SIDMOUTH GC ‘C’ LEVEL (+7HCP) AND ‘B’ LEVEL SERIES (+4HCP)
WEEKEND OF 9/10 AUGUST 2025
By Louise Smith
The first weekend of August saw Sidmouth Croquet Club once again host back‐to‐back fixtures in the na6onal Golf Croquet Series. Saturday welcomed the C‐Level (7+ hcp) compe6tors, followed on Sunday by the B‐Level (4+ hcp) ‐ both events drawing strong entries from across the South‐ West and beyond. GC C‐LEVEL (7+ HCP) TOURNAMENT – SATURDAY 9 AUGUST The C‐Level blocks produced some excellent play, with four compe6tors achieving a clean sweep of their group matches: Brenda Duplock (Budleigh), Kandy Lang (Dowlish Wake), Graham Brooksbank (Cheltenham) and Amanda Haste (Sidmouth). They were joined in the main knockout by Philip Hendy (Camerton & Peasedown), Feona Bickley (Bath), Carol Jamieson (Blewbury) and Chris6ne Churchill (Dowlish Wake). The Quarter‐finals soon served up a mixture of surprises and excitement. Top seed Duplock was knocked out 5–7 by second seed Bickley, while Sidmouth’s own Haste lost by the same scoreline to Jamieson. Brooksbank overcame Churchill 7‐5, and Lang produced the only seeding surprise ‐ edging out Hendy 4–3 on 6me. In the Semi‐finals, Jamieson powered through with a decisive 7–1 win over Bickley, while Brooksbank endured a much 6ghter contest against Lang, eventually prevailing with another 7–5 result. The Plate knockout was a rather tense affair, with several matches going to the 13th hoop. The Final was no excep6on ‐ Patrice Chandler (Budleigh) edging past Nicky Newberry (No8ngham) 7–6 to claim the Plate 6tle. The main Final itself was a fi8ng end to a compe66ve day. Both Brooksbank and Jamieson had opportuni6es, but it came down to the final hoop. Holding his nerve, Brooksbank ran hoop 13 cleanly to secure the C‐Level 6tle ‐ and with it, qualifica6on for the Na6onal Final at Compton on 27–28 September. Congratula6ons Graham! GC B‐LEVEL (4+ HCP) TOURNAMENT – SUNDAY 10 AUGUST Sunday once again dawned bright and sunny for the B‐Level event, which brought together a par6cularly strong field. Only one player, Sue Nicholas (Cheam), managed to complete a hat‐trick of wins in the blocks, joining tournament top seed Adrian Coward (Budleigh) in the Quarter‐final line‐up.
C Level Winner Graham Brooksbank with Manager Philip Harris
C Level Plate Winner Patrice Chandler with Manager Philip Harris
Blocks B and C were especially compe66ve. In Block B, three players finished on two wins apiece, with Jill Bateman (Cheltenham) and Richard Williamson (Bristol) advancing on net hoops at the expense of Naomi Whitehead (Cheltenham). Block C was equally 6ght, with both Paul Arbos and Mike Powell from Nailsea level on results ‐ Arbos going through on the “who beat whom” rule alongside block winner Stephen Flay (East Dorset). From Block D, Kathryn Gilden (Cheltenham) and Anwen Owens (Bath) claimed the remaining Quarter‐final spots.
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