The ever-popular Bath Alternate Stroke Doubles, originally scheduled for June but postponed because of the unrelenting heat, finally took place on August 19th on a warm and blustery Wednesday. It had rained the night before, so the lawns were damp and quite slow initially, but for some of the 16 players taking part this was a great relief, since the surface had been rock-hard and very slick after two months of complete drought, despite the valiant efforts of numerous volunteer waterers.
Carol Gorvett had generously offered to organise this year’s tournament and had gathered together eight interesting and well-matched pairs, rotating round all four of our lawns. The Warminster Warriors, comprising David P and Tony J, established the precedent of adopting a soubriquet when they won the trophy 3 years ago, and this time were grouped with Communication Breakdown (Gary and Barb), The Bathampton Bumblers (Hester and Mike H) and The Hopefuls (Pete M and Mike G). In the other group we had the B Flat Minors (Nigel C and Timothy), against the New Contemptibles (Martin and Peter kitted out in yellow jerseys), last year’s winners The Bath Belles (Lynne and Kasia) and the Drawn Swords (Tony C and Sue D).
The format was, as in previous years, four rounds of 90 minute fully bisqued games, and there was a hefty 7 point bonus for those teams who managed to win with a peg-out. Four teams achieved this at least once, and every team won a game in at least one round, which was very pleasing.
The overall winners, scoring three peg-outs and accumulating a remarkable 70 points throughout the day, were the New Contemptibles (pictured here with Carol) who were rewarded for their efforts with a bottle of Prosecco each.
The Drawn Swords were in very creditable second place with 57 points.
A relatively new feature of this tournament was the very welcome presence of spectators. About a dozen people came to watch at various times during the day and one of these was Roger Berkeley. He had been a founder member of the new Bath Croquet Club when it reformed in 1976 and his name is on the Jubilee Cup for 1977 and 1978. He moved to Cheltenham and then to Nottingham, where he still plays. He told us that in his day the only playable court at BCC was down where the old tennis courts are now and that he still remembers Nigel Aspinall and William Ormerod playing an exhibition game on it!