbridge (4 and 5 handicaps) beat Brian Johnson and Andrew Carpenter (both 1 handicaps) in the final doubles.
As mortifying as that 16-2 scoreline was, it transpired not to be the worst result of the weekend's fixtures as Belsay beat Auckland 16½- 1½!

Derek Johnson (4) & Brenda Johnson (9) lost to Brian Johnson (1) & Peter Tymms (2) 4-7
Sue Caygill (11) lost to Andrew Carpenter (1) 2-7
Nora Burbridge (5) lost to Nigel Martin (2) 6-7
Nora Burbridge (5) & Sue Caygill (11) lost to Andrew Carpenter (1) & Nigel Martin (2) 3-7
Brenda Johnson (9) lost to Brian Johnson (1) 2-7
Derek Johnson (4) ) lost to Peter Tymms (2) 2-7
Derek Johnson (4) & Sue Caygill (11) lost to Brian Johnson (1) & Nigel Martin (2) 6-7
Nora Burbridge (5) lost to Andrew Carpenter (1) 2-7
Brenda Johnson (9) lost to Peter Tymms (2) 5-7
Nora Burbridge (5) & Brenda Johnson (9) lost to Andrew Carpenter (1) & Peter Tymms (2) 1-7
Derek Johnson (4) lost to Brian Johnson (1) 6-7
Sue Caygill (11) lost to Nigel Martin (2) 5-7
Brenda Johnson (9) & Sue Caygill (11) lost to Peter Tymms (2) & Nigel Martin (2) 3-7
Nora Burbridge (5) lost to Brian Johnson (1) 2-7
Derek Johnson (4) lost to Andrew Carpenter (1) 5-7
Derek Johnson (4) & Nora Burbridge (5) beat Brian Johnson (1) & Andrew Carpenter (1) 5-4
Brenda Johnson (9) beat Nigel Martin (2) 7-6

Sunday 12th August

Croquet North AC Handicap League

Tyneside Vickers 3 Tyneside Parsons 1

Standing water on both lawns did not augur well for the day for the rearranged fixture between the two Tyneside teams. A bit of forking by Terry Vernazza helped dissipate the surface water though and although it was heavy going at the start of the morning once the rain stopped, or at least eased up, the Pavilion Lawn soon started playing quicker until people actually started to hit their croquet strokes off the lawn!

Terry Vernazza (2.5) & Nora Burbridge (16) beat Don Wright (6) & Derek Johnson (14) +18
Geoff Clemence (18) beat Robert Nixon (14) +11T
Terry Vernazza (2.5) & Geoff Clemence (18) beat Don Wright (6) & Robert Nixon (14) +12
Nora Burbridge (16) lost to Derek Johnson (14) -5T

Monday 6th August

Croquet North GC Progressive Doubles

Brian Johnson and Sue Caygill Triumph at Belsay.

One of the most popular of CN's annual tournaments took place at Belsay Hall as usual under the expert eye of Eric Nixon. Two unexpected late withdrawals reduced the usual field of 16 to only 14 necessitating a late reshuffle in the progress around the lawns with a game of singles filling time. As usual the entrants were split into two pools, one higher handicaps and one lower handicaps and the pairings on each lawn consisted of one from each pool.
Tyneside were well represented with four members, and Sue Caygill emerged triumphant in the Higher Handicaps pool. Brian Johnson of Durham went undefeated to take top spot amongst the Lower Handicaps.

Final results were:

Lower Handicaps P W D L Hoops Pts. Higher Handicaps P W D L Hoops Pts.

Brian Johnson (Durham) 8 7 1 0 52 15 Sue Caygill (Belsay & Tyneside) 8 5 2 1 46 12
Roger Carpenter (Durham) 8 6 1 1 52 13 George Cansino (Durham) 8 4 2 2 35 10
Nigel Martin (Durham) 8 5 1 2 47 11 Jean Thompson (Belsay) 8 4 0 4 44 8
Marcia Henderson (Auckland) 8 4 1 3 44 9 Libby Cansino (Durham) 8 3 2 3 33 8
Derek Johnson (Belsay & Tyneside)8 1 2 5 36 4 Dave Okell (Tyneside) 8 3 0 5 41 6
Madeline Carpenter (Durham) 8 0 3 5 26 3 Alison Okell (Tyneside) 8 2 2 4 31 6
Susan Martin (Durham) 8 1 1 6 21 3 Richard Penrose (Durham) 8 1 2 5 35 4

Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th July

Tyneside Advanced Tournament

With a depleted entry this year, 6 players battled it out in all the weather conditions available! 4 games each were contested on the Saturday of an all play all format, with the remaining game plus a play-off game on the Sunday.
David Maugham won 5 of his 6 games with his partner Alison Jones taking a game from him. On the play-off on the Sunday however, David beat Alison to retain the Tyneside Tankard. Derek Watts had a special game over Alison, completing a triple peel win. The lunches produced by Sheila Watts were well received by all, with help from Nora Burbridge. Derek Watts

