Basically, Short Lawn croquet is a shortened version of Association Croquet; shortened in the sense that it is played on a half-size lawn (half the size of a full lawn). It is played to 14-points instead of 26-points and is open to all players of all standards – therein lies the challenge. It is an opportunity to play with better players and improve your skill. Because it is played on a short lawn the balls are much nearer to each other on the court and often it means there is nowhere for an opponent to hide.
This year’s Short Lawn Tournament was organised by John Swift, who of course is our Club Handicapper. There were 12 players with a range of handicaps; those with low handicaps (handicap of 5 or less) played each other for the Cup, and players with high handicaps (handicap of 6 or more) competed for the Bowl. Each game had a time limit of 1-hour 15-minutes.
The weather was beautiful for most of the day and although rain was forecast, there was nothing more than a light shower, which didn’t stop play. It was pleasantly warm. You may be able to see threatening skies on some of the photographs, but the wind carried the rain away from Rowley.
The Cup was won by the perennial winner, Robin Edwards (those of you who know Robin will understand the reference) and the Bowl was taken by Steve Killick, who is a newcomer to Association Croquet. Congratulations to both, and congratulations too to Neil Oakes, who came second in the Bowl competition having achieved the same number of wins as Steve, he lost narrowly on points.
A big thank you goes to John for organising the day, keeping everyone on track, and a tally on the scores, and to Rosemary, his wife, who supplied the much appreciated, tea and cakes. Thank you John and Rosemary, a good day was had by all.
