Croquet Victoria is hoping to boost participation on the back of the Golf Croquet World Championships in Cairnlea last week, when the world’s best showcased their skills.
The championships finished on Sunday, wrapping up a week of strong international competition with about 150 daily spectators at the Victorian Croquet Centre.
Croquet Victoria president Jim Clements said the staging of the world championships in Australia had been a great success.
“We’ve had busloads of people coming in every day, and even people flying in from interstate,” Mr Clements said.
“A couple flew from Queensland to watch one day of competition, and two other groups from Tasmania.
“It’s a free event, so the support has been fantastic.”
On the courts, the competition showcased the best in the world, including world number one Reg Bamford from South Africa, and the highest ranked woman, New Zealand’s Jenny Clarke. Golf Croquet is an open event with no age or gender restrictions.
“Competition has certainly been fierce,” Mr Clements said. “We had to put up extra fences to allow for the Egyptian players, who hit the ball so much harder than everyone else.
“And we’ve had young New Zealander Felix Webby, who won our under-21 event here recently, make it through to the knockout rounds, so that’s a great effort.
“This week shows that we can host an event at this level and, hopefully, we see a participation boost out of it.
“Croquet is growing in Victoria and Australia – we’d like to encourage more people, especially young people to come down and give the sport a try.”
