NSW Schools Championship 2006

There were skeptics but the children proved them wrong. The inaugural Schools Championship has been held and was a runaway success by any measure used. The Championship was held in three divisions Primary, Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary with the following schools taking part:

Primary	Blackheath Public School
Secondary	Sydney Girls High School
	St John the Evangelist College Nowra
	Tamworth Anglican College - Calrossy
	Singleton High School
	Mosman High School
	Holy Cross College Ryde

The primary division was held at the Blackheath Croquet club as there were six entrants in this division and all from the same school. The weather was perfect and the club members had made sure that the court was perfect. Club members stayed all day and ensured an adequate supply of water was on hand to combat the heat and enjoyed the croquet. There were parents who stayed all day to watch and those who came, couldn't stay and went away disappointed that they had to leave.

The competition was fierce and no quarter given or asked but the games were played in the right spirit. The Principal of the school had given permission for the rest of the school to come and watch one class at a time but also provided the sandwiches for lunch - a magnificent contribution to the success of the day. This meant that there was a continual stream of children coming and going but this didn't affect the players. They carried on in spite of the movement and played excellent croquet. They are all to be commended for their attitude. The competition started at 9am and finished at about 3.35 pm and all the players along with the referees and spectators were exhausted.

Winner Azzim Toulalan     Runner Up       Aubrey Swivel

In the secondary division, cartwheels were the order of the day followed by "please can't we play off for third and fourth place" after an exhausting two days of competition at Tempe. For a majority of these players it was the first time they had played on a full sized court whilst in the case of the Sydney High girls it was their first time on a court.

There were fifteen players in the Junior Secondary and so this was played in two round robins with the first and second players in each group going through to the play offs. As there were only five players in the Senior Secondary they played a straight round robin.

There were a number of players who had only just learnt the game let alone play in a championship. It was very noticeable the improvement in the standard of croquet played by all concerned. Some quick coaching had been given on how to do a jump shot and there were quite a few attempts and a few successes. .

In some cases there were remarks such as "why didn't I play like this yesterday" to "we are best friends but I just had to hit her out of the way" and "that was not very nice" as one player walked away to get his ball which had been hit across the lawn. Another said after belting the ball away "I am not here to be nice".

There were very enthusiastic parents there and one very proud Grandmother who had taken the time to come and watch her grandson play. There was another mother who said she hadn't known what her son was talking about when he mentioned the game at home and now thinks she might have a go. The weather on the second day was hot and this helped to make the lawns quite fast which made it harder for the players.

Those players who had not made the semi finals stayed and watched till play was finished and winners decided. It was great to hear them barracking for their favorite player. There was appreciation of good shots and groans when one went wrong.

Junior secondary	Winner	Reece Keogh	Singleton High
	Runner Up	Joshua Watson	St John the Evangelist
	Third	Jacqui Dircks	Calrossy
	Fourth	Morgana Ough	Mosman High
Senior Secondary	Winner	Sam Costa	Holy Cross College
	Runner Up	Caiti Dircks	Calrossy

Thank you to the officials who gave their time and expertise so generously, to Dorothy Barker and Bob Dircks for the catering and most importantly congratulations to all the players.

It would be nice to think that the players will join their local clubs and have a go at the State Handicap Titles next year. When asked if they would be back next year all answered with a most emphatic yes and a wide smile. Two of the seniors were quite cross as they have had their one and only go as they will have left school by this time next year.