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Club

Croquet

Wrest Park

Home News Diary Lawn booking Club competitions Activities History Membership Contacts How to get there Where to stay Why play croquet? Croquet myths Association croquet Golf croquet Useful links Archive

Club competitions

There are various club competitions which members can enter via the Membership Renewal form. Entry is free apart from the competitions for the All England Handicap, the fees for which are shown on the form.

Links to the draws and results are shown below. When you open the document, select Reading View from the View menu. This will remove any breaks in the tables which appear in the default view.

2025 AC competitions draws and results

2025 GC competitions draws and results

• Please arrange first-round games as soon as you can. This will avoid a log jam later on. If your circumstances mean that a delay is unavoidable or you have to scratch then let the manager know as soon as possible. This applies at any stage during the competition.
• After a game, write the result on the board in the pavilion and email the result to the manager, David Marsh. This ensures that the results are kept up to date, which allows you to check the state of play online.
• Copy the result email to your next opponent or, if you are waiting for the result of an earlier round, to the two players involved. This serves as a prompt to arrange your next game, or to show that you are now waiting for another game to be completed.
• Following these guidelines should enable more games to be played by the advertised dates. This would stop the finals from being dragged out into the tail end of the season, when the weather is less reliable, the daylight is shortening and the lawns may not be at their best.

Association croquet

Steel Cup - the club Open Championship (Level Advanced play). Handicaps ≤ 6. The format is Draw & Process, i.e. a two-life knockout. The cup is inscribed Bedford Croquet Club, Steel Challenge Cup, Class C and was first won by Muriel Hume in 1929. It was donated to Wrest Park by the renowned Miss D.D. Steel.

Archer Cup - the club Handicap Championship. Format is Draw & Process, played as full bisque* base 10. Handicaps ≤ 24. The cup was first played for in 1987, and the engraving of the Archer Pavilion is by Wally Wortley who was a member in the 1980s.

Ashwell Cup - the trophy, donated by Rod Ashwell, for the winner of the club heat for the All England Handicap competition. The winner (and runner-up, depending on the number of entries) goes through to the Area Final and, if successful, to the National Final. Format is Draw & Process, played as full bisque* base 10. You must play off a handicap of 20 if your handicap is more than this.

De Grey Cup - B level (Level Advanced) - Handicaps 2-10. All play all, depending on entry.

14 point (Level Advanced) - Handicaps ≤ 10. Draw & Process.

De Grey Plate (Handicap) - Handicaps ≥ 10, played as full bisque* base 6. All play all, depending on entry.

One-ball Singles Day - club heat for the national one-ball charity competition. The winner/s go through to the area final. Format depending on entry. Handicaps for one-ball are derived from a player’s AC or GC handicap.

AC League - for those wishing additional games. Games can be Handicap, Level Advanced or shortened games (e.g. 22pt, 18pt). The winner will be the player who has gained the most index points in the games they have played in the League.

* See Appendix 3 of the AC Laws. If an 18 plays a 14 to base 10 the 18 gets 8 bisques and the 14 gets 4. If either player has a handicap of 10 or less the normal rules apply, i.e. the bisques are the difference between the handicaps.

Golf Croquet

Level Play Championship - Best of three 13 point games. Format Draw & process, i.e. a two-life knockout.

Handicap Championship (Advantage Play†) - Best of three 13 point games. Format Draw & process.

All England Handicap (Advantage Play†) - Handicaps ≤ 14. This will be a one-day event. The winner (and runner-up, depending on the number of entries) goes through to the Area Final and, if successful, to the National Final. Format depending on entry.

Singles Day and Doubles Day (Handicap) - Format depending on entry.

GC League - for those wishing additional games. Games can be Handicap or Level. The winner will be the player who has gained the most index points in the games they have played in the League.

† See Rule 21 of the GC Rules.