The first cold days of winter are with us.
Players on Noosa croquet courts these days are wearing jackets while shorts are less frequently seen, though this is Queensland.
But the five courts at the Noosa Club in Noosa Waters are all in use, on some days many double-booked.
This is a good sign for the club and some new recent members have joined the playing group with enthusiasm and are getting involved very quickly.
We look forward to other members now in training joining the club over the next month and it is always good to keep the playing group reinvigorated.
A recent interest from members of the local bridge club is notable. A similar attitude to the strategic elements, or a similar ruthless approach to winning?
Interclub competitions have continued.
The most recent have seen the Pennant, Shield and Plate teams all play further rounds of matches both home and away with mixed results.
The Plate team has lost its last three games but have put up some creditable performances as they are all new and inexperienced players.
Dennis Coulter has been a consistent winner, with Cam Black, Lois King and Richard Brown all also winning games.
The Shield team took the long drive to Bribie Island on 24 April, where they lost 7 games to 3.
James Martin and Julie Terry had a good day, winning both their singles and teaming for a doubles win.
The Shield team then travelled to nearest neighbour Coolum on the 8 May.
The experienced Noosa team won the day seven games to three, with Richard Bawden and Julie Terry winning all three of their games. The Shield and Plate teams will not be on the podium this year but all players have enjoyed their competitions.
The Pennant team also welcomed Bribie Island to Noosa on 1 May with much better results. They had a good win 8 games to 2. Galina Makarova and Charlie Osvald won two singles games. Galina then joined with Aniko Osvald for a doubles win and Charlie teamed with John Olsen from Noosa for a second doubles win. The Pennant game against Nambour on 15 May was cancelled due to rain. Played the following week the team suffered an unexpected loss going down seven games to three. They then redeemed themselves the following week on 29 May by beating Headland Buderim by the same amount. Galina and Aniko were again the stand-outs. This leaves the Pennant competition in an exciting finish on June 12 when the two leaders play each other – Noosa versus Bribie Island.
The ongoing Saturday Singles competition continues about every third week, where players from a number of clubs play to see who can get their index down the most over a set period. Difficult to see any winners yet, as people play at different times, but it has created a lot of interest.
The Club recently held a general meeting to approve a change to its constitution and a resultant change to the bylaws, relating to an updated set of grievance procedures. One of those things we have to do but hope that we will never need. We are a happy club at the moment – let’s keep it that way.
Want to join the number of new arrivals trying out croquet at the moment? Ring Niven Gugich on 0428 799 987. He just may know where that pot of gold is located.
