Dates for the Diary
MARCH
Friday 4th March Twilight Croquet 4.30pm Monday 14th March COM Meeting 12 noon Sunday 20th March Come & Try booked for 2.00pm APRIL Friday 1st April Twilight Croquet 4.30 pm Friday 15th - Monday 18th April Easter Monday 25th April Anzac Day
Come and Try Dee Howarth of Mosman Croquet Club will be bringing a group of people on Sunday, March 20th from 2.00-5.00pm to play on Dobell and Grant. Please use the lower courts that afternoon if you come to play. Carolyn McNamara, Come & Try Co-ordinator
An EDSACC Croquet Club website has recently been established. It still needs a little fine tuning, but have a look at http://www.edsacccroquetclub.com. We are changing the photos, and the newsletter will be added. Any comments, suggestions, questions are welcome. A working bee is being planned to tidy up the gardens. This will involve planting shrubs, removing unwanted plants and broken borders. Details will be announced soon and the COM would appreciate volunteers to assist on the day. Bob Howie, President
Games Captain's Report We are pleased to be able to announce that morning tea will be reintroduced from Monday 28th February. There will be a 20 minute morning tea break from 9:50 - 10:10 on golf croquet mornings.
The 3rd game of the day will commence at 10:10. All new players, players who have never entered a competition, players who have never played away and players who have only played one competition at club level may like to enter our Rookies challenge which will be held on Tuesday 22nd March at the club from 9:00. There is a sign on sheet on which to place your name for entry. No handicap card will be used. It is just a day for fun and to learn how a competition is run. The Maitland croquet club will be hosting a one day Division 3 Doubles Hunter Challenge on Wednesday, 13th April. If you are interested, please write your names on the Expression of Interest sheet. Sue Yule, Games Captain
Coaching Report Welcome to our newest members who have completed our training sessions and are now enjoying games with other members. More Come and Try days have been booked by outside groups. These are of financial benefit to our club. Dates and times will be announced. Sue Yule, Coaching Co-Ordinator
Hoop Maintenance
Please do not hammer the hoops into the ground too far. The hoops need to be firm but the carrots should be seen. This will help with the life of the holes. With care the hoops holes should last 3-4 months.
Comings and Goings ... With the ongoing summer weather it is encouraging to see members enjoying the early morning games and spreading the load on our lawns. Our well wishes go to Kathy Porter who undergoes another operation soon and we wish her a speedy recovery. Helen McInnes has taken some time off while she sorts out her medication treatment and we hope to see her back playing soon.
Anne Stimpson has had a few complications following a routine procedure and it is encouraging to see her return to play.
Diana Mears returned to the lawns recently and we continue to wish her a return to full recovery.
Margaret McGowan has recently undergone foot surgery and we wish her a speedy recovery.
Nine new members recently completed their coaching course - please give them plenty of encouragement when you see them on the lawns. Anita Beer, Welfare
Farewell to Heather Willis…….. We sadly report that Heather passed away unexpectedly in early January, with her funeral being held on Jan 28th. Heather was a very popular member of our club from 2016 who always enjoyed playing croquet. Although she was unable to enter competitions because of health issues she did take part in a gala fun day dubbed the Sheep Station Stakes in Nov 2017. She and partner Heather Elworthy came first in Group 3.
Heather’s motto in life was to ‘create memories’. To this end she was always busy planning holidays up to two years ahead, to make up for the ones that covid had cancelled. Hazel Gibbons
Twilight Croquet After a very long absence of social events at the club house, twilight croquet reappeared on the first Friday of February. Whilst numbers were disappointing because of very inclement weather, we managed two games with a chat and tipple between games. A bottle of wine was on offer for the first hoop in one, two were made on the day, but the first was made by Laurice Rogers.
The next twilight event will be on Friday 4th March from 4.30pm. Dress in ANYTHING but red and white, bring along your nibbles, wine, beer or whatever you fancy. SO.. PUT IT IN YOUR DIARY.. 1st Friday of the month.. Twilight Croquet. Linda Fraser, Social Director
Cleaning Team Red is in charge of club cleaning for the month of March A copy of the cleaning roster can be found on the noticeboard in the kitchen near the fridge if you are unsure of dates. (Don’t forget that you can clean on any day during your week if you can’t clean on your usual day allocated).
All Members Please note: Members who are not on the roster should attend to the usual floor sweeping/vacuuming/dishwasher etc. after each day of play. Kathy Porter Sheilia Marquhardt
Sheilia, of whom members of several years ago at EDSACC will remember, recently passed away. Sheilia had an unique way of playing croquet, namely by her rules, which on occasions did not resemble the rules of the game. As a player new to the game, I was never quite sure what I should do or say. We always managed however, to have a lovely game and a bit of fun. Gail Cannon
Australia Day Carol Bennett and Sue Higgins provided a lovely morning tea of lamingtons for the ricochet players as we celebrated and acknowledged Australia Day. Darren hoisted the flags for the morning which remained very warm and still, and a flutter of the flags was a mere suggestion. The club tradition of mufti, preferably Australia Day theme, was supported by several of the players and a fun morning was enjoyed by all Gail Cannon