Club Newsletter Apr 2026

BCC NEWSLETTER – April 2026

Elwood Croquet Club

There appears to be an increasing level of confidence that the ECC will be joining us in August or September.  Yes, 2026!   As part of this temporary relocation, ECC will fund the construction of a new shed and associated slab, which will be located in the north east corner adjacent to court one.  The funding is ultimately coming from Melbourne Water as part of the drainage works impacting the Elwood Club. The existing shed will not be affected.

Concurrently, BCC is also planning on extending the existing concrete entrance path to the clubhouse from where it now terminates. The BCC Committee has agreed to contribute some funds to the extension of the path, with the greater proportion of the cost being covered by the funds provided by ECC.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Preparation work is expected to take place on Saturday, 23
• As machinery will be in use on the Saturday, AC play on the 23^rd May will not be possible. Golf play on the Sunday should be able to proceed, but members will need to be very careful of the excavation work.
• The construction of the shed is scheduled to occur on Thursday, 4^th June, which should not impact unduly on play.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Club Open Day, 17 May 2026

In the March Newsletter, a Club Open Day was flagged for Sunday, 3^rd May.  The date has now been locked in for Sunday 17^th May.

The Open Day is now being promoted on the Bayside Council Website and will be promoted in Bayside online newsletter, ‘This Week in Bayside’, prior to the event.  A flyer for the Open Day is attached to the covering email.  Please circulate the flyer to friends and family. We hope to attract a crowd.

The Club will host some very relaxed ‘snake-in-the-grass’ croquet.  We will provide some light refreshments and, based on our extensive Bunnings experience, host a sausage sizzle.

The aim of the Open Day is threefold. In no particular order:

• to promote the Club within the Bayside community;
• to support the Bayside Council’s healthy ageing agenda;
• to promote the sport of croquet; and
• to potentially expand our membership base.

Members’ help will be needed

 

Club Secretary (& other Committee roles)

 Our current Club Secretary, Paul Butler, will not be nominating for this very important Committee role at our next AGM (scheduled at this stage for Saturday, 25^th July).  As Paul & Debbie will be heading off on a holiday soon, Marguerite Russell has very kindly agreed to act in the position pending it being filled at the AGM.  On behalf of the Committee, and the entire Club, a huge vote of thanks to Paul for his contribution over the past 2 years.

Members are encouraged to consider nominating for this important role. A position description has been prepared to assist in scoping the role. This position description, together with descriptions for all Committee roles, will be provided to Club members well before the AGM.

Under our Constitution, all Committee positions are required to be declared vacant at the AGM.

In the interim, if members would like to discuss the role of Secretary, or other Committee positions, please contact me (Bill Marks) or Marguerite Russell.

Events

We are hosting another event on Saturday, 2^nd May in the afternoon.  Six members will be needed to help out.  All that is needed is an understanding of how to hold a mallet and hit a ball. Please include your name on the noticeboard if you can assist.

Wine Tasting

The wine tasting held on 22^nd March was a great success.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the wines available. The enjoyment level definitely increased as the afternoon progressed.  Many thanks to Ian Marchment for organizing the event and leading us through the characteristics of the many and varied wines on hand.

Victoria Container Deposit Scheme

As a fund-raising activity the Club is considering participating in the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme.  We are looking for a member who can advise the Committee on the best way to establish the scheme within the Club and, perhaps, co-ordinate its operation.  Please let any Committee know if you are interested.

Working Bee

The Club regular working bee was held on 20^th & 21^st April.  A number of members dressed down for the occasion and much was achieved.

While not wanting to single anyone in particular out, the Club owes an enormous vote of thanks to Michael Love (who isn’t a playing member) for cleaning the gutters, cutting back the out of control Hawthorn tree, acquiring new plants for the rear garden, completing much needed maintenance work on the cubbies and replacing the base boards on the shed.

I will take this opportunity to also acknowledge Terry Frankham’s contribution to the Club.  Terry, who rarely plays, has, somehow between his sailing commitments, very capably filled the position of Treasurer for a number of years and seems to have taken on the role of hedge cutter extraordinaire (apologies to Greg Barnes).

Many thanks again to all those who participated. Where would we be without volunteers?

Name Badges

In the last Newsletter we mentioned the use of name badges.  As we haven’t been exactly inundated with requests, it might be worth repeating.  We encourage all members to have a Club name badge.  It is particularly important that we wear name badges to help new members settle in and when we are involved in events with people outside the Club.

Contact Marguerite Russell, A/Club Secretary.

Emergency contacts

 A list of emergency contacts has been placed on the noticeboard.  Can members please check the listing to ensure that it is up to date.

Elwood Croquet Club AC Day

The Elwood Club will be hosting an AC day on the 31st May. It is open to all BCC members to participate in what will be a very relaxed, informal and short AC format. A flyer for the event will be circulated soon.  Even if you haven’t played AC and you would like to give it a go, there will be someone available to show you the ‘ropes’

 Club Membership

 The BCC membership now stands at 63. An issue the Club Committee will need to get its mind around in 2026 is the optimum club membership number.  There is no simple answer, and possibly no single answer.  It is made more complex due to Elwood’s relocation.

It is difficult to benchmark Brighton against other Clubs.  Our numbers are very sound.  Sandringham is an extreme case with 103 members, which is nearing the Club’s capacity. However, a direct comparison is not valid, as Sandringham is solely a ‘golfing’ Club which enables the Club to accommodate such a large membership base.

On this note, the Club is delighted to welcome three new members:

• Joanne Davis
• Catherine Stevenson
• Jeff Simon

If you see a new face about the Club, please introduce yourself and make all new members as welcome as possible.

Croquet Victoria AGM

The CV AGM will be held on Monday 15^th June, at the Cairnlea Centre. Anyone interested in an insight into the administration of croquet in Victoria may wish to attend.  In any event, it is a good opportunity to have a look around the Centre of croquet in the State.

Subcommittees and Working Groups are the engine room of Croquet Victoria (CV). This is where the work gets done. The CV Council reviews reports and recommendations from Subcommittees and Working Groups with a view to enacting policy or approving and funding initiatives. Currently there are vacancies on several of these groups:

• Child Safety Sub-Committee (4-5 members) – 2 vacancies
• Council Nominations Sub-Committee (3-5 members) – 2 vacancies
• Disciplinary Tribunal & Appeals Panel (3-6 members) – 3 vacancies
• Finance & Investment Sub-Committee (5-7 members) 1 vacancy
• Golf Croquet Selection Sub-Committees (5 members) – 1 vacancy
• Health & Safety Sub-Committee (3-5 members) – 1 vacancy
• Marketing & Publicity Sub-Committee ((6 members) – 2 vacancies
• Risk & Compliance Sub-Committee (3-5 members) -2 vacancies
• Victorian Croquet Centre (Cairnlea) Sub-Committee (6 members) – 1 vacancy

There are also a number of important CV positions currently vacant:

• State Coordinator of Golf Croquet
• State Coordinator of Association Croquet
• Club Development Officer
• Croquet Victoria Complaints Officer
• Croquet Victoria Complaints Decision Maker
• Croquet Victorian Historian

Members of Brighton Croquet Club are invited to nominate for vacancies. It is important to maintain gender balance in CV governance, so women are particularly encouraged to consider nominating.

Terms of Reference for the Subcommittees and Working Groups can be found at: croquetvic.asn.au/governance.php

Further information is available from Robin Russell

Bill Marks

President