For the past three years, this competition has been programmed to be played at Mackey Park (November 2009, October 2010) and Gloucester (March 2011) but has never been held, due to insufficient entries.
As Jamberoo Club has established a reputation for conducting successful tournaments, it was decided to offer to host the event in 2012, to provide an opportunity for our members to participate in a state event. Players came from Forster (1), Sutherland (4), Wollongong (4) and Southern Highlands (4) to join 12 Jamberoo members to contest the Singles and Doubles in the friendly, relaxed environment of the south coast.
The heavy rain on the Wednesday night caused a late start for the doubles, but this did not deter the enthusiastic players, many of whom had not previously participated in a tournament.
Participants were welcomed by our Club President, Roger Evans, who is also Senior Vice President of CNSW, and officially opened by Gareth Ward, member for Kiama. John Eddes, Treasurer of CNSW expressed appreciation to Jamberoo members for hosting the event and wished everyone an enjoyable tournament.
There were twelve teams contesting the doubles competition which was played as a Round Robin. Winners, Elaine Coles (Forster) and Sharlene Subbi (Jamberoo) won eight of their eleven games. So, too, did Runners-up, Dot Moroney and Gerry Hassett (both Jamberoo) who were three nett points behind them, and had actually won the match between the two teams!
Left: Jill Crowley & Barbara Sterling from Southern Highlands and Maureen Waters and Maureen Trevenar from Wollongong wait to start their doubles match.
Right: Successful doubles teams, Elaine Coles & Sharlene Subbi with Gerry Hassett & Dot Moroney.
Large scoreboards were used to allow both players and spectators to keep up to date with the state of the games. Results were posted on large grids so that everyone could check their progress and compare with future opponents.
Seventeen players participated in the Singles competition and this was played in two blocks. Doubles partners had been separated into the two blocks for the singles, and, interestingly, the two successful doubles pairs found themselves playing each other in the Semi-finals as the winner of each block played the runner-up of the other block. Sharlene defeated Elaine and Gerry defeated Dot. The final match went to three games with Sharlene, the eventual winner.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday were great for playing croquet and, although there were some very tired players at the end of each day, they enjoyed the competition. The weather again let us down for the singles semi-finals and final on Monday and so they were played in light rain - but, at least, the lawns were good!
A Tournament Dinner was held at the Sebel Harbourside in Kiama where we were served a delicious, well-presented two-course meal. As usual, the Jamberoo Croquet Club Executive Catering Service stepped up to the plate and provided an ongoing assortment of home-cooked goodies to help players keep up their strength during the day!
Our referees were kept on their feet throughout the event. Pat Moroney, Ian Subbi and Roger Evans were joined by Wollongong referees, Chris Christopher, Rin Draisma, Margot Johnson and Barbara Scott. Elaine Coles, in between her singles games, also took a turn and all earned some more points on their record cards.
At all times, a friendly atmosphere prevailed and it was clear that hosts and visitors were enjoying themselves. I would like to thank all who attended, both players and helpers, for their participation, and I wish them all success in future croquet events.
Brenda Evans
Tournament Manager
The trip to Canberra on Sunday 19th February was most enjoyable and very instructive. Ten of our members attended and Peter Freer the Club President was available to offer advice on how to play different shots and the strategy of golf croquet. In addition, he provided short instruction sessions between games on the rules. I finally understand what a “crush’’ is and how to avoid a penalty.
With most of us being new to the game of golf croquet, we have tended to underestimate our playing abilities. Well, I can assure you we were well matched with the Canberra players and thoroughly enjoyed the competition they offered. They also put on a very nice lunch.
We had the opportunity to experience a game of "Gateball" that is played between two teams of five with smaller mallets and balls, and much larger hoops. As "experienced" croquet players we thought it would be easy to run such a large hoop. Guess again. Several committee members who shall remain nameless took up to five attempts to get through the first hoop.
We will shortly be extending an invitation to Canberra to visit Bundanoon for a social day of golf croquet.
Alan Millward
President Bundanoon Croquet Club
 Lunch |
 Relaxing in the shade |
 A chat over lunch |
 Yum. That was good |
 The Gateball tryout |
 The teams in full Gateball regalia |
 Peter, Liz & Neil (the newly engaged couple), Alan & Joan |
At the Wagga Wagga Australia Day ceremony, Nola Scott was inducted into the Museum of the Riverina Sporting Hall of Fame as a Local Legend for service to Croquet.
Nola has been a member of the Wagga Wagga Croquet Club for about 28 years, and has served as President, Secretary, Newsletter Editor, Publicity Officer, Captain, Coach, Referee and Carnival Manager at various times, as well as being Club Champion.
During those years the Club increased from about 16 members to over 60, partly due to Nola’s efforts and encouragement.
