CROQUET NEWS:  Croquet Fun Whether You're 9 or 90

First Game of Season was a Hit

25 May 2007
Niagra-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
by Alison Bell in Niagara This Week, Thorold, Ontario, Canada

Club member Anne Robinson lines up a shot at the first game of the season for members of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Croquet Club, which was a hit May 13. The group plays twice a week at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Lawnbowling Club. New members are welcome. [Anne Robinson is the treasurer of the USCA.]

The first game of the season for members of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Croquet Club was a hit recently.

For Kevan O'Connor, the club's president, croquet is a way to socialize, but it's also a game of strategy.

"It's an interesting game when you play on courts like this surface. It's like chess," he said. "There is a tremendous amount of strategy involved."

Members play under United States Croquet Association rules. The object of the game is to hit a wooden or plastic ball with a mallet through hoops embedded in the grassy playing arena. Players can hit each other's balls out of the way, in an effort to "peg out" -- or cause a ball to strike the peg and conclude the play.

Croquet is commonly played in Canadian backyards throughout the summer months. Members range in age, and all are welcome to learn the rules of the game at the club.

"Croquet is a game you can play until you're 90 years old," said O'Connor.

O'Connor has played in numerous tournaments since the local club's inception 11 years ago.

He said the events are very social, because players eat dinner together, and often gather for drinks between games.

"It's like adult daycare," he joked. "Everything is planned out at tournaments. You don't have to do anything."

The group plays twice a week at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Lawn Bowling Club, which is located at the corner of Regent and Johnson Streets in the Old Town.