Category Archives: Tournaments

by Stuart

2023 USCA Northeast Regional AC Championship

Preston Stuart (3rd place), Stuart Lawrence (Winner), and Chris Barley (Runner-up).

The USCA held its first Northeast Regional Championship since 2019 over the Memorial Day long weekend, returning to the last pre-Covid regional venue, the Lenox Croquet Club in the hills of western Massachusetts. As in 2019, the tournament was a singles-only Association Croquet event in one flight, with the size of the field limited to assure everyone lots of play.

While the tournament did not attract any of the country’s very best AC players, the seven entrants enjoyed wonderful sunny weather throughout and two lawns that were in excellent condition for this early in the Lenox season. Along with the delightful weather, the players and a few guests enjoyed breakfasts and lunches organized by Preston and Carol Stuart, a pizza night in the Lenox Club’s clubhouse up the hill, and toast and tally evenings in the croquet pavilion.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, top seed and tournament director Stuart Lawrence emerged victorious. Lawrence, who serves as the greenskeeper at the Lenox Croquet Club, clinched his second consecutive Northeast Regional with a 26tp-0 final win over Chris Barley of Orlando, Florida and Linville, North Carolina.

In block play, Northeast Regional VP Preston Stuart was the big surprise. With no previous sanctioned Association play under his belt he managed a 5-1 record, earning a bye in the quarter-final round. He bested more experienced players by a single hoop in several of the games, timed at 2 1/2 hours, pegging out in two.

The other newcomer to AC, Michael Jeary of the Rumson Country Club in New Jersey, was a fortuitous addition to the event. Having never played AC before the tournament, and with only a few years of tournament play behind him, he showed great sportsmanship and some terrific shot-making while absorbing a lot of assistance from more experienced players. He left with hopes for an AC-focused member event at his home club.

LCC president David Ekstrom, just returned from his winter home in Florida, showed off his usual smooth shotmaking. In the quarterfinal, he fell short by one point against Green Gables’ Tom Cooper. Cooper went on to meet Lawrence in the semifinal, losing an interactive 26-12 game that featured both good and not-so-good turns by both players.

In the other semifinal, Chris Barley beat Preston Stuart on time, 20-19. Preston was on a break from 2-back with his forward ball when time expired, forcing him to execute a peel on his partner ball and peg out the striker ball in order to tie the score. All that impressive maneuvering was for nought, though, as Chris replied by hitting the peg from 8 yards in his last turn to go up by one.

In the final, planned as a best-of-three match but played as a single game due to time constraints, Lawrence went around to 4-back and set a diagonal spread. Barley hit his lift shot from B-baulk, but failed hoop 1. Stuart hit in and proceeded to score the only triple peel in the tournament to take the title.

Complete game results are on croquetscores.com. See the illustrated article in the USCA Croquet News.

Championship Singles
1. Stuart Lawrence
2. Chris Barley
3. Tom Cooper
3. Preston Stuart
5. David Ekstrom
5. Webster Bull
7. Michael Jeary
by Stuart

2023 Berkshire Invitational (American 6-Wicket)

The 27th Berkshire Invitational  was held June 1-4, 2023.  We hosted 24 players and 2 guests from south to north: Florida to Maine, from west – Rochester, NY and Chicago and from east to Long Island, NY.  We welcomed 5 new players to the Berkshires and were happy to see many returning players.  Three flights of 8 players had handicaps ranging from -2.5 to 15.

There was a daily buffet breakfast, lunch, and toast & tally.  A tournament buffet dinner was held at Morgan House restaurant in Lee, MA and a BBQ on Sunday following the Finals matches.

Competition in all flights was fierce.  There were many upsets and excellent improved playing skills.  Several handicaps earned lower rankings and fun was had by all. Special thanks to Tom Coper for charts and Webster Bull for records and playoff schedules. Our member volunteers Carol Stuart, Martie Ekstrom, Rita McNamara, Bill Miller, George Claffey, Dorothea Endicott, Katie Bull and Stuart Lawrence’s excellent grounds keeping.

