The final was played today (Saturday 19th September) between our two freshest faces, Roger Stearn and Simon Charrington. Roger S had managed to win against Roger Dollimore and Tom Eddy on his way to the final, whilst Simon had squeezed past 2019 champion Steve Edney in his semi.
Roger played red and yellow, and Simon black and blue. Simon got the first hoop but then Roger quickly responded with a tremendous peel using both his balls. Unfortunately Roger could not capitalize and Simon nervously managed to progress to 9-2, before Roger got his next chance at a hoop. He clawed his way back to 5-9, but without finding his usual flow.
A couple more hoops were traded, so it was 12-6 to Simon when he got into his rhythm and pushed the black round nicely a few hoops. He was playing with a swagger but his best innings came to an end with 5 hoops added. Soon it was 17-7 and Roger was still not firing. He got another hoop but decided not to risk another hoop setting up yellow to run hoop 4 with red as its pilot and hoping Simon could not hit in. Of course he can! But hold on, he misses a simple roquet letting Roger back in to get a couple more hoops, 10-17.
Again Roger cannot string too many hoops together so once more sets up hoping Simon cannot repeat a long hit in. This time he cannot, so can Roger get going this time? He runs a hoop but in such a way he cannot hit the pilot so yet again he has to retreat.
Time is running out (both players had agreed to a 3 hour timed game rather than to the death), and the game gets even more tentative. Roger is on 13 and Simon on 19. Looking at how many hoops Roger could run, Simon calculated he needed one more hoop to be safe. He was playing blue and pushed black into the north east corner. Attempting to put blue in the south east corner, he sliced it off into the Tennis ditch giving Roger one last chance (the bell had now sounded). Roger had a tough 12-footer, yellow to blue, but unfortunately missed, so that was it… Simon is the new open champion, winning 20 points to 13.
How croquet players shake hands these days!
Simon receives the trophy from last year’s champ
Simon enjoys the cheers of the crowds
Here are some statistics about this game:
There were 345 shots played in the match. Simon had 217 shots and Roger 128.
They had just over 30 turns each. Simon averaged 7 shots per turn, with his longest innings (turn) amounting to 38 shots, scoring 5 hoops. Roger averaged 4 shots per turn and his longest innings was only 15 shots.
Both players have regularly been running 11 hoops for fun, but this was a final, so a mix of nerves and cagey tactical play brought this down.
Simon was more successful today at hitting in (roqueting) with a success rate of 83% compared to Roger’s 70%. This proved to be the difference, as Roger had a hoop run percentage of 93%, whereas Simon blobbed a few resulting in a 77% success rate.
Roger had 43 croquet shots, 14 of which were roll shots. Simon chose to roll 23 times out of his 84 croquet shots. This points to Simon finding better positional shots today.
I am sure these two will have many more tussles like this over many years to come. It’s testament to Roger Dollimore’s excellent coaching that we have a couple of fast improvers on our books.
I enjoyed watching it anyway!
Steve “Statto” Edney
19th September 2020
PS. Ooh I said I would include a graph or two… (note Simon ran the same hoop twice because he put the clip on the wrong hoop!)
Roger Stearn had managed to beat stalwart Roger Dollimore on the Saturday, and progresses to the semi-final against last year’s valiant runner-up, Tom Eddy. On Monday, it was the turn of fellow rising star, Simon Charrington, to take on the defending champion, Steve Edney, in the first semi-final.
Steve hit in with his second ball (the yellow) but when taking off over to Simon’s black and blue in the opposite corner of the lawn, the red ball ran and just touched boundary line (bit more levelling required in Autumn!). End of turn. This enabled Simon to build a lead and Steve to continually miss long hit ins. Simon got blue round to 3-back and black to hoop 5, and kindly peeled Steve’s yellow he had blobbed earlier for a solitary point. Simon was sailing and Steve consoled himself with drinking his thermos of coffee, answering a couple of texts and having his turn against his mother at UpWords (you can get so much done during a game of croquet, I find).
However, Simon did eventually fail on a shot and gave Steve a sniff to get started on red, which he duly took, at last finding form, and sped round “Ronnie O’Sullivan-esque” running eleven hoops, and setting up to do likewise on yellow. Simon missed a long hit in, and Steve continued his rich vein of form running yellow round UNTIL… inexplicably, he lost his balance on an easy roll on 3-back. Calamity, but never mind, he could limit the damage by just knocking yellow into the corner, 5 yards from red, at 4-back.
