We have had many comments from players, officials and visitors regarding our wonderful club. With interstate competitors praising our lawns as the best they had played on in Australia. Thank you again to all who contributed to the successful Eire Cup and Medals Competitions. You all did our Club proud.
The Club had 2 representatives in the recent competition. Jane Hyland won the Women’s Plate and Callum Hyland won the Z knockout event. Both Jane and Callum performed admirably for the state in the Eire Cup Teams event.
GC Pennant has started with SBCC fielding 2 teams in Division 1 and 2 and 1 team in Division 3. There will be some impact on pennant days at Sandy Bay but there is always one lawn left for social play.
Croquet Balls – The old Dawson balls have been placed in A1, B1 and C1 boxes. Other balls have been allocated to A2, B2, and C2 boxes. These balls have been marked and are to be put back into the correct boxes after play.
FOR SALE Sets of Croquet Balls – don’t get enough practice at the Club and want to practice at home? We have sets for sale at the amazingly discounted price of $100. And there maybe a few single balls also. Please see Hugh if you need to buy a set.
Lawns - The lawns were cut extra short, dried out a bit and double rolled to produce a flat fast surface for the national championships and Eire Cup. The resultant playing surface was commented on favourably and was much appreciated by the competitors. Since then the skill of the greenkeepers and some beneficial weather has enabled the grass to regain its normal height and all three lawns are looking very good, apart from a profusion of small flat broadleaf weeds on lawn B which is being dealt with. With autumn approaching, there is a strong chance of leaves, buds and twigs cluttering the playing surface. If winds happen to pile these up it would be sensible to put them in green bins straight away.
Wallaby and Rabbit poo!! – if you see any please let us know. We are trying to deal with holes in the fence
RED DOOR – do you love it? We have decided to paint the other club door red and deliberate on the other doors at a later date. Look forward to Anni putting our logo on the front door.
Dates for you to diarise!
GC Pennant some Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays – keep an eye on the whiteboard
New Members Welcome evening - Wednesday 10th April 5pm
GC Handicap Singles and AC Club Championships to be held in April
ACA GC Bronze Medal at SBCC 10-12 May – entries are by invitation of the GC Selectors
AGM - Saturday 18th May 10am
Friends School – 29th and 31st May – small groups coming to play 11.45-12.45
Healthy Tasmania 8th September 10-11.30
SBCC Bunnings BBQ - Saturday 7th December - looking to volunteers - talk to Marg Jennings or Ann Murray
Please remember your Committee welcomes suggestions of a substantive nature and queries can be directed to the committee members at any time. We welcome your input and assistance in all club matters.
MARCH 2024 Monthly Memo
Congratulations to Jane Hyland and Callum Hyland (captain) as members of the Tasmania Eire Cup team - good luck in that and in the ACA Open Singles. As you all know, the AC National Championships are being played between 6-17 March, and all lawns are closed to members. Thank you to all members who have been and will be volunteering to help throughout this busy time, including at the Working Bee last Saturday. The club now looks a treat! Do come and watch top class AC! And if you take any good photos, Jane Hyland would love a copy for the website.
Congratulations to Steve Andrewartha B Division GC Champion and runner up Ian Murray; and to Rene Hortle Novice winner Rod West and runner up Colette Gallacher
GC Singles Handicap will be played as Advantage Play in April, as will the AC Club Championships. Keep an eye out for details.
Lawn and hoop care – Keep your eyes out for advice on how to best to maintain hoop settings, which is to be posted by the mallet shed door (e.g. don’t stomp on hoops to tighten them - use a rubber mallet; use the lifter to remove tight hoops, rather than wobble them). We can all play a role here.
AC Summer Pennant - Sandy Bay won the B Grade Pennant and fought well in the A and C Grade Pennants.Liz Madden and Rod Chisholm, who have recently taken up AC, performed well in the C Grade competition.
The CT GC Men’s Open Singles at SBCC was won by Brett McHardy of WA. Three Sandy Bay members made the Quarter Finals – Graham Keating, Ben King and Ian Murray. In the CT GC Women’s Open Singles CarolHanigan performed exceptionally well, coming third after a play off for second, finishing ahead of all other Tasmanian entrants.
