APRIL SBCC COMMITTEE MEMO

• Contribute to your club!: We are a club with over 100 members - by far the biggest croquet club in Tasmania. So it should not be hard to find volunteers to assist in the smooth running of the many activities around the club. Yet sometimes it seems that the tasks are all being done by the same members. The lifeblood of our club is the voluntary work put in by you, our members. Your committee is grateful to everyone who gives their time: thanks to those who turned up for our recent weeding working bee. I urge every member to think of just one (more) area in which they could contribute a little more to the club. It need not be a huge task, or very time consuming. Joining one of our subcommittees in an area of interest to you is a great way to get involved more. If each and every member did just a little more, the load would be spread more equitably. I am always happy to discuss ways in which you can contribute.
• AGM - The date of our AGM is Saturday 13 May, at 10.30 in the clubhouse. The AGM is followed by a Forum where members can raise issues and ask questions. I will soon issue the Formal Notice of the AGM, and the call for nominations for official positions. You will also be informed of the Committee’s proposal to streamline the membership application process. See you there!

• Club Championships in GC are now finished. Congratulations to Ben King who took out the Open from Hugh Denny, Tony van de Vusse in Division 2 from Chris Groves, Anthony Hodge for winning Division 3 from Rod Chisholm, and to Rene Hortle winner Steve Andrewartha from runner up Colette Gallacher. The AC club championships are now being played.
• Lawn renovation is now complete and the lawns are looking great. Please look after them by playing your shots with care, and fixing any damage you do. The area outside the equipment shed has been beautifully paved as well.
• Friends’ School: Three groups of students will be trying croquet on Monday 22, Tuesday 23 and Friday 26 May, from 11.50 to 12.50 each day. If you are happy to help introduce these students to our great game on one of those occasions, talk to Liz Madden or me. Here’s a simple way to contribute!
• Welcome to Liz Cummings, Fiona Officer, Simon Troman and Ian Murray as new members of the club. We now have a waiting list for membership.

Farewell: This is my last Memo, as I am stepping down from the Secretary role at the AGM. I’ll still be involved at the club in many ways, including coaching and refereeing: in fact, I may get time to play a little more croquet as well! Thanks for all your support over the last seven years.

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club

MARCH SBCC COMMITTEE MEMO

• Contribute to your club!: The lifeblood of our club is the voluntary work put in by you, our members. Your committee is grateful to everyone who gives their time. However, there is a lot to be done, and here are some other ways you can be involved. Stand for the committee or join one of the sub-committees. Become a qualified referee and/or coach (you don’t have to be a top player to do so). Look at the maintenance list on the noticeboard and take on one of the tasks. Join the weeding or mowing group. Learn how to lay out the lawns and set hoops. Assist at the Croquet Tasmania events we host. Help run hires to outside bodies and schools. If everyone did just a little more, the load would be spread more equitably. Talk to a committee member about how you can contribute.
• Club Championships in GC are nearing completion. Congratulations to Anthony Hodge for winning Division 3 from Rod Chisholm in a very high quality final, and to Rene Hortle winner Steve Andrewartha, with runner up Colette Gallacher. Entries for the AC club championships are open - see the games noticeboard.
• Congratulations to members Callum Hyland who will represent Australia at World AC Championships in England in July, Yvonne Shaw who won ACA Second Women’s Open GC Eights, Jane Hyland (with Graham Hyland from KCC) who were runners up in CT Open AC Doubles, Carol Hanigan as runner-up in the CT GC Women’s Singles and Graham Keating third in the CT GC Men’s Singles.
• Lawn renovation We will be renovating all our lawns from Tuesday 14 March. They will be closed through Monday 20 March inclusive. Our lawns get heavy usage and need this treatment to remain in their usual great condition. The area outside the equipment shed will be paved at the same time.
• Membership numbers: We have just about reached our cap on membership numbers, and have decided to suspend new Taste of Croquet packages for the time being. In fairness to those currently on them, we will process their membership applications soon.
• Social play We wish to reiterate that all members who attend social play sessions must enter the random draw which takes place about 10 minutes before the start. The only exception is if there is a spare lawn and you are not playing the code scheduled. We are an inclusive club, which means that we all will play with and against whoever the draw indicates (though there is some room for mutually agreed modifications). If you want to play with particular people, then arrange a time outside of the social play sessions.
• AGM - The date of our AGM is Saturday 13 May, at 10.30 in the clubhouse. The AGM is followed by a Forum where members can raise issues and ask questions. Please add this to your diary. There will be some committee positions vacant, including Secretary - talk to me if you want to know more.
• Bench If you have a garden bench surplus to requirements, please let us know.
• Welcome to Lynne Hardie as a new member of the club.

