YCF AC Full Lawn Singles Tournament
The YCF AC Full Lawn Singles Tournament was held on 29th & 30th August at York on lawns that were in excellent condition after a preceding week of heavy downpours which had made the lawns surprisingly green and lush in spite of the previously hot, dry summer.
This year, due to a number of players being unavailable on both days and several withdrawals, there were 15 players in all, from Beverley & East Riding, Driffield, Huddersfield & York, competing for the trophy – 8 of which were competing on both days and 7 were single day entries which had been paired up as far as possible.
The Saturday started off dry but persistent light rain started mid-afternoon making the lawns considerably slower. At the end of play on the first day there were two players, Helen and Pete, on three wins from three games played.
Sunday started off fine and sunny making a few players reach for the sun cream but heavy thundery showers were forecast for late afternoon, so another wet finish was anticipated.
Helen and Pete were, not surprisingly, paired against each other in the first round of games which resulted in Helen maintaining her 100% record. However, Patrick had joined Pete in joint second place with three wins from four games.
Pete and Patrick played each other in the next round and this was won by Patrick. However, Helen had maintained her winning streak keeping her out in front.
In the final round Helen, Patrick and Pete were all playing different opponents, having already played each other, so had to rely on their rivals faltering to improve their positions. All three won their final games which meant that Helen was the clear winner and went home with the trophy and a handicap reduction as well.
The forecast thunder storm never materialised (until later in the evening in parts of Yorkshire), so everyone went home dry after a great weekend of croquet.
Many thanks to York for hosting this event and to everyone who had helped to make it a success.
Philip Jay