Outside hires – St Aloysius School came this week, and will come again 19th March 11.20 - 12.20. A group of 30 from Deloitte Social Club will be coming on 22 March, 6pm. If you can help with either, contact Ann Murray.
Grants Officer – Liz Cummings volunteered for this, so if you know of any possible grants to the club, talk to her.
Animal incursions - if you notice any signs of wildlife getting into the club grounds, please draw them to the attention of Marg Jennings.
Dates for you to diarise!
GC Pennant starts 26 March, with games on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Keep an eye on the lawns whiteboard for information on when the lawns will be used for Pennant matches.
GC Handicap Singles and AC Club Championships to be held in April
New Members Welcome evening - Wednesday 10th April 5pm. RSVP on the sheet on the noticeboard.
AGM - Saturday 18th May 10am
Outside bookings 19th March, 11.20-12.20, and 22nd March 6-8pm – can you help? Talk to Ann Murray
SBCC Bunnings BBQ - Saturday 7th December - looking to volunteers - talk to Marg Jennings or Ann Murray
Please remember your Committee welcomes suggestions of a substantive nature and queries can be directed to the committee members at any time. We welcome your assistance in all club matters.
FEBRUARY 2024 Monthly Memo
Congratulations to Ben King who is the new Club Champion and runner up Graham Keating
Congratulations to Guna Ginneliya C Division Champion and runners up Shane Madden and Summa McIntyre B Division Championship and the Rene Hortle will be held 23-25th February
Sunshiny Balls – you may have noticed that we are now using the new balls. A little bit different in colour!
Main Street Financial Solutions - A valued sponsor of SBCC will hold an information evening from 5pm February 13th – Drinks and nibbles supplied.
Lawn Contract with Renov8 –Hugh D worked very hard on our lawn maintenance contract and managed to get a contract that will stand us in good stead for the next 3 years.
Croquet Tas GC Men’s Open Singles 16th – 18th February – we are catering with nibbles etc. for this event and you would have seen the volunteer sheet for food donations and help on the days already.
Grants Officers – We are looking for a member/s to take on the task of researching all grants that are available. The committee receive many opportunities for grants, some not applicable to us, but we would like to have a member who may be familiar with the grant process or has the time to thoroughly search through the information provided. Please get in touch if you feel you could help your club out.
MARCH IS GOING TO BE VERY BUSY
AC Gold Medal, ACA Men’s and Women’s AC Singles and the AC Interstate Event the Eire Cup will be held from 6th to 17th March
As SBCC is the host club for an Australia wide event we will require lots of help to ensure that Sandy Bay is the talk of the nation! Carol Hanigan is working on the ‘House’ side of things and would love to have as many hands helping out – Carol will have a schedule out very soon.
There will also be help needed in hoop setting, leaf blowing, setting up etc. Please help out where you can when the schedule is emailed out.
Around the Club – A cleanup day (10am Saturday 2nd March) will enable us to make the club and gardens sparkle. The normal list of jobs will be up in the club but please feel free to wave your magic wand over anything you feel needs doing. You will receive a reminder email before the day.
Michael B is working on updating our lawn flags, Rod C and Chris G have made circle barriers to cover the protruding bolts in the shelter shed. Great examples of noticing a job that needs doing and just getting on with it.
Hoop Setting – Tony VdeV is doing a great job in moving hoops. He is trying to keep the central area for the Eire Cup and the 2 side settings for pennant and social. Don’t forget to use a fork and repair any lawn damage you see.
Dates for you to diarise!
· Clean Up Day - Saturday 2nd March 10am followed by a thank you BBQ
· Late March GC Pennant starts – dates to be advised
· GC Handicap Singles and AC Club Championships to be held in April
· New Members Welcome evening - Wednesday 10th April 5pm
· AGM - Saturday 18th May 10am
· Outside booking 22nd March 6pm – can you help? Talk to Ann Murray
· SBCC Bunnings BBQ - Saturday 7th December - looking to volunteers - talk to Marg Jennings or Ann Murray
Please remember your Committee welcomes suggestions of a substantive nature and queries can be directed to the committee members at any time. We welcome your input and assistance in all club matters.