Simon managed a great hit in, black to blue, so he did a take off into the corner. Nicely positioned to rush red to hoop 5. A valiant effort on the roll but not close enough so he joined up with blue. Steve tried to hit yellow, missed, but was safe back in the corner. This was repeated three times until Simon finally ran black through hoop 6, and brilliantly manufactured a couple more after that.
Simon’s turn ended when he could not get position on the next hoop, so Steve had a go with yellow. First attempt, a weak final take off meant he was unable to run the hoop. Simon couldn’t hit in so Steve tried again, this time perfectly in front of the hoop, three feet away. The ball shook against both uprights and doggedly refused to go through. End of turn.
Simon then managed to progress bit by bit until he took the lead. Steve still had chances but could not take them, returning back to his jittery early-game form.
Simon gave Steve one more chance, blobbing blue at the last hoop, with black on the peg. Steve played a take-off with yellow off red on the north boundary trying to get to the south side of blue to push it out. It was too short, but immediately Steve felt he should dislodge blue even if it went through for the chance to rush black to 3-back. He missed the twelve-footer, giving Simon an easy opening to finish the game.
After that, Simon maintained his composure and pegged out as the deserved winner. Well done Simon.
It was a great game, and it could have gone either way. It epitomised Steve’s inconsistent form and it confirmed Simon’s rapid rise this season.
Who will Simon meet in the final? The favourite surely is Roger Stearn, who like Simon, has really come on leaps and bounds this year. However, Tom is certainly no pushover and of course has years’ more experience. Whichever way it goes, there will be a new name on the Ember Croquet Club Open Singles Rose Bowl this year.
From scorching heat to dowsing rain the lawns are in pretty good shape as the close season approaches and we race to get those competition matches played. There is certainly all to play for in the Open Singles, so do get those games arranged with a view to the final being played on or before Sunday 20th September.
The highlight of the month was our friendly match versus Surbiton CC, the inaugural Mike Lambert Memorial Trophy, reported here: https://www.embersportsclub.org.uk/2020/08/18/mike-lambert-memorial-trophy-v-surbiton-17-august-2020/ Well played to All, and thank you to Steve Edney for his excellent portrait of Mike, and also to our magnificent hosts at Surbiton. Our 6 – 3 victory belied the closeness of the match, with two of the nine games going to just a one point difference, in our favour. Mike was surely looking down on us and chuckling.
The committee are in the process of updating the ECC COVID-19 precaution measures in line with updates from the CA. These will be issued shortly. The main changes, all subject to continuing to maintain essential social distancing, are: double-banking is permitted on the main lawn (providing there are no more than six players on the lawn); and a review of the total number of people who can be at the club at any one time.
It would be nice, if we can make it work, to have had at least one third-Sunday-of-the-month social barbeque, or picnic, at the club before the season closes. If it happens, the date would be Sunday 20th September. We’ll keep you posted by email.
We shall soon need to start our late-summer and autumn programme of maintenance tasks. Thank you, in anticipation, to those who are able to help and, indeed, who have helped throughout the summer to keep everything in order.
As a tribute to Mike, and also to get some game time away from Ember, we arranged a match against Mike’s other croquet club, Surbiton, which boasts seven lawns (plus the bowls green, which they get to use for championships).
Our team was Steve Edney (captain), Roger Stearn and Simon Charrington. We each played three open singles (no bisques) against three Surbiton players.
Steve versus Cliff Hunter, won 21-20, coming from 4 behind after the bell had sounded;
Steve v Steve Parish, lost 22-15, never really got going, canny player;
Steve v Elizabeth Kennedy, won 26-13, we were both worn out by then but I was relaxed enough to rely on auto-pilot to get me round.
Roger v Elizabeth, won 26-9, romped home enjoying it immensely;
Roger v Cliff, won 26-10, another romp!
Roger v Steve Parish, lost 26-12, like Steve E, just couldn’t get going against a wily opponent.
