Hello All Members
Our 2025 croquet season opens on Sunday, 30 March, with a Social Sunday when, as usual, friends and family are welcome. We then kick into the full schedule of events in the calendar starting on Monday, 31 March. The calendar is an essential part of our excellent website and I urge you to check it frequently to keep abreast of events and lawn availability.
This season we have a very full programme of league matches, club competitions, external tournaments and national tournaments for GC, full lawn AC and short lawn AC. Please sign up for these; it is the best way to improve your croquet and to ensure that we have a thriving and dynamic club.
The main training and coaching sessions are Tuesday evening for AC beginners and improvers, Wednesday morning GC training for those who have registered to play for Chester, Friday morning for beginners and also a separate session for GC and AC improvers.
A reminder that double banking is the norm when all lawns are in use. We do not mix AC and GC on a lawn. A lawn booking guarantees your game but not necessarily sole use of a lawn. Evenings and weekends are usually little used and are bliss when the weather is fine.
Let us hope we have moderate to light overnight rain three times each week and therefore avoid having to do the lawn squelch test – press your foot into the lawn and if you can see water anywhere on a lawn it is waterlogged and must not be used. I am about to launch a new Lawns WhatsApp which will attempt to broadcast lawn condition information if we get periods of poor weather as we did last year.
A plea that every time you leave the clubhouse you check the rubbish situation and take any home for disposal. If we develop this habit we will cure the problem.
Subscriptions are due now and must be paid by Thursday, 1 May, if you wish to continue your membership. Full membership is £65, second club or country membership is £50 and students/juniors pay £5.
See you on the lawns
Best wishes
Tom Grievson