Minutes from Committee Meetings and Financial Reports are available for you to read. Find them in a folder on the President’s Desk
December 2023 Monthly Memo
Welcome to our newest Members – Denise Armstrong, Joan Van Drunen and Michael Meredith. Please make yourself known to these 3 andwelcome them to our club.
Christmas Lunch – should be a very fabulous affair on Wednesday 13th. The House committee are working hard on making this lunch the best ever.
Around the Club – You would have to agree the Club is looking fantastic. Thanks to all the volunteers who are helping around the club. From gardens to lawns, guttering (to suit short people!), fence painting, safety line marking etc. A lot of work goes into maintaining the club and jobs appear to be happening without fanfare. Keep it up everyone. Help may be needed to prune the hedges. Talk to Chris Groves if you can help.
Defibrillator & First Aid Bag – A new battery & pads have been purchased for the defibrillator to keep it up to date. Let’s hope we never have to use it. If you use anything from the first aid bag please let us know so it can be replaced and should it be necessary please fill out an incident form.
Outside Bookings – we have 4 final outside bookings in December – fabulous funds for the Club.
Club Polo Tops and Name Badges – Please see the flyer on the noticeboard (next week) for more details.
Congratulations to the following successful teams and SBCC members:-
CT GC Divisional Singles Div 3 Winner Rod Chisholm and Div 4 Winner Ian Murray
GC Spring Pennant –SB won Div 2, SB Red won Div 3 with SB White runners up. SB came 3rd in Div 1.
Australian Open SinglesCallum Hyland reached the semi-finals & finished 3rd & came 4th in the Aus AC Open doubles
CT Teams Championships The southern team of which 2 were from SB, Yvonne Shaw and Graham Keating, convincingly won from the North & North West teams.
New TownCroquet Club asked if we would circulate the following to our members: “Do you live north of SBCC? New Town has excellent availability of three lawns and offers Associate Membership for $100 pa. Lawn fees are $5.00 per day, and you'll be given a key to access the Club whenever you like. As with all Croquet Clubs, New Town do have schedules, but with 50 members and three lawns, we offer good availability and are a friendly mob.” SBCC don’t offer an associate membership as we are at membership capacity.
2024 – A very busy start to the year
Coaching, Tim’s Tactics - Tim will be running a workshop on the 18th January from 2pm to help you improve your croquet for competition. Very beneficial to not only those who are considering entering into one of our pennant teams in 2024 but to all players.
AC Summer Pennant – to start on 16th January for 6 weeks. If interested please contact Jane Hyland
Club Championships & C Division Championships – will be held Friday 2nd till Sunday 4th February
Rene Hortle Novice Championship & B Division Championships – will be held Friday 23rd till Sunday 25thFebruary
Expressions of Interest Forms will be placed on the notice board in January
Handicap singles - will be held in April
AC Club Championships – will be held in April
Croquet Tas GC Men’s Open Singles 16th – 18th February
AC Gold Medal, ACA Men’s and Women’s AC Singles and the AC Interstate Event the Eire Cup will be held from 6th to 17th March As SBCC is the host club (7 years since we last hosted) there will be a number of volunteers needed to help out. Please consider helping as we want SBCC to shine! More details to follow in the New Year.
Come and Try –We receive requests from the public to come and have a try at croquet. Our membership is at capacity at the present but we are mindful that membership numbers can change at any time and in order to maintain this level of membership we will hold 2 ‘Come and Try Days’. The first one will be on Friday 17th May from 1pm and the other in October.
Main Street Financial Solutions - A valued sponsor of SBCC will hold an information evening from 5pm February 13th – Drinks and nibbles supplied.
Monthly Memo – Major points from the Committee Meeting 6th November 2023
Welcome to our newest Member – Moya Fyfe. Make yourself know to Moya andwelcome her to the club.
