Autumn roll-up sessions

Whilst the club remains open for play until the end of the year,  the risk of damage to the lawns as a result of heavy usage becomes greater.  We have traditionally stopped our roll-up sessions at the end of October, but have continued for longer this year for reasons  you will know only too well !  However, we have decided to reduce the number of roll-up sessions for the rest of November, and will continue to monitor the condition of the lawns during this period.

Therefore from now on there will be roll up sessions for AC (both short and full lawn) on Mondays from 11.30 am till light fails, using Lawns 1,2 and 3, and for GC on Thursday mornings from 10 am to 1 pm on all four lawns.   All other roll up sessions will cease, ie. Progressive Doubles on Tuesday, AC on Wednesday, and the Beginners and Match Practice sessions on Friday.

You can of course continue to book lawns individually, through the booking system, and indeed if a group of players wish to meet and play rotating opponents and partners, that still remains possible by booking lawns and identifying who is playing.   Or if you want to turn up “on spec” for a game, that too is possible, but I would suggest you check the booking system to ensure lawns remain available.  And always record your names in the register.

Please ensure that no more than four people play on a lawn at any one time, so that the pressure on the lawns is eased during this period, and be particularly observant of the condition of the lawns before you play …. i.e are they too wet or frosty, is autumn maintenance in progress (e.g tining and fertilizing ) etc .And please clean and dry the equipment before returning to the bins.

For those of you playing in the GC “RAT” league, the good news is that this will continue till the end of November and you will have lots of lawn space to book and catch up on the games you have not yet played ! Part of the reason for this is because this year we will not be holding our normal end of season dinner and presentation of trophies.  You can thank the ongoing pandemic for that!   The Committee felt that the risk of infection within enclosed spaces with a high density of people present remains too great, and too uncertain.  Hopefully we will be able to arrange something for early next year, before the 2022 season begins, and when we will all need cheering up during the dark days of winter.

I hope you manage to enjoy playing some croquet during the last two months of this playing season, and that the additional lawn availability allows a more flexible approach to arranging games which in turn will enable a better response to the weather and lawn condition for everyone.

Please contact me if you wish to clarify any of the above information.

Stay safe !

Jayne Taylor