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After a gap of more than a year, the competitive season has finally got underway again at Chester Croquet Club, with the first games being played in the North West Federation leagues.

The first match of the season was played away on Sunday, 16 May, at Pendle when the weather was pleasantly sunny through the morning but increasingly damp in the afternoon. The lawns started off damp and turned increasingly soggy but remained just about playable.

Chester got the perfect morning start winning both the doubles and the one singles game, although in the latter Chester gained the lead for the first time in the game as the golden hoop was run.

The afternoon was a tighter affair with Chester winning the single game needed to take the match 3-2. The Chester team of Brian Walton, David Boyd and Robin Tasker were rewarded with long drives home through torrential rain and thunderstorms but nonetheless very satisfied.

The first round of the national Longman Trophy competition was played on Wednesday, 19 May, in glorious sunshine on Bowdon’s lovely super-fast lawns and although they lost the Chester team fought strongly through the day. Particular mention should be made of Nigel Worthington making his Chester full lawn debut who won his afternoon single convincingly.

The morning session was lost 1-2 with both the doubles and one singles game going to Bowdon. This made for a tough afternoon where the four singles were shared equally 2-2 which allowed Bowdon to get over the finishing line to win the match 4-3.

There was a great deal of good croquet played in what for Chester were challenging conditions as adjusting to the faster speed of the lawns was always tricky and often rather too much so. The team of David Guyton, David Boyd, Nigel Worthington and Robin Tasker were disappointed to lose but a full and enjoyable day was had by all.

Chester Croquet Club has signed up 25 new members this season, a record for the club. Nearly 60 people had expressed an initial interest in playing croquet, and after the taster days where 45 people turned up to have a go, 25 people joined the club and participated in two new members days on 1st and 9th May. They braved rain, cold and hail storms but all enjoyed their first proper games of croquet and hopefully will go on to become team members and further promote the great sport of croquet.

The long awaited and welcome relaxation of national covid regulations from Monday, 17 May, allows a little more flexibility in club activities but access to the clubhouse remains restricted.

Although clubhouses may now open, no more than six people may be in the clubhouse at the same time. This still prevents use of the clubhouse for lunches during matches or other collective events. National and Croquet Association guidance on social distancing, wearing face masks indoors, washing hands, using hand sanitisers and cleaning equipment after use all remain in effect. That being the case,  our current restrictions and practices continue unchanged for all practical purposes until the next stage in the Government’s roadmap if that proceeds according to the present schedule on 21 June.

The gathering limit for outdoor activities is now 30 and there are no longer  restrictions on lawn usage but, again, this will hardly make any practical difference to current arrangements. The on-line lawn booking system will continue and will be reviewed again in due course.

Car sharing is now permitted but is a matter of individual choice. This may be helpful when arranging away matches.

Check here for more details of the latest CA guidance.

 

Thanks to the sterling efforts of our Recruitment Officer, Sally Slater, we have a significant number of new players who have joined the club in the last two weeks. They are very welcome. I am sure that all our existing members, if they see a new face at the club, will say hello, introduce themselves and make them feel at home. They are very keen to learn, and willing to take advice.

The Tuesday morning golf croquet session will be a good opportunity for the new members to meet existing players, and to practice the skills they have been taught on Beginners Day. From Tuesday, 18 May, therefore, the session on Tuesday morning will return to the “Progressive Doubles” that were so popular prior to the Covid restrictions. We will still have to record the players attending, as in addition to forming our register of attendance the information provides our necessary means of track and trace, at least for the time being. Sally will be taking charge on Tuesday 18th, as I will no longer be able to attend on that day.

Whilst the booking system remains in place, could I please remind you all to make sure that your name is recorded on the booking pages if you play at any time, for the reasons given above. Also please note that when booking a lawn it is preferable that you book in 1½ or 3 hour slots, i.e 10 am, 11.30 am 1 pm 2.30 pm 4 pm etc etc. This enables a more efficient use of lawn time. I suspect that there will be an increased demand for lawn use in the coming weeks, and therefore we will need to be efficient!

With so many new members joining the club, it is also important that our stock of mallets in the club house remains available. Hence we have ceased the loan of mallets which should now be returned to the store room after use, appropriately wiped down, and not taken away from the club.

Many thanks

Jayne Taylor
07810892311

With relaxation of the lockdown now in sight, there was record interest in the taster sessions the Club traditionally organizes at the beginning of every season. To cater for demand, the Club held three events for newcomers to try their hand at the game on Saturday, 17 April, Friday 23 April and Sunday, 25 April. Despite slightly chilly starts on all three days, there was bright sunshine throughout. Altogether, nearly 5o people took part in carefully managed, socially distanced sessions.   Many were surprised at how interesting croquet was and that there was much more to it than they had thought. All enjoyed the experience where they were introduced to golf croquet and ricochet croquet after learning about basic skills and strategy.  Many thanks to Sally Slater, who organised the events, and her team of coaches who can be seen wearing their white hazmat suits in the photographs below.

