The Byron Bay Croquet Club has enjoyed a perfect season in the Northern Rivers Croquet Association pennant competition, which included teams from Lismore, Cherry Street, Alstonville, Ballina and Casino.
During the defence of the title that it won last year, the club won all of its ten matches in the home-and-away series.
Historic win
In doing so, it became the first club in the association’s history to complete an undefeated pennant series.
The Alstonville club also made history of its own by finishing as runner-up for the first time.
With four players required for each match, Byron Bay established an association benchmark in fielding 11 players in total during the season, as the early success of some of the top players took them past the handicap limit for the series.
Less experienced players, who had trained in a squad under the direction of club captain Max Donati, stepped up to accept the challenge as the season progressed to maintain the team’s unbeaten status. The depth of talent reflects the local enthusiasm for the sport which has resulted in a number of NSW state titles scheduled for the Northern Rivers area.
Last week, Byron Bay hosted the NSW Richochet Croquet Championship, which attracted players from as far away as Sydney.
Jeffrey Regan from Strathfield, Sydney, defeated Ballina Cherry Street’s Noelene Barnes in the final, while other locals to do well were losing semi-finalists Penny Scott (Cherry Street) and Denis Cummins (Byron Bay), and Plate winner Barbara Barrett from the host club.
Byron Bay will host further state competitions during winter with the NSW Division Two Golf Croquet Doubles title starting next Wednesday, followed by the singles competition from Friday to Sunday.
State titles held
The fact that state titles are scheduled for the Northern Rivers area is testament to the willingness of local players to also qualify as referees who freely give their time to oversee matches in a time and manner which is much appreciated by local and visiting competitors.
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