CANBERRA CROQUET CLUB NEWSLETTER MARCH 2005

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1 CANBERRA CROQUET CLUB NEWSLETTER MARCH 2005 IN THIS EDITION VALE 2005 EASTER CARNIVAL 2005 DIVISION ADVANCED SINGLES INTERSTATE CUP ETIQUETTE AND ALL THAT JAZZ! DOUBLE-BANKING PRECEDENCE LIGHTS, CANBERRA, ACTION! ANNUAL DINNER BE AWARE! FUND-RAISING PENS TEA ROSTER ON THE LIGHTER SIDE INVITATION NEW MEMBERS SPECIAL HERITAGE WEEK VALE A lot of our members won t have known Dorothy Norris. Dorothy joined the CCC as a playing member in 1984 and, after coping with ill health for a time, she gave up croquet to spend more time playing bridge. Dorothy became a social member in 1996 and remained in that category until she died on 28 February EASTER CARNIVAL Nineteen players, including nine CCC members, entered for the Carnival. Handicaps ranged from -0.5 to 22, and were drawn in three blocks, one of five players playing each other twice (Hot Block), and two of seven players playing a round robin (Cross and Bunnies blocks). Visitors were from Wagga, Queanbeyan, Jamberoo, Nowra, Bundanoon and Lismore. Due to the spread of handicaps, the Bunnies block played Handicap, while the other blocks played Advanced. Tony Hall was the Tournament Referee, and Carmel Statham was the Manager. Play in this Carnival qualified for handicap adjustment under the new Automatic Handicapping System, so all the players needed to manage their AHS cards, and note after each game the points gained and lost, with any consequences for their index. As was trialled last year, the CCC did not provide lunch catering, which reduced the amount of volunteer assistance required. Some CCC members volunteered their time to oversight the Bunnies block matches, to serve the hot cross buns and Easter eggs, and to keep the Clubhouse spic and span, which made for a successful and happy Carnival. Johanna Pask enjoyed her 12-point break from Hoop 2 and including the Peg, mostly after time had been called! Margaret Sawers, from Nowra (in the Bunnies block), put together an excellent 11- hoop break in one of her later games. The winners and runners-up were: Hot: Winner - Nick Chapman; R/U - Tony Hall Cross: Winner - Jim Nicholls, Wagga; R/U - Colin Wilcox Bunnies: Winner - Eddie Kowalski; R/U - Jan Serotzki, Lismore DIVISION ADVANCED SINGLES Draws have been posted on the Noticeboard for these competitions. All matches must be completed by Sunday 5 June (to allow time for the trophy officer to get the engraving done). Please try to arrange the matches earlier rather than later. Players should book a lawn for the match in the booking diary on the Captain's desk. Matches should not be booked for the times of regular CCC draws, which now includes Sunday morning at 10:00 am.

2 Players in Division 4 matches may wish to have a more experienced player on hand to assist with refereeing and, if so, should make the necessary arrangements. These matches also qualify for handicapping under the Automatic Handicap System, and thus all players will need to use their cards (and obviously obtain a card from either the Captain or Vice-Captain if one hasn t previously been issued). Players will need to have their cards at each of their matches, so the opponent can sign off the result. Should a trigger point occur, players will need to have their handicap adjusted on the front of the card by either the Captain or Vice- Captain, and the new handicap advised to Croquet NSW, and then to Croquet Australia. INTERSTATE CUP Every year, teams from each State play off for the Eire Cup, as part of the National Championships. This year, the event was played in Hobart and, after many years of coming fourth or fifth, this time NSW came second! Details of all the results can be found through the Croquet Australia web site. An excellent result, and well done to the Canberra contingent of Tony Hall and Stephen Richards. Nick Chapman and Nerida Taylor were selected as reserves, but did not play. Another good news item is that Stephen Richards has been selected as one of the reserves for the Australia. Ten Australians have been selected, and it is always possible that some other Australians may get in as a result of some qualifying events in England. This is an individual event, and usually involves the top 64 players in the world. ETIQUETTE AND ALL THAT JAZZ! Be aware of the other games Both on the court and as the out-player, it is important to avoid walking in front of a player in another game (on a doubled-banked court or an adjacent court) about to take a stroke. When on the court, keep an eye on the balls of the other game. 2 It all sounds very simple, but in practice... When you are starting your turn, imagine you are about to cross Commonwealth Avenue - look both ways. On the croquet court, look what is happening with the double-banked game! There may not be any balls whizzing around, but one player may be lining up for a critical shot; I can talk from experience, and so can many people. In such circumstances, it is infuriating when someone from the double-banked game mindlessly walks across your line of aim, oblivious of everything expect the two-foot roquet waiting for them after their opponent has stuck is a hoop! During a game, especially when a player in each game is making a break, it is understandable that you are concentrating on what you are doing and not worrying too much about the rest of the world. But, in the same way that you make sure you don t trip over a hoop, lift your head and make sure you are not dominating the court. Hoops, pegs and boundary lines Many of us arrive at the CCC just in time to put our tag in for the draw and then grab a quick cup of coffee before starting. The lawns are all set out, the draw is made and away we go! However, since our last magician went on strike (technically known as being on the grass ), someone has to put the hoops in place, fix the boundary cord and avoid any grizzles when another member complains that the peg isn t there, or the hoops are crooked! I thought it would therefore be worth talking about setting hoops, etc. We do compromise because the top players all want the hoops set as tight as possible, while other players are more than happy to have then fairly wide! Importantly, they ought to be tight in the ground. Believe it or not, loose hoops are usually much harder to run than firm hoops, because if the ball hits the leg of the hoop, a lot of the ball s momentum is absorbed by the movement of the hoop. As result, the ball tends to wobble to a halt right in the jaws! Grass cuttings (we have plenty) should be used to pack the hoop holes to ensure the hoop in tight in the ground.

