AC Association Croquet

The Anderson Shield is once again being run as a B-level competition between club teams, but this year played to Handicap Advanced rules.

Anderson Shield results
by year:

Entry fee: £11 per team

Last year's winner: [Final postponed until 17th April 2025] - Pinchbeck


The players in the final at Letchworth with the trophy, L-R:
(Newport) Jerome Gasson, Nick Jones, Fran Lambert, Alex Lake,
(Watford) Gary Bennett, Stephen Mills, Alan Clark, Jonathan Lambton

This year the Anderson Shield, which is a club team event of four played under Handicap Advantage regulations, was introduced in 2022 to introduce handicap players to the level play Association game. This year it attracted an entry of six clubs in which this year’s final between the Watford and Newport clubs was staged on Sunday 21st September at the Letchworth club.

Under ideal sunny conditions the play was very competitive and the match result came down to an exciting finish decided by who won the last hoop, which proved to be Watford, previously winners in 2023.

Many thanks must go to the Letchworth Club for making available their excellent facilities and providing an excellent tea.

Click on image to enlarge
Report by Terrey Sparks
QUARTER-FINALS
by 22 June		 SEMI-FINALS
by 17 August		 FINAL WINNER
Colchester Colchester
6-1		 Watford
4-3		 Watford
4-3
Wrest Park
  Watford
 
Downham Pinchbeck
4-0		 Newport
3-2
Pinchbeck
  Newport
 

The Anderson Shield
Deadlines for rounds:
Round 1 22 Jun
Semi-finals 17 Aug
Contacts:
Colchester 01621 890185
Watford 07910 789787
Wrest Park 01525 718550
Newport 07775 911500
Downham 07593 098706
Pinchbeck 07930 865932

 

See also:

GC the EACF Ken Wheeler Shield
AC the national Inter-Counties Championship
AC Anderson Shield winners summary.

 

Anderson Shield Regulations - 2025

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  1. All member clubs in the East Anglian Croquet Federation shall be eligible to participate.
  2. The competition will operate as a knock-out with the early rounds operating on a regional basis wherever possible, with clubs determining home and away by using the EACF Virtual Coin Toss if there is no previous history in this competition, otherwise the opposite of their previous encounter. However, clubs with only one serviceable court may elect to play any home games away.
  3. The responsibility for arranging fixtures rests with the home club. However, a degree of mutual co-operation is expected between both clubs.
  4. Courts should be full size and in adequate condition such that there is a possibility of accurate positioning, and hitting a ball from one corner of the court to the opposite corner.
  5. The minimum allowed handicap allowed is 0. There is no maximum allowed handicap. The aggregate team handicap must be at least 10. The team captains should ensure that handicaps are correct and have been assessed by the club handicapper in accordance with the CA Handicap Guidelines. No player may play for more than one club in the course of any one season. However, members of a near neighbour club are permitted to play.
  6. All games shall be standard 26pt games played to Handicap Advanced rules, of 3 hours duration if single-banked or 3¼ hours if double banked, played under the current Laws of Association Croquet. Time-limited games shall be played to a result in accordance with CqE Tournament Regulation T2 ("Limit on Number of Turns"), with the additional rule that either pair of a doubles game may choose to play Alternate Stroke Doubles independently of their opponents' choice.
  7. Where two or more courts are available teams should normally consist of 4 players, with 1 doubles and 6 singles games in the match, making 7 games in total. Players are to be listed in handicap order by the Home ('H') and Away ('A') team captains and play their opposite numbers according to the following formula:
    • a.m.: H1 & H4 v A1 & A4, H2 v A3, H3 v A2
    • p.m.: H1 v A1, H2 v A2, H3 v A3, H4 v A4
  8. Where only one court is available teams should instead consist of 3 players, with only one player in each team playing in two doubles at the captains' discretion, giving a total of 4 games in the match, and no games may be duplicated. In such a 3-a-side match the team aggregate handicap must be at least 7½. If the number of games won by each team is equal, then the winner is the team winning the most games within time. If the result is still undecided it shall then be determined by using the Nottingham Tie Break (2-ball breaks by each team starting in corner IV, with each player in the team by rotation playing one stroke until the turn ends; if necessary the exercise is repeated until a winner emerges).
  9. It is expected that the home club will provide refreshments including a light tea at the end of the match at no cost to the visitors.
  10. In the event of a dispute all clubs concerned should make representations to the Manager, whose decision shall be final.


Manager