![Croquet_411351_09.JPG](https://geelongindy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Croquet_411351_09.jpg)
By Jena Carr
It’s a battle of epic proportions as croquet teams across the state come down to Belmont for the Jim Saunders GC Handicap Doubles.
The golf-style croquet event will be held on Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9, at the Belmont Croquet Club on 161 Francis Street.
Belmont Croquet Club president Kevin Bluff said he looked forward to seeing the region’s croquet players coming together for a great sporting event.
“It’s a chance to come to Geelong over the long weekend, get into some serious competition and meet some new people,” he said.
“They’ll play 11 games, which are restricted in time to a maximum of an hour so that they could be playing for six hours or more on the first day and five or more on the second.
“There are players from all over the place, as well as players from local clubs…and it’s a chance to help other players get together, enjoy competition and have a good time.”
Mr Bluff said 24 players would battle it out in 12 pairs under a handicapped system across the weekend.
“It’s sort of top to mid-level players and a chance for them to compete each other against each other on almost a level playing field, which makes it quite interesting,” he said.
“It’s run on long weekend because it’s two full days of play. We’ll be playing from about 8am to about 5pm on the first day, and then maybe till about 4pm on the second day.”
The tournament was named after and started by former Belmont Croquet Club president Jim Saunders in 2018 and has since continued following his death in 2022.