Belmont Croquet Club is hosting a season opening day for its players to come together for games and celebration for the sport.
The club will host the event for its 2024-25 members at 161 Francis Street from 9.30am on Saturday, August 10, featuring croquet games, a sausage sizzle and afternoon tea.
Belmont Croquet Club’s Janelle Morris said the opening day was recognised in sport as the ceremonial start for a new year of competitions.
“It’s a social and celebratory aspect for the recognition of the season and it’s essentially more social than any competition,” she said.
“Different players from association and golf croquet come together, so it’s a social event to connect all the players.
“We have a ‘Running the Hoop’, that means we elect a member each year just to run a ball through a hoop and officially indicates that it’s the beginning of the year.”
The opening day was also a chance for the Belmont Croquet Club to celebrate two of its longest members, Val Hunt and Jean Hayward, who have been with the club for a combined 54 years.
“Both of us are 88 now. We were a lot younger, and we both liked going out to all the different clubs in the area,” Ms Hunt said.
“We were doing a walking club, and it was advertised that this day was on… So, we had six weeks of lessons before that we wanted to join.”
Ms Hunt said the season opening day was a great chance for the clubs to get together and make friends with the other players.
“I would advise anybody to play anything…and I’ve always done sports, and I think any sort of sport is very good,” she said.
