Dear Member,

I hope you are keeping well and staying safe.

Following our (limited) reopening on 18 May and the further government announcements and DCMS and CA guidance from 1st June, please find below our updated Notice to members, together with the CA guidance and graphic. These are also posted on the pavilion window. Government social distancing and hygiene advice continues to be the primary concern and must be followed by members and visitors to ECC at all times.

The main changes from the 18 May Notice are:

• Up to six players/guests may be at the club at any one time, this is subject to having pre-booked via the online lawn booking system: singles or doubles on main lawn; no double banking; singles only on small lawn; and subject to maintaining the advised social distancing and hygiene standards.
• The lawns will be reserved for club members’ practice “Sessions to six” at the following times: Sundays 2pm – 5.30pm; Tuesdays 5pm – 8pm; Thursdays 2pm to 5pm. Places are limited to six. Pre-book online to reserve your place – simply add your ‘name /’ in the Name(s) box against the appropriate lawn Bookings number – first come / first served. N.B. Roll-ups are not permitted.
• The club is open to new membership applications.

Unfortunately, the clubhouse WCs remain closed for the time being and there are still no formal competitions.

A few games are being played, however, and the new online AC and GC ladders are there to be climbed (or descended). Member contact details for arranging games can be found in the password protected Croquet members area of the website. https://www.embersportsclub.org.uk/ember-croquet-club/members-area/ . The password is as before and will be sent to you separately on request.

Best wishes, and stay alert and safe, Simon

Ember Croquet Club – COVID 19 measures – 1 June 2020 (update to 18 May Notice)
Notice to Croquet Members

Please read carefully for your safety and that of other members. If these
rules and guidance are not followed the club may have to be closed again.
From Monday 1 June all paid up croquet members will be able to play croquet following the guidelines below. The club welcomes new membership applications subject to an introduction to the club and to the game (if appropriate, e.g. for beginners), and explanation
of the current COVID 19 restrictions.

General
 Paid up members for 2020-2021 are eligible to play.
 Up to six members may be present at the club at any one time, subject to having pre-booked.
 Members may bring guests providing their names are recorded in the lawn pre-booking system and the number of members and guests together at the croquet ground is no more than six. Visitor playing fees should be paid into the club account referencing ‘Visitors Fee – Croquet.’ Non-member partners/parents/siblings/children from the same household are asked to pay a visitor fee.
 Club members’ practice sessions ‘Sessions to Six’ are on Sundays 2pm – 5.30pm, Tuesdays 5pm – 8pm and Thursdays 2pm – 5pm and are subject to pre-booking (‘first come first served’)
 Do not play if self isolating or feeling ill in any way.
 Observe the 2 metre social distancing rules at all times, including entering and leaving the premises. Beware of bottlenecks along The Drive entrance and along the path by tennis courts 6 and 7.
 Please wash hands before leaving home, on arriving at the lawns and on leaving the lawns and when you arrive home. You are advised to bring your own hand sanitiser/wipes or soap & hotwater and gloves.
 You are permitted to play Doubles or Singles on the main lawn.
 Singles is permitted on the small lawn, but not Doubles
 No double banking on lawns is permitted.
 The clubhouse is closed so there are no toilet facilities available.
 Please follow NHS test and trace Guidance and inform the chairman if you or a guest becomes ill within 14 days of visiting the club.

Lawn Bookings
 To play you must first book a lawn via ESC website Croquet members area. You may make a booking without having an opponent. This could be either for solo practice or as a way of making a general invitation to members of the booker’s availability to play.
 If you are a paid up member and do not have booking access please contact Steve Edney
 Lawns are bookable in 30 minute units, up to three hours in total, every day from 9am to 8pm.
 Play should end 30 minutes before the end of your booked time to allow you time for cleaning and putting away equipment and leaving before the next booked time.
 Please keep a record of your bookings together with a list of people who played, for tracking purposes.

