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From the PresidentHello Everyone, Welcome to my first Newsletter. This a new experience for me. It is usually me sitting back and reading the President’s newsletter but now I am responsible for the writing of it. Thank you to all the members at the AGM who welcomed me into this new position. I will do my best to follow in the footsteps of the previous Presidents and most importantly help keep our club on the good upward grade it has been on for several years. We have a great Committee, slightly younger than it has been over the past few years and very knowledgeable and keen to improve our club in many ways. We had a perfect windless day two weeks ago for the opening of the lawns for the winter season, but unfortunately, we could only play for the morning before closing them again as they were all far too soft for us to play on. After a two-week resting period for them, we started again last Saturday. We were still only playing on three lawns but, together with three of our friends from Khandallah Club, we had an enjoyable morning. We will be staggering our morning tea with two sessions. Jane and I will be monitoring this when we have a large number but, for a sudden spur of the moment thought, it worked very well for the first time on Saturday. For this winter season we will be playing GC on Tuesday afternoons from 1.30 pm start till approximately 3.30pm, and on Thursday and Saturday mornings from 10.00 am till 12.00 pm. Our Life Member and former President, Nancy McDonald, paid us a visit last Thursday to drop off three new trophies she is kindly donating to the club. A silver tray, a silver water jug and a small but impressive goblet, hand-made from wood with half a croquet ball as the bowl. It will be great to find new awards for the two silver items next year, and at Nancy’s suggestion we may be handing out the goblet several times throughout the year! Many of you will realise this year marks our 110th birthday and to celebrate the occasion I am, with the help of the Committee, planning a very nice lunch for our current members on Summer Season Opening Day in September. I shall be giving you more information next month when we have finalised a few more details, but I can assure you a plate to share will not be required this time. For those of you who do not wish to play during these winter months, take care, keep warm, and I look forward to meeting up with you again when the Summer Season starts in September, date to be advised nearer the time. Best wishes to you all. Mary Egley  |
From the Club CaptainWinter seasonReminder: GC games are 30 minutes and Heretaunga rules apply. When there are a lot of players, we will be having a rolling morning tea. We are only playing on official club days; no use of the lawns at other times, and any practice must be on the areas adjacent to the lawns. Thanks to all who helped set the lawns upWe are all grateful to Alison Robinson and John Corsham for spending hours finding the buried corner markers for the lawns, and to Alison, John, David Robinson, Dougal and Denise Ongley, and Brian Black for all their work over two days setting out the lawns and hoops for winter play. Advantage GCIn the season after next (2024-25) Advantage will become the standard for GC handicap competitions. For the coming season there will be one Advantage tournament with the other handicap competitions. Our grateful thanks to Roger Hurnard from Khandallah for providing introductions to Heretaunga rules and Advantage GC. EquipmentThe original Dawson balls went out of production due to the banning of one of the substances used. However, the World Croquet Federation has been advised that there has been some success in recreating a recipe which meets the specifications but balls would then need to be sent to the WCF for approval. See link below for video on how a croquet ball is made. https://m.facebook.com/video.php/?video_id=10156589718419873 Regional events 2023 -2024 seasonSee link below – this is in the process of being revamped. Interclub rules are being updated and will be recirculated. Youth croquet (secondary school age)At the recent Wellington Croquet Association AGM, clubs were all asked for their commitment to foster youth croquet rather than relying on schools to promote it. Actions could include inviting teachers along or holding grandparent/grandchild events. Please let me know if you have any ideas about promoting youth croquet or wish to be involved. https://croquet.org.nz/2023-nz-secondary-schools-tournament/ Other updates from the WCA AGMMark Huttley was awarded the trophy for the most improved player with his GC index having moved from 1609 to 2096 over the last season. Brian Bullen will represent New Zealand in the 2023 Over 50’s World Championship, and Jessica Bullen will represent New Zealand in the 2023 Women’s GC World Championship. Coaching advice‘Before you hit a ball.... smile at it! This will help you to “relax” your hands!’ (Extract from Letters to the Editor, Croquet Gazette Dec 2022)
Jane Norman |
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Membership renewals for 2023-24Membership renewal notices will be sent to all members in mid-July. This is a little earlier than usual for administrative reasons, but the amounts and due date remain the same. Renewal notices will be sent to each member by a secure, personalised email with a unique link to their membership record in the club database - exactly as we did last year. We would like you to click on the link and check your membership details, updating them if necessary, or simply confirming them if they are correct. There is one additional mandatory question in the Privacy section. As agreed at the AGM, the club plans to issue a small printed booklet to members containing the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of members who consent to their information being included in the booklet. The booklet will be made available to members only in print form to reduce risk to the security of your information. Membership fees remain unchanged from last season, thanks to all the volunteers who helped with the corporate functions last summer, which raised more than half our income for the year. If you have any questions about this, please just ask. Lesley Meadows |
Our recent newsYou can also read our latest news and our Facebook items on the News page of our website. |
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Verandah seat redux v2.0It's back - the repainted club verandah seat. The black metal frame was sandblasted and painted in an epoxy paint that will prevent corrosion for 30 years or more. The wooden planks have been sealed and undercoated, and the colour matches the club shelter green. Some touch-up painting of the planks will be needed from time to time, but they should be good for up to 10 years. The sand blasting and the black anti-corrosion paint cost the club a modest koha, thanks to our Ace Negotiator, Brian Black. We bought the paint for the planks, and have some left over for future maintenance. |
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