The official newsletter of the Canberra Croquet Club. Hello everyone. Georgia Bray Editor

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1 The official newsletter of the Canberra Croquet Club April 2008 In This Issue Croquet President's Canon News from around the Club Club s 80th birthday party 2008 Canberra Easter Carnival Golf croquet The 8 th World golf Croquet Championships Golf croquet tournament - Young Gateball Tavender Trophy Hello everyone Welcome to the April edition of the newsletter. In the last few weeks we have been pleased to welcome people from all around Australia to our Club who took up invitations to attend our 80 th birthday party and Easter Carnival. Members from Association Croquet, Golf Croquet and Gateball made these events a success. One such member is Kimberlee Trent from the Gateball side. Check inside these pages for her profile, and also take a peek at the photo gallery of the 80 th birthday on the last page of the newsletter. Many thanks to all of you for contributing to the newsletter. Georgia Bray Editor President's Canon by Elizabeth Mountain What a busy month the club has just gone through! Firstly there was The Birthday and last weekend The Easter Carnival. Both were a great success, thanks to your involvement. I have already ed members to congratulate them on the birthday because it was the members who made the day great. I guess that the next committee will have to consider whether we do it as an annual event or not. The birthday definitely made the Canberra community in general more informed about mallet sports. As I have said before, too many people did too many things for me to single out any other than my planning colleague, Chris Payne, and our media star, Heather Clarke, to thank. I received many comments about the friendliness of club members and their willingness to take people on to the lawns. The challenge now comes with the next Come and Try on 6 April. If we advertise that well, we should get lots of people and will need lots of assistance on the day. For the first time, the gateballers will also be offering come and try activities too. If we get lots of participants who want to learn more, then you may be tapped on the shoulder to do some initial coaching. If we get five new members, we will have paid for the birthday party. The Easter Carnival as usual was a gentle and pleasant event. Aren't we glad we didn't have to cancel and what lovely weather? Thanks must go to Jonathan Bowen and Peter Freer for a well conducted and enjoyable long weekend.

2 News from around the Club Initial coaching and streaming The committee has given some thought to the cost benefit of the initial coaching. As you know, coaches put in more than 12 hours to teach basic skills to new people and a very low proportion ever end up as members. Peter Freer is finishing a group at the moment and streamed some of the trainees experiencing difficulties to golf croquet rather than Association Croquet. They happily took the suggestion and also accepted the option that they might take up Association later in their croquet careers. This approach has some difficulties of course, like how to manage the remaining members of the group in teaching them Association basics while enhancing the golf croquet skills of the chosen couple. We will keep looking at it to iron out all the glitches. Club committee s term ending year This note is to warn you that the current committee's year is drawing to a close and that there will be some people who will be leaving their positions, creating important vacancies. Peter Tavender, our treasurer, has done sterling work for the seven allowed years on the committee and will be finishing just before the end of the financial year. He leaves for a long trip to the UK in May. The duties are not onerous and the important thing is being willing to regularly call into the club. The records are currently kept on simple excel spreadsheets but can always be done in longhand if necessary. If you are interested or would just like some more details please talk to Peter as soon as possible. Elizabeth Mountain will also be leaving, having completed the Presidential two year stint. If you are still eligible to work on the committee (like, you have not done your seven years), please think about the fun you can have on the committee. If you have ever grumbled in your beard about things you would like to have been done differently, this is your opportunity to make them happen. Club card tables Has anyone borrowed some of the Club's card tables and not returned them yet? We need to know for the annual stock take. Beijing Olympic Torch Relay 24 April 2008 We have been asked to play croquet at the Old Parliament House lawns to provide a backdrop for the only Australian leg of the Beijing torch relay. This will provide entertainment for the people expected to be in the gardens watching. Just think we might be on international television with an audience in the tens of millions. More details will be provided as they become available and in the meantime please mark the date in your calendars. Annual Dinner 6.30 pm 22 May 2008 Hyatt Hotel Last year s annual dinner at the Hyatt s Promenade Café was so successful that many Club members who attended said they would like to return again this year for the buffet. The Hyatt has kindly given us a special rate again - $39 per person. You will recall that last year we paid on the night and also paid for drinks at the table and it all worked very well. There will be a notice on the board for you to indicate how many people will be coming so we can tell the Hyatt how to set up the tables. Bouquet of the month This month's bouquet goes to Jonathan Bowen and Peter Freer for organising the Easter Carnival. Most people see the results of the work during the event but you really have to have been a tournament manager to appreciate all the preparatory work such as advertising (nay even begging for players), working up the draw (the mathematics are beyond me), preparing the clubhouse, shopping and then maintaining everything and every person during the period. It is hard work and we are grateful that people step up every year to do the work. On the other hand, wouldn't it be nice if each year the committee didn't have the nerve-wracking period when no-one seems interested in doing the work. Refurbishment of ball boxes A big thank you also to Brian Thomason who has refurbished the ball boxes. He has tightened or replaced all the nuts and bolts, cleaned them up, varnished them and in general given them a good overhaul. 2