Simon v Steve Parish, won 15-13, got Steve P before he’d properly warmed up but well deserved tight win;
Simon v Elizabeth, won 15-14, another squeeze for Mister Chairman;
Simon v Cliff, lost 21-15, run out of steam perhaps, though Cliff certainly improved through the day.
So we managed to win the first, we hope, of many competitions in honour of Mike. Steve had painted a portrait of Mike, in tribute to their other shared hobby, as a temporary trophy (see photos below). It was a most enjoyable day and our hosts were magnificent. Thanks especially to Barry Holland who arranged the event and to Andy Dibben, the Surbiton Chairman, who came and said hello, watched a lot of the games, and invited us to a one-ball next week.
The article appears in the Friday 17th July edition of the paper. The text is shown below:
“EMBER Croquet Club say they can now “look forward in confidence” after being awarded £908 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund, towards the club’s essential running and maintenance costs during the ongoing Covid19 pandemic. The outbreak of the virus and the consequent shutdown of businesses as of March 23 has left the sport and physical activity sector facing a period of uncertainty. In response, on March 31 Sport England announced a £195 million package to help the sport and physi cal activity sector. Within the package is a $20m Community Emergency Fund, of National Lottery money, to deliver immediate funding to those who have a role in supporting the nation to be active, but are experiencing short-term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of coronavirus. The grant will allow Ember Croquet Club, who are based in Weston Green, Esher, to cover insurance and essential lawn care and mainte nance costs over the spring and summer months. This will make a big difference to this small club, meaning that with their otherwise much reduced income this season they shall never theless be able to maintain the health of their lawns, without signifi cant setback, which is crucial for playing. Chairman of Ember Croquet Club Simon Charrington said: “The support from Sport England Community Emergency Fund is very gratefully received here at Ember Croquet Club in these exceptional times. “We are pleased that our budget for essential lawn care, maintenance and other costs is now covered for the early summer months and we can look forward with confidence with all in good order. “The club lawns, toilets and bar facilities have progressively opened in line with government guidance; and an increasing number of members are now playing as lockdown has eased. We enjoy introducing less experienced players to the finer arts of this fascinating game and wel come prospective new members.” Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s chief executive, said: “As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity participa tion, we want the vital grass-roots organisations that make sport and physical activity happen in this country to not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future. “The £20m Community Emergency fund, made possible by National Lottery players, is part of a multi-million pound package of support we are providing to ease the pressure on a huge number of the organisations who are central to the nation’s health and well-being. “We are proud to be able to provide vital funding to Ember Croquet Club to help it through these extremely challenging times.” For more information about joining the club, email croquet@embersportsclub.org.uk or call 07917 017 453.”
Mike Lambert died in his sleep in the early hours of Monday 15th June. Mike read Engineering at Edinburgh University and then joined Rolls Royce in Bristol as a Graduate Apprentice. He then worked for many years in the IT field for various companies.
Mike had been a long-time member of the croquet section showing a passing interest as early as 1989 and joining Ember Sports Club as a member just after the major re-alignment of tennis courts 6&7 and the construction of the new full-size croquet lawn in 1996. His participation in all aspects of Ember club life was significant and he contributed to the croquet section with his knowledge and skill on the lawn, as an 11 handicap player, and his enthusiasm as a woodworker and for DIY.
Mike served as Chairman of the croquet section from 2007 until 2011 and as such also served on the Club Management Committee. Mike’s main interest for croquet however lay with Surbiton Croquet club where he played most of his croquet and where he served on the committee, the last couple of years as their secretary. Mike was interactive with many of the Croquet Association Council members and was always mindful of Ember Croquet Club. His work for both Surbiton and Ember was invaluable when the CA started their IT register of members, actively assisting with the usage of the CA application. His main professional occupation had been in IT and he had set up numerous little applications for Ember to enable simple control of the various knockout competitions that we run.
Mike was also very active around Elmbridge as a keen amateur artist with both Molesey Art Society and Chertsey Artists, as secretary of Molesey & District Antiques Society and involved in a music appreciation society. Mike viewed Ember as a very convenient social venue for Sunday afternoon and evening croquet being able to access the club from the back gate of his house adjacent to tennis court 5, and in the winter appearing at the clubhouse from beside the tennis courts for indoor croquet wearing his head light. Mike was also a very keen participant at the monthly BBQ’s usually bearing his infamous pineapple for dessert. Mike was also an accomplished cook preparing various quiches for informal gatherings.
