The SLOC is usually held in late July, designed to be a warm-up event for the Irish Championships. This year, however, because the World AC Championship will be held in England in mid-July, it was decided to move the event forward.
This year’s visitors included Dave Maugham (-2.5) and his wife, Alison (-0.5), as well as Sandy Greig from Carrickmines. The average handicap of the 8 entrants was -0.8, which was expected to lead to fast games. This expectation was fulfilled, as not even the heavy rain on Saturday morning could reduce the quality of play.
By Saturday evening the blocks had concluded and the players adjourned to the Castle Inn for the evening.
Sunday’s semi-finals (in sunny weather) saw Andrew Johnston beat Alison, while Dave despatched Danny Johnston; the subsequent final saw a direct reversal of their block game, as Dave won 26tp - 0 to claim the Williams O’Toole Trophy. Russell Harris won the original work of art by Patsy Fitzgerald.
Meanwhile, the spectators were entertained, not only by the Croquet but also by the bouncy castle that must be a pointer for all clubs looking to tempt parents of young children back into tournament play.

Full scores may be found on https://croquetscores.com/2023/ac/south-leinster-open-championship

Photos to follow,