Results

Alison Jones (-0.5) beat Phil Errington+20, David Maugham+25, Paul Rigge+18 and Terry Vernazza+15.
David Maugham (-2.5) beat Phil Errington+12, Paul Rigge+13TPO, Terry Vernazza+13TP and Derek Watts+25.
Paul Rigge (-1) beat Phil Errington+10, Terry Vernazza+13 and Derek Watts+11.
Derek Watts (+1.5) beat Phil Errington+15, Alison Jones +23TP and Terry Vernazza+8.
Phil Errington (+1) beat Terry Vernazza +15.

Play-Offs

David Maugham (-2.5) beat Alison Jones (-0.5) +17
Paul Rigge (-1) beat Derek Watts (+1.5) +15
Terry Vernazza (+2.5) beat Phil Errington (+1) +8

Thursday 26th July

Longman Cup Quarter Final

Tyneside beat Bowdon 4-3

Eric Nixon came into the team for the Quarter Final because of the unavailability of namesake Robert for this particular day, having played against Southport in the last round, the only date that Tyneside could muster four players from the available pool that satisfy the conditions of entry for this competition.
The team travelled down to Altrincham the night before and stayed at the Travelodge there which we found much easier than when Eric and I last stayed there for a match for Belsay Hall two years ago. We had our regular table in Frankie and Benny's though!
We started earlier in a vain attempt to avoid the rush hour traffic around the Manchester Ring Road later in the day so it was 9 o'clock when we arrived at Bowdon's verdant lawns with the watering already under way.
When I went to complete the scoresheet I noticed that Bowdon had put their strongest and weakest players down for the doubles which nonplussed me as I had always thought it had to be the two strongest, but that holds true for the Mary Rose Trophy apparently; in the Longman any two can play doubles. This necessitated a hasty team conference but because nobody could think of any reason for changing we still went with David and Eric for the doubles.
It did not augur well when I looked over to the other lawn after about half an hour and Bowdon's weaker player was putting her clip on peg! Sure enough the doubles was over in an hour and 20 minutes, 1-0 to Bowdon.
On the other lawn, I used 3 of my 8 bisques to get through the first hoop and 3 more in taking my first ball to 2 Back, mainly in sticking in the unusually tight hoops, one sixteenth of an inch I was informed later by Barry Keen. So with a return of 7 hoops from 6 bisques things looked less than rosy. I felt even worse when saying that to Andrew who replied "Well at least you're hitting something, which is more than I'm doing".
However, my opponent Adrian Apps (6 handicap) was experiencing similar problems to Andrew and was giving me plenty of turns. Andrew on his part suddenly clicked against Barry and made nine hoops without using a bisque (not a very shrewd move when playing a CA handicapper).
I eventually ran out a remarkably comfortable +19 victor and despite a comeback by Barry (8 handicap) Andrew also triumphed despite missing a short roquet when nicely set up to get onto partner ball and rush it to the peg. 2-1 to Tyneside at lunch.
The top singles started earlier than the rest as both players were fed and watered well before the anticipated lunch break. David took his first ball to Rover using only one bisque before Andrew and I set off to the far lawn. Barry went a long way clear (Rover and 4 Back against my 5 and 2) but his near-perfect play suddenly went awry and I came back to get my first ball through Rover but failed to get behind his peg ball in order to peg him out and had to settle for putting him down near Corner 3 with his other ball near Hoop 4 whilst I set things up for a rush on the West boundary ready to peg him out next turn. Unfortunately he hit in from about 25 yards and it was me left with one ball. I managed to get from 5 to 2 Back but that was as far as it went, 2-2 no wait, David had beaten Will (4 handicap) so 3-2 to Tyneside.
Andrew duly finished off things against Lorna (11 handicap) with a comfortable +18 win probably not helped unduly by the weight of expectation piled on his shoulders by me, because Eric seemed a fair way behind Adrian on the other lawn, and we were there 4-2!
Nobody actually mentioned Pancho Vila's name but Barry Keen cut Andrew to 14 although he thought 12 would be a fairer reflection and stated he would expect a 1 handicap at GC to come down 4 points every two months! Fortunately, Andrew could show that Charles Waterfield had cut him in May so things were not as uncomfortable as they might have been.

