CROQUET IN THE COMMUNITY
be ironed out, confidence grows, a few good shots are played, and by the end of the afternoon we had enjoyed three full games. We’re also lucky that we have a qualified coach available who wanders across all the lawns and offers his expertise where it is most needed. Refreshments are, of course, needed to sustain play for an entire afternoon. The WI members brought a wide selection of homemade cakes which were consumed with tea and coffee by players and coaches alike, halfway through the session under the shade of the marquee we have in the summer. We used the interlude to thank our guests for coming and explain what the club is all about and how they could join. In a note afterwards the organiser on their side said how much her members had enjoyed the event, mentioned that “some of our ladies found skills they did not know they possessed” and suggested we make it an annual event.
trampolines. We attracted over 100 players and offered a prize for the individual who could hit a ball through three hoops in the smallest number of shots. COMMUNITY GROUPS Moving back to home territory, we don’t offer pay and play. We exist for our members and members have priority. However, our lawns are most intensively used in the mornings and less so on some weekends and evenings. Accordingly, we accept bookings from organised groups who want an introduction to the game. A recent Saturday afternoon event with a local Women’s Institute was typical. They brought a group of 20 and we provided five lawns, along with an experienced player to guide play on each lawn. We have found that 15 minutes concentrating on the basic techniques of holding a mallet and hitting balls followed by three or four 30–40‐minute games of GC is a successful formula.
by Adrian Coles, Secretary, Surbiton Croquet Club At Surbiton we know we are lucky. We have seven lawns, a clubhouse with kitchen, dining facilities, changing rooms, Wi‐Fi and TV. We could sit back and enjoy what we have. But we very much endorse the Croquet England vision: “more people playing more croquet in more places”. We’ve therefore encouraged, in lots of different ways, more people to play more croquet at Surbiton. OPEN DAYS At the end of May we held our first open day since before covid. We publicised the day with shop window posters and local magazine articles and adverts, with Instagram, Facebook and NextDoor, and with free mentions on local radio. But most importantly we encouraged our members to publicise the event through their local community WhatsApp groups, and other clubs and associations of which they were members. We offered free coaching, tea and coffee, and sweets for the children (available only with parental consent, of course). Before the heavens opened in mid afternoon, more than a dozen visitors had signed up to our introductory courses – six weeks of tuition for £30, deductible from the first‐year membership fees if they chose to join. And for those who didn’t sign up ‐ mostly younger families ‐ they nevertheless told us that they had enjoyed their visit to the club and that we had removed some of the mysteries and misconceptions about the sport. We’ve also been able to participate in what might be called “external” open days. We’ve strengthened our relationship with the local Council, and we were invited this summer to take part in their “Olympic Sports Day”. Many local sports clubs had stands at the local sports arena, and we were able to set up a few hoops and explain the sport to visitors and our co‐exhibitors. Similarly, last year we took part in the local Scouts’ Bank Holiday festival that featured, among others, beer tents and children’s games, inflatable slides and
This year we’ve also held get‐ togethers for members of local churches. The ladies' group from a local church enjoyed their time with us so much that the gentlemen’s equivalent booked an afternoon with us too. Others we’ve welcomed recently include other WIs, a local LGBTQ+ group, a humanist society,
The progress made by our guests in a single afternoon was remarkable. The group I was looking after were so daunted to begin with that once I had explained the hoop order they were certain that they would never be able to reach hoop four. On their first hits they couldn’t get the ball past halfway to hoop one. But initial mistakes can
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