Hot on the heels of the Cambridge and Oxford Boat race and the Grand National comes National Croquet Day! Cornwall Croquet Club is opening its three courts to anyone who wants to give the game a go on the first Sunday in May. The weather will be perfect, so come along and bring friends. A game of strategy, skill and very social too, it also allows players of any age and skill level to compete together – experts can be beaten by a beginner! Come and celebrate this quintessentially British game. (Actually, it’s now played enthusiastically all round the world, especially in North America, Australia and New Zealand!).
Cornwall played last week on Friday in the Southwest Federation Short Croquet Tournament. This was the first time the club had been represented at Nailsea for several years, and there was universal enthusiasm for our return. This was, therefore, a major success.
However, the tournament attracts many top players from Cheltenham, Budleigh and similar larger clubs, with competitors outside the region also getting in some early-season practice. There seemed to be a preponderance of players who needed three or for peels to win a game, such was the nature of their very low handicaps.
Thus, the competition was very strong and without much practice since November, thanks to the wettest winter in Cornwall since King Harold was a boy, the Cornish were a little outclassed. The statistics (2 wins out of 16 games) don’t reflect the close battles that marked the day. It could all have been very different if the golden hoops had gone the other way, and just a few more long hits in…
The big advantage is that Cornwall will be the underdogs for some time, which means opponents will underestimate us.
By the way, we need more GC players to take up SC – the short, 1 hour 15 mins format of the AC game is good fun and, as I have discovered, very social when double-banked. Your club and county need you!
20 Members turned up on Thursday, 2nd April for the start of the Croquet season. After being welcomed with expertly cooked beef burgers (vegetarian option) and a goodly quantity of chocolate cake, players went on to play GC games in the afternoon. And what a beautiful day it was.
Welcome to all our returning members and all our new members. Apologies this is a long email but hopefully full of useful information!
The lawns will open this Wednesday, on the 1st April. We have a Burger Lunch planned to celebrate the start of the 2026 season on the 2nd April at midday. Please can you let Bev & Richard know if you would like a burger and what sort please. Meat, Vegetarian or Vegan. Thank you.
Burger lunches will be held on the first Sunday of the month from May and a cakey tea on the third Sunday of every month. Part of our continued fundraising for club funds.
Don’t forget GC sessions will start at 13.00 this season on Thursday and Sunday.
Jan is also offering GC coaching for beginners on Sunday mornings in April from 11-12.30. Do bring people along to have a go. It’s free for people new to croquet for a month.
The first AC coaching with Rod is on the 13th April 3.45pm, then 22nd April and usually 10.00 on Wednesdays thereafter but do check the calendar on the Club’s new website.
The Committee have decided not to keep the lawn booking system as it has been very little used. Please check on the new website calendar if you want to use a lawn outside of the regular and booked sessions. Link below
The trial with the Baroness Mower this week gave an excellent cut but was unwieldy on turns. We are not going to purchase it. We have gone back to the drawing board and we are going to buy two mowers at a cost together of less than £4000. One a more lightweight model but still able to cut to 4mm and for the other we have a demonstration of two possible models on the 10th April. We plan to mow the lawns on Mondays and Fridays through the season. Thank you to everyone who donated to the crowdfunder for the mower.
Volunteer Mondays from 10-14.00 are going to continue and along with grounds maintenance there is some work needed to spring clean the clubhouse and buildings. All volunteers welcome. Tea makers are always appreciated too.
We have a range of AC and GC league competitions to enter this year and also six friendlies have so far been lined up, home and away, with Fowey, Barnstaple and St Agnes. The sign up sheets for the friendlies are up in the Clubhouse.
We have two new trolleys for the lawn equipment which are much easier to wheel about. Modelled on the St Agnes trolleys and the hoops and balls all stay on the trolley too.
I do hope you all have a very enjoyable croquet year and look forward to playing you all in 2026.
Please check the calendar for club events and Home and Away AC or GC matches. If you wish to add an event or make changes, please contact David Richardson or Rod Dunlop Brown.
You are probably aware that the croquet lawns are normally closed throughout March for essential maintenance work, so they are in good shape for the season. However, because of the weather situation, the club have taken the unhappy decision to close all the lawns immediately to avert any possible damage. We hope this will not cause any disappointment, but it is in the best interest of the club.
The lawns will reopen on the first of April, or a little earlier if the weather permits and all necessary work has been completed. A future notice will be sent out nearer the end of March.
