Club Newsletter December 2025

BCC NEWSLETTER – 4^th December  2025

Dear members

I will start by wishing all of you a very happy and safe Christmas and, if you don’t celebrate Christmas, a happy and safe festive season and, if you don’t celebrate anything, a happy and safe New Year.

I think that covers it!

For all those who attended our Christmas function last Sunday, I hope that you enjoyed yourself as much as I did. A big thank you to all of those who assisted in catering, preparation and cleaning up afterwards.

Social events are a fundamental part of all sporting clubs, and we would like to see more of them.  However, if this is to happen, it must be driven by members themselves.  If any members are interested in participating on a social event working party, please let me, or a Committee member, know.

Elwood Croquet Club (ECC)

The ECC is still to finalize contractual arrangements with Melbourne Water and the Port Phillip Council, through absolutely no fault on their part.  The uncertainty is frustrating for the BCC Committee as it makes planning difficult, but vastly more so for the members of ECC.

For those who have had any dealings with government bureaucracy it shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Having spent 35 years working in and around government, our rule of thumb was to multiply the best and most accurate time and cost estimate by 2.5.  It rarely failed.

From BCC’s perspective, the Committee was hoping to have a new shed, funded by Melbourne Water to accommodate ECC’s croquet equipment, completed by year end.  If we achieve this now, it will be a Christmas miracle.

FUND RAISER – BUNNINGS SAUSAGE SIZZLE 10^th JANUARY 2026

In the previous Newsletter reference was made to a Bunnings sausage sizzle at Moorabbin Bunnings.  The date is now 10^th January 2026.  Help is required. There is a notice of the Board with plenty of space for those who can help out.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

The Club has had numerous approaches in relation to hosting end-of-year functions.  These functions have been very successful in the past and have generated revenue for the Club and increased our profile in the community.  However, our capacity to host these events and their success is dependent on the input and goodwill of our members. If you see an event listed on the Noticeboard and a call for nominations, please consider putting your name down. They are actually good fun.

WORKING BEE

Speaking of good fun, we will be organizing a working bee early in the New Year.  If you’re up for a bit of gardening, cleaning and perhaps painting, start your training regime now.

The blackberries along the Western boundary are prospering and a good crop is in the offing. However, they have started to tip in places close to the boundary.  The last thing we need is on-court blackberries.    Priority will need to be given to giving the ‘hedge’ along the railway line a solid trim.

LINE MARKING

With the rapid growth of grass and weekly mowing the Committee has decided that the boundary line should be marked fortnightly to avoid having to use string lines.

We will continue with the WhatsApp communication, but will also use a schedule that will be placed on the Noticeboard.

It is best to mark the lines on a Friday while the boards are lifted and after Matt has finished mowing. The dates listed are Fridays, but if the weekend suits you better, that is fine. Playing times are obviously best avoided.

If you put your name down but later find that you are unable to attend, we ask that you use our group chat to arrange for a swap or simply contact other members.

Line marking does not require any particular skills.  If you can walk in a moderately straight line, you qualify.  Some initial advice on using the line marking machine is essential.

TWILIGHT EVENTS

The regular Friday twilight events have not been particularly successful in attracting members.  We will continue with twilight events in the new year and will continue to promote them.  If members have any suggestions as to how they could be improved to better attract participation, please let a Committee member know.

Finally, a genuine thank you to all members for their participation in the Club.  The Club finishes the year in a very sound financial position and we have achieved some manageable growth.  Nevertheless, our recruitment efforts during the year have demonstrated once again that the best form of recruitment is word of mouth.  So please encourage friends and family to give the game a go.

Thank you to ALL

Bill Marks

President