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club

 

FEBRUARY SBCC COMMITTEE MEMO

• New Members Welcome Party: Looking forward to seeing you all on Friday 24 February from 5 pm!
• Club Championships Please consider entering the GC Club Championships, to be held in the second half of February, and March. Entries close Friday 10 February. If you have been a member for less that 2 years, you should enter the Rene Hortle event! AC Club Championships will follow later. We will play the Handicap Singles as Advantage croquet, which is a version of GC where a player (or doubles team) with a higher handicap is given a start on hoops, while a lower handicapper may start with negative hoops. Details are on the games noticeboard, and members are invited to try it out, by agreement before play starts.
• AGM - The date of our AGM is Saturday 13 May, at 10.30 in the clubhouse. Please add this to your diary. There will be some committee positions vacant. Please think about nominating: this is a great opportunity to contribute to your club.
• Pennants: The AC pennants are on now, with our Division A and B teams playing. GC pennants will start on Tuesday 21 March and run for 9 or 10 weeks: Div 3 Tuesdays, Div 1 Wednesdays and Div 2 Thursdays. Keep your eye out for the sign up call.
• GC coaching for beginners continues on Saturday mornings at 10. All are welcome, especially if you are fairly new to the game, but even if you need a refresher on the basics. The 18 February session will be followed at around 11 by a session on the Laws of GC - everyone is welcome to attend.
• Lawn renovation We will be renovating all our lawns soon, possibly from 7 March. They will need to rest for a week afterwards.
• Outside hires - a group from St Aloysius will use C lawn on the Friday mornings of 17 and 24 February. On Saturday 25 February, from 4 pm, we will host an 18^th birthday party - the birthday boy learned croquet on a previous school visit. We need a couple of volunteers to run each of these sessions - contact me if you can do it.
• Congratulations to Callum Hyland (with Robert Fletcher) who won the Victorian Open Doubles, and Jane Hyland who won the CT AC Open Women’s Singles.
• Twilight croquet continues on Wednesday evenings, starting at 5.00 and finishing when the last person locks up. It is open to members and Taste holders, and members’ occasional guest: bring your own food and drinks and play any version of the game you wish.
• Drinks If you take a drink out of the fridge, or a bottle of wine, please donate the appropriate amount to the club.
• Welcome to Jude Andrewartha, Steve Andrewartha, Lesley Oliver and Caroline Knipe as new members of the club.

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club

 

DECEMBER SBCC COMMITTEE MEM

• Congratulations to Callum Hyland, winner of the NSW AC Open and recently appointed captain (for the seventh time) of the Tasmanian AC team for the Eire Cup, of which Jane Hyland is also a member. Well done, the Hyland family!
• Christmas Lunch and raffle Just a week until the Christmas lunch. If you are playing social croquet on Monday morning, please consider staying on for a while to help with setting up for the lunch. And if you have any raffle tickets still, please make sure the money and stubs are at the club by this Friday 9 December.
• Twilight croquet - an ever popular evening social play opportunity during daylight saving - will be on from 11 January on Wednesday evenings, starting at 5.00 and finishing when the last person locks up. It is open to members, and their occasional guest: bring your own food and drinks and play any version of the game you wish.
• Lawn mowing Tony van de Vusse is drawing up a roster for mowing the perimeter lawns in the new year. Talk to him if you are happy to be included - it would only be a handful of times.
• Pennants: GC pennant Division 1 team X factor is in third place, the Division 2 team is on top, as is Division 3 team Potoroos. Good luck, all!
• Jumping If you wish to practice jump shots, please do it on the practice lawn by C Lawn. There are ‘jumping boxes’ available for this - thanks, Tony - or you can use the practice balls and half lawn hoops.
• Maintenance: A contractor will be paving the area outside the equipment shed soon. The leak in the clubhouse roof has been fixed thanks to Guna and Tony. If anyone can turn down the thermostat on the hot water tank, talk to me. If you are closing the equipment shed door, please do it gently, as it becomes difficult to open if closed too firmly.
• GC coaching for beginners will be held from mid January. If you are fairly new to the game - or even if you need a refresher on the basics - keep an eye out for details, which will be circulated soon.
• Advantage croquet is a version of GC where a player (or doubles team) with a higher handicap will be given a start on hoops, while a lower handicapper may start with negative hoops. Details will be on the games noticeboard soon, and members are invited to try it out, by agreement before play starts.
• CT Treasurer - Croquet Tasmania are looking for someone to take over as Treasurer. If you have the appropriate skills, this is a great opportunity to contribute to croquet in the state.
• New members welcome: advance notice of a welcome to those who have joined the club since the last New Members Welcome on Friday 24 February at the clubhouse. Please put the date in that 2023 diary you have just bought!
• Welcome to Richard Pringle-Jones as a new member of the club.

