25/07/2026
Croquet NSW State 2026 Pennants Division 2 Championships
Held at Nowra Croquet Club from Friday 24th July to Saturday 25th July 2026. Four zone winning teams from the NSW Division 2 Pennants won through to this event: Coogee CC, Wollongong CC, Elanora CC and Newcastle Scratchley CC. There were three test blocks allowing each team to play the other three teams.
The winning team was: Newcastle Scratchley Croquet Club who won by only two hoops from Coogee Croquet (runners up).
Congratulations to all four teams for their play and camraderie over the two games. All scores were very close with the winner determined by hoops not matches or games. The level of play was of Division 2 standard with players showing great fortitude not conceding a hoop often going from 15 to even 45 minutes on just one hoop!
The first day was extremely cold with a sharp westerly wind blowing and all teams rugged up with coats, beanies and even gloves. A miss-match group as uniforms were hidden beneath the layers. Court 4 was not the place to be as the concensus reported that it was much colder than Courts 1 and 2. The second day while cold was much warmer and a hot barbecue was very much enjoyed by all comers, helpers, organisers and spectators.
Nowra Croquet Club were terrific hosts with tea, coffee, all day morning tea and lunches available (warm soup available on the first day with sausages, steak, onion and coleslaw on the second with cheesecake dessert to recharge the batteries). Many visitors and competitors praised the facilities and all left smiling with an invitation to come again.
Nowra Croquet Club Committee wishes to acknowledge and thank the great organisational skill of Club Captain John Orr with his off-sider for the event, Margaret Sawers. Two referees presided: Doug Cornish and Brian Mitchell both doing a professional job and eventually thawing out!
Club members yet again did the leg work of setting up the courts, timing and scoring, liasing with visitors, assisting in the kitchen (under the expert guidance of Chief Chef Gail), cleaning up at the end of the day and supporting their club. Fantastic team work! Well done us!