The Championship Knockout saw Cortney Green over Chris Loat, Webster Bull over Preston Stuart, Jodie Rugart over David Ekstrom and Richard Laging over Patricia Spratt. In the finals, Webster Bull defeated Richard Laging 25 to 23.

First Flight Knockout saw David Kepner over Pete Bowers, Rita McNamara over Fred Beck, George Claffey over Gary Anderson, and Lee Anderson over Rick Hayes.  In the finals, David Kepner defeated Lee Anderson 18 to 15.

Second Flight Knockout saw Kathleen Green over Bess Gallantis, John Welch over Hilary Michaels, Suzanne Laging over Claudia Parks and Katie Bull over Sarah Persons. For the finals, Kathleen Green won over Katie Bull in overtime by 1 wicket.

Submitted by David Ekstrom, TM and President of Lenox Croquet Club.

Final Order

Championship Flight
1. Webster Bull
2. Rich Laging
3. Courtney Green
3. Jodie Rugart
5. Chris Loat
5. Preston Stuart
5. David Ekstrom
5. Patricia Spratt

First Flight
1. David Kepner
2. Lee Anderson
3. Rita McNamara
3. George Claffey
5. Pete Bowers
5. Fred Beck
5. Gary Anderson
5. Rick Hayes

Second Flight
1. Kathleen Green
2. Katie Bull
3. Suzanne Laging
3. John Welch
5. Bess Gallantis
5. Hillary Michaels
5. Claudia Parks
5. Sarah Persons

by Stuart

2021 Berkshire Invitational results

Championship Singles

1. Stuart Lawrence
2. Webster Bull
3. David Ekstrom
3. David McCoy
5. Richard Carlson
5. Calvert Chaney
5. Lloyd Hadden
5. Preston Stuart

First Flight Singles

1. Sally McGrath
2. Bill Miller
3. Courtney Green
3. Pat Spratt
5. Martie Ekstrom
5. David Kepner
5. Ed Gardella
5. Rita McNamara

Second Flight Singles

1. Anne Licursi
2. Denys Shorthouse
3. Lester Taufen
3. Kathleen Green
5. John McGrath
5. Hilary Michaels
5. Katie Bull
5. Liddy Chaney

Third Flight Singles

1. Karen Kay
2. John Welch
3. Michael Jeary
3. Jean Lynch
5. Douglas Greeff
5. Clint Holland
5. John Morgan
5. Mary Anne Taufen
5. Carol Stuart
5. George Claffey

by Stuart

2020 Berkshire Invitational Results

Ed Gardella on his way to another victory in the First Flight Singles

Ken Heim ponders his options as eventual Second Flight winner Hilary Michaels watches from the sideline.

The 25th Annual Berkshire Invitational

August 26–30, 2020

Championship Singles (American 6-Wicket)

1. Stuart Lawrence
2. Randy Cardo
3. David McCoy
4. David Ekstrom
5. Beverly Cardo
6. Webster Bull

First Flight Singles (American 6-Wicket)

1. Ed Gardella
2. Courtney Green
3. Bill Miller
4. Martie Ekstrom
5. David Kepner
6. Denys Shorthouse
7. Sally McGrath
8. Rita McNamara
9. Linda Taber
10. Bob Taber

Second Flight Singles (American 6-Wicket)

1. Hilary Michaels
2. Katie Bull
3. Kathleen Green
4. John McGrath
5. Ken Heim
Withdrawn: Lee Kennedy

Association Croquet Singles

1. Stuart Lawrence
2. Webster Bull

by Stuart

The 25th Annual Berkshire Invitational, August 26-30, 2020

The Lenox Croquet Club

Cordially Invites You to Participate in

The 25th Berkshire Invitational

Back to Back USCA-Sanctioned Association & American 6-Wicket Singles Events

August 26 & 27, 2020: AC event
 August 28-30, 2020: American 6-Wicket event

Club Location: 111 Yokun Avenue, Lenox, Massachusetts Directions

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD INVITATION & ENTRY FORM

Schedule:

Tuesday August 25th

1:00pm  Courts open for practice
4:00 pm Reception & Schedules for AC Event – Whites/Casual at Pavilion

Daily Wednesday-Sunday

7:30am  Continental Breakfast Courtside
11:30-12:30 Lunch Courtside

Wednesday August 26 – AC event begins

8:30 am – 7:00 pm  AC Singles matches
5:30 -7:30 pm –Toast & Tally at Pavilion

Thursday August 27 – AC event concludes

8:30 am – 7:00 pm  AC Singles matches
TBD: Practice court open for 6W event players
5:00-7:30 pm  Reception & BBQ for all players, AC event finals, schedules for 6W event.

Friday, August 28 – American 6-Wicket event begins

8:30 am – 6:30 pm  6W Singles games
5:00-7:00 pm Toast & Tally at Pavilion – open evening

Saturday, August 29 – American 6-Wicket event continues

8:30 am – 6:30 pm  6W Singles games
5:00-7:00 pm Toast & Tally at Pavilion – BBQ

Sunday, August 30 – American 6-Wicket event concludes

8:30 am – 1:00 pm Semifinals and Finals
1:00 pm Award Presentations

Format: Association Croquet: Advanced singles in one open flight, on two full-sized courts. American 6-Wicket: Three flights of singles (flights assigned by TD) on one full-sized court and two or three smaller courts. Prizes for two top finishers in each flight of both events. Dawson International balls. Jaques Championship hoops.

Important Information: Please RSVP by August 17, 2020.
Confirmation will be sent via email.

No refunds for cancellation after August 17 except where required by government order or medical condition.

COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS WILL BE REQUIRED. Please bring face masks and individual hand sanitizer. In accordance with Massachusetts’ COVID-19 travel order, DO NOT plan to travel to Massachusetts from states other than MA, CT, VT, NH, ME, NY, or NJ unless you are able to comply with requirements for testing or quarantine. See https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order for further information.

Mail completed entry form and check to Stuart Lawrence, PO Box 214, Southfield, MA 01259

Tournament Director: Stuart Lawrence, (413) 229-2407, cell (646) 483-3000, email stuartlawrence “at” earthlink.net

Tournament Manager: David Ekstrom, (413) 443-4957, email drekstrom “at” hotmail.com

PLAYERS ENTERED IN AMERICAN 6-WICKET EVENT AS OF AUGUST 17

Here is the roster of players signed up as of August 17 for the American 6-wicket event, in order of USCA handicap. We will have a full field in all three flights. The AC event has only drawn two entries so far (Webster Bull and Stuart Lawrence), so unless two more players enter it may be cancelled.

Randy Cardo (-3), Quogue, NY
Stuart Lawrence (-2.5), Brooklyn, NY
Webster Bull (-1.5), Beverly, MA
David Ekstrom (-1.5), Pittsfield, MA
Bev Cardo (-0.5), Quogue, NY
David McCoy (-0.5), Summit, NY
Bill Miller (4.5), Middletown, CT
Courtney Green (5), Charlestown, MA
Sally McGrath (5), Quogue, NY
Martie Ekstrom (5), Pittsfield, MA
Rita McNamara (6), Otis, MA
Ed Gardella (8), Sandwich, MA
David Kepner (8), Quogue, NY
Denys Shorthouse (9), Moodus, CT
Robert Taber (9), Dayville, CT
Linda Taber (9), Dayville, CT
Katie Bull (10), Beverly, MA
Lee Kennedy (10), Sleepy Hollow, NY
Hilary Michaels (10), Fairfield, CT
John McGrath (12), Quogue, NY
Kathleen Green (15), Charlestown, MA
Robin Heim (16), Pittsfield, MA
Ken Heim (16), Pittsfield, MA

LODGING
Here are two places to stay that are conveniently located in Lenox, within 4 miles of the croquet club:
Courtyard by Marriott Lenox-Berkshires: Newer, high quality, chain hotel; rates from about $155/night.
Wagon Wheel Inn: Family-owned, basic, budget motel with decent reviews; rates from about $55/night.