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club

 

NOVEMBER SBCC COMMITTEE MEMO

1. Congratulations to our own Callum Hyland, who recently reached the Australian Croquet Association AC Open semi-finals, eventually finishing fourth. Excellent croquet, Callum!
2. Christmas Lunch and raffle Thank you for the donations to the Christmas Raffle hamper. Tickets for the raffle will be available soon for you to sell. We are in the process of getting a quote from the Christmas Lunch caterers, after which we shall be able to tell you the cost. Keep Wednesday 14 December free! Entertainment will be provided by our own Jill Holloway and friends.
3. AC Divisional Medals Jane Hyland won the Silver Medal, and Ben King the Bronze - congratulations to both! Thanks you to all those who helped out.
4. Pennants: AC pennant is now completed.GC pennant started today, and runs for five weeks, with the possibility of two more weeks of finals.  Good luck to our two Division 1, one Division 2 and two Division 3 teams. The effects on social play are on our online lawn use calendar.
5. Hoops We still intend to set up three positions for each hoop: two for social play, which can be rotated to prevent deep rabbit runs forming, and one for competitive play only. However, the removable plugs for unused holes are presently unavailable due to difficulties in sourcing materials, so it will be a little linger before this is fully in place.
6. Outside Users: As Christmas approaches, we will have more groups booking our lawns for social croquet. We try to ensure this impacts social play as little as possible by encouraging bookings after 4pm, but occasionally this isn’t possible. We will be looking for assistance, so do volunteer occasionally to spread the load.
7. Coaches/referees As you know, our club relies very heavily on members mucking in. Once you have become a reasonably experienced player, you should consider what you can put back into the game. We are always looking for members to become qualified as a coach - to assist newer members to learn the game, or even to coach at a higher level - and/or a referee - we need to be able to supply referees for pennants and competitions. This applies across both AC and GC. The knowledge you gather in becoming a coach and/or referee also has a big impact on your own ability to play croquet well and with enjoyment. If you are interested, talk to me, and look out for opportunities to qualify.

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club

 

OCTOBER SBCC COMMITTEE MEMO

 

• Congratulations to our own Jane Hyland, who recently won the Croquet Tasmania AC Women’s Medal, despite being seeded fifth out of six. Excellent croquet, Jane!
• A Membership numbers cap of 105 playing members has been adopted. We are currently a little below that number, and so have room for a few new members. However, if the cap is reached, new applicants will be placed on a waiting list.
• Pennants: AC pennant Please note that we have home games on Wednesday 12 October, and Thursdays 20 and 27 October. Social play opportunities will be restricted on those days.

GC pennant will start on Tuesday 1 November.  We have entered two Division 1, one Division 2 and two Division 3 teams. Great to see so many members getting involved in competition. When the draws are finalized, we will let you know the effects on social play.

• AC Divisional Medals will be played 21-23 October. SBCC is one of the venues, depending on the number of entries. If we are hosting games, we will be asking for some help with catering.
• Hoops To help maintain our lawns in excellent playing condition, we will soon be setting up three positions for each hoop: two for social play, which can be rotated to prevent deep rabbit runs forming, and one for competitive play only. The unused holes will be filled with removable plugs. We are also getting signs made to indicate which is the starting corner for GC social play to help avoid confusion.
• Covid policy We are redrafting our policy. Please let us emphasize that, whatever government instructions are, members who think they may be sick with any infectious condition are asked to stay away from the club until better. The age profile of our club means we have to be extra careful.
• Outside Users: Friends’ School students will play on Tuesday 18 October 11:30 – 1pm. We will also have some visitors join in GC social play on Monday 17 October for Seniors Week. Apologies for any interruption to social play.
• Mallets Check yours is labelled with your name. We will be culling un-named mallets soon. Make sure you look after your mallet, especially if it is wooden. Dry it before storing it.
• Name tags: Hugh has rearranged the name tags, so yours is likely to be in a different position. All members are in alphabetical order and have a number. We are exploring ways to make the results of social play draws accessible to members without needing to enter the clubhouse.