3 Club s 80th birthday The Club s birthday on Sunday 9 March was an awesome experience and exceeded all our expectations with an attendance of around 200 people. Most people found something to enjoy whether it was croquet, golf croquet, gateball or just generally having a party. It was all made possible by the assistance of club members, the Lions Club who put on the sausage sizzle, the Hyatt who made a scrumptious cake like you ve never seen, and not to forget our Club president Elizabeth Mountain who made it all happen. A fantastic time celebrating mallet sports was had by all. We even received the following feedback from David Jockel who attended with his son Isaac: The club members were all very friendly and helpful, and generous in letting us use their equipment. We played gateball and golf croquet. My first shots were brilliant, but it soon became clear they were merely beginner's luck. My eight year old son, Isaac, had some trouble at first with the heavy croquet mallets, but got the hang of it fairly quickly and particularly relished the competition of playing in teams. He is keen to play again. There is definitely a unique charm about croquet. It's pleasant and relaxing to be outdoors in a nice setting, and the game itself was enjoyable socially but also surprisingly exciting, entertaining and challenging. The next step will be to learn the rules of real croquet! The lemonade was nice and cold and the cake was delicious! 2008 Canberra Easter Carnival pictures, news and stories 2008 Canberra Easter Carnival by Jonathan Bowen The 2008 Easter Carnival attracted twenty-one players. The winners of the three blocks were Ian Walker, A.B. Morrison block, Robin Shenton from the Narooma Club, John Jaques block, and Alan Honey, Tom Howart block. The overall winner was the Canberra Club s Alan Honey. Well done Alan and congratulations. For a while there, however, it looked like the carnival just wasn't going to happen this year. The closing date was upon us and there were less than a dozen confirmed entries. Whilst Peter Freer had kindly offered to assist, nobody was volunteering to manage, and the captain was close to cancelling the event. Since joining the club in 1999, I've played in many of the Easter Carnivals and, travel permitting look forward to the event each year. The prospect of having the Carnival cancelled was such that, with the enthusiasm of the naive, I put my hand up and offered to give the managing a go. From then on the Carnival seemed to develop a life of its own. Exciting news! Georgia Bray had looked on Google and found Blaise Northey, now living in Victoria, who wanted to come and play, fulfilling a promise to himself to mark the recent passing of his croquet mentor and friend, Kevin Brereton. More good news followed. Now Tim Murphy and Alan Honey were able to enter. Jim Nicholls wanted to come up from Wagga and a couple of other entries were found at the back of the secretary's box. By early March we had 21 confirmed entries, pretty much the perfect number for the advertised event and three lawns. The format of the Carnival hasn't changed much over recent years. It's advertised as providing one or two games per day, and accepts a wide range of handicaps. Twenty-one entries quickly became three American blocks of seven, with the range of handicaps in each block being sufficiently close to allow advanced play all round. In contrast to the heat of the preceding days, Canberra's Good Friday dawned unexpectedly cold and grey. Shivering in my shorts at the bus stop, I recalled my mum's advice about never leaving the house without your vest on. Well it makes sense when you live in Wales, but I wasn't the only one caught out by the cold that day. 3

