Flying the flag for Bishop Monkton Croquet Club on lawns that could not have been much further away from North Yorkshire, Club member, Chris Higgins, travelled to compete in Poole, down on the south coast, over the weekend of September 21st/22nd.

Chris was competing in the B level (3+) National Finals and out of 17 finalists, ranked sixth. A result of which he can be justly proud, as is the Club of Chris.

All 17 participants in the finals, which took place at the East Dorset Tennis and Croquet Club, had to have won one or more tournaments this year in order to be eligible to enter. Chris qualified as a result of winning earlier in the season at Nottingham, Chester and Middlesborough.

Unfortunately, Chris lost his quarter final game, but all was not lost, as he was then eligible to contest the ‘Shield’ for places five to eight. Chris won the Shield semi-final, 10-8, in a closely fought match, but eventually lost the final by the same score. The tournament as a whole was finally won by Douglas Shand from Guildford Croquet Club who beat Chris 7-5 in Chris's first match of the tournament.

A result of which to be justifiably proud. Well done Chris.

Read a little more about the finals in Chris's own words. Click here