 

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club

 

JUNE SBCC COMMITTEE MEMO

1) Your new committee has had its first meeting. We are keen to involve as many members as possible in the running of the club, and a number of sub-committees have already been set up, with more to follow. Please think about which area of the club interests you most - Games, House, Lawns, Maintenance, Garden, Promotions, Coaching, Website - and approach the committee member responsible to volunteer your help - be it occasional and light, or more regularly. The more we have involved, the less each has to do! Of course, you can add your little bit across a number of areas too. A list of maintenance tasks is on the main Noticeboard. If you have the time and skill to complete any of them, please feel free. If you require equipment, talk to Garry Forward or Guna Ginneliya. And keep your eyes peeled for a Garden Working Bee in a few weeks’ time.

2) Yvonne Shaw, Carol Hanigan and Graham Keating have been selected in the Tasmanian ISS GC team. The last of the Club Championship events has been decided, with Ben King winning the GC Singles Handicap from Shane Madden. Congratulations to all these members on their significant achievements.

3) Please remember that, if you are the last to leave the club, it is imperative to check that all doors and gates are locked and equipment put away. Last Saturday morning, the kitchen door was wide open when a member arrived.

4) Dates for your diary. Our Glühwein Night is Thursday 21 July, Opening Day Saturday 27 August (with the Clean Up Day Saturday 13 August to prepare), Christmas lunch Wednesday 14 December. We also are planning a Quiz Night, and there will be the New Members Welcome in the New Year.

5) Our Lawns are now in fine condition, though we continue to find some damage in places. You will notice a fork in each ball box. If you inadvertently dent the lawn, please do carefully use the fork to lift the depressed area so it is level again. The longer damage is left in place, the harder it is to remediate it.

6) The popular Intraclub GC Pennant will start towards the end of June. This is a great opportunity, especially for newer members, to get some experience of competition in a low key way. Sign up on the sheet on the Games Noticeboard.

7) Kaye Denny will be running a GC coaching course of four weeks on Saturday mornings from 10-11 am, starting on 9 July and finishing on 30 July. If you are relatively new to the game, here’s your chance to sharpen your skills and tactics.

8) Your Committee has decided to cap the club’s membership at 105 as from the end of August. If at that time, there are already more than 105, new applicants will be placed on a wait list, until the numbers drop below that figure. This is to ensure all members have a reasonable chance of using our lawns.

9) New members. We welcome Robin Marshall, Elizabeth Gayton, Peter Gayton, Colette Gallacher, Ann Murray, Rebecca Watson-Vaughan and Kerry Boden as new members of the club.

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club

APRIL SBCC COMMITTEE MEMO

1) Thank you to all who attended our Working bee. A great deal was achieved and all members can see the results around the club and gardens. We also thank those members who undertook other tasks around the club at other times. You won’t be able to see it easily, but our clubhouse roof has been repainted as well.   

2) The AGM is scheduled for Saturday 14 May, at 10 am. Soon, I will send out the formal notice of the meeting, including an invitation for members to move a motion for the AGM. If you are having any thoughts along these lines, please talk to me. We intend to recommend two changes to membership categories: the withdrawal of Novice membership, and the renaming of Associate membership to Concessional membership. The full wording of these motions will be circulated to members before the meeting.  We will also call for nominations for the Club’s Executive, Committee and Handicappers. We encourage members to think about whether they might stand for a position. If you are not sure what this entails, talk to any present committee members. The Treasurer will present the Club’s annual accounts, together with the Committee’s recommendation for the subscription for the 2022-23 season of $370.

3) A Forum will follow the AGM, where members may raise matters with the Committee that do not require a formal motion in the AGM. Again, if you are thinking of raising any matter but are not sure of the proper approach, talk to me.

4) The Croquet Tasmania Golf Croquet Women’s Championship will be held at the club at the end of the month. Our lawns will not be available to members between 12 noon on Thursday 28 April until Sunday 1 May.

5) Our Lawns continue to look better and better, with work continuing to control weeds. They will generally be mown on Mondays and Thursdays. Our new practice lawn will soon be ready for use. We remind members to take care of our lawns. If you inadvertently damage the lawn, please do fix it - ask for advice if you are not sure how. The longer damage is left in place, the harder it is to remediate it.