4 Arriving at the club around 8.00 am I was delighted to see Peter Freer hard at work setting out hoops and we were soon joined by Tournament Referee Tony Hall and other, less surprisingly, early risers. By 9.00 am all was in order and most of the first round players were enjoying a nice cuppa and a hot cross bun. Club President Elizabeth Mountain formally opened the tournament at 9:15 am and the first round promptly got underway at 9:30 am. Some excellent croquet was played over the course of the tournament. I was especially pleased to see a number of pegged out and high scoring games in the A.B. Morrison block, where many of those entered were playing an Advanced rules competition for the first time. All three blocks remained very competitive throughout the tournament, with the winners only being determined in each block's last round. Many a player was seen staring at the laptop display of Tim Murphy's excellent scoring program, working the numbers to see what needed to happen for them to head their block. The scheduling of the tournament was such that the last round finished around 2:30 pm on Easter Monday, allowing us a formal presentation to the winners and runners-up of each block. Alan Honey provided some delicious platters of gourmet sandwiches, mini-quiches and fruit, which had all but disappeared before the first winner was announced. At the suggestion of Blaise Northey, we decided to hold an impromptu One-ball knockout tournament following the presentations. The One-ball game was much liked by Kevin Brereton and is, in many ways, more spectator friendly than traditional association play. Blaise generously donated a cash prize, which was duly clipped to the peg to be competed for. It is hoped that a One-ball tournament, named in remembrance of Kevin, will become an annual part of the Easter Carnival in future years. Thank yous are due to many people for their help with the organising and running of this year's carnival. Peter Freer in particular, put in a tremendous effort with the organising and day-to-day running of the event, yet still managed to play well enough to claim 2nd spot in his block. Thank you and well done. Stephen Meatheringham, as Club Captain, provided much advice along with the well researched "What's On In Canberra" guide. Finally, thanks are due to all the competitors, whose good manners and good humour made managing this tournament a pleasure. Easter - a personal view by Peter Freer I love the tension and excitement of a whole 4 days of competition croquet. I've been a member of Canberra Croquet Club for 27 years, but croquet has always been a part-time activity - behind work, family, scouts and a range of other activities. I'm always very aware that I should practice more, and improve my game. Playing over Easter is one way of doing so, and it is reassuring to be playing people that I've encountered before at Narooma, or in previous Easter competitions. The next step is to play at other venues, and learn to adjust my game to varying conditions. I enjoyed all 6 games over Easter, for a range of reasons. Winning a game always helps, but - as Jim Payne said - it s important to feel that you're playing well enough to be a threat even if you don't win. I've never contemplated a triple peel, but it s satisfying to make decent breaks, hit some long roquets, feel in control for some of the game, and to set a leave after 3 back (as opposed to always stuffing up a hoop and having to walk off with the lawn all laid out for your opponent to make the break you should have finished). It s also about knowing the rules and not mis-leading your opponent, such as when I had to tell Robin Shenton that he did have contact after all and jettison an 8 hoop break. There is also the immense satisfaction of pulling games out of the fire - such as managing to make two successive big breaks and peg out, after your opponent had run rover with both his balls but missed the rush to the peg, to win I have always relished the luxury of playing in the middle ranks, where you know that stuffing something up will give your opponent a chance but it s likely that they'll manage to do something similar and hand it back to you. Safe, and tolerant of mistakes. First Division play seems so fraught by contrast, when any mistake is likely to cost you the game. 4

