IC Tennis & Golf - Le Touquet France

IC TENNIS AND GOLF

IC of Great Britain vs The IC’s of France, Spain and Belgium
Dates: Weekend of 6^th and 7^th of September, 2025
Venue: Le Touquet, France
Result: IC of GB beat Belgium 4-3, then lost to France in the final 4½ - 2½

TEAM:
Neil Howitt (captain)
Andrew Creighton
Andrew Hutchinson
Gareth Hutchinson
Greg Kraushar

Our team arrived in the wonderful French resort of Le Touquet, slightly apprehensive about the task of defending the trophy following the fine win by Dan Lobb’s team the year before. The over 45 tennis qualification meant that all the additional experience in our team would have to count, and count it did, albeit mostly on the golf course.
Day one saw the two Andrews clinch a high quality doubles match in a final set tie break, which kept us in the match at 3-1 down with three golf matches to come. This toe hold proved all that we needed on La Foret course. Neil and Gareth both won their singles comfortably, allowing the two Andrews to finish what they started, winning their fourball in style to deliver the 4-3 overall win.
On day two we faced our hosts France in the final. Again we struggled on court and despite Neil pushing the French no1 close in his singles, this time it was all over after the tennis. Three very close golf matches followed on La Mer course, all of which were decided on the 18^th hole. Greg and Gareth both came from behind to win their singles, and the two Andrew’s won the 18^th to halve their fourball, closing the gap and resulting in a final score of 4½ - 2½ to France.
After the matches were complete, we were very honoured to be joined by Marielle Parent, the deputy mayor of Le Touquet, who presented the prizes to the winners before a cocktail party concluded proceedings. We were also joined over the weekend by Patrick Doussot, a long-time member of the IC of France and prominent Le Touquet resident, and by Alexis Doudon, president of the Le Touquet tennis club.
We all thanked Jaccques-Edouard Goulard, the French team captain, for hosting such an excellent and enjoyable event, and we thanked our hosts at Le Touquet for a magnificent venue.
Neil Howitt