The award was a reflection on the love of and the enthusiasm for croquet, not just of Nola, but of all the members who have helped the Club to grow.
Nola’s nominator was Jim Nicholls, her most "successful" pupil.
The Cammeray Birthday Tournament was contested over four days, from 23-26 February. The lawns at Cammeray were in perfect condition, and so was the weather (as it usually is at Cammeray, despite what some people will tell you). Alan Walsh set the hoops very firmly, and they provided a real test of accurate hoop-running. Sixteen contestants came from Cammeray, Chatswood, Epping, Hunters Hill, Manly, Milton-Ulladulla and Mosman clubs, and handicaps ranged from 2.5 to 12. Four blocks each of four players were set up, each block with about the same total handicap.
Games were played starting at 1 pm, 4 pm and 7 pm each day except Sunday, when the final games at 4 pm were followed by a barbecue. Some players had not previously played under lights, and found the experience quite interesting. There were several very close games in the round robin, and also a few quite one-sided games. Seven games were decided by 2 hoops or less. In the opening round, Ted Salter played an immaculate game against Ron Humpherson, winning 26-0 in about 75 minutes, without using his 2 bisques. This brought his handicap down to 8, and the Tournament Handicap Committee brought it further down to 6. Mal Russell pegged out all his block games, and reduced his handicap to 7 in the process.
Thursday and Friday saw round robin block play, with the final series and the plate being played on Saturday and Sunday. Block winners Stephen Howes, Mal Russell, Bob Green and John Fransen progressed to the quarter finals to meet runners-up Michael Strickland, Annette du Preez, Neil Hartley and Ted Salter. 3rd and 4th place-getters from each block played the first knockout round of the plate event. Quarter final losers went into the plate to meet the winners of the first knockout round. The eventual winner of the plate was John Fransen, with Michael Strickland second.
In the quarter finals, Stephen Howes and Michael Strickland had an entertaining tussle after Michael accidentally pegged one of his balls out, with Stephen emerging victorious 26-24. John Fransen became another victim of Ted Salter’s well-controlled game, losing 26-1. Mal Russell lost his magic touch, and lost 26-15 to Annette du Preez, while Bob Jones beat Neil Hartley 26-16. In a replay of the 2011 Final, Stephen Howes beat Bob Green 26-7 in one semi-final. In the other semi-final, Ted Salter overcame Annette du Preez 26-5.
Bob claimed 3rd place with a 26-17 win over Annette. In the final, Stephen Howes joined the ranks of those who had been "As-Salter-ed", going down 26-0 to Ted Salter. Congratulations, Ted. Enjoy your handicap of 6 - you won’t have it for long!
The ladies of Cammeray, ably led by Margaret O’Brien, did a great job of keeping competitors and referees supplied with afternoon tea each day. Thanks also to referees Dennis Faggotter, Neil Hardie, Stephen Howes, Mike Hughes, Fay Simpson, Alan Walsh and Warren Yates. All in all, a very happy and successful tournament.
David Stanton
Tournament Manager
28/02/2012
In April this year, Jamberoo will be hosting the Croquet NSW Golf Croquet Championships for Division 3 players. Preparations for this event are well underway and, today, Gareth Ward, the Member for Kiama, presented us with a NSW State flag, which we will proudly fly on special occasions, including these championships.
Had the weather been more suitable, Gareth would have had a game with us but, since croquet was off (we had 55 mm of rain up until 10:30 am) he had morning tea with us and then stayed for a question and answer session. This session lasted more than an hour with Gareth fielding questions on a range of topics from transportation infrastructure (roads and rail) through to public housing and retirement complexes. It was a very interesting and productive session.
We plan to visit Parliament House in May, when Gareth will show us around and, after lunch, arrange for us to attend Question Time to see him in action in his role of Acting Speaker.
Brenda Evans
Secretary, Jamberoo Croquet Club Inc
Golf Croquet players at Jamberoo took the opportunity to raise the flag and have some fun as we celebrated Australia Day, 2012. The day started with some serious games, but soon it was time to stop for morning tea - four birthdays this week, so plenty of cake! More play, then we were entertained by a local bush band, Chord-eaux, while we scoffed sausage sangers, meat pies, vegemite and other Aussie delights for lunch. As they say, a good time was had by all!
Brenda Evans
Secretary, Jamberoo Croquet Club Inc
As is typical of a lot of clubs, Jamberoo carries out a major renovation of one or more lawns just prior to Christmas each year. This is both a rapid growth period for the lawns and a quieter playing period and so an ideal time to do the work.
This year we carried out a major renovation of both the No.2 and No.3 lawns (Scarify, fertilise, topdress and, in the case of No.3 lawn, laser level). No.3 lawn, which first went into use in November 2010, had settled unevenly which is why it required laser levelling to recover its 'flatness'. This year we captured the renovation process on film and, for anyone interested, a short (8.5 minute video) is available on YouTube - Click Here to view.