5 This Easter was also different in that previously I'd enjoyed being able to play my games and then disappear off to the Folk Festival. This year, Jonathan Bowen had volunteered to be Tournament Manager but it was clear that he could do with a hand. I also felt I should put something back, so I agreed to help manage Easter having no experience helping run a competition. This meant a flurry of effort with Jonathan to get enough entries to avoid cancelling the event, getting the draw done and out (with significant help from Stephen Meatheringham) and tracking down Tony Hall to ask him to be Tournament Referee. Collating an information package based on previous events, and staying in touch with people despite changed addresses and various issues. We were fortunate during the event not to encounter any serious problems - there was a forced withdrawal, quick games, slow games, and dull/cool days and a hot day, but nothing worse or more contentious. I hope everyone else had as good an experience over Easter, and would be happy to incorporate any comment or suggestions for improvement into the competition write-up currently underway. Yours in croquet, Peter Freer! Golf Croquet The 8 th World golf Croquet Championships by Tony Hall The 8 th World golf Croquet Championships held in Cape Town in March attracted five Australian participants. The Australians had some very exciting matches. Kevin Beard from the Brunswick Club played the best and beat Salah Hassan from Egypt in the first knock out round. Hassan has twice won the world championship and has twice been runner up. Beard was then defeated in the 2 nd round by Chris Clarke from England who earlier this year won the World Croquet Championship in New Zealand. I was the second best Australian player although I failed to beat Yasser Esmat from Egypt in the first round. The overall winner was Ahmed Nasr from Egypt. I also had a marvelous time in the previous week when I stayed at the prestigious Country Club in Johannesburg to have some warm up practice before the championships. I felt safe and well looked after there, particularly one night when South Africa s Deputy President visited and the place was swarming with hundreds of beefy security guards and snarling guard dogs! Golf croquet tournament Wednesday, 7 May Young A reminder that we ve been invited to play at the Young Croquet Club. If you want a day of fun, socialising and golf croquet the tournament in Young is on Wednesday 7 May. If you are interested please complete a registration notice at the clubhouse by 1 May 2008, or contact Yvonne Grattan on phone Don t miss this wonderful opportunity to play with Young players. Gateball by Glen Whitehead Tavender Trophy Canberra Croquet Club Gateball Sunday 13 April On Sunday 13 April Canberra Croquet Club members are encouraged to experience the biggest gates in mallet sports and be a part of the second annual Canberra Croquet Club Gateball tournament. Players new to gateball are especially welcome; the day will include instruction as well as competition. Morning competition will consist of traditional five a side matches with teams comprising players of all levels of experience. This is the ideal way to ease into gateball competition. Afternoon matches will see pairs competing for the coveted Tavender Trophy. The Tavender Trophy was named after Peter Tavender in appreciation of his work with the World Gateball Union in starting gateball's development in Australia. Last year's winners were Stephen Richards and Tony Hall. Players with limited gateball experience will be partnered with experienced players. Sign-up sheets for the teams and doubles events are in the Clubhouse. For those wanting an early taste of sparking and all things gateball there will be a special draw on the first Saturday of the month pm - 3:15 pm, Saturday 5 April. 5

6 Profile Kimberlee Trent Twenty-seven year old Canberra gateballer Kimberlee Trent played her first game in late 2005 but wasn t hooked until early the following year. The Canberra team had planned a trip to Melbourne to play a few friendly matches against Brunswick so they could pick up a few tips and improve their game. I tagged along for a bit of shopping but at the last minute one of the boys dropped out and I wound up playing for the team, Kimberlee said. Since then there has been no turning back for Kimberlee and with some success on the home front she is setting her sights on winning overseas. I had a wonderful opportunity to travel to South Korea in October 2006 for the World Championships. I am looking forward to many more travel opportunities overseas but at the moment feel lucky playing gateball each week with some of my closest friends in Canberra, Kimberlee said. Kimberlee met most of the other gateball players when she started her career as a graduate at the then Department of Finance and Administration. Ending the weekend with a few games of gateball is a great way to relax before heading back to work the next morning. My partner, Michael Hunter, was one of the original gateballers who Alex Park introduced to the Canberra Croquet Club. Michael is currently taking a break from gateball as he is working in Indonesia for the next twelve months. You could be forgiven for thinking that Kimberlee is pining for Michael but gateball, work and her other creative accomplishments are helping to fill that void. She is now employed at the Attorney-General s Department and has been there since May My role as a Senior Legal Officer involves providing legal and policy advice on a range of issues relevant to all of the federal courts, Kimberlee said. My main hobbies revolve around anything arty or creative, including cooking, drawing and making jewelry. I love cooking and find every opportunity to cook for my family and friends. I find that spending time in the kitchen is particularly therapeutic but I don t enjoy washing the dishes afterwards. My sister introduced me to jewelry making so that I could make the jewelry for her wedding in October I now use my spare time to design my own jewelry and hope that one day this will develop into more than just a hobby. In return I taught my mother and two sisters who live in Brisbane gateball and they love it. I m now trying to encourage them to start their own gateball team, she said. Kimberlee is also forging ahead with plans to increase participation of gateball in Sydney. Gateball is strong in Melbourne and it would be great to see more clubs in Sydney take on the game, Kimberlee said. Ideally this would lead to a regular competition between Canberra and any future Sydney teams. There s plenty to keep Kimberlee busy. And one thing s for sure, exciting times lay ahead not only for her but for gateball in general. 6

7 Canberra Croquet Club 80 th Birthday Party Sunday 9 March

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