David Millener & Eric Nixon lost to Will Mellor & Lorna Frost -21
Derek Johnson beat Adrian Apps +19
Andrew Carpenter beat Barry Keen +6

David Millener beat Will Mellor +9
Eric Nixon lost to Adrian Apps -15
Derek Johnson lost to Barry Keen -6
Andrew Carpenter beat Lorna Frost +18

Derek Johnson

Sunday 20th July

The Tyneside Quaich

Advanced AC with bisques, alternate-stroke doubles, team championship

TEAMS

Middlesbrough A Charles Waterfield (2.5) & Julian Gibson (12) = 7.5 bisques for doubles

Middlesbrough B Roger Staples (2.5) & John Fitzpatrick (16) = 9.5 bisques

Middlesbrough C Tom Banfield (8) & Nigel Roberts (10) = 9.0 bisques

Tyneside A Phil Errington (1) & Derek Johnson (14) = 7.5 bisques

Tyneside B David Millener (7) & Eric Nixon (8) = 7.5 bisques

Tyneside C Derek Watts (1.5) & Nora Burbridge (16) = 9.0 bisques

This friendly annual encounter, hosted this time by Middlesbrough, took place on probably the hottest day of the year so far. Lawns, not unexpectedly, had some dry patches, so pace was not always easy to predict. Only half the games were peg-outs (3 hour time-limits). Many thanks again to Phil for arranging the 'play-list' and setting out the rules.

RESULTS (listing Boro vs Tyne respectively)

Morning:

Charles & Julian 19 (2 peels) beat David & Eric 14

Roger & John 15 (1 peel) lost to Derek & Nora 23

Tom & Nigel 20 lost to Phil & Derek 26

Afternoon:

Roger & John 18 (1 peel) lost to Phil & Derek 20 (2 peels)

Tom & Nigel 26 beat David & Eric 12

Charles & Julian 26 beat Derek & Nora 11

Each game was scored as normal, with own-side peels noted for use in tie-breaking calculations. The highest total wins by all pairs for each club determines the winner. Should this number of wins be equal, the total scores (hoops) from the matches by each club is used for the first tie-break (points scored, regardless of number conceded). A final tie-break, if equal wins and hoops, would be the higher number of peels.

Final Totals:

Middlesbrough 3 wins, 124 hoops, 4 peels

Tyneside 3 wins, 106 hoops, 2 peels

Middlesbrough, with a higher points total, retained the Quaich for 2018

Charles Waterfield

Friday 20th July

CN High Bisquers Handicap Doubles

Croquet Durham again organised and hosted this event which had to be cancelled last year because of the dearth of entries. This year saw a promising six pairs enter, three from the host club, two from Tyneside (Derek (4) & Brenda (10) Johnson and Sheila Best (6) & May Hall (8)) and a very commendable Bamburgh presence from Dave (4) and Carol (8) Carney. The lawn at Chester-le-Street was as fast as might be expected after the recent weather but made even more difficult by some areas having been burnt by the overly enthusiastic application of fertiliser, supposedly by an apprentice, giving variations in speed during the course 0f any one shot.
The Durham pairings took full advantage of local knowledge by filling the top three places with Libby (10) & George (10) Cansino edging out Derek Baron (7) & Susan Martin (8) on net hoops after each compiled 3 wins, a draw, and a loss. Anne Barnfather (8) and Kathleen Penrose (12) finished third again requiring net hoops to break the tie with Derek and Brenda after both pairs finished with six points, Anne and Kathleen from 2 wins, 2 draws and a defeat, Derek and Brenda from 3 wins and 2 defeats . The Carneys finished 5th with 2 wins and 3 defeats and Sheila and May took the wooden spoon after five defeats although only one went to 7 hoops to show how hard fought their games were.

Wednesday 18th July

CNAC league against York

This rearranged match saw York take the two morning games before Tyneside rallied after lunch to even things 2-2

Match Drawn 2-2

Morning Handicap Doubles

Don Wright (6) & Derek Johnson (14) lost to Dave Hudson (8) & John Crompton (16) 20-24