At the Lawn
 Players must use their own mallet and not touch their opponent’s mallet. A designated club mallet may be allocated to you upon application to the club secretary. Club mallets must otherwise be pre-sanitised by the club and the player both before and after play.
 Please do not enter the pavilion or any other building except for shed 2.
 Before opening shed 2 wash/sanitise your hands with the soap or sanitiser you have brought with you. (Endeavours will be made to maintain a supply of soap, paper towels, antiseptic wipes or spray in the shed if you have forgotten to bring your own but this cannot be guaranteed). Use the water tap next to the pavilion and the washing up bowl in the pallet under the yellow hose as necessary.
 Players must agree which of them is to enter shed 2 to collect and return the hoops, peg, ball sets, clips and bisques and wash/sanitise them on collection and on return.
 Other players must stay well behind the white line in front of the door to shed 2.
 If the hoops are already out leave them out.
 Use antiseptic spay and wipes for cleaning clips and bisques, if used.
 Use soap and water for cleaning ball sets.
 For timed matches use a timer on a watch or phone – and players should referee their
own matches appropriately.
 Wear gloves for the contact touch-points above.
 Seating: it is suggested you bring your own lightweight folding chair. Alternatively,use one of the white plastic chair stored outside: make sure you clean with antiseptic wipe or spray both before and at the end of the game. If you sit on a bench, avoid touching it with your hand.
 Wearing gloves during play is advisable. Consider wearing a face covering if there is a moderate easterly breeze and tennis courts are in use.
 Use your feet to retrieve and manoeuvre balls. Avoid touching any ball with an ungloved hand.
 Take special care when placing or removing a clip from a hoop. If you or your opponent feel using clips causes one of you anxiety, then try golf croquet instead, or other croquet formats, e.g. two ball match-play.
 When the game is complete remember not to shake hands and remember that the player who put all the equipment out is the player to wash/sanitise again and return all to shed 2. Wipe clean the padlock when you have closed the door.

Coaching
 One to One coaching may be available on request to Roger Dollimore
These rules apply currently and may be amended as time goes on, so please look again at the website or on the pavilion door each time you play.
Enjoy your game but please remember there is still a risk of contracting COVID 19. So Stay Alert, obey the social distancing rules and wash/sanitise your hands before arrival and before leaving.
Note: wearing of gloves and/or face mask, during play, is a matter of personal choice.
Remember to bring with you next time you play: sanitiser or soap and hotwater, cloth or paper towels, glove(s), mallet, lightweight folding garden chair, and a drink.

Croquet Association Guidance
Covid-19 Precautions for Playing Croquet
Version 4- 31st May, 2020

The Croquet Association offers the following advice to clubs and players, to
minimise the risk of infection by Covid-19 when clubs decide to open for play.
This version applies to clubs in England from 1st June until further notice.
Both clubs and players should follow Government guidance, particularly those in vulnerable groups; this advice supplements that general guidance by covering situations specific to croquet. The advice has been updated as shown in the change log at the end of the document. It may be further updated if government advice changes.
The guidance published by DCMS on 13th May states that organisations are
encouraged to think creatively about how best to make their sport or activity possible within the guidelines, but also that they should only reopen or restart activities as soon as they feel able to do so safely. These guidelines should be read in conjunction with that advice. They have been updated in line with the further relaxation of the lockdown in England from 1st June, but it is up to clubs to decide whether they can safely accommodate more people playing or spectating.
These are uncertain and very unsettling times. We want our community to stay physically and mentally healthy and as long as it is safe to do, and provided that it is consistent with Government guidance, we want to keep the croquet lawns open and available for members to use. We hope you all stay healthy and that we all get through these challenging times by looking to help each other where we can.
Meanwhile, keep safe, take care, look after yourself and, if possible, enjoy your croquet.

Advice to Clubs
The CA recommends that clubs adopt this advice and adapt it to their
circumstances. The advice below recognises that there are now more stringent measures that must be followed if our sport is to be managed in a safe way.

1. Clubhouses should only be open to the extent required to access
   equipment, toilet and hand washing facilities. Bars and catering facilities should remain closed.
2. Ensure that the necessary facilities and cleaning products are available to maintain a clean environment and enable players to wash equipment after use.
3. Provide hand washing facilities and/or hand sanitiser for players.
4. Only pre-arranged games, coaching or individual practice should be
   permitted, not roll-up or public sessions. There should be no more than four players on a court for play: either one game of singles; two, double-banked, games of singles; or one game of doubles. For coaching, up to five players in addition to the coach are permitted; the coach is responsible for ensuring that social distancing is maintained at all times.
5. Provide clear signs to encourage good hand washing technique, social
   distancing and limits to the number of players per court.
6. Consider providing a lawn-booking system, both to avoid congestion and to facilitate contact tracing if necessary.
7. It is a matter for clubs to decide whether they can now accommodate
   guests, visitors or specatators, but if they do it is recommended that a
   record should be kept to facilitate contact tracing if necessary.
8. Whether or not in play, no more than six players, guests, visitors or
   spectators should be permitted in any group and 2m social distancing
   should be observed within it.
9. Where equipment can be left out, then it is preferable to do so. Nonessential equipment should be stored away.
10. Avoid the need to share club mallets. Consider allowing members to
    borrow one for a while.

