News from around the Club

Transcription

1 The official newsletter of the Canberra Croquet Club Hello fellow members Congratulations to those members who were elected to positions at our club s annual general meeting as well as all of our Club s award winners. Thanks to Peter Freer for sending the interesting postcards from his travels through Europe for publication in this Rocket. As always I am grateful for any news or stories for inclusion in the Rocket. Glen Whitehead News from around the Club Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting was held on 2 July at the clubhouse. Our President reported on the year including recruitment and retention, the year s promotions, achievements of club members and the large amount of facility and asset management undertaken during the year. Printed annual reports are available in the clubhouse. Congratulations to those committee members who were elected or re-elected to the club committee and playing committee.

2 2011/2012 Club Committee Elizabeth Mountain (President) Rodney Teakle (Vice-President) Ben Freasier (Captain) Tim Goodland (Treasurer) Bob Gingold (Secretary) Fran Novitski 2011/2012 Playing Committee Elizabeth Mountain (ex officio) Ben Freasier (Captain) vacant (Vice Captain) Sorina Atkin Peter Freer Rodney Teakle (Coaching Coordinator) The meeting was followed by the annual award presentation where some members collected enough wine glasses to host a large party. Treasurer s Report Tim Goodland This has been another good year for the club financially with an operating surplus of $5, for This is despite a drop off in receipts from membership subscriptions, which are down by $790 from last year. The improved result this year is due largely to a grant from the ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety for the installation of security lights, security screens and smoke alarms, and another excellent year for hirings. Special thanks go to Rodney Teakle and his band of helpers for all of the hard work that they have put in with the hirings throughout the year. The club s expenditure was up by $4, this year, due largely to an increase in spending on court maintenance and improvements, and also increases in the cost of cleaning and rubbish removal, rates and rent, and insurance. Apart from the usual maintenance, the major expenditure on the lawns this year was for the installation of root barriers on the eastern and western boundaries, extension of the northern boundary by 1 metre, and the installation of a ball barrier on the western boundary. The increase in cleaning and rubbish removal costs reflects the hiring of a cleaner last year to clean the club house. The recent Annual General Meeting agreed that the subscriptions remain at $240 for Payment may be made in full or by instalments (half yearly or quarterly); in the latter cases there is still an obligation to pay for the whole year. The fee for Associate Members is $10. Associate members are always welcome to visit the club but do not have playing rights (or coverage by the national insurance arrangements) except for special activities as determined by the Management Committee. Payment should be made as soon as possible, but no later than 31 July The club

3 should be notified of any recent changes to address, phone number or address. Payment should preferably be made by bank transfer or cheque. The Club cannot accept credit card payments. Although payment may be made in cash, for security reasons this form of payment is not recommended. Cheque or cash payments should be made to the Treasurer. Bank transfer payments should be made to the Club s account at: The Commonwealth Bank, Northbourne Ave Branch. BSB Account number Please ensure that your surname (and where possible your initial) is included in the transaction details field. If you do not wish to rejoin, please let the Treasurer know as soon as possible. Security Screens and Lights Bob Gingold The security enhancements mentioned in the last Rocket have been completed. To open the windows the security screens can be swung open. Security lights have been installed at the clubhouse. They will probably need some adjustment to ensure optimal operation and to ensure they don't come on unnecessarily because of tree branches waving in the wind etc. There are downlights over the east, south and west windows (all triggered at once) and two spotlights on the north and one on the west of the clubhouse (triggered individually). If you are driving past the clubhouse at night and happen to notice the lights on for no apparent reason or walking past and they don't respond as they should, could you please contact Bob Gingold. New Members Nine new members have joined the club over the last few months. Please make welcome Doña Paine, Jo Ireland, Hilary White, Kate McLoughlin, Matthew Byers, Leliana Setiono Arnold, Luke Arnold, Charlotte Morgan and Joan Pitt. Croquet Referees Bob Gingold For those members who are referees Croquet NSW has introduced a policy where referees of both Golf and Association Croquet are required to fill out a card to record their refereeing activities so as to maintain their accreditation. You can pick up your card(s) from the table inside the clubhouse.

4 Wanted: New Webmaster The club is seeking an enthusiastic person to take over web-related tasks. The work requires no more than 1-2 hours per week and involves web page updating and authoring as well as liaison with our service provider. An outline of the role is available at %20Officer.pdf. The site is currently maintained using the Adobe DreamWeaver software. A copy of the site description structure and regular tasks is available from the Secretary. The retiring web coordinator, Stephen Meatheringham, is happy to work with the incoming person to hand over the role, and be available for help as required. Upcoming Events and Results Club Competitions The playing calendar for is been finalised and will be released shortly. President s Day Twelve club members took to the courts on 14 May for the annual President s Day competition. Six matches of high low doubles association took place in a relaxed and friendly environment. A big thank you to Stephen Meatheringham for putting on a wonderful BBQ that no doubt attracted a number of participants to the competition. Presentations were made by the President over an afternoon tea with Ian Walker winning the high handicapper competition and Stephen Meatheringham the low.