6) We have received an email advertising a Winter Holiday Croquet Tour in Southeast Queensland, starting in Mooloolaba on Tuesday 26 July and finishing on 4 August. It will mix sightseeing in the area with four opportunities to play Golf Croquet at a different club each time. The cost is $4100 pp twin share.  If you are interested in learning more, contact me for a copy of the brochure.

7) New members. We welcome Jill Holloway, Rod West and John Paton as new members of the club.

 

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club

MARCH SBCC COMMITTEE MEMO

1) Don’t forget the Working bee to be held this Saturday 5 March from 9.30. We will be doing both maintenance and gardening jobs, followed by a BBQ lunch. We thank all the members who have already been doing tasks around the club. 

2) AGM A reminder that the date is Saturday 14 May, at 10 am. An official announcement will follow in due course, including an invitation to members to move a formal motion at the AGM. We will also call for nominations for the Club’s Executive and Committee. Please think about whether you might like to stand for a committee position. If you are not sure what this entails, talk to any present committee members. The AGM is followed by a Forum, where members may discuss matters that are not formal enough to warrant a motion at the AGM.

3) Subscription fees The Committee has considered the Treasurer’s draft budget for 2022-3. The draw down on the Club's reserves in the current year is likely to be about $18,000 - principally due to the lawn renovation works. If not for our successful fund raising activities - raffle, functions, corporate hires and increased sponsorship, this would have been greater. Given our fixed costs - including the lawns contract, insurance, water charges, council rates - and the need to slowly rebuild the club's reserves, the draft budget shows a small surplus of $2,333. Taking into account estimates of membership numbers and turnover, we will be recommending a full membership fee of $370 (excluding affiliation fees) at the AGM, compared to the current $330.

4) Lawns I think we will all agree that we are seeing our lawns gradually approach peak condition. There is a problem with water logging on C lawn since the rain arrived, and the watering regime will be tweaked to avoid this. In Spring, it will be possible to better level the lawn here.

5) Club championships are currently being played. It is great to see the good numbers taking part, especially in Golf Croquet.

6) GC coaching. There are about three weeks left of the one hour coaching sessions for our newer members from 10 am on Monday mornings. If you have already had coaching at this level, but would like more advanced coaching, ask around to see if you can get a group of members at a similar level, and then approach me.

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club

FEBRUARY SBCC COMMITTEE MEMO

1) Club championships will be held in March. We will be inviting expressions of interest in mid February. There are events suitable for players of all abilities and experience, so why not have a go!

2) Congratulations to Jane Hyland, who recently won the CT AC Women’s Open, despite being the lowest seeded player in the event. Fantastic achievement, Jane!

3) Lawns All the renovation work on our lawns is now finished. It will take a little while for them to come to their peak condition. Thank you to the Renov8 team, especially Jay, for all their work. 

4) Working bee to be held Saturday 5 March from 9.30, with a BBQ at lunchtime. With both maintenance and gardening jobs, there’s something for everybody. Please note that we do not need any more donations of plants for the garden.

5) The Property Council have hired the club from 4 pm on Tuesday 15 February. With a large group attending, we need another four or five volunteers to assist in showing them how to play. If you are happy to help, please talk to Liz Madden.

6) GC coaching for new members. We will again hold a one hour coaching session for our newer members from 10 am on Monday mornings. Note that this is aimed at members who are just starting their croquet journey. If you have already had coaching at this level, but would like more advanced coaching, ask around to see if you can get a group of members at a similar level, and then approach me.

7) Level 1 GC coach training  Given enough interest, I will run a course in how to coach beginners to GC, following the ACA guidelines. It should take one session, or maybe two. This will not give official accreditation, but there is a pathway to that following the course. I would like to encourage all members with a few years of playing GC to consider doing it. To express interest, email me and indicate your preferred time: Thursday morning, Saturday morning or another time.

8) Emails I have been finding that, recently, a few of my emails to members have been rejected by some addresses. To ensure they get through, please whitelist the club’s email address. If you are not sure how to do that, can I suggest asking a young person for help!

9) AGM We have set the date as Saturday 14 May, at 10 am. Please consider whether there are any matters you might wish to raise at the AGM, and talk to me if so. Please also think about whether you might like to stand for a committee position. If you are not sure what this entails, talk to any present committee members.

10) New members We welcome Marg Jennings, Margaret Binns and Rod Chisholm to the club.

Tim Sprod, Secretary, Sandy Bay Croquet Club