The Echuca Moama Croquet Club has grown from nine members when it formed in 2016 to more than 20. Photos: EMCC.
Echuca-Moama is a thriving community that is only growing. One of the many reasons people love the region is the multitude of groups they can be part of.
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To help you find the right group, check out our ‘Why not join ...’ series each week, where we focus on a community group.
In today’s edition, Matthew Kappos speaks to Echuca Moama Croquet Club.
If you’re looking to get involved in croquet in the region, or simply want to see what the sport is all about, now could be the perfect time to do so.
Echuca Moama Croquet Club will be holding a come-and-try day this Wednesday, March 26 from 5pm, at the club’s home, the tennis courts at Echuca Tennis Club.
Interested community members are welcome to come down, with flat soled shoes the only equipment required, learn to play croquet with instruction from club president John Alstin and enjoy a barbecue after play.
“If people come along and they say ‘oh I don't mind this’ then we give them four free lessons, that means they can come along to the club four weeks, and I’ll give them coaching while they're at the club,” Alstin said.
“Then we ask them to join and if they say ‘oh well no it's not really for me’ they go their own way, or otherwise they can join.”
Members who do elect to join pay a $150 per year membership fee and are then provided with an official club shirt and jacket, valued at $130, from the club’s sponsor, Moama Bowling Club.
Although not required, Alstin said regular members also typically prefer to purchase their own mallet, but the club has spares on hand in the meantime.
Alstin helped found the club in 2016 as a group of members elected to separate from the Rich River Croquet Club.
Club president John Alstin will be on hand at the come-and-try day to teach new members the ropes.
Since starting with nine members, the club has now grown to more than 20.
“It was no ill feeling (towards Rich River), but we just thought ‘well, there's room in the town for two clubs’,” Alstin said.
Golf croquet, the easier to learn and by far most played rule set used at the club, involves players taking alternating shots in an attempt to guide their ball through a course of hoops.
The club uses a handicapping system to give new members a fair chance against the more experienced players.
If you miss the come and try day on Wednesday, or are unable to make it, the club’s regular competitions are on Mondays and Fridays from 8.30am for a 9am start.
In winter, the start time is pushed back to 9am for a 9.30am start, competitions usually lasting about three hours.
The club is happy to offer the same four free sessions to new members, whether they get started at the come and try day, or simply show up to a weekly meet.
The club also participates in regional competitions, members often travelling together to games in Kyabram, Rich River, or just a week ago at Boort where 12 EMCC members participated.
Alstin praised the community of the club, which supports its members on and off the court.
“We're a very social group and we're member-orientated and if someone is a bit off or anything else like that the whole club gets behind them,” he said.
“We've got our one of our members who is going in for a cancer operation and the whole club is behind him.
“He lives by himself and we said ‘if you need someone to take you to hospital we'll take you to Bendigo and if you want someone to pick you up from Bendigo we'll come and do that’.
“We're very oriented like that and if someone's doing it a bit hard and needs a bit of help, the club is there to help them.”
Echuca Moama Croquet Club is located at Echuca Tennis Club at the Victoria Park Sports Complex.
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