5 Pimms & Strawberries Golf Croquet Tournament: Genval, Belgium Peter Freer Travelling CCC emissaries, Peter Freer and Kate McLoughlin, discovered that croquet clubs have similar issues - even an idyllic club on the grounds of a chateau near Brussels in Belgium. We dropped into Genval, outside Brussels, to play in their annual Pimms & Strawberries Golf Croquet tournament on 19 June. The locals were bemused and uncertain why we d bother, and it turned out to be a very low key, relaxed affair so low key that we still don t know who won, but everyone enjoyed themselves and had a great time. We discussed the usual problems: the need to recruit (they only have 20 members); the growing dominance of golf croquet over association; problems with lawns (in their case, invasion by moss and the water logged peat base under the grass); and how to share the work around the members rather than just on the stalwarts. There are also similarities with CCC in that Genval is located in the grounds of a sophisticated hotel in their case the Chateau du Lac, and near a lake.

6 There were differences however a helicopter swooped in and landed (literally) on the edge of the lawns; and there were a range of languages in use (including lots of interesting swear words after shots went awry). I struggled to use French to encourage my playing partner, Dimitra (a Greek citizen working for the UN in Brussels), while trying in vain to caution her to lay up in front, rather than try and run hoops from 20 feet (she always ignored me, but did succeed 15% of the time!). Overall a very nice experience. The champagne was welcome, and I needed the practice after three weeks cruising up the Danube from Budapest, and then down the Rhine to Amsterdam. Peter Freer and Kate McLoughlin s experiences at Genval, Belgium Photos: Peter Freer English Golf Croquet Open Doubles Peter Freer Peter Freer spent a "character-building" day playing in the English Golf Croquet Open Doubles on Thursday 23 June. Peter was allocated a determinedly eccentric Englishman, David Turner, as his partner. They met on the morning, and David (left in photo) had decided to dress as "an Egyptian" to better channel the latter's Golf Croquet prowess. This worked surprisingly well in the first game, against Reg Bamford (right in photo) - the second ranked active Golf Croquet player in the world, and his partner Mark Hamilton (distance), but David & Peter eventually lost 7-4. Play deteriorated after that, with very different preferences becoming apparent. However lots of useful experience was garnered, despite sharp periods of driving rain and very cold winds - apparently England has already had its summer, in April. David Turner, Mark Hamilton and Reg Bamford Photo: Peter Freer

7 Gateball Victorian Gateball Championships Canberra team were victorious for the second time in the Victorian Gateball Championships with the team winning all but one of the their matches to take out the competition from second placed Kew. We were spared the rain and wind that can make playing at Cairnlea difficult and despite the overcast and cool conditions we were able to take our jackets off at least once for the awards presentation (see photo below). Glen and Kristina Whitehead also made the semi-finals of the doubles competition before losing in the knock-out stage to eventual winners Sue Leitinger and Chris Langford from Brunswick. This is one of the Canberra team s favourite events and it is always a pleasure to renew our friendship with the Victorian teams. The event was well organised by Maxine Maclachlan and attracted sponsorship from Toyota Motor Corporation of Australia, Fujitsu Ten (Australia) Pty Ltd, Woolworths and Bakers Delight. Maxine Maclachlan with Bryan Johnson, Tim Goodland, Glen Whitehead, Kristina Whitehead and Alex Park Gateball Mallet Sports on the Broadwater Glen and Kristina also competed in the Mallet Sports on the Broadwater event in Queensland in July. Despite inappropriate choices in clothing (we needed shorts!) our combined team with three members of the Kew gateball team played very well to take out third place behind teams from Tokyo and Hiroshima. Gateball is continuing to grow in Queensland with competitions taking place almost every weekend over the winter months.

8 3 rd place winners: Alec Maclachlan (Kew), Trish Watts (Kew), Kristina Whitehead (Canberra) Peta Kaye Croft (QLD Member of Parliament for Broadwater), Maxine Maclachlan (Kew), Glen Whitehead (Canberra) Photo courtesy of Andy Hallinon Legacy Films Gateball Australian Gateball Championships There has been strong interest from CCC members in the Australian Gateball Championships and Canberra will be able to easily send at least two teams to the competition. Any members who have not registered their interest should contact me at as soon as possible as Canberra will finalise its application in the next couple of weeks. The event is shaping as the largest in Australian Gateball history with around 150 players and teams from around Asia and the east coast of Australia. More information is available at