GC Spring Pennant –4 teams entered this year – all competing well at this stage 1st and 2nd spots in Div. C, 1stspot in Div. B and 2nd spot in Div. A Final games are on next week. Good luck Sandy Bay!
Christmas Hamper the club are asking for donations of non-perishable goods to build a fantastic hamper for our Christmas raffle. This is our only fundraiser for the year. Please place your donation into the basket in the clubrooms. If we get too many donations we have a lucky door at the Christmas Lunch.
SBCC Grants Officer – We have implemented a sub-committee under the Executive of the SBCC Committee to appoint a member to seek out and apply for grants for the Club. Leanne Adcock volunteered herself for this position and is already working hard investigating every avenue for grants.
Garden Working Bee – Saturday November 25th 10am. We need your help to trim the camellias and a few other tasks. Please bring your lopping tools, other cutters, and your strength! (a ute or trailer would be great to remove the garden waste). Please get in touch with Marg Jennings our garden co-ordinator.
Covid –As you will be aware covid is still around. We ask that if you have been in contact with a covid positive person that you stay away from the club. Please show consideration for our older members.
Maintenance – we will advise when this working bee is to be held. If you don’t feel you can contribute manually to a working bee you could consider a cash/goods donation as some members have in the past. Please ask us for details of equipment/building supplies that are needed.
Outside Bookings – we have 3 outside bookings coming up in December – fabulous funds for the Club.
Coaching, Tim’s Tactics - Tim will be running a workshop in January to help you improve your croquet for competition.
Hoop Setting Course – To be run in November/December. When we set the date it would be fantastic if a few more members learnt this task so that we can lighten the load of the few that are involved.
Wednesday Twilight – a great fun evening. A bit chilly at present but I’m sure things will warm up soon.
Visitors to the Club –Please ensure that visitors sign into the club and pay the $5-00 lawn fee. They must not impede a member’s ability to play. We have extended an invite to other club members that when their club is being used for a Croquet Tas. event they are welcome to play at Sandy Bay. I’m sure the offer will be extended to us as well. Visitors are limited to 6 visits a year.
REMINDERS – PUT IN YOUR DIARY Garden Working Bee November 25th Christmas Lunch December 13th Maintenance working Bee TBA Hoop Setting course TBA Tim’s tactics Workshop – January TBA Defibrillator - how to use – demonstration by St Johns in February TBA
Please remember your Committee welcomes suggestions of a substantive nature and queries can be directed to the committee members at any time. We welcome your input and assistance in all club matters.
Monthly Memo – Major points from the Committee Meeting 3rd October 2023
GC Spring Pennant –4 teams entered this year. 1 each in Division A and B and 2 teams in Division C. Good luck to all members participating. There will be some impact on lawns for social play. Check the notice board/ calendar in the kitchen or have a look at our on-line calendar on the website.
Maintenance - there are a number of maintenance tasks to be undertaken. We are hopeful that there are enough volunteers to help with these tasks. A list of tasks will be put up on the notice board outside the mallet shed for your perusal and to pick a task that you could complete. We have a finalization date for these tasks to be completed before the Eire Cup in March. But the sooner the better!
Mallets -Still a few for sale $50
MCMF Information Evening –thanks to those who were able to attend and hear from our Sponsor.
Outside Bookings - we have had more school bookings and the students are really embracing our game. We have a local government group coming on Monday afternoon and a couple of further bookings coming up to Christmas.
Seniors Week –we are holding our annual seniors week morning on Monday 16th 10am-12pm
Suggestion -thank you for the suggestion of a dishwasher for the kitchen. Whilst a good suggestion it would not be practical addition to our clubrooms.
Club Polo Tops – watch this space!
Kaye’s Coaching, Tim’s Jumping and Rules – so well attended that there became 3 groups of participants. Well done on improving your croquet.
Women’s Event - This may well become an annual event. Congratulations to Summa for winning and to Ann for being runner up.
Hoop Setting Course – To be run in November/December. It would be great if we could lighten the load on the few members that undertake this task.