Morning Handicap Singles

Eric Nixon (8) lost to Fiona Compton (10) 16-18

Afternoon Handicap Doubles

Don Wright (6) & Eric Nixon (8) beat Dave Hudson (8) & Fiona Crompton (10) 26-19

Afternoon Handicap Singles

Derek Johnson (14) beat John Crompton (16) 26-19

Saturday 14th July

CROQUET ASSOCIATION GOLF CROQUET “C” LEVEL TOURNAMENT

This tournament formed part of the newly initiated C Level series of tournaments for players with handicaps of 7 or more.
The initial entry was 6 but that was reduced further when Crake Valley’s David Cornes brought his handicap down to 6 just before the allocation date for the tournament. David kindly offered to test his newly acquired referee credentials on the tournament instead (and he had cajoled his wife Sandra to enter anyway, so was travelling to sunny Teesside nevertheless).
            Another casualty was Tournament Manager Roger Staples who was called away for some CA business in Cheltenham on the day. Derek Johnson stepped into the breach and was able to recruit a further 7 players from his two clubs Belsay Hall and Tyneside.
            The twelve entrants had been drawn into two American blocks of six by Roger with placings in the blocks playing a final play-off against their counterparts from the other block.
            Block A finished in a three way tie at the top with John Fitzpatrick, Marcia Henderson and Brenda Johnson all finishing with 6 points from their 5 matches with Marcia beating John, John beating Brenda and Brenda beating Marcia. John Fitzpatrick emerged as the winner, Marcia second and Brenda third, not on alphabetical order(!) but on net points.
            Block B was a simpler affair, just a two way tie. Sandra Cornes’ 7-5 win over Dave Okell in the last round of matches was enough to pull her level with Dave on points and, of course, sent her through on the who-beat-whom first tiebreaker.
Block A P W D L F A Pts.
John Fitzpatrick (Middlesbrough) 5 3 0 2 31 27 6
Marcia Henderson (Auckland) 5 2 2 1 28 26 6
Brenda Johnson (Belsay Hall & Tyneside) 5 3 0 2 28 27 6
Sara MacPherson (Bishop Monkton) 5 2 1 2 25 27 5
Izzy Poyntz (Bishop Monkton) 5 2 0 3 28 26 4
May Hall (Tyneside) 5 1 1 3 20 27 3

Block B P W D L F A Pts.
Sandra Cornes (Crake Valley) 5 3 0 2 31 27 6
Dave Okell (Tyneside) 5 2 2 1 28 26 6
Sue Caygill (Belsay Hall & Tyneside) 5 3 0 2 28 27 6
Colin Chun (Belsay Hall) 5 2 1 2 25 27 5
Alison Okell (Tyneside) 5 2 0 3 28 26 4
Jean Thompson (Belsay Hall) 5 1 1 3 20 27 3

The play-offs saw Sandra Cornes take full advantage of her last gasp qualification at the top of Block B by overcoming a 3 point handicap difference in experience to beat John Fitzpatrick 7-5. Third place in the tournament went to Dave Okell who has only been playing for two months who beat Marcia Henderson, and another 3 point handicap difference, 7-2. Brenda Johnson claimed 5th spot in winning 7-2 against Sue Caygill. 7th was Sara MacPherson who just squeezed home 6-5 against Colin Chun. Izzy Poyntz took 9th with a 7-3 win over another novice, Alison Okell, and May Hall beat Jean Thompson 7-4.
Satisfyingly everybody said they had enjoyed what was, for most, a first foray into tournament play and the whole experience doesn’t seem to have put anybody off for life! A particular mention to Dave and Alison for taking part in a CA tournament less than two months after taking up the sport, er.. game, whatever.

Sandra Cornes receives her prize from Derek Johnson Sandra Cornes, Dave Okell, Alison Okell, John Fitzpatrick, Izzy Poyntz, May Hall, Marcia Henderson, Colin Chun, Brenda Johnson,
Jean Thompson,Derek Johnson, Sue Caygill and Sara MacPherson

Saturday 7th July

Pendle And Craven

Midweek AC Tournament

Terry Vernazza joined players from around the country for the Pendle and Craven midweek AC tournament, July 3rd to July 6th. Uninterrupted sunshine and high temperatures lasted the whole week, although the lawn conditions were difficult.

The competitions on offer saw players competing in Advanced Singles, Handicap Singles and Handicap Doubles.

Terry won the Pendle Rose Bowl Trophy for finishing top in the Advanced competition, and, in the Egyptian competition, which took all games into account, he won 50% of the matches he played.

Sunday 1st July

East pennine League against York

On uncharacteristically fast courts at Exhibition Park the York team proved to be the better 'adapters' winning all but one of the 7 games.

York won 6-1

Advanced Doubles

Phil Errington & David Millener lost to Derek Knight & Callum Johnson 21-26

Handicap Singles

Derek Johnson lost to Ted Flexman 11-21T
Robert Nixon lost to John Compton 7-16T

Advanced Singles

Phil Errington lost to Derek Knight 12-26
David Millener lost to Callum Johnson 9-26

Handicap Singles

Derek Johnson beat John Compton 26-16
Robert Nixon lost to Ted Flexman 17-21T

Saturday 23rd June

Bamburgh GC Team Event

Another contest for the Alice Fleck Trophy in what has become one of the most popular events in the Croquet North calendar. Tyneside fielded a squad of six players, Derek Johnson (4), Sheila Best (6), May Hall (8), Brenda Johnson (9), and much to their credit after only four weeks' experience Dave Okell (10) and Alison Okell (12).
Manager Derek Johnson went for the easy option of splitting the squad into three pairings who played and sat out together rather than having to draw up a complicated schedule of everyone playing with everyone else. So Sheila played with May, Brenda with Dave and Derek with Alison.
Alnmouth won the event with the inexperienced Tyneside team propping up the table:
1st Alnmouth 18 points
2nd Durham 17
3rd Auckland 16
4th Edinburgh 11
5th= Bamburgh 8
5th= Belsay 8
7th Tyneside 5

Sunday 10th June

CN AC League

Tyneside Vickers travelled to York for their first game of the season and went down 3-1.

