Headland Cup success for home players, and a Local Hero Award for Robyn Leadbetter

ANZAC Day 25th April: This very special day was observed by morning players with the Australian Flag at half-mast and a minutes silence observed at morning tea.

CAQ Open Singles 22-23 April: Congratulations to member Ross Rillie, Winner of this event.

Headland Cup 30 April:

This was a great success even though entries were down from past years. The weather was near perfect. It was very pleasing to see our members take out first and second place. (See photo above)

Carolyn Hodgins and Russell Robinson were winners, with Doug Houston and Colin Beckett runners up. Congratulations, well done.

Headland Cup 30 April - Carolyn Hodgins, Russell Robinson, Doug Houston and Colin Beckett.

We are extremely lucky to have such a generous and supportive member in Pam Shepherd who donates the very generous prize monies. Pam was there in the morning to see players in action. However, she was unable to stay for the afternoon. Our Patron, Gordon Matthews, stepped up to make the presentations on Pam's behalf. As always, so many members give of their time to help make this event so successful. On behalf of the club we say thank you. We were once again appreciative of the donation from our extended family who provide the array of wines from Forth Wave Wines. Thank you from organizers, Helen (TM) and Ross Rillie (TR).

Family Challenge 7 May: Susan and Bryan Williams, croquet players from Hawera CC Mt Taranaki New Zealand and extended Aussie family, visited the club on the Sunday for an initial get together then mixing with members to play after morning tea. They all expressed their thanks for a lovely welcome and how much they enjoyed the experience.

Family Challenge 7 May.

Referee GC Workshop SC Region 10 May: Members John Tusler and Ross Rillie attended this workshop conducted by State GC Referee Coordinator, Cloreen Van Der Sluis, on the 10 May at Nambour and both successfully reaccredited. Congratulations.

GC Coaching and New members: Ross, Helen and John continue coaching with new members slowly increasing.

Local Hero Award: Congratulations to Robyn Leadbetter who was nominated by the club for this in recognition of her many years of service to the club, particularly as convenor and events caterer. She has also worked tirelessly alongside her husband Kevin, maintaining the club grounds and surrounds. Robyn is one of only four local volunteers who were selected for this award. There will be a formal presentation at MP Brent Mickelberg's office.

Photo above - Robyn Leadbetter.

Fund Raiser 17 May: 18 members attended a morning tea at the Bellflower Retirement Resort receiving a $500 attendance donation to the club.

CAQ GC Open Mixed Doubles 20-21 May: Member Ross Rillie was Deputy Referee for this event at Windsor. The event was double banked on all 4 lawns keeping the 4 referees on the hop for 2 days. Congratulations to Fran Wright and Addison Matthews winning this event. Croquet is in good hands for the future when we have such players coming through the ranks. Both Fran, brother Tim Wright and Addison were among the Under 21s who played in the World's Under 21s in New Zealand recently.

Lawn Maintenance 22 May: The 4 lawns were scarified, cored and rolled. Ross Rillie repositioned hoops earlier and installed markers for future repositioning of hoops.

CAQ GC First Eights 17-18 June: Member Ross Rillie accepted his invitation to play in this event.

CAQ GC Inter Region Comp 24 Sept: Interest has been shown by several members of our club for this event. SCRCC region were to have a play off to select the winning team to represent our region before the main event at Stephens Croquet Club.

Volunteers: Thank you to our few hard-working volunteers who continue to give of their time and physical energy on a weekly basis for the enjoyment of others. As many hands make light work, perhaps consider giving a helping hand with the more demanding jobs.

Wishing everyone all the best that croquet offers.

Helen Rillie

By Helen Rillie, Headland Buderim. From the Croquet Newsletter, May/June 2023, pages 12-14.