3 For tournaments, we test all the hoops with a gauge to ensure they have the correct width, and also with a spirit level to make sure they are not leaning over. (For interest, have a look at the hoops one morning and see how many of them are all over the place. How about correcting it!). When hoops are set into the ground, use the rubber mallet and hit the crown at either edge, ie over the leg. If hoops are hit in the middle of the crown, they will eventually get distorted. Stamping on the hoop is not good practice (I cannot tell a lie; I am one of the guilty parties). We regularly swing the, ie put them in new holes. This avoids getting rabbit runs (grooves in the ground) in the jaws of the hoops. When that does happen, it is important that the ground is lifted with a fork and, if necessary, more sand placed under the topsoil to bring up the level of the ground. Just sprinkling a few grass clippings on the ground won t do any good at all, and we will have the same problem as soon as we use that hoop position again. Pegs are dealt with in a similar manner but, importantly, take out the extension piece before hammering in the peg. Some of us get very cranky when we find the extension piece has been jammed in and has to be drilled out! Boundary lines. Putting them out is almost as bad as bringing them in! There are two piston rods at each corner so that the cord can go round each one. These rods go into plastic sleeves in the ground to keep them firm. If these sleeves are missing, there are more available in the Clubhouse. It is very important that the cord is pulled tight: firstly, from a safety angle as we don t want people tripping over them; and secondly, there is nothing worse when yarding in a ball, to find the cord meanders along the so-called boundary, often being swayed by the breeze! Peter Tavender DOUBLE-BANKING PRECEDENCE 3 The normal procedure when the players from different games are getting in others way, is: the player making a break has precedence over a player just starting a turn; the player most likely to clear the hoop/area first has precedence; and avoid moving any balls which are in a critical position. Cooperation is the order of the day. For example, if one player is likely to be playing around a hoop for a little while (setting up a 3-back leave), and the player from the other game merely wants to load that hoop with one ball before going to another hoop, it would be logical for the first player to let the other player to play that stroke so that neither player is seriously held up. Finally, low-handicap players do not have any priority over everyone else! They should not expect it, and others should not let them get away with it! Peter Tavender ANNUAL DINNER Last year we went to the Reid TAFE restaurant for our Annual Dinner, and it was such good value that we are doing it again this year. Please make an entry in your diary for Friday 27 May. The cost will be $22.00 per head for a three-course meal. Because of the expected numbers, the main course will be served alternately. It s too soon to know what the alternatives will be, but there is a possibility that there will be a third option (students choice). A notice will appear on the board shortly: please put your name on it if you wish to join with other members (and guests) for the evening. Alternatively, let Chris Wilson know (ph or jonart@bigpond.com. Footnote: The restaurant is fully licensed (not BYO). Special dietary requirements can be catered for, providing we know in advance.