Mike had been coping very well with cancer for some 15 years but was informed last autumn that it had now turned more aggressive and that there was now very little the medics could do to stop the progress. Mike was a family man and leaves wife Linda, son Matthew and daughter Sarah, both married just two years ago and a granddaughter Felicity born just last year.
We are extremely saddened to report our dear friend, Mike Lambert, passed away yesterday morning. Mike has been an active member of the Croquet section from the early days and has contributed so much to the club, in terms of volunteering as well as his croquet knowledge, and of course, his great sense of fun and companionship. We will miss him hugely.
Given the current restrictions, there will be a small family funeral, but there are plans for a memorial service sometime in the Autumn.
Now that we have access to the toilets again, the croqueteers are returning in their droves (well, okay four of us, but its a start).
Pat goes airborne with Blue
Roger lines up to put Yellow in front of the hoop
Reviewing the situation
Roger wins the hoop with an audacious jump shot
Roger attempts to move Black away for Red
Roger tries to run the hoop
Simon attacks the next hoop
Simon strikes black into the jaws of the hoop
The Chairman strikes
The maintenance man waits his turn
Simon rushes
Roger croquets
Simon roquets
Roger rolls
Simon croquets
Roger jump shot
Roger tries to squeeze past
Simon jump shot
Instead of rollups we are inviting members to come along for these sign up sessions at the usual rollup times:
Sunday 2pm to 5pm
Tuesday 5pm to 8pm
Thursday 2pm to 5pm
The sessions can host up to six people, hence “Croquet Six”. We can play doubles on the main lawn and singles on the small lawn. We can now sit on the benches as long as we are careful but it’s still best to bring your own chair if you are able.
We are determined to give golf croquet a good go from now on, and even managed to play a decent game between three of us on Thursday afternoon (the official GC slot) using three balls. It made for some interesting strategic play and quite a few jump shots were attempted, and to our surprise, some succeeded.
We had another game of golf croquet on Tuesday evening now with four of us, so it was more conventional! We must admit we have a lot to learn about the tactics of GC, so in time hopefully we can visit other clubs, as we had lined up to do before COVID struck.
Hope to see you there! Please sign up on the Lawn Booking sheet. Six slots available, otherwise book a singles (or doubles) game at any other time.
Following our (limited) reopening on 18 May and the further government announcements and DCMS and CA guidance from 1st June, please find below our updated Notice to members, together with the CA guidance and graphic. These are also posted on the pavilion window. Government social distancing and hygiene advice continues to be the primary concern and must be followed by members and visitors to ECC at all times.
The main changes from the 18 May Notice are:
Up to six players/guests may be at the club at any one time, this is subject to having pre-booked via the online lawn booking system: singles or doubles on main lawn; no double banking; singles only on small lawn; and subject to maintaining the advised social distancing and hygiene standards.
The lawns will be reserved for club members’ practice “Sessions to six” at the following times: Sundays 2pm – 5.30pm; Tuesdays 5pm – 8pm; Thursdays 2pm to 5pm. Places are limited to six. Pre-book online to reserve your place – simply add your ‘name /’ in the Name(s) box against the appropriate lawn Bookings number – first come / first served. N.B. Roll-ups are not permitted.
The club is open to new membership applications.
Unfortunately, the clubhouse WCs remain closed for the time being and there are still no formal competitions.
A few games are being played, however, and the new online AC and GC ladders are there to be climbed (or descended). Member contact details for arranging games can be found in the password protected Croquet members area of the website. https://www.embersportsclub.org.uk/ember-croquet-club/members-area/ . The password is as before and will be sent to you separately on request.
Best wishes, and stay alert and safe, Simon
Ember Croquet Club – COVID 19 measures – 1 June 2020 (update to 18 May Notice) Notice to Croquet Members
Please read carefully for your safety and that of other members. If these rules and guidance are not followed the club may have to be closed again. From Monday 1 June all paid up croquet members will be able to play croquet following the guidelines below. The club welcomes new membership applications subject to an introduction to the club and to the game (if appropriate, e.g. for beginners), and explanation of the current COVID 19 restrictions.