Terry Vernazza and Andrew Carpenter beat Callum Johnson and Fiona Crompton 26-15
Nora Burbridge lost to Dave Hudson 19-26
Terry Vernazza and Nora Burbridge lost to Dave Hudson and Fiona Crompton 13-26
Andrew Carpenter lost to Callum Johnson 13-26

Meanwhile, Tyneside Parsons entertained Middlesbrough Endeavour and lost 4-0 on lightning fast lawns where nobody managed to peg out.

Don Wright and Peter Wallace lost to Nigel Roberts and Mike Pinchin 10-18
Derek Johnson lost to Julian Gibson 19-21
Don Wright and Derek Johnson lost to Nigel Roberts and Julian Gibson 6-17
Peter Wallace lost to Mike Pinchin 16-22

Tuesday 5th to Thursday 7th June

Tyneside Midweek Tournament

As the last round of games commenced four players were tied on four wins each. With Chris Roberts (Phyllis Court) and Julian Gibson (Middlesbrough) meeting in their final match, one of them was bound to be in the mix. Bill Humphreys (Australia) and Fiona Crompton (York) were the other two in with a chance of featuring in a three-way tie-breaker.

Chris duly triumphed against Julian +11 to be "leader in the club house" and had to wait for Bill and Fiona to finish their games. In the end they both lost, Bill to Frances Colman (Phyllis Court) and Fiona to Andrew Killick (Middlesbrough) leaving Chris as the clear winner.

1st Chris Roberts (0) beat Frances Colman +11, John Crompton (York) +14, Andrew Killick +5T, Fiona Crompton +4 and Julian Gibson +11.

2nd Julian Gibson (14) beat Fiona Crompton +15, John Crompton +9, and Nigel Roberts ( Middlesbrough) +4T

3rd Fiona Crompton (11) beat John Crompton +17, Nigel Roberts +9T, Bill Humphreys +1T and Frances Colman +18.

4th Bill Humphreys (3.5) beat Chris Roberts +24, Julian Gibson +2T, Andrew Killick +15 and John Crompton +8.

5th Nigel Roberts (10) beat Frances Colman +2T, Chris Roberts +5, Bill Humphreys +20 and John Crompton +11T.

6th Andrew Killick (0) beat Nigel Roberts +15, Julian Gibson +14 and Fiona Crompton +5T

7th John Crompton (14) beat Andrew Killick +11 and Frances Colman +7T

8th Frances Colman (8) beat Andrew Killick +5T and Bill Humphreys +5T

Sunday 3rd June

"Caroline Wallace Salvers" Ladies GC Doubles

The inaugural tournament for the Salvers kindly donated by Peter Wallace was held on a drizzly morning that served to slow the previously lightning fast lawns.
The 8 players were drawn into pairs featuring a higher and lower handicapper in an all play all format of one best of 13 point game. The results were:

Round 1:   Nora Burbridge & Joanne Fielding beat Brenda Johnson & Jean Dickson 7-3
Marie Stevens & Marion Devere beat May Hall & Marie Reah 7-6
Round 2:    Brenda Johnson & Jean Dickson beat May Hall & Marie Reah 7-5
Nora Burbridge & Joanne Fielding beat Marie Stevens & Marion Devere 7-1
Round 3:    Brenda Johnson & Jean Dickson beat Marie Stevens & Marion Devere 7-4
Nora Burbridge & Joanne Fielding beat May Hall & Marie Reah 7-5

So Nora and Joanne came out as victors with a 100% record

Saturday 2nd June

CN GC League Division 1

With 8 players and 2 spectators, there were just the 10 Tyneside members gathered at Belsay for our second game of the season but unfortunately four of them were playing for Belsay. Belsay came out comfortable 12-6 winners.

