Club Days open to visitors are on Monday & Thursday afternoons starting at 14.00, Saturdays starting at 15.00 followed by a Bring and Braai.
The Club is hired
out for functions on application to the Chairman Ellis Langeveld president@croquet.org.za.
Upcoming events
-
6-13th March
- 09h00
- WP Assoc AC Croquet Tournament @ SWCC
-
15-20th March
- 09h00
- WP Golf Croquet Tournament @ KG
-
20-21st March
- 09h00
- "Level Best" – GC Invitational @ SWCC
-
27th March
- 09h00
- Club OPEN Singles
-
10th April
- 09h00
- OLD MUTUAL CHALLENGE @ SWCC
- Braai lunch
-
17th April
- 10h00
- OPEN DAY/AUCTION/SOCIAL CROQUET
- Braai lunch
-
18th April
- 09h00
- False Bay Challenge @ FH
-
1st May
- 09h00
- Robinson Cup: SW v FH @ SW (Followed by prize-giving Braai at SWCC)
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
Publicity
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Radloff Park off Lourensford Road just before the turn-off to Riverside Park and Willowbrook Lodge, is one of the best kept secrets in Somerset West!
This is the Somerset West Croquet Club which has four lawns.
We have endeavoured since the World Championship in March 2008, part of which was contested in Somerset West, to promote the game of croquet in the Helderberg. It seems as though the delights of the new croquet game are still to be more widely discovered.
It is a game for young and old, and played with great enthusiasm worldwide.
So do you enjoy snooker, ball games, good company and beautiful gardens? Then do visit us any Monday, Thursday or Saturday afternoon after 15.00 – these are our social club days.
The Club has a braai overlooking Morgenster and the Helderberg.We have a full summer fixture list incorporating inter-club, Provincial and National Tournaments as well. Somerset College Preparatory School now has Croquet on their sport curriculum.
The club is also available for private functions and corporate events on application.
Enquiries: Secretary 083 29 405 29
Latest News - Irish Croquet Day, 04 July 2009
On a spectacular summery day in the middle of winter 20 players split up the courts into half-size and laid out the wider hoops for 4 games of Irish Croquet organised by Vernon Tomes, his two sons Grahame and Paul accompanied by their wives - Mary-Clare to assist with the huge potjie, and Sharon as our photographer.
Rules were explained over glasses of Guiness so it took quite a while to
get the balls rolling. Irish Croquet is a combination of Golf and Association Croquet - all four players are on
the court together and each of their balls must run the hoops in sequence.
Free-shots can be claimed after
hitting another ball, in defence or to assist one's partner. Running a hoop brings all the balls back to "life" and
they can be used again to manoeuver around the court.
Irish stew par excellence, well laced with Guiness and pepper,
spurred us on to hone our new found skills throughout the afternoon.
Latest Competition Results
Photo Gallery
History
(Thanks to Peter Millson, past President of SWCC, for this article)
Croquet in Somerset West in the early days was purely a social affair with many of the large houses in the area having private lawns albeit some smaller than standard. Some of the grander places like Vergelegen, owned by Cynthia Johnson, even had tea arrive on silver trays courtside at four o’clock!
From a nucleus of the original players, George & Lesley James, Jack & Jemima Benn, Brig. & Lady Elizabeth Tyler, Cmdr & Mrs Gray (Yi & Joan), Lady Kenmare, Elizabeth Fraser, Madge Francis, Maureen Duffus decided to start the club in 1979 and persuaded the Municipality to build two lawns in Radloff Park.
George James was the original Chairman and the Countess Kenmare President. There was much committee discussion as to whether the members would wear R2.50 as an annual membership fee!
As soon as the courts were playable, new members arrived in the shape of Cynthia’s son, Tom Barlow, Val Durie, Pat Boyd, John & Sheila Becket, Dick le Maitre, Geoffrey Robinson, and the young were brought in during their tender years: Tom’s son Charles, Judith Downton (now Hanekom) Andrew Hobbs, Wynand & William Louw, and the Ware family.
Golf Croquet being just a ‘fill-in’ game after a ‘proper game’ of Association, these babes (and they were little more) started straight in on Association and were soon leading lights in the game both locally, nationally and internationally. Indeed they were South Africa’s Croquet wunderkinder.
The club grew in strength over the years with competitive play against the other Cape clubs but did not grow in numbers until Golf Croquet was introduced by Peter Heydorn who had seen the potential of this form of the Game when he was over in Australia winning medals for his Association Croquet.
As numbers grew because of this, another lawn was added mainly through the efforts of Jack Benn and lately the club-house has been enlarged and a fourth added.
This club is now strong in depth with members and attracting more, trying to popularise Association Croquet as well as entering a programme to introduce the game to those who have never had the luck or opportunity to play Croquet before. But today, tea is served on plastic trays and the only silverware is in the trophy cabinet.
Facilities
It has four croquet lawns surrounded by gardens and trees with a braai area overlooking the Morgenter Estate and hills. It is part of Radloff Sports Park.
Players
Somerset West Croquet Club has a membership of 61 and is growing.
Competitions
The club has a full tournament and social calendar with members entering other provincial tournaments and the annual National
Tournament.
Every season in-club competitions are held of many trophies, mainly in golf croquet. The club is still playing in the
Western Province Association League matches with a skeleton team but golf croquet members are being encouraged to play
Association as well.
Contact Details
| Contact: | Susan Crole (Secretary) |
|---|---|
| Address: | TBC |
| Tel: | +27 (0)21 851-5553 |
| E-mail: | swcc@croquet.org.za |
