THE Nelson Bay Croquet Club A Grade Golf Croquet Singles Championship, the Thompson Trophy, was played on Sunday 8 November 2020, following a delay due to COVID.

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The 2020 field was the strongest in the history of the championship.

Players included the current State Open GC Champion and winner of the Plate (3rd place) in the State Division 1 Championship Derek Bull, runner-up in the State Division 1 Championship Pam Barnwell, 2020 winner of the State Bronze and Gold Brooch Competitions Sandy Tawa and a previous Division 1 State Champion in Trevor Black.

There were six entries in all, the others being Cheryl Lloyd and Barrie Carter.

The competition was played as a five-game round-robin.

The competition rules stipulate a 13 hoop game but with a time limit of 50 minutes, with an additional hoop to be played if scores are tied at the end of the allotted time.

At this level, croquet is a cool, calculated game, often described as chess on grass.

The games were keenly contested with some excellent croquet played.

Pam Barnwell and Trevor Black were the early leaders with 3 wins from 3 games.

Sandy Tawa spoiled Trevor’s run with a 7-2 win while Pam lost to Derek Bull 3-4.

The Championship then came down to the final round with Pam Barnwell being declared the winner with 4 wins after defeating Trevor Black 5-4.

The B Grade Champion was Peter Gordon, played 1 November, and the C Grade Champion was Rae Uptin, played 25 October.

Congratulations to the 2020 Thompson Trophy winners Pamela, Peter and Rae.

For more information regarding Nelson Bay Croquet Club, please see nelsonbaycroquet.org.au.

By David WILSON