Come and try ... croquet at Murray Bridge Croquet Club

The first time Libby Moore saw a game of croquet going on, she thought it looked easy.

You use a big mallet to bop a few balls through some hoops on a smooth bit of grass – simple, right?

Now she knows better.

“It’s a game of skill,” she says.

“When you practise, when you play, you learn.”

At some events, by the time you play five 40-minute games, you get a decent walk, too.

As president of Murray Bridge Croquet Club, she hopes more local people will get to learn that croquet is not just a game for “old fuddy-duddies”.

She points me out onto the Thomas Street croquet courts to take a few tips from Lyn Morgan.

When did you first start playing croquet?

U3A (University of the Third Age) did a come-and-try about five or six years ago.

What do you get out of it?

You try to be as strategic as possible, to get in front or knock the other person away. It’s a bit like eight-ball, a very strategic game. The more you get into it, the more you realise that. But we even have people who have partial dementia and they’re still able to understand it. It’s good for all types and capabilities ... I’ve got a crook neck – I’d like to play golf or something like that, but I just can’t do it physically. This is something I can do physically ... It’s a game where you can set your own challenges for yourself.

What has been the greatest achievement of your croquet career so far?

The (state) Masters Games was my first competition. Val and I actually came second in the doubles ... It actually took me a few years to realise I can do it. I did a competition down at Victor Harbor, a doubles competition with one of the other girls here, and we were fighting with the best. It was the same with the Masters: it suddenly clicked in my old brain, “I can do this”.

How are you going this season?

We play all year round, with a break over Christmas. If we got more working people we could set up Saturday mornings or something like that ... We don’t keep score week-to-week, only day-to-day in games.

What do you hope to achieve as a croquet player?

To still enjoy it, and make sure that in whatever competition I play I’m challenging myself. I’ll never be a (really) good player, but that doesn’t matter. Whatever competition you play, just realise you can do it.

Why should people come and play croquet?

It’s a really challenging game if you want to make it. It’s not a nasty game, but you need to hit (opponents) away from the hoop and they end up swearing at you. But we’re all friends here. We definitely have great friendships and really good banter.

• More information: Visit the club at 10.30am on a Tuesday or call Libby Moore on 8532 3917.

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