Roger Evans
(apologies for late publication of this item which was supplied on 30/12/2011 - Ed.)
On December 4th 1951, some Port Macquarie ladies met with a representative of the Hastings Municipal Council to clear the way for the foundation of a croquet club in the town. Two years later, the clubhouse and the lawns were finished. It was originally a ladies only club; in 1960 men were allowed to become members for the first time.
Croquet Club Foundation Members
On December 4th 2011, this event was commemorated and celebrated. 40 members of the present club, 20 members from the other Mid North Coast croquet clubs - Gloucester, Taree and Forster - came together in ideal weather to pay tribute to the founders. The Port Macquarie club was also fortunate enough to have present the State President, John Compton, and his wife Robyn. Many of those present had dressed in clothes similar to the ones worn in 1951; some of the clothes had been bought, some had been made especially for the occasion and, I suspect, some had been found in the back of the wardrobe !
60th Group
After morning tea and an opening address, the players competed in a series of novelty events, designed to test skills of length, direction and accuracy. A recently constructed jump machine was also popular. The main competition was a golf croquet knock-out tournament in which the winner of each match was decided by being the first to score 2 hoops. There were no timekeepers and no referees in charge; players could ask for a ruling from any qualified referee from among the spectators. Because the original members were all women, it was decided that the men players had to play every shot side-saddle. This rule brought the strong men players back to the field and was extremely popular among the lady players. Indeed all the semi-finalists were female; at least one leading man player lost a hoop ( and his match) by playing a shot from between his feet. Spectators were vocal in their support of their favourites and were allowed to offer advice during the matches.
Thyra Neilson, John Hincks
and Mona Warren
and Mona Warren
At 3.00 the official birthday cake was cut by the President and two life members, Mona Warren and Thyra Neilson. Prizes for the croquet events and for the most appropriate costume were distributed. After a short address by John Compton, some social play continued and the participants gradually departed for home. All agreed that it had been a day worth remembering - a day in which the founders were honoured, a day in which 60 croquet players came together in friendship to enjoy their sport and social interaction with each other.. That, after all, is what belonging to a croquet club is all about.
John Hincks
(also visit the PMCC history page - Ed.)
The weather just fantastic as was the company, what better conditions for Jamberoo to regain the Shield.
Five matches were played, four singles and one doubles:
| JAMBEROO | BUNDANOON | |||||
| John Deeves | * | 26 | - | 7 | David Archer | |
| David Simmonds | * | 25 | - | 26 | Dick Topham | |
| Diana Chafer | 15 | - | 22 | * | Jan King | |
| Pam Owen | * | 21 | - | 12 | Charles Cook | |
| Len Chafer & Marilyn Benson | 13 | - | 13 | * | Jim Merson & Leila Merson | |
| 3 WINS | 100 | 68 | WINS 2 | |||
Marilyn Benson
Our newsletter #10 is now available for download from our website, click here to read it.
Ben Vang
Secretary
Country Croquet NSW and CNSW Web Sites Merge
COUNTRY CROQUET NSW - EDITORIAL
Well this will be the last editorial I will write for Country Croquet as I am closing the site down.
Country Croquet has done its intended job of giving the country clubs somewhere to place their information which they wanted to get out to the general public. But times have now changed and I feel that Country Croquet is no longer needed as the Croquet NSW web site is now featuring the same information and articles.
Country Croquet evolved out of a web site that was first set up in 2002 to disseminate information for the 2003 Australian Association Championships which were held in the Hunter Valley. When they were finished I managed to persuade Hunterlink to continue their sponsorship of the site and they have done so every since.
I would like to thank all those people who have written and sent articles for these web pages - I know it is not an easy task.
To those people who have read and enjoyed the various articles written I trust you get the same satisfaction from the Croquet NSW web site. In fact I know you will.
Finally I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to David Archer who designed and has maintained the Country Croquet site throughout its entire existence. Without David’s knowledge, time, effort and patience this site would not have been possible, so thankyou once again.
So now it’s so long, farewell etc from yours truly. May you all enjoy your croquet - and KEEP PRACTICING!!!
Geof McDonald
FROM YOUR WEBSITE ADMINISTRATOR
Closing down the Country Croquet NSW website, which I also administered, will no doubt come as a surprise, but do not despair - nearly all of its content has been moved to the new Club News section of this website. This includes all its past News, all its past Results, any club events not on the CNSW club calendar, those valuable club histories, and most importantly your tournament entry forms and fliers (now accessed from the Events pages). So continue to me as before.
David.
P.S. I make one correction: the design of the Country Croquet NSW website was arranged in consultation with Geof by Garry O'Dell.