Wednesday Twilight – a great fun evening. A bit chilly at present but I’m sure things will warm up soon.
REMINDERS AC Medals are at SBCC 20th -22nd Oct Monday the 16th 10am-12pm is our day for Seniors Week. Please make anyone who comes along feel welcome.
Don’t forget the Committee welcomes suggestions of a substantive nature and queries can be directed to the committee members at any time. We welcome your input and assistance in all club matters.
Monthly Memo – Major points from the Committee Meeting 5th September
Membership Renewals – Thank you to all that have paid so promptly and thanks to those that returned their membership renewal forms for the purpose of updating the database. Membership is now closed at 105!
Welcome New Members – Cathy Lennard, Rosie and Arthur Lathouris and Neil McGlashan
We would normally ask that once new members are elected the 2 supporters of the application for membership show the new member around and teach them the art of croquet but as these newbies have been playing already we don’t need that support in place but do please make them welcome.
Come and Try – If you are asked by a non-member about coming and trying croquet our policy, (now that membership is at capacity) is that you can invite a non-member in to have a single try out with you but let them know that we are not accepting new members and suggest that they look to the other 3 clubs who are still taking members.
Twilight – Once again we are offering you the chance to enjoy a game of croquet of an evening. This year Twilight will commence a little earlier - Wednesday 4th October 5-7pm and will continue every Wednesday evening until the 28th February 2024. It’s a fun evening with BYO everything. We are finishing the season earlier than in the past as the lawns will be closed from 3rd -17th March for the Eire Cup.
Mallets –By now you should have named your mallet (Thanks Leanne for organising). We ask that if you use one of the club mallets you put them back in the spare mallet shed and not in the Members Mallet Shed. Ideally it would be better if everyone owned their own mallet. We may have a few for sale soon.
Outside Bookings – we have had a number of students from local schools trying our game and with support of members teaching them and along with their enthusiasm for the game we may in the future be able to run a schools competition. Watch this space.
Lawns – As always the lawn committee works hard to keep the rabbit runs at a minimum. They would like to remind you that when you pull out the hoops you pull them straight up – do not wiggle the hoops out! If they are too hard to pull straight out then we ask that you use the lifter and also if necessary use the rubber mallet or your feet to tap down the hoop area.
Thank you to Collette for the donation of bright red towels hanging in the shelter sheds and to Ian for painting the seats red and white.
REMINDERS·
GC Spring Pennant: Don’t forget to put your name down by the 15thSeptember. Pennant runs from 10th October for 6 weeks Special event: Women’s Only Club Tournament Saturday 16th and 23rdSeptember Kaye’s coaching & rules session 7th October AC Medals – we are one of the 3 clubs hosting from 20th – 22nd October
Don’t forget the Committee welcomes suggestions of a substantive nature and queries can be directed to the committee members at any time. We welcome your input and assistance in all club matters.
Monthly Memo – Major points from the Committee Meeting 1st August • Membership Renewals – Renewal is due by 31st August.
• AC Hi Lo - is on from 11th-13th August. Lawns will not be available at this time. The House Committee convener, Carol, welcomes any input from you for the smooth running of this event.
• Annual Maintenance Day – PLEASE come and help out on the 19th August from 9.30am (BBQ Lunch and drinks will be supplied). There are still a few empty spots on the allocated jobs list. These tasks can be completed on or before the 19th August. There are usually a few other jobs that aren’t on the list to be done on the day. Sadly no-one adopted a shelter shed • Annual Opening day - this year it is to be August 26th. Members are invited to arrive around 10.30am with the official running of the first hoop of the season at 11am. Followed by morning tea. If possible, could you all please bring a plate of delicious nibbles to grace our table? • Coaching and Rules Session – Kaye is running a coaching session on Saturday 7th October at 10am. Mainly for new members but all are welcome. This will be followed by a rules session at 11am. This will benefit all members. • Sponsorship – In response to the last memo when I suggested that we all look to find sponsors for the Club, Rod Chisholm received a $200 donation from Brock Plaster. Thanks go out not only to Brock Plaster but to Rod for securing these funds. Ask Rod for details of this company.
