Derby Croquet Club was founded on 1/4/22 with 8 members when an agreement was struck with Derby West End Bowls Club that allowed us to utilise their 2nd lawn. We were granted a loan from the Croquet Association (now Croquet England) to purchase our first set of hoops, 4 mallets and a set of balls and borrowed a further set to facilitate 2 courts. Our first season was spent spreading the word, wielding malletts and trying to run hoops and having great fun in the process.
In our 2nd season the club had grown to 16 members with an increasing number of pay and play members whom we are hoping will join as full members next year. Our social afternoons on Monday and Wednesday are well attended to the extent we have started playing on a Sunday afternoon as well.
We bit the bullet this year and entered a team into division 3 of the FEMCC Golf Croquet Leagues. Not knowing quite what to expect we were welcomed with open arms by every team we played and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. We also managed a respectable 6th place running 392 hoops in the process! We are now keen to build on this experience and are looking to improve on our position next year!
We ran 2 fun sessions during the year, one for a student who, having graduated, wanted an afternoon activity for her family and the 2nd for a local ‘meet up’ group who have since requested a further season next year.
Towards the end of the season, we held a club mini-tournament where everyone played 6 hoops and the scores were recorded. Frank Webster was heralded our club champion. This will now be an annual event.
We ended our season with a lunchtime buffet in the clubhouse after which we split into 4 teams for a general knowledge quiz. We all agreed Croquet was great fun and that we were looking forward to repeating our adventure in 2024!