Eildon hosts championships, sends players to Gateball Nationals and Perth, and welcomes newcomers

Early August saw Eildon host the CAQ AC Women's Singles Championship. Despite the relatively small field, the standard of play was very high and the competition was fierce. Jacky Lynch from Stephens was the winner, with Heather Knight, also from Stephens, runner up.

The CAQ AC Gibson Medal was played at Eildon on 26 and 27 August, with three entries from Eildon: Les Watson, Wade Hart, and Keith Williamson. Addison Matthews was the champion of the weekend, with Kathie Grant from Southport runner up. So good to see a relatively new and young player do so well. Congratulations to Addison and Kathie.

Eildon Gateballers Robert and Christine Roose, Margaret and Richard Bevan, and Alan Beeson formed one of seven Queensland teams playing in the Australian Gateball Championships at Wodonga, Victoria recently. They were up against some stiff competition, with 17 teams taking part, including a team from the home of Gateball, Japan.

The Eildon GC Gala Day was held on 10 September, with 32 players making up mixed doubles teams from many local clubs, including Bribie Island, Merthyr, Windsor, East Ipswich, and Nambour. A fun day for all.

Club President with Gala Day winners Les Watson and Carol Kleidon, and runners up Cloreen Van Der Sluis and Rino Parrella.

Eildon is well represented in Western Australia this year at the annual Women's and Men's GC Singles and the Golf Gold Medal and Interstate Shield. We have two Eildon members in the Queensland State team, Jenee Molyneux and Wade Hart. Relatively new, but extremely keen members, Desley Bischoff and Robert Kidd, are taking part in the singles events.

Eildon is fielding teams in both the AC and GC regional pennants competitions this year. Finally, as we approach the end of the year, club championships in ricochet and golf are underway to determine which players will have their names etched in gold lettering on our honour boards. It is great to see so many members taking part in these club competitions.

Lawns and Facilities

With the warmer weather, our lawns are recovering well from the winter blues, specifically a touch of dollar spot fungus. Our green keeper, Rino Parrella, is busy organising end-of-year refurbishment activities, including coring and scarifying. Like all clubs in the region, we are anticipating a dry summer, and will be doing all we can to ensure that the lawns remain in good condition.

Our clubhouse is also undergoing some rejuvenation, with grant applications made to allow us to paint inside and out and to install bi-fold doors onto our veranda. Screening blinds will soon be installed on the south-western side of the verandah, and this will greatly enhance the usability of this space in the afternoons, shielding us from the afternoon sun.

Marketing and Social

We have taken delivery of updated brochures designed for marketing the Club and Croquet to our local community and to advertise the availability of our facilities for hire. Members are distributing these around the area and we are also planning to capitalise on publicity through social and local media.

Spring is usually a very busy time for club hire, especially leading up to Christmas when many local organisations and businesses hire our lawns and clubhouse for their parties. We have opened up two weekly play sessions for "come and try" drop-in (no appointment necessary) and have been very pleased with the results so far. Yesterday saw a group of 16 drop in to learn the basics of Golf Croquet. Their enthusiasm was very encouraging.

The club has introduced regular Mahjong sessions on Friday mornings which are attracting players from the local community as well as club members, with coaching and refreshments provided.

By Penny Verrell, Eildon. From the Croquet Newsletter, September/October 2023, pages 14, 15.