CROQUET NEWS:  Maths on Lawn for Smart Young Set

16 July 2006
Moseman Croquet Club, Sydney, NSW, Australia
by Angela Cuming in The Sun-Herald, Sydney, NSW, Australia
photo by Adam Hollingworth

Crazy for croquet ... Felicity and Victoria Nelson having fun at the Mosman Croquet Club.

CROQUET has quickly replaced lawn bowls as the sport of choice for the smart young set.

There are now 19 croquet clubs in Sydney and membership numbers are booming with enthusiasts as young as 16 signing up.

The craze is even being felt by landscape gardeners, who say they have been flooded with requests to create private croquet lawns, with a custom built green more popular for the backyard than a swimming pool.

The sport is now being offered in 28 Sydney primary and high schools - twice as many as five years ago. Mosman Preparatory school has six croquet teams on its official sports curriculum.

The Mosman Croquet Club is at the forefront of the croquet renaissance. Every Sunday its lawns are invaded by everyone from women on a hen's night and men celebrating a buck's party to young professionals enjoying a special corporate event or staff party.

"It is the new lawn bowls for the young people in Sydney," said Mosman Croquet Club secretary Maria Gibson. "We get lots of groups of young people who like to come here with a picnic lunch and drink champagne while they play.

"A form of croquet was first played in France in the 13th century and it was the only game that young men and ladies could play together. It was often the only place to meet a suitor and that romantic feel has carried on over the centuries.

"It is a very analytical game. It requires strategy and thought, so students who excel at subjects like maths really enjoy it."

Queenwood School for Girls year 10 students, twin sisters Felicity and Victoria Nelson, are members of the Mosman club. "I just love it because it is really fun," Felicity said.