Advice to Players

1. Do not go to the club if you are experiencing any symptoms of a cold or flu, in particular a cough or high temperature. Use the NHS helpline and seek advice. For your own protection, follow the advice about self-isolation if you are, or are living with, someone in one of the vulnerable groups.
2. All players must keep 2m apart at all times unless they are in the same
   household. Particular care should be taken in all doubles, including
   alternate stroke Association Croquet and in Golf Croquet games.
3. Any activity should be in line with the Government’s social distancing
   measures at all times, including when going to and departing from a lawn. Consequently, do not shake hands before or after a game.
4. Wash your hands and clean any equipment you use, such as hoops, balls and club mallets, before and after you play.
5. When setting out and taking in a court, only one person should handle any particular hoop or the peg.
6. Clean padlocks, keys and door handles before and after use.
7. Avoid using toilets wherever possible and clean after use.
8. Use the court booking system if your club provides one, rather than
   turning up in the hope of being able to play or practise.
9. If possible, dress appropriately prior to travelling to the club, rather than changing there.
10. Bring any food or drink you might need.
11. Do not use clips, corner pegs/offside markers or flags (unless needed to secure string boundaries). Players should agree the score at the end of each scoring turn. Personal counters should be used to keep count of bisques/extra strokes.
12. Do not move stop-boards/check fences, but take relief instead.
13. Avoid using movable chairs as far as possible, otherwise clean them
    before and after use.
14. Use your feet, rather than hands, to position balls where you can do so
    with sufficient precision, including when moving or replacing balls from a double-banked game. If playing Association Croquet, handle only you own ball(s), not those of your opponent.
15. Players should be their own Referees and acknowledge faults and errors if they occur.
    

Please read carefully for your safety and that of other members. If these rules and guidance are not followed the club may have to be closed again.
From Monday 18th May all paid up croquet members will be able to play croquet following the guidelines below. At the present time, the club will consider new membership applications from personal introductions of existing members only.

For the latest advice from the Croquet Association click here

General Rules for ECC

Only paid up members for 2020-2021 are eligible to play.
Unfortunately members may not bring visitors at this time, apart from within their own household. Visitors fees should be paid into the club account referencing ‘Visitors Fee – Croquet.’ Non-member partners/parents/siblings/children from the same household are asked to pay a visitor fee.

Do not play if self isolating or feeling ill in any way.
Observe the 2 metre social distancing rules at all times, including entering and leaving the premises. Beware of bottlenecks along The Drive entrance and along the path by tennis courts 6 and 7.
Please wash hands before leaving home, on arriving at the lawns and on leaving the lawns and when you arrive home. You are advised to bring your own hand sanitiser/wipes or soap & hotwater and gloves.
You are permitted to play Singles with a person outside your household as long as both players are members.
Doubles is permitted as long as all players are from the same household.
No double banking on lawns is permitted.
The clubhouse is closed so there are no toilet facilities available.
Please inform the chairman if a person becomes ill within 14 days of visiting the club.

Lawn Bookings

To play you must first book a lawn via ESC website Croquet members area, preferably the day before. You may make a booking without having an opponent. This could be either for solo practice or as a way of making a general invitation to members of the booker’s availability to play.
If you are a paid up member and do not have booking access please contact Steve Edney

Lawns are bookable in 30 minute units, up to three hours in total, every day from 9am – 8pm.
Play should end 30 minutes before the end of your booked time to allow you time for cleaning and putting away equipment and leaving before the next booked time.
Please keep a record of your bookings together with a list of people who played, for tracking purposes.