General Paid up members for 2020-2021 are eligible to play. Up to six members may be present at the club at any one time, subject to having pre-booked. Members may bring guests providing their names are recorded in the lawn pre-booking system and the number of members and guests together at the croquet ground is no more than six. Visitor playing fees should be paid into the club account referencing ‘Visitors Fee – Croquet.’ Non-member partners/parents/siblings/children from the same household are asked to pay a visitor fee. Club members’ practice sessions ‘Sessions to Six’ are on Sundays 2pm – 5.30pm, Tuesdays 5pm – 8pm and Thursdays 2pm – 5pm and are subject to pre-booking (‘first come first served’) Do not play if self isolating or feeling ill in any way. Observe the 2 metre social distancing rules at all times, including entering and leaving the premises. Beware of bottlenecks along The Drive entrance and along the path by tennis courts 6 and 7. Please wash hands before leaving home, on arriving at the lawns and on leaving the lawns and when you arrive home. You are advised to bring your own hand sanitiser/wipes or soap & hotwater and gloves. You are permitted to play Doubles or Singles on the main lawn. Singles is permitted on the small lawn, but not Doubles No double banking on lawns is permitted. The clubhouse is closed so there are no toilet facilities available. Please follow NHS test and trace Guidance and inform the chairman if you or a guest becomes ill within 14 days of visiting the club.
Lawn Bookings To play you must first book a lawn via ESC website Croquet members area. You may make a booking without having an opponent. This could be either for solo practice or as a way of making a general invitation to members of the booker’s availability to play. If you are a paid up member and do not have booking access please contact Steve Edney Lawns are bookable in 30 minute units, up to three hours in total, every day from 9am to 8pm. Play should end 30 minutes before the end of your booked time to allow you time for cleaning and putting away equipment and leaving before the next booked time. Please keep a record of your bookings together with a list of people who played, for tracking purposes.
At the Lawn Players must use their own mallet and not touch their opponent’s mallet. A designated club mallet may be allocated to you upon application to the club secretary. Club mallets must otherwise be pre-sanitised by the club and the player both before and after play. Please do not enter the pavilion or any other building except for shed 2. Before opening shed 2 wash/sanitise your hands with the soap or sanitiser you have brought with you. (Endeavours will be made to maintain a supply of soap, paper towels, antiseptic wipes or spray in the shed if you have forgotten to bring your own but this cannot be guaranteed). Use the water tap next to the pavilion and the washing up bowl in the pallet under the yellow hose as necessary. Players must agree which of them is to enter shed 2 to collect and return the hoops, peg, ball sets, clips and bisques and wash/sanitise them on collection and on return. Other players must stay well behind the white line in front of the door to shed 2. If the hoops are already out leave them out. Use antiseptic spay and wipes for cleaning clips and bisques, if used. Use soap and water for cleaning ball sets. For timed matches use a timer on a watch or phone – and players should referee their own matches appropriately. Wear gloves for the contact touch-points above. Seating: it is suggested you bring your own lightweight folding chair. Alternatively,use one of the white plastic chair stored outside: make sure you clean with antiseptic wipe or spray both before and at the end of the game. If you sit on a bench, avoid touching it with your hand. Wearing gloves during play is advisable. Consider wearing a face covering if there is a moderate easterly breeze and tennis courts are in use. Use your feet to retrieve and manoeuvre balls. Avoid touching any ball with an ungloved hand. Take special care when placing or removing a clip from a hoop. If you or your opponent feel using clips causes one of you anxiety, then try golf croquet instead, or other croquet formats, e.g. two ball match-play. When the game is complete remember not to shake hands and remember that the player who put all the equipment out is the player to wash/sanitise again and return all to shed 2. Wipe clean the padlock when you have closed the door.
Coaching One to One coaching may be available on request to Roger Dollimore These rules apply currently and may be amended as time goes on, so please look again at the website or on the pavilion door each time you play. Enjoy your game but please remember there is still a risk of contracting COVID 19. So Stay Alert, obey the social distancing rules and wash/sanitise your hands before arrival and before leaving. Note: wearing of gloves and/or face mask, during play, is a matter of personal choice. Remember to bring with you next time you play: sanitiser or soap and hotwater, cloth or paper towels, glove(s), mallet, lightweight folding garden chair, and a drink.
