The Third European Club Tournament (our second) got underway for Reigate Priory CC on Wednesday 7 May 2025.
We were drawn away at Vigo, in NW Spain, and joined by Ealing and German team Sudwest B from near Frankfurt.
Our first challenge was to work out how to get to Vigo, which reminded us of the R.E.M song, All the way to Reno (You’re going to be a star) which seemed very appropriate. With no direct flights, we decided to fly to Porto in northern Portugal and drive two cars north for about 1.5 hours to Vigo.
Besides me, ‘we’ were Michael, Jean and Derek, Doug and Tricia, who was variously driver, tourist guide and cheer leader!
Our hotel in Vigo was to be our base for four days, very conveniently located close to the harbour, the Old Town with its bars and restaurants and the city centre while being about 20 minutes from ‘Club Vigo’.
For our first evening we ventured out to a bar close to the hotel and then to a traditional Spanish restaurant in the old town. Our return to the hotel wasn’t in a straight line but we got back safely.
Thursday morning’s practice, with three lawns available, was well worth it to get a feel for the lawns, which looked very level from a distance but each had its nuances. Lunch in the large clubhouse was perfect as it duly rained.
Michael unfortunately hurt his back so an osteopath appointment was arranged for the Friday so that day’s practice took place without Michael – or Doug, who had volunteered to drive Michael to his appointment.
Saturday 10 May (Match Day 1)
Drawn to play Ealing first, Doug was paired with Michael and Jean with me. We were level after the doubles but unfortunately fell away with the singles, losing the best-of-10 match 3-7. We were all disappointed as we felt we were capable of playing better, but that’s Croquet for you.
Our afternoon match was against Sudwest B, with one team change: Derek replacing Jean. This time, we were two up after the doubles (Michael/Doug and Derek/Phil), with Derek/Phil recovering from 1-5 down to win. This must have given us the encouragement we needed as we went on to take all the singles and win the match 10-0.
That might not be a cricket score but was very good as our and the Germans’ rankings were all similar. As you can imagine the Germans were hugely disappointed at losing a European battle – again!
That afternoon’s games finished at 1930 so we had little time before the evening meal in the clubhouse with all the teams. This was a very enjoyable evening, enabling integration of all the teams.
Sunday 11 May (Match Day 2)
Perhaps it was because it was the morning after the night before that caused us not to play to our potential, but more likely it was the rankings of the Vigo team: their handicaps were all about 2-3 lower than ours.
Well, that’s our excuse for losing 0-10; there were no points scored for close games.
Despite this, we were pipped by Ealing for 2nd place in the overall ranking, which was a marked improvement on last year, when we came fourth. Well done team!
We returned on the Sunday afternoon/evening to Porto where we spent an enjoyable couple of days exploring this beautiful city before returning home.