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Seniors Week is coming
Seniors Week is a celebration for older Tasmanians and recognises them for the contributions they make to communities. It’s a week of events for older people, all over Tasmania and is being conducted this year between 13 – 19 October 2025.
The Eastern Shore Croquet Club is again participating in Seniors Week and the Club will be available on Monday, October 13 between 1.00pm and 3.00pm for older people who would like to try croquet, so come along and have a go. Club members will be available to provide general advice and tuition and the session will be wrapped up with an afternoon tea.
The AC Classic was held from the 22 – 24 August at the New Town Croquet Club. In mainly fine, yet at times chilly conditions, some very competitive croquet was played. Playing in the best of three game format with the loser eliminated, the final come down to our very own John Hutchison and John-Lee Archer from the Devonport club.
It was a closely fought and entertaining match and a third game was required. That game ebbed and flowed and could have gone either way but it was eventually won 16 -14 by John Lee-Archer and congratulations go out to him on his well-deserved victory. Another very meritorious runner up finish for our John.
Well done to all competitors for a good-spirited competition and a big thank you to the New Town Club for providing excellent lawns and marvellous hospitality.
Winner John Lee-Archer (left) and runner-up John Hutchison (right) with Ian Bassett at the Presentation
A Truly Entertaining Competition
The AC Hi-Lo Doubles again proved to be an extremely successful event. A total of twelve teams battled it out over the past three days (8 – 10 August) at the New Town Croquet Club in pleasant but somewhat cool conditions. The event was conducted in an alternate shot format in two blocks with the winner of each block going through to play the Final. Whilst the winner of Block B (Jane Hyland and Liz Madden from the Sandy Bay Club) became quite clear early in the final qualifying match, the winner of Block A was a fiercely contested affair with as many of four teams in contention within half an hour of the finish of the final qualifying match. In the end though, it was Eastern Shore Club combination of John Hutchison and Laurie Bourke, courtesy of a magnificent break of nine hoops, who came out on top.
The Final was an entertaining and high standard match with the result in the balance right through until the final few minutes. After an absorbing battle, it was John and Laurie who outlasted Jane and Liz with a final score of 14 -11. Congratulations to the winners on a wonderful performance. The victory completed a personal hat-trick of victories for John Hutchison, all with different partners. Word has it that John’s phone has been ringing non-stop since the finish with players wishing to be his partner next year.
The event was not only an outstanding success overall but it unearthed some newer players to the AC format who displayed some real ability and skill and are likely to develop into fine AC players.
All players deserve great credit for their participation and a very big thank you goes out to all the helpers across the three days and to the New Town Club for again hosting this popular competition.
Here are some snaps of the teams and spectators.
The winners John Hutchison (left) with Laurie Bourke (centre), being presented with their trophies by Tournament Manager Ian Smith.
The Association Croquet Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals were held between the 18 October to 20 October 2024.
After a very wet first day at all venues, the last two days were played in lovely Tasmanian spring weather. The standard of play was very good and it was pleasing to see a few newer AC players having their first competition in the Bronze Medal.
The winners and runners up were;
Gold Medal: Held at Sandy Bay Croquet Club
Winner – Ian Bassett (New Town) Six wins, no losses (plus 71 net hoops)
Runner Up – John Hutchison (Eastern Shore) Five wins, one loss (plus 42 net hoops)
Silver Medal: Held at Kingston Croquet Club
Winner – Ben King (Sandy Bay) Five wins, one loss (plus 53 net hoops)
Runner Up – Geoff Tomlin (Eastern Shore) Four wins, two losses (plus 32 net hoops)
Bronze Medal: Held at Eastern Shore Croquet Club
Winner – Clair Tomlin (Eastern Shore) Four wins, one loss (plus 33 net hoops)
Runner Up – Rod Chisholm (Sandy Bay) Four wins, one loss (plus 16 net hoops)
October 2024 Golf Croquet Tournament
After a very wet winter and the delay of the annual July tournament due to the unplayable greens, the annual East Coast Tournament will now be held on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October 2024 continuing our tradition in St Helens. Once again, our focus will be on ensuring everyone has a fun weekend of light-hearted competition and informative instruction, all designed to enhance your Golf Croquet skills.
The cost is $25 per head which includes morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and the playing fee. On Saturday, Registration begins at 9.30am and Play commences at 10.00am. Play concludes at approximately 4pm or earlier for those who may wish to relax a little before dinner.
As usual, all players, partners and guests are invited to dinner on Saturday evening at Parkside Bar & Grill commencing at approximately 5.45pm for 6.00pm. Please advise the President if you wish to join us for dinner (including any dietary requirements) so that the booking can be made by mid-October.
Sundays’ activities commence at 10.00am and include tuition and games conducted by Patsy Paine. Morning tea and a light lunch will be provided. Players can continue games until they are exhausted! We look forward to welcoming you.
Contact details: Email: sthelenscroquet@gmail.com
Margaret Williams: 0407 492 765 (President) or
Bruce Knight: 0429 033 392 (Secretary)
The best eight, Tier 1 Golf Croquet teams in the world will be competing in what should be an exciting and skilful week of croquet.
Unfortunately, these events are expensive to organise and run and some fund-raising measures are being implemented to defray the costs which are expected to be around $40,000.
Whilst sponsorship and other revenues are expected, Graham and Jane Hyland, members of the Kingston and Sandy Bay clubs, have generously offered to organise and run a Silent Auction to assist in fund-raising.
