Welcome to the Wellington Municipal Croquet Club
What’s Happening in April
Autumn Renovation
Completed in the blink of an eye!
WCC rang Dick about noon Friday (26 April) and asked if no play was to happen that afternoon they would do the autumn renovation, consisting of:
- vertidraining, ie. punching 12mm spikes 80mm deep all over the playing area
- mowing all over which gives a needed roll down of the spike holes and a mow, the first one that week
- irrigating the lawns for 9 minutes with each sprinkler.
Work nicely completed by 3.15pm
An extra roll by Dick on Saturday morning approved by Council and normal play resumed.
Thank you WCC.
GC Winter Challenge
Entries are now open for the Club Captain’s GC Winter Challenge (Advantage Handicap). Janet has started a list on the Whiteboard in the club rooms so add your name. You can also enter on-line by completing the entry form below. Entries close 4th May 2024.
Summer Closing
The summer season officially closed on the 20th April with our traditional shared lunch and trophy presentations
Absent
AC Senior Hcp Singles - Graeme Fisher
AC Open Handicap Doubles
Contested by 4 pairs on the weekend of 6 - 7 April the handicap pairs was as unpredictable as usual. The winning pairs from Saturday: Annette & Graeme and Ross & Mark faced off on Sunday in a tactical battle, lasting the full 3 hours and eventually won by Ross & Mark.
Action, strategy and thoughtful moments from the final.
CLUB COMPETITIONS
Well done to everyone who got stuck in and played club competition matches in March; particularly the Golf Croquet Open Handicap Singles, which is now into the knockout stage. With only a couple of weeks left to finish incomplete events we need to keep up the momentum. Fingers crossed for more good weather.
Summer season CLOSING DAY SATURDAY 2oth APRIL
This year our Patrons are not able to join us on closing day and we will not be holding the annual challenge match between parliament and council. That has been rescheduled for the summer opening day in September.
We will still be marking the occasion with a shared lunch and trophy presentations at midday, between the Golf Croquet and Association Croquet draws
The programme for the day will be:
9:30 am Golf Croquet Draw
12:15 pm Trophy presentations
12:30 pm Shared Lunch
After lunch - More croquet
Come and enjoy good food and company.
What Happened in March
Club Competitions
Matches, Matches and More Matches!
Congratulations
Yvonne Stewart - Winner GC Intermediate Singles
Graeme Fisher - Winner AC Open Handicap Singles
What’s Been Happening in February
Club Competitions
So far it’s been all about club competitions, with a number of events that started with block play now in the knockout stages.
Congratulations to the players who have reached the knockout rounds:
GC Novice Singles : Chris, Jan, Dennis, John, Allan, Shelley, Leigh and Patrick
GC Intermediate Singles : Yvonne and Brian contesting the final
GC Advantage Handicap Doubles : Robbie & Jocelyn, Annette & Jax, Ross & Mavis, Tepa & Sita, Elizabeth & Patrick, Mike & Sandra
And some events have finished
AC B Grade Singles : Winner Ross Dalley
AC Junior Handicap Singles : Winner Ross Dalley
AC Senior Handicap Singles : Winner Mark Huttley
There are still plenty of matches to play. Particularly in the GC Open Singles and the AC Senior Singles where some players are now in danger of being scratched if they don’t complete matches by the end of February.
Hataitai School
For the rest of the school term, we are again hosting groups of the delightful children from Hataitai School for an hour’s croquet on Thursday afternoons. We’ve had our first session with 22 pupils from years 4 to 6 having fun on our lawns. Ideally we need 6 “coaches” each session to guide the kids. If you can help with any of the remaining sessions between 1:15 and 2:15 on Thursday afternoons please add your name to the list on the whiteboard or let Jax know.
Orientation
Ever wondered about some of the little things that keep the club running smoothly or wish you could do something to help? Well on Tuesday 27 February at about 11:30am, Janet will be leading a short session on the basics:
how to set up the lawns
putting away equipment and locking the shed
setting the alarm
locking the gate properly so the WCC groundsmen can still get in
etc.
They’ll also be some playing etiquette and anything else croquet that you are curious about.
Watercolour Artist Visits
Late last year local watercolour artist and Urban Sketcher Dave Black visited the club and painted our clubrooms. He has kindly sent us a copy of his work and permitted us to put it on this website. If anyone would like a print of the original work, Dave says he would be happy to arrange that for you.
WCA AC Open Singles Championship
14 players contested the 2023-24 Championship between Christmas and New Year. It was great to see some new entrants as well as regular players returning to an event this year. An event appropriately sub-titled as:
”Young Bucks Challenge Old Bulls”
However, experience won out in the end with Harps Tahurangi defeating Callum McKinnon in the final - a 3 game thriller.
Nicholas Flood finished 3rd and the Plate was won by Dennis Bulloch on a count back of net hoops.
More details and photos here
Harps receiving the Championship Trophy from WCA President Matthew Spooner
Congratulations to:
Ross Dalley - Runner-up WCA GC Silver Badges 3 - 5 grade
Baubre Murray - Runner-up CNZ Third Tier AC Invitations
Graeme Fisher - Runner-up Waimarie-HV AC Open Singles
Tepa Hendry & Yvonne Stewart - Winners WCA GC Advantage Doubles
Lynne Dalley - Winner Levin CC Speldhurst Advantage Singles
Baubre Murray - Runner-up NZ Women’s AC Singles Championship
Baubre Murray & Graeme Fisher - Runners-up NZ Mixed Doubles AC Championship
Baubre Murray - Runner-up WCA AC Annual Tournament 0 -2 Division
Susan Leuchars - Winner WCA AC Annual Tournament 10+ Division
Toby Garrison & partner - Winners CNZ AC Doubles Championship
Harps Tahurangi & partner - Runners-Up CNZ AC Doubles Championship
Mark Huttley - Runner-up Waikanae AC 4+ Singles
Susan Leuchars - Runner-up Triton Rose Gardens AC 8+ Singles
Harps Tahurangi - Winner WCA AC Open Singles Championship
Baubre Murray, Mark Huttley& Ross Dalley 75% of the winning WCA team in the Lower North Island AC teams event.
The team won an unprecedented 18 out of 18 matches!
Ross Dalley & Mark Huttley - Winners WCA Interclub Monday Pairs
Toby Garrison - Winner Morrinsville AC Open Singles
Susan Leuchars - Winner Rose Gardens Suzuki/Peugeot AC 10+
Harps Tahurangi - Winner WCA AC Men’s Championship Singles
Graeme Fisher - Runner-up WCA AC Men’s Championship Singles
Janet Boutel - recently appointed an AC Examining Referee
Contact
➤ LOCATION
160 Alexandra Road
Newtown
☎ Phone
Club Rooms 04 389 7071
✉ email
wellingtoncroquetclub@gmail.com
Club Hire
The club is available for hire for work or private social functions and celebrations.
For full details visit our Have a Go page
Tournament Entries
As well as our own club competitions, there are many tournaments held by other clubs plus regional and national events. We receive lots of flyers about these which are all displayed on our pin board.
Details are also in the year book - copies in the clubrooms - and on the WCA website link here
Covid-19 Policy
Please continue to follow the public health measures advised by government under the Covid Protection Framework when on Club premises, and take care of yourselves at all times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click the Index button in the footer below for the answers to your questions and more.