Derek Johnson (4) & Nora Burbridge (5) beat Eric Nixon (1) & Trevor Smith (6) 7-4
Sheila Best (6) lost to Hedley Parker (3) 2-7
Robert Nixon (4) beat Liz Parker (9) 7-4
Robert Nixon (4) & Sheila Best (6) beat Hedley Parker (3) & Liz Parker (9) 7-6
Nora Burbridge (5) lost to Eric Nixon (1) 5-7
Derek Johnson (4) beat Trevor Smith (6) 7-4
Derek Johnson (4) & Sheila Best (6) lost to Eric Nixon (1) & Liz Parker (9) 6-7
Robert Nixon (4) beat Hedley Parker (3) 7-3
Nora Burbridge (5) lost to Trevor Smith (6) 5-7
Robert Nixon (4) & Nora Burbridge (5) lost to Hedley Parker (3) & Trevor Smith (6) 5-7
Derek Johnson (4) lost to Eric Nixon (1) 6-7
Sheila Best (6) lost to Liz Parker (9) 6-7
Nora Burbridge (5) & Sheila Best (6) lost to Trevor Smith (6) & Liz Parker (9) 2-7
Robert Nixon (4) beat Eric Nixon (1) 7-4
Derek Johnson (4) lost to Hedley Parker (3) 3-7
Derek Johnson (4) & Robert Nixon (4) lost to Eric Nixon (1) & Hedley Parker (3) 5-7
Sheila Best (6) lost to Trevor Smith (6) 2-7
Nora Burbridge (5) lost to Liz Parker (9) 2-7

Saturday 19th May

CN GC League Division 1

Withdrawals because of injury and illness affected both teams but Brenda Johnson and Rosi Ashwell came to the rescue despite normally playing in Division 2. Bamburgh finally ran out comfortable winners 11½- 6½ but that was by dint of winning the last five games. It had been nip and tuck all the way until then.

Derek Johnson (4) & Peter Wallace (5) drew with Jamie Edgar (2) & Robin Ashwell (4) 6-6
Nora Burbridge (4) beat Rosi Ashwell (8) 7-3
Brenda Johnson (9) lost to Bill Brook (3) 0-7
Nora Burbridge (4) & Brenda Johnson (9) beat Bill Brook (3) & Rosi Ashwell (8) 7-5
Derek Johnson (4) beat Robin Ashwell (4) 7-3
Peter Wallace (5) lost to Jamie Edgar (2) 4-7
Derek Johnson (4) & Brenda Johnson (9) lost to Jamie Edgar (2) & Rosi Ashwell (8) 0-7
Nora Burbridge (4) beat Bill Brook (3) 7-4
Peter Wallace (5) lost to Robin Ashwell (4) 1-7
Nora Burbridge (4) & Peter Wallace (5) lost to Bill Brook (3) & Robin Ashwell (4) 5-7
Derek Johnson (4) drew with Jamie Edgar (2) 6-6
Brenda Johnson (9) beat Rosi Ashwell (8) 7-4
Peter Wallace (5) & Brenda Johnson (9) drew with Robin Ashwell (4) & Rosi Ashwell (8) 5-5
Derek Johnson (4) lost to Bill Brook (3) 5-7
Nora Burbridge (4) lost to Jamie Edgar (2) 3-7
Derek Johnson (4) & Nora Burbridge (4) lost to Jamie Edgar (2) & Bill Brook (3) 3-5
Peter Wallace (5) lost to Rosi Ashwell (8) 5-6
Brenda Johnson (9) lost to Robin Ashwell (4) 4-6

Wednesday 16th May

National Charity One Ball Tournament

You will recall that the club's inaugural One Ball tournament was allied with the national One Ball tournament organised by Kevin Carter of the CA in aid of a charity nominated annually.

Report by Kevin Carter

We had the final on Sunday and I now have in all the monies and everything is totted up. So first, the numbers:
This year we had 37 heats and 497 participants - because of the awful weather we had some cancellations and postponements, and some heats had lower attendance than they might have done without the cold and rain. So, this is excellent and yet another record.
We had 40 participants in the final - again this might have been greater if the CA had not set the date of the National Croquet Day to be the same as our finals date, since a number of qualifiers were busy in their home clubs.
The total amount raised for the Downs Syndrome Association was £4471, which will be supplemented by £903 of Gift Aid - another record, and the first time that our nominated charity will benefit by more than £5000.

So, a big thank you to your all.

Surbiton again kindly agreed to host the Finals Day, which was a great success, with triple-banking across all of the clubs seven lawns. Because of the numbers involved, I had a lunchtime 'cut' - a bit like in a big golf competition. The top twelve, who had lost no more than one game of the swiss during the morning, went into a separate section to compete for the main trophies, while the remainder continued for a 'Best of the Rest' prize.

Soon after teatime, we had the two finalists: Tom Weston (East Dorset) and Margaret Murray (Bath but who qualified at the Camerton & Peasedown heat). It was a nail-biting finale, watched by over 30 spectators. Tom's shooting was superb and, as Margaret's 4.5 bisques were whittled away, he looked to have it in the bag. However, Margaret displayed great tactical acumen throughout and was the first through the last ('rover') hoop, initially retreating to near the west boundary and then, when Tom set himself up for rover, she moved her ball a little north of the peg. Tom ran rover but not cleanly and he was hampered from both the peg and Margaret's ball. He tried a difficult shot back through the hoop and missed, so Margaret finished, to huge applause.