Playing his first game of association croquet this year in warm spring sunshine Derek Bell Jones came across an unusual prize at hoop 1.  It was a bottle of good red wine to mark his retirement from the committee after more than ten enjoyable years helping the Club.  We trust Derek and his wife will enjoy it.

After another morning of measuring, drilling and hammering in the hoops, all four full lawns and eight short lawns are now ready for play to resume on Monday, 29 March.

Remember, covid precautionary measures still apply:

• • Clubhouse may be used only for access to the toilets and equipment
  • Social distancing at all times inside and outside the clubhouse
  • Using hand sanitiser when entering the clubhouse or storeroom
  • Cleaning balls, mallets and other shared equipment and toilets after use  [However, club mallets will not be available on loan but may be borrowed on the day and then cleaned and returned after use]
  • Continuing to use the lawn booking system to maintain a record of attendance
  • The Rule of Six allowing groups of up to six people from different households enables doubles or two double-banked singles games to be played on a full or short lawn
  • Organised events such as taster days and coaching sessions involving more than six people permitted subject to additional planning and supervision
  • Avoiding social or informal gatherings
  • Travel restrictions still apply until further notice which means that play limited to locally arranged games, and league matches and competitions involving other clubs will not resume until later

 

The lawns have been cut and white-lined and the first sets of hoops have been installed for the full lawns. Weather permitting, hoops for the short lawns will be installed over the weekend. All ready for play to resume on Monday, 29 March. But remember, covid precautions still apply and lawns need to be booked on-line using the lawn booking system.

After the disruptions of last year, we are all hoping that present Covid restrictions can be relaxed safely in time to enjoy a fuller playing season this year.

To enable the club to run smoothly and effectively, once again we are seeking volunteers to help with various aspects of the club’s activities and to take part in another full programme of matches against other clubs.

Details are set out in the attached notes. Please reply to Pat Clare  before Saturday, 6 March, by e-mail or by downloading and returning the attached proformas. (Remember, this is not her regular e-mail address.)

Best wishes

John Dawson

The Government announcement yesterday evening about a further   nationwide lockdown states that all outdoor sports venues must close. New regulations come into effect on Wednesday, 6 January 2021,  and are expected to apply until Monday, 15 February, at the earliest.

The croquet lawns are usually closed from January to March to avoid damage during the winter months and to allow recuperation before the start of the new season. However, after the last lockdown from 5 November to 1 December, we had thought it would be worth allowing play to continue in the new year subject to satisfactory weather conditions. In the event, December turned out to be a period of prolonged wet weather – there was rain on 29 out of 31 days – and the lawns have been unplayable for much of the time. More winter weather is in the offing so, necessary and disappointing as it is, the latest official closure will not detract too much from the situation we normally face at this time of the year.

For the latest Government and Croquet Association information and guidance see:

UK Government – National lockdown
Croquet Association – Latest Information and Advice

In previous years the lawns have been closed at the end of December to allow recuperation before the start of the new season. As this year opportunities for play have been limited and the lawns have been relatively lightly used, the Committee has taken the view that play may continue beyond the end of December provided that weather and lawn conditions remain satisfactory. Bookings may therefore continue beyond the end of the month. However, it remains important to avoid damage to the lawns and play should not take place even if bookings have been made in the event that:

• • • The lawns become muddy or visibly trampled
    • The lawns are waterlogged or covered by frost or snow

There are several other caveats:

• • • The lawns may be closed at short notice if inspections indicate risk of damage
    • Hoops and other equipment may not be available for a particular lawn if they have been withdrawn for repainting and repair
    • It is not expected that the lawns will be cut or white-lined though the corner markings will be renewed from time to time
    • Full closure of the lawns may be implemented in the event of prolonged poor weather or to allow a shorter period of recuperation before the new season

In these cases, the aim is to notify the changes in the lawn booking system so it is always advisable to check shortly before play.

Another aspect is that the area around the wide gate near the car park from the football pitches onto the croquet lawns has, as usual, become very wet and boggy.  It is recommended that players take the longer tarmac path around the croquet lawns to the bowling greens and clubhouse.

Lastly, the wet weather has made the patio area in front of the clubhouse very slippery so do take care.

Thursday, 10 December 2020: The lawns have been cut but avoid playing on Lawn 4 which is now very wet and quite muddy.