22 August 2021, Knightswood
Due to a disappointing lack of entries from Edinburgh players, there were just two teams, John Owen (2) and Bill Strachan (8) from Aberdeen and Crathes Croquet Club, and Brian Durward (4½) and Stefan Colling (7) from Glasgow Croquet Club. An agreement was made so that GCC provided the lawns, food and drink, while ACCC provided the tournament manager. It was cloudy and humid, with only a couple of light showers in the morning, and quite warm in the afternoon.
As it was a long way to go for just one game of advanced alternate-stroke doubles (the normal format for the Spalding Trophy), the manager devised a Davis-Cup-style tournament with advanced singles, the ASD, and reverse singles. If the singles went according to handicap expectations, then the doubles would be pivotal, and so it proved.
Read more: Spalding Trophy 2021
18-20 September, Meadows
The 2021 Chairman’s and Malmet were both played at the Meadows. Aside from a single short shower on the Sunday, the weather was close to ideal with only the falling leaves and the chill in the early evenings hinting at the passing of summer to autumn.
In the Chairman’s, handicaps ranged from -½ to 3½ and with no clear pre-competition favourite, there was the potential for upsets. In the Malmet, two late withdrawals meant the field was reduced to four, with only six ties per competitor rather than the normal ten. Time limits were increased from the standard 2 hours 30 mins to 3 hours 15 mins. Handicaps in the Malmet ranged from 3½ to 8.
Both competitions proved to be close affairs. In the Chairman’s, at the start of Monday after 8 of the 10 rounds had been completed, 5 of the 6 competitors were still in with a chance of winning and there was the potential for a 2, 3 or 4 person play-off. The decisive match proved to be between Alan Wilson and Chris Martin and the decisive moment came in Alan’s first break. Around Hoop 5, his pivot ball became stuck to the peg, disrupting his approach to hoop six. This let Chris in who went on to win 26-10 to take an unassailable lead in the competition.
Read more: Chairman's Rosebowl and Malmet Trophy 2021