In the prizegiving Margaret collected this year's engraved decanter, and Tom the runner-up's goblet. Chris Roberts (Phyllis Court, and also well known for being the editor of the Gazette) won the 'Best of the Rest' goblet and a bottle of bubbly went to Jonathan Lamb (Punta Del Este, Uruguay) for the best break: ten hoops.

The prizes were presented by Leia, a lovely little five year old, who had prompted her grandfather to nominate the Downs Syndrome Association as this year's charity. Unfortunately, Peter Gunn (Merton) passed away in February and could not be there to see it.

The Surbiton club had the courts in great condition and the kitchen even better - a band of volunteers fed and watered 50 of us and then donated a large part of their food takings to the charity fund. Thank you, George, Chris and the others.

Saturday 21st april

middlesbrough "Special B" AC Advanced Tournament

Report by Derek Johnson

Phil Errington, Derek Watts and Terry Vernazza were Tyneside's entrants in the annual "Special B" organised by Peter McDermott although David Millener and Derek Johnson were standing by to make up the numbers should anyone drop out.

Andrew Killick was the eventual winner beating Middlesbrough club mate Charles Waterfield in the final after each had won their three block games, the latter winning all three on time.

Phil finished second in Block A with two wins and met Derek in the 3rd/4th play-off which Derek qualified for on a tie breaker after he, Terry and Roger Staples all beat each other. Derek won to claim 3rd place. Terry had the consolation of beating Derek by the narrowest of margins, the fabled +1 on time and then avoided the wooden spoon by beating Andrew Webb in their play-off.

Block A Block B

Charles Waterfield bt Dennis Scarr 14/13 T Andrew Killick bt Roger Staples26/17

Phil Errington bt Andrew Webb 26/5 Terry Vernazza bt Derek Watts 22/21 T

Charles Waterfield bt Phil Errington 24/13 T Andrew Killick bt Terry Vernazza 26/5

Dennis Scarr bt Andrew Webb 26/5 Derek Watts bt Roger Staples 26/19

Charles Waterfield bt Andrew Webb 13/9 T Andrew Killick bt Derek Watts 25/15 T

Phil Errington bt Dennis Scarr 26/15 Roger Staples bt Terry Vernazza 26/9

Finals

Andrew Killick bt Charles Waterfield 26/6

Derek Watts bt Phil Errington 26/13

Dennis Scarr bt Roger Staples 26/9

Terry Vernazza bt Andrew Webb 19/11 T

Monday 16th april

Mary Rose Trophy

Report by Derek Watts

The club's first foray into the higher end of national club tournaments resulted in a 3-4 loss down at Pendle & Craven, see match results below.

My feeling is that having not played enough in the current season due to bad weather, we were "ring rusty" and the heavy lawns did not help! The deadline for playing this match is early June but due to the host club being unable, for one reason or another, to get a team together before then, we could only play it on this date.

We were given a good lunch and our hosts were, as usual, very welcoming. The weather was unusually kind - dry with a slight chilly wind.

Results: (Pendle names first)

Morning games:

Robert Essler (1) & Roger Schofield (2) beat Phil Errington (0.5) & Derek Watts (1) +16

Gary Wilson (10) lost to Terry Vernazza (2) -14

Andrew Webb (2.5) beat David Millener (7) +8

Afternoon games:

Robert beat Phil +14

Roger lost to Derek -8

Andrew lost to Terry -3t

Gary beat David +19

Sunday 15th april

Tyneside CC One Ball Championship

Report by Derek Johnson

11 members contested the inaugural Club One Ball tournament. In addition to being the club championship the tournament also formed part of the national network of One Ball tournaments organised by Kevin Carter of the CA. This year's nominated charity is the Downs Syndrome Association, which is why competitors are asked to wear green, it being the charity's colour,and the entry fees of £5 (plus a £1 coin found on the lawns)have been duly donated to a worthy cause. The winner of the tournament is also eligible to compete in the national finals held in Surbiton on 13th May.
After the horrendous weather that has accompanied the start of the 2018 season it was good to play with a bit of sun on our backs. The CA, or more precisely Kevin Carter, have evolved a handicap system where players' One Ball handicaps are the lowest of their AC handicap or 2.5 times their GC handicap or 20. Bisques are awarded as one third of the handicap difference between opponents with fractions rounded up or down to a half.
The event ended in a three way tie with Robert Nixon, Derek Johnson and Geoff Clemence all finishing with seven wins from their 10 matches. The "who beat whom" tiebreaker meant that Robert emerged victorious, having beaten both of the other two, and Derek was runner-up having also beaten Geoff.
Special thanks to Liz Nisbet who eschewed the chance of glory but donated her fiver anyway, to the GC players who put their heads above the parapet, but above all to everyone who supported the tournament and, of course, the charity.

