Caloundra courts upgraded and Australia Day trophy awarded

On Saturday 3rd December the club hosted its annual Christmas luncheon which was enjoyed by the members present. The event was organised and catered for by chief elf, Cathy McBrien, and her two assistants.

CMSC members enjoying their lunch

Caloundra (Cont.) It was relatively quiet at the club over the festive season. The gateball players took a break and the number of members playing golf croquet was down considerably. However the association players kept turning out, even though there are only 15 active members in this group. The association players really enjoy their socializing, and have pleasure in celebrating individual milestones throughout the year.

The association croquet players enjoying Christmas cheer

Courts 3&6 have now been handed officially back to the club following their upgrade. Thanks to Murray Tinker and his two assistants, Sam Oaten and Frank Guerreiro, these courts are now marked and hoops have been set for croquet play. The gateball players have also marked out a court on court 3; and were the first to try the new surface. We found the balls ran true even though there is one small section that lacked grass cover. The association players found the courts were very slow. Hopefully this will improve over time. Courts 2&5 have now been cored and scarified, and will be out of action for a couple of weeks. The club thanks our Treasurer, John Nealer, for his efforts in supervising the renovation of the courts.

Gateball playing on the upgraded court 3

This year our Australia Day celebrations were conducted in the afternoon, commencing at 2pm and culminating in a dinner provided by the club. Players were assigned pairs and participated in three activities - aussie croquet, aussie gateball, and a maze challenge. We thank Murray Tinker and Robyn Brown for their efforts in organising these events. Thank you to our President, Sue, for her work on the BBQ. It was a very pleasant afternoon, with the pairing of Ria Lukis and Ian Clark taking home the coveted Australia Day trophy.

Ria and Ian with their trophy plus prize with Murray Howard Williams

By Howard Williams, Caloundra. From the Croquet Newsletter, January/February 2023, pages 11-13.