Captain's Report | strathfieldcroquet

Petula Shun

Strathfield Club Captain

Captain’s Report June 2026

June has been a quiet month for activities. All sessions still seem to be well attended, with good play and plenty of social interactions. This ensures healthy attitudes in the club. Strathfield players continue to compete in Division 3 pennants with great success. GC Makara Advantage GC teams commences 1July to 18 October. Thank you Cheryl of organising the team. I hope the team enjoy the experience. Thank you to Cheryl and Ann for managing the Ricochet club Hi/Low championship in my absence. 10 players are playing very close competitive games

Captain’s Report May 2026

Strathfield Club’s Invitational Teams Gateball Challenge was held on May16-17 th
We were very lucky with the weather! 6 teams attended from, Canberra, Newcastle
Toronto , Cooks River and Strathfield and Holroyd. Holroyd had the assistance of 2
Strathfield players and captained by Cheryl O’ Dwyer from Warrnambool( Victoria)
The winners were Canberra , runner’s up Strathfield, third Holroyd. 40 people attended
Thank you to all that assisted on the day. Without their help it would not be the successfu
event. This event is extremely friendly, with good examples of Gateball play. NSW championship
Is the only other team Gateball event run in NSW.

Monday 18th Peter Frier facilitated 2 GB workshops . 16 players attended the morning session
This was for players with handicaps of 9-12 . Afternoon session 12 players attended. This
session catered for handicaps of 8 and under. 7 clubs were represented . Peter is a very
experienced coach and referee. He was very generous with his knowledge and time.

Pennant completion continues with Strathfield playing extremely well. 8 teams competed in their
zone. The competition will conclude by 30 th June. Hi/Low Ricochet competition will commence
on 2nd June. Non Ricochet players are encouraged to come and support. It is an ideal time to see
the game played

Captain’s Report April 2026

Beautiful autumn weather has ensured there are good numbers playing croquet most sessions. It is a quiet month for extra activities in the club. It is great to acknowledge the normal sessions that encourage friendships and social play.

Our Pennants Division 3 team continue “to do us proud”!! They are improving their skills, and enjoying themselves. I will just say they are doing very well!!

Marrickville club has invited our club to compete in The Birdie Telfer Memorial Trophy- Golf Croquet Doubles. This trophy was established in1990 to acknowledge Birdie Telfer ,Secretary of the club from 1967-1983. It has not been played since 2009. This event will run to celebrate Marrickville’s Centenary. Other clubs invited are Mosman. Manly and Sutherland. Competition will occur over the rest few weeks. Pauline Hogan and Helen Lackey represented our club, winning 2 games and losing 2. Well played but they did not reach the finals. Finals occur on Saturday May 2nd.

Captain’s Report - March 2026

Makara Ricochet competition is in process at Strathfield club and Cooks River.
Thank you to the greens staff for preparing excellent lawns.

Pennant team have started their campaign with a win. Congratulations. Hope you all enjoy the
experience. Thank you to the timekeepers. It is always nice to have support.

Seniors week introduction to croquet sessions was disappointing, On Sunday the weather was extremely unkind, but 4 participates braved the pouring rain. Sunday a beautiful day only 2 attended of the 10 booked. Thank you Lucile for organising the events. It is important that we are involved.

Many players travelled to Nowra to enjoy playing Gateball with Nowra’s emerging group of players. On the second day two clinics were presented. John and Penny facilitated “Think like a Captain” and Manuel took a group for a referee workshop. Nowra ’s new centre is fantastic and the members were wonderful hosts.

Captain’s Report February 2026

The Twilight GC handicapped event was held this month over 3 evenings with 12 players
competing. It was a great success that involved players with different handicaps. Congratulations
to the winners Anne Hall and Sue Goh.
Makara Ricochet will commence next month with Strathfield players involved. A team for GC
pennants has also been organised.
Strathfield Hub facilitated a Gateball workshop facilitated by John and Penny Park, as the first
workshop for the year. 18 players attended from 6 clubs. This pilot workshop included
‘homework” using Google classroom. Then the majority of the session was conducted on the
lawns.
Players of the club competed at the Canberra Triple Gateball Competition. The team progressed
to the Gold playoffs.

Captain’s Report January 2026

Another year ! Hope everyone had a safe break during the Christmas period.!
This year commences with the GC twilight competition to be held on Monday and Friday evenings. Strathﬁeld hub activities commence in early February with a Gateball workshop.

Suggestions for workshops are always welcome.

This years calendar is now been organised with Ricochet H/low and GC club championships dates available soon on the website. Makara, Enid Brown and pennant competitions are organised. Hopefully new players will be interested. There is a folder with suggestions of external tournaments to encourage interest. It is a great opportunity to see other clubs and test their game against new players.

Strathﬁeld Croquet club is a vibrant club.It has a wonderful group of active players and many players that assist in diﬀerent ways to support the club. I hope this year more members will join this group and oﬀer their assistance. As a committee member I know who to ask for help, but it would be nice for some others to oﬀer.

Best wishes for 2026.!