Wynnum represented at President's Eights in Melbourne

Our Club was represented by Gordon Giles and Geoff Hull at the President's Eights from 16th to 18th February 2018.

The event is held at the Victoria Croquet Center at Cairnlea, in Melbourne, a purpose-built venue for major competitions. There are twelve lawns with Quadway hoops, all of which are easily seen from the very large clubhouse. It's a fantastic venue, for both players and spectators.

Competitors came from all over Australia and the standard of play was very high. Entries are "Invitation Only", with invitations being issued by the Australian Croquet Association (ACA). There are 32 players in total, divided into three "Open" groups of 8, plus one Women's group.

The eight players in each group play each other in a series of seven matches, each consisting of "best of three" untimed games. There were some tough battles, with some matches lasting several hours. Three matches were played on the Friday, then two on Saturday and again on Sunday.

Although not amongst the trophy winners, Gordon and Geoff came home armed with new skills picked up over the three days, which they hope to pass on in coaching sessions to fellow club members eager enough to improve their own skills.