Scottish Croquet Association

West of Scotland Championship 2021

25-26 September 2021, Knightswood

The early autumn weather held up throughout the weekend and on Saturday the temperature reached a very comfortable 19°C.  The Knightswood lawns were in reasonable condition and were running at speeds of medium to medium-fast.  The event attracted five players and on both days we were joined by Steve Barnett who was recovering from a fall and able to play one game each day.

In his first croquet competition the field included Reuben Barnett, the 19 year old son of Steve Barnett.  Reuben started coming to the Glasgow Club sessions in late July and was keen to learn both GC and AC.  At the start of the event Reuben was given a handicap of 22 but was quickly reduced to 18 for the second day!  Further reductions may be required!

With a generous time allocation of three and a half hours all games were completed in time with the exception of one.  Seven matches were played on Saturday and five on Sunday. With the small number of entries it was inevitable that some players met the same opponent on two occasions.

After five games and a handicap reduction Reuben was undefeated and therefore the winner of the West of Scotland trophy. He played positively throughout the weekend and used his bisques to good effect to both set up breaks and to ensure their continuation. 

I would like to compliment all the other players who maintained a very positive and encouraging approach while pulling bisques out of the ground (at least the games didn't last too long).

Brian Durward (manager)

Results