This year’s Yorkshire Federation’s Short Croquet Tournament took place at York on a glorious sunny Saturday in June. Five teams took part, two each from York and Beverley and one from Huddersfield.
It is always a delight to play on the superb lawns at York, but it has to be said that on this occasion the courts were perhaps too perfect. They were so fast that I lost count of the number of times I played what I thought was a finely controlled drive or roll, only to see the leading ball keep rolling and rolling into the distance, sometimes into the middle of the next lawn. It seemed more like playing curling than croquet.
However, some participants showed better control and much excellent croquet was enjoyed by everyone there. York Eboracum were the eventual winners and Alison Larard, also of York, took the award for the best individual performances of the day. Alison won all four of her matches. But congratulations to Robin and Ian who won three games each. For the record, our teams finished 3rd and 5th. Thanks are due to Debbie and Irene for organising the Beverley teams and driving us there and to the York members who staged the event as immaculately as they always do. And additional thanks to whoever baked the delicious cakes. Some pictures:
