Start as a Club Player, End Up on the World Stage
Read the inspiring story of how Queensland player Mary McMahon turned a moment of inspiration into a journey to the international croquet stage.
Every player's journey begins somewhere. For accomplished Queensland player Mary McMahon, it was a moment of pure confusion that unexpectedly launched a competitive career she never knew she wanted.
After discovering a love for croquet that quickly became a passion, Mary joined her local club. In her world, the game revolved around social play, pennants, and the occasional gala day. The broader world of high-level tournaments was a complete unknown.
"I’d been playing about 10 months," Mary recalls, "and a fellow player said to me, 'You should start playing tournaments'. I looked at him blankly.
In my world, the only competition was pennants and gala days. I didn't even know you could enter a tournament!"
Heeding the advice, she entered the Queensland Women's tournament with a handicap of 10 and no expectations. After the first day of play, she returned on Sunday morning to find her friends scanning the notice board for the next round's draw. As she looked for her own name, a feeling of disappointment set in. It wasn't there.
"I'm looking on the same list and my name wasn't there," she says. "I said, 'I'm not on the list.'"
Assuming her tournament was over, she approached the manager, who delivered news she never saw coming.
"They said, 'Oh, that's because you are in the championship round.' Oh, what?" Mary remembers with a laugh.
She had played so well she’d bypassed the rest of the handicap field and gone straight to the top flight, completely unaware of how the format worked.
That simple misunderstanding was the start of everything. Her performance in the championship was so strong that, to her astonishment, she was selected as a reserve for the Queensland state team. It was a whirlwind introduction to a world she didn't know existed, a journey that all began because she couldn't find her name on a list.
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