• Grant Received – Thanks to an initiative of Lyn Chisholm in contacting Elise Archer MP, we are excited to announce that we received funds from the Premiers Discretionary Fund to cover the cost in purchasing new balls which will be used when we are the host Club for the Eire Cup in March 2024. The lawns will be unavailable 3rd - 17th March 2024.
• Bookings – We have several days when School groups are coming to play croquet. 12th Sept 9.30-11am – Hobart College. To be advised for next week Hutchins School And Seniors Week 16th October 10am These sessions are valuable sources of revenue for the Club. We are sorry for the inconvenience but always endeavor to leave 1 lawn available for social play.
• Lawn Barriers – Please make sure you put the barriers back in place and put the metal holder over the pipe. This will not only protect the playing surface but also keep the barriers from having a life of their own!
Recent Events – Congratulations to Bronze Medal winner Ian Murray and runner up Liz Madden. And to Jane Hyland who was runner up in the Gold Medal. Also congratulations to club member Callum Hyland who competed in the WCF AC World Championship held in the UK- 80 competitors – Callum reached the semi-finals of the plate event (came 35th) For those who know Callum you will be amused to know that he managed to bypass the strict Hurlingham "white's only" dress code by donning his favourite pants over his whites, as rain pants when the drizzle started!
Monthly Memo – Major points from the Committee Meeting 4th July
Membership Renewals – will be available late July in the clubrooms. As we have a few potential members on the waiting list it would be appreciated if you are considering not renewing your membership that you let us know as soon as possible so that we can welcome new members to the club.
Congratulations to 4 members of our Club who were selected in the Tasmanian Team to compete in Western Australia in September 2023. Yvonne Shaw, Carol Hanigan, Jane Hyland and Graham Keating.
We wish them all the best for a fantastic competition.
Congratulations also to Kaye Denny who has qualified as a GC Croquet coach. Thanks to those members who came along as Kayes’ students.
Garden working Bee – all members are invited to come and help with garden maintenance and pruning etc. on 15th July from 9.30am, you can do as little or as much as you are capable of. Please bring your own tools clearly marked with your name. We look forward to a good roll up.
Annual Maintenance Day – 19th August from 9.30am with a supplied BBQ Lunch to follow. Each year before Opening Day we attempt all the little jobs that keep the clubrooms looking good. A list of jobs will be on the notice board for you to peruse and write your name beside your chosen job. These tasks can be completed on or before the 19th August.
Adopt a Shelter Shed – we are asking members to consider adopting a shelter shed for the year. This way they will be kept maintained all year. There will be a form on the notice board. First in best dressed!
Annual Opening day - this year it is to be August 26th. Members are invited to arrive around 10.30am with the official running of the first hoop of the season at 11am. Followed by morning tea. If possible, could you all please bring a plate of delicious nibbles to grace our table.
Practice hoops will be set up on the lawn margins in order to save the lawn in front of the hoops. We would appreciate a few more members learning how to set hoops. Please talk to Tony.
Rules Session – Kaye is planning a rules session for early October. This is not just for pennant players but for all members.
Sponsorship – we are constantly looking at sponsorship for the Club, especially as it is becoming harder to run raffles etc. Donations and Bequests to the Club will of course be gratefully received. If you have a lead for a potential sponsor please let me know.
Full Minutes from Committee Meetings and Financial Reports are available for you to read.
Find them in a folder on the President’s Desk
Congratulations to the winners of our 2024 Club Championships held recently.
Association Croquet
Division A Noel Davies
Division B Ben King
Division C Greg Jones
Golf Croquet
Division A John Colquhoun
Division B Rose Jones
Division C Margaret Bishop
NEW COMMITTEE ELECTED
At the Clubs’s Annual General Meeting held on the 20 May, the following members were elected to the Committee for the next twelve months;
President: Geoff Tomlin
Vice President: Ian Smith
Secretary: Rosalie Parton
Treasurer: Roy Ormerod
Committee: Elaine Anderson, Naomi Connor, Noel Davies, Sue Downer and John Hutchison