4 4 LIGHTS, CANBERRA, ACTION! From 4-14 March, Canberra became a hotbed of filmmaking excitement, which included some free publicity for the CCC. Nearly 50 teams of filmmakers captured special locations in a scavenger hunt in a bid to earn the prize of best film. The locations were announced to filmmakers on 4 March, giving them only ten days to write, cast, shoot, edit, score and commit their creative genius to tape. Thanks to the foresight of our Elizabeth Mountain, the CCC was nominated as one of those locations. Possessed filmmakers were frequently observed doing things theatrical in front of cameras. Some CCC members were even encouraged to participate in the cinematographic mayhem! On Saturday 19 March, the documentary entitled Three Degrees of Separation, was awarded the Oscar, at a star-studded event in the Garden of Dreams at the National Museum. The documentary explored the connections and divisions of Canberra residents. and did you know that croquet is regarded as an elitist sport? BE AWARE! Carmel Statham sighted a reptilian tail among the flowers and mulch near the flagpole on Saturday 19 March, and thought it was the goanna which had been living under the Clubhouse for some time at least a couple of years ago. On Sunday 20 March, she saw much more of the reptile, in a sinuous curve, as it slivered into the garden bed. Then, on Monday 21 March, she saw the whole 4-5 (or was it 6-7) feet of it, basking in a figure-eight pose, on the grass near the bushes to the east of the shelter at Lawn 3. Footnote: The snake was caught on Thursday 24 March, and taken away! FUND-RAISING PENS Are you in need of a new pen? Of course you are! How about one of the CCC s personalised maroon and gold blue biros? They re available from the CCC shop at a very reasonable $4. TEA ROSTER A new roster is attached. Please remember to note any changes on the roster posted on the fridge in the Clubhouse. Members may have seen the notice on the Clubhouse door that a snake was seen in the garden at the eastern end of the Clubhouse.

5 5 INVITATION WHO: Recent new members of Canberra Croquet Club WHEN: SATURDAY, 2 APRIL 2005 WHERE: Canberra Croquet Club WHAT: New Members Special Come along and join in on this special afternoon, to: meet new and longer-standing members; socialise; play Association Croquet; have lots of bisques; seek advice on improving one s games; and just enjoy ourselves. The timetable for the day is: Usual first Saturday Hi-Lo doubles draw at 10:00 am; BBQ lunch at 12:15 pm; New members special draw 1:30-3:30 pm. (Less-new members will assist new members play singles or doubles, depending on numbers attending.) Afternoon tea at 3:30 pm. The Club will provide BBQ meat and salad lunch FREE for new members. Less-new members will BYO lunches and some goodies for afternoon tea. We hope to meet you there. Carmel Statham Vice-Captain RSVP: CCC (tel: ) by Thursday 31 March 2005

6 6 HERITAGE WEEK COME AND TRY DAY(S) SUNDAY APRIL 10-11AM TO 3PM AT THE CCC and SUNDAY APRIL 17-2PM TO 4 PM AT OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE As part of the CCC s commitment to Heritage Week, on April 10 we will be holding a Come-and-Try-Day and Open House at the CCC during the above times. All members are encouraged to come along and participate, as well as watch the final of the Club Championship matches. The following Sunday April 17 - we will be holding a second Come-and-Try-Day at Old Parliament House, in conjunction with a Garden Party organised by the National Capital Authority. As both events will be very well publicised in the local media, any extra bodies to assist on the day(s) would be appreciated. Contact Anne Lomax ( ) (or any other committee member) for more information.

7 7 CCC TEA ROSTER APRIL-JUNE APRIL Anne Robinson Beverley Shannon 9 APRIL Peter Strauch Carmel Statham 16 APRIL Louisa Swan Libby Sutton 23 APRIL Nerida Taylor Peter Tavender 30 APRIL Colin Wilcox Rodney Teakle 7 MAY Roger Timms Sylvia Timms 14 MAY Bruce Caldwell Rita Williams 21 MAY Chris Wilson Margaret Wilson 28 MAY Don Woolford Glen Woolford 4 JUNE Will Adams Pam Allen 11 JUNE Robin Bailey Jonathan Bowen 18 JUNE Kevin Brereton Yvonne Brereton 25 JUNE Wenda Brown Roy Bryant

In This Issue. PRESIDENT S CANON Peter Freer. Hi everyone

In This Issue. PRESIDENT S CANON Peter Freer. Hi everyone The official newsletter of the Canberra Croquet Club In This Issue President s canon Annual General Meeting Croquet News from around the club Coaching Tournaments Invention Hi everyone Welcome to the July