Croquet Association Poster
Croquet Association Guidance Covid-19 Precautions for Playing Croquet Version 4- 31st May, 2020
The Croquet Association offers the following advice to clubs and players, to minimise the risk of infection by Covid-19 when clubs decide to open for play. This version applies to clubs in England from 1st June until further notice. Both clubs and players should follow Government guidance, particularly those in vulnerable groups; this advice supplements that general guidance by covering situations specific to croquet. The advice has been updated as shown in the change log at the end of the document. It may be further updated if government advice changes. The guidance published by DCMS on 13th May states that organisations are encouraged to think creatively about how best to make their sport or activity possible within the guidelines, but also that they should only reopen or restart activities as soon as they feel able to do so safely. These guidelines should be read in conjunction with that advice. They have been updated in line with the further relaxation of the lockdown in England from 1st June, but it is up to clubs to decide whether they can safely accommodate more people playing or spectating. These are uncertain and very unsettling times. We want our community to stay physically and mentally healthy and as long as it is safe to do, and provided that it is consistent with Government guidance, we want to keep the croquet lawns open and available for members to use. We hope you all stay healthy and that we all get through these challenging times by looking to help each other where we can. Meanwhile, keep safe, take care, look after yourself and, if possible, enjoy your croquet.
Advice to Clubs The CA recommends that clubs adopt this advice and adapt it to their circumstances. The advice below recognises that there are now more stringent measures that must be followed if our sport is to be managed in a safe way.
Clubhouses should only be open to the extent required to access equipment, toilet and hand washing facilities. Bars and catering facilities should remain closed.
Ensure that the necessary facilities and cleaning products are available to maintain a clean environment and enable players to wash equipment after use.
Provide hand washing facilities and/or hand sanitiser for players.
Only pre-arranged games, coaching or individual practice should be permitted, not roll-up or public sessions. There should be no more than four players on a court for play: either one game of singles; two, double-banked, games of singles; or one game of doubles. For coaching, up to five players in addition to the coach are permitted; the coach is responsible for ensuring that social distancing is maintained at all times.
Provide clear signs to encourage good hand washing technique, social distancing and limits to the number of players per court.
Consider providing a lawn-booking system, both to avoid congestion and to facilitate contact tracing if necessary.
It is a matter for clubs to decide whether they can now accommodate guests, visitors or specatators, but if they do it is recommended that a record should be kept to facilitate contact tracing if necessary.
Whether or not in play, no more than six players, guests, visitors or spectators should be permitted in any group and 2m social distancing should be observed within it.
Where equipment can be left out, then it is preferable to do so. Nonessential equipment should be stored away.
Avoid the need to share club mallets. Consider allowing members to borrow one for a while.
Advice to Players
Do not go to the club if you are experiencing any symptoms of a cold or flu, in particular a cough or high temperature. Use the NHS helpline and seek advice. For your own protection, follow the advice about self-isolation if you are, or are living with, someone in one of the vulnerable groups.
All players must keep 2m apart at all times unless they are in the same household. Particular care should be taken in all doubles, including alternate stroke Association Croquet and in Golf Croquet games.
Any activity should be in line with the Government’s social distancing measures at all times, including when going to and departing from a lawn. Consequently, do not shake hands before or after a game.
Wash your hands and clean any equipment you use, such as hoops, balls and club mallets, before and after you play.
When setting out and taking in a court, only one person should handle any particular hoop or the peg.
Clean padlocks, keys and door handles before and after use.
Avoid using toilets wherever possible and clean after use.
Use the court booking system if your club provides one, rather than turning up in the hope of being able to play or practise.
If possible, dress appropriately prior to travelling to the club, rather than changing there.
Bring any food or drink you might need.
Do not use clips, corner pegs/offside markers or flags (unless needed to secure string boundaries). Players should agree the score at the end of each scoring turn. Personal counters should be used to keep count of bisques/extra strokes.
Do not move stop-boards/check fences, but take relief instead.
Avoid using movable chairs as far as possible, otherwise clean them before and after use.
Use your feet, rather than hands, to position balls where you can do so with sufficient precision, including when moving or replacing balls from a double-banked game. If playing Association Croquet, handle only you own ball(s), not those of your opponent.
Players should be their own Referees and acknowledge faults and errors if they occur.