Details of the auction are on the Croquet Tasmania website croquettas.com/fundraiser-silent-auction-2024/ where you can see the items donated by members and bidding details.
Whilst there is already a very impressive array of items to auction, local Clubs and members to requested to further contribute to the auction. It is still not too late to do so and anything that you could offer would be most appreciated, plus obviously your bids on current items would be great.
Email the TCA Treasurer, Jane Hyland on treasurercroquettas@gmail.com with details of donations (including photos).
Please help Croquet Tasmania successfully run this event.
Graham Keating
President
Croquet Tasmania
The World Croquet Federation GC Teams Championship will be held in Launceston between 17-23 February 2025.
Teams from Spain, USA, New Zealand, Australia, England, Ireland, Egypt and South Africa will be playing for the coveted Openshaw Trophy.
This is your chance to see 32 world-class GC players in action.
Volunteers will be needed for the many tasks that make a GC competition successful. Please register your interest ASAP on the form available on the Croquet Tas Website. Details of the various tasks are also detailed on the Website. Training will be provided and rosters drawn up well in advance.
A highly successful Tasmanian Hi-Lo Doubles event was held at the Sandy Bay Croquet Club over the weekend 9 – 11 August 2024. A total of 12 teams competed which necessitated dividing the field into two blocks of six teams with the winner of each block contesting a Final.
The winner of Block A was John Hutchison and Sue Downer and the winner of Block B was Graham Hyland and Carol Hanigan.
In an enthralling and at times high standard final, the team of John Hutchison and Sue Downer from the Eastern Shore Croquet Club, came out on top, winning 14 to 9.
Congratulations to the winners and well done to all competitors. It would seem that some of the newer players really enjoyed the format over the three days and it is hoped they will continue with AC in the future.
A big thank you to Jane Hyland for efficiently managing the event and to the Sandy Bay Club for providing wonderful playing conditions and the many volunteers for their great hospitality.
Croquet Australia are excited to announce the Australian Team selected to play in the 2025 Golf Croquet World Team Championship Tier 1, Openshaw Shield.
Congratulations to Robert Fletcher, Greg Fletcher, Malcolm Fletcher and Edward Wilson.
The Openshaw Shield will be held between Monday, 17 to Sunday 23 February 2025 at the Northern Tasmanian Croquet Centre, St Leonards, Tasmania.
8 full-sized courts will be available to host the 8 teams of 4 players who will compete.
The competing teams are:
New Zealand (Holders)
Australia
Egypt
England
Ireland
South Africa
Spain
USA
Format:
The format will be block play followed by a knock-out Championship.
Full details of the format will be published in the specific Event
Regulations prior to the event.
Schedule
Block Play: Monday 17th to Wednesday 19th February 2025.
Championship Knockout and Plate: Thursday 20th February to Sunday 23rd February.
Key Personnel
Event Lead: Graeme Roberts
Tournament Director: TBA
Tournament Manager: Paul Godard
DTM/Plate Manager: Sylvia Wing
Tournament Referee: Lizzie Bassett (Tasmania Director of Refereeing)
Secretary: Jane Hyland (current Secretary of CT)
Treasurer: Peter Tracey (current Treasurer of CT)
Livestreaming: It is anticipated that live streaming will be provided for the
event. This will be confirmed closer to the event.
Here are the general playing times and lawn allocations.
Mornings 9.30am – 12:30pm Afternoons 1:00pm – 4.00pm
| Day | Morning | Afternoon | ||
| Lawn 1 | Lawn 2 | Lawn 1 | Lawn 2 | |
| Monday | Association * | Association | Golf | Golf |
| Tuesday | Association | Association | Golf | Golf |
| Wednesday | Golf | Golf | Golf | Association # |
| Thursday | Golf | Golf | Association | Association |
| Friday | Association * | Golf | Golf | Golf |
| Saturday | No Set Play | No Set Play | No Set Play | No Set Play |
| Sunday | No Set Play | No Set Play | No Set Play | No Set Play |
# Coaching both Association and Golf
*Modified Rules are often used in this session
We produce a fair volume of very fine and normal grass clippings from our mowing activities. If anyone requires such clippings and other general green waste, then drop into the Club and have a look a what we have. If you want some, take it. It is free of charge.
The 2024 Association Croquet Inter Club Pennant season is just around the corner.
Division 1 starts on the 14th August and concludes on the 2nd October 2024
Division 2 starts on the 15 August and concludes on the 3rd October 2024
There will be a two week break between late August to the 8th September to facilitate those players participating in the Australian Golf Croquet Men’s and Women’s Singles and the Golf Croquet Inter State Shield being held on the Sunshine Coast.
The popular Tasmanian Association Croquet Hi-Lo Handicap Doubles Competition is being held between the 9th – 11th August at the Sandy Bay Croquet Club. This is a wonderful opportunity for higher handicap players to team up with a lower handicap player and enhance your skills and have a lot of fun at the same time. Play will be conducted on an alternative shot basis.
Entries close on Friday, 2nd August. Entries will be limited so be quick to enter.
We conduct regular coaching sessions on Wednesday afternoons. If you would like to come along and have a go, just turn up just before 1.00pm. A small fee applies for a six-week coaching package, which is then deducted from your membership fees in the event you decide to join the Club.