1st Robert Nixon (Handicap 10) 7 wins 7th Terry Vernazza (Handicap 2) 5 wins
2nd Derek Johnson (Handicap 10) 7 wins 8th Brenda Johnson (Handicap 20) 4 wins
3rd Geoff Clemence (Handicap 18) 7 wins 9th Ian Hunter (Handicap 2.5) 3 wins
4th Andrew Carpenter (Handicap 5) 6 wins 10th Liz Parker (Handicap 20) 2 wins
5th Alan Thwaite (Handicap 20) 6 wins 11th Hedley Parker(Handicap 7.5) 2 wins
6th Phil Errington(Handicap -1) 6 wins

Saturday 7th april

Middlesbrough One Ball Tournament

Report by Charles Waterfield

Winner Nigel Roberts; Runner-up Derek Johnson.

This year’s One-ball event, our eleventh, involved twelve competitors from North East clubs. The tournament was also a heat in the national (Downs Syndrome) charity One-ball.
Handicaps ranged from 0.5 to 18 (those below 2 played off further-reduced HCs); one-third the bisque difference was used. Time-limits of 40 minutes were rarely reached. Round-robin draws were selected by the manager and late on it was agreed that 10 rounds be completed. Over the closing rounds it became a close contest between Derek Johnson, Nigel Roberts and Julian Gibson, so it was perhaps a pity that the 11th round couldn't be fitted in.
Positions were calculated on a PC using 'comparative scoring' (see Gaunt & Wheeler)*; Nigel just managing to maintain a slight lead over Derek at close of play.

Final results:

1st Nigel Roberts (Mbro) 7th Andrew Carpenter (Durham)

2nd Derek Johnson (Tyneside) 8th John Fitzpatrick (Mbro)

3rd Phil Errington (Tyneside) 9th David Millener (Belsay)

4th= Derek Watts (Tyneside) 10th Dennis Scarr (Mbro)

4th= Geoff Clemence (Tyneside) 11th Andrew Killick (Mbro)

6th Julian Gibson (Mbro) 12th Terry Vernazza (Tyneside)

2018 Season

Friday 19th October 2018

Club AC Doubles KO Final

Sunday 7th October

Longman Cup Final @ Surbiton CC

Saturday 6th October

Longman Cup Semi-final @ Surbiton CC

Thursday 27th September

Club AC Handicap Singles final

Saturday 15th September

CN GC Handicap Doubles

Friday 14th September

Club AC Advanced Singles

Thursday 13th September

Club AC Handicap Singles

Sunday 9th September

CN AC Handicap League

Saturday 8th September

Club GC Tournament - Roger Russell Trophy

Thursday 6th September

Club Handicap Singles KO

Monday 3rd September

Club Handicap Doubles KO

CN AC Handicap Singles KO

CN AC Advanced Singles KO - FINAL

Saturday 1st September

Club AC Singles KO

Friday 31st August

Club Handicap Doubles KO

CN AC Singles KO

Thursday 30th August

Club Advanced Singles League

CN AC Singles KO

Wednesday 29th August

Club AC handicap Doubles KO

Sunday 26th August

CN AC Handicap League

Saturday 25th August

CN GC League Division 1

Friday 24th August

CN AC Advanced Singles KO

Tuesday 21st August

CN AC Advanced Singles KO

Sunday 19th August

East Pennine League

Tyneside beat Middlesbrough 5-2 at Exhibition Park

Sunday 12th August

Croquet North AC Handicap League

Tyneside Vickers 3 Tyneside Parsons 1

Monday 6th August

Croquet North GC Progressive Doubles

Brian Johnson and Sue Caygill Triumph at Belsay.

Saturday 4th August

East Pennine League

Tyneside beat Pendle & Craven 5-2 at Earby

Tuesday 31st July

Club AC Singles KO

Monday 30th July

CN AC Doubles KO

Club AC Advanced league

Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th July

Tyneside Advanced Tournament

Thursday 26th July

Longman Cup Quarter Final

Tyneside beat Bowdon 4-3

Sunday 20th July

The Tyneside Quaich

Hunstanton Open 'A' Level Singles

Friday 20th July

CN High Bisquers Handicap Doubles

Wednesday 18th July

CNAC league against York

Ladies GC Doubles

Friday 13th July

Club AC handicap Singles KO

Saturday 14th July

CROQUET ASSOCIATION GOLF CROQUET “C” LEVEL TOURNAMENT

Tuesday 10th July

Club AC Advanced League

Monday 9th July