At the Lawn

Players must use their own mallet and not touch their opponent’s. A designated club mallet may be allocated to you upon application to the club secretary.
Please do not enter the pavilion or any other building except for shed 2.
Wash/sanitise your hands before opening shed 2, with the soap or sanitiser you have brought with you. (Endeavours will be made to maintain a supply of antisceptic wipes or spray in the shed if you have forgotten to bring your own but this cannot be guaranteed). Use the water tap next to the pavilion as necessary.
Players must agree which of them is to enter shed 2 to collect and return the hoops, peg, ball sets, clips and bisques and wash/sanitise them on collection and on return. For timed matches use a timer on a watch or phone – and players should referee their own matches appropriately.
Wear gloves for the contact touch-points above.
Seating: it is suggested you bring your own lightweight folding chair. Alternatively, use one of the white plastic chair stored outside: make sure you clean with antisceptic wipe or spray both before and at the end of the game. If you sit on a bench, avoid touching it with your hand.
Wearing gloves during play is advisable. Consider wearing a face covering if there is a moderate easterly breeze and tennis courts are in use.
Use your feet to retrieve and manoeuvre balls. Avoid touching any ball with an ungloved hand.
Take special care when placing or removing a clip from a hoop. If you or your opponent feel using clips causes one of you anxiety, then try golf croquet instead, or other croquet formats, e.g. two ball match-play.

When the game is complete remember not to shake hands and remember that the player who put all the equipment out is the player to wash/sanitise again and return all to shed 2. Wipe clean the padlock when you have closed the door.

Coaching

One to One coaching may be available on request to Roger Dollimore.

And Finally…

These rules apply currently and may be amended as time goes on, so please look again at the website or on the pavilion door each time you play.
Enjoy your game but please remember there is still a risk of contracting COVID 19. So Stay Alert, obey the social distancing rules and wash/sanitise your hands before arrival and before leaving.
Note: wearing of gloves and/or face mask, during play, is a matter of personal choice.
Remember to bring with you next time you play: sanitiser or soap and hotwater, cloth or paper towels, glove(s), mallet, lightweight folding garden chair, and a drink

CROQUET                                                       SIMON CHARRINGTON

Diary dates

As I set out to write this month’s news, I have a blank sheet of paper in front of me, and a fairly blank idea of what to put on it!  So, firstly, here is a picture of our lovely croquet lawn and sports club in the background

Thank you to Roger D and Roger S who, with me, form the interim mowing team.  At the moment the lawn is being mown once a week with the six-blade cartridge.  We are ready to step this up to the full season routine of twice-weekly ten-blade cutting as soon as club reopening for play is in sight.  Thanks must go to Barry for maintaining the grounds around the lawns and also, re the whole club generally, to the many ESC members who, safely, do all kinds of individual jobs behind the scenes even when (or especially when) the club is otherwise closed.

Thank you also to all who have recently renewed their croquet subscriptions for this year.  It is great to have your support in keeping the club maintained, lockdown or not.  As time moves on, we are, by definition, moving ever closer to the start of the season.  Meanwhile we wait patiently.

Our next croquet section committee meeting is scheduled for 18^th May, probably via ‘zoom’, though we shall bring this meeting forward should the national social distancing/isolation policies and requirements ease significantly before then.  Please do share any thoughts or ideas you may have in relation to the new season, through any member of the committee – Geraldine, Steve, Roger S, David, Bob and me.  We would love to hear from you.  This might be in relation to club competitions in the truncated season, or to suitably distanced social activities (has anyone tried the Brookwood online croquet suggested by the CA, or their ‘indefinite free trial’?  http://www.brookwoodcroquet.btck.co.uk/ ) or, looking further ahead to the autumn and winter, to keeping the small lawn open for roll-ups and ‘mini’ competition.  All ideas welcome.

Best wishes to you all, & stay safe.

CROQUET                                                                                        SIMON CHARRINGTON

Diary dates

Start of Season – PAUSED

As you already know the Croquet Lawns are closed for all play until further notice (this includes for practice).   We appreciate your co-operation and continued support in this for the club.  We are committed to reopening for play as soon as possible, whilst abiding by the Government’s advice and guidelines.  I shall keep in touch with you with regular updates via email.

Lawn care and maintenance

After successful progress with the early spring programme of work, the programme is now much limited by the lockdown requirements and availability of appropriately trained and fit volunteers within walking distance. The formal mowing rota has been abandoned for April, accordingly. The team, however, are in regular contact with each other and will do what is possible and reasonable within the constraints; with individual, family, neighbour and national safety being paramount.  These plans change by the day.

Handicaps & Coaching

Note from Roger Dollimore, by way of reminder:

If you play either AC or GC singles as a competitive or friendly game it should be recorded on your handicap cards. For friendly games a card game should be mutually agreed before the start of play. If you are playing a tutored or coached game then it should not be recorded on your handicap card.

If anyone would like to take one-on-one coaching once we are able to resume then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Publicity and recruitment

We are now listed in ‘Silvergrape – Mid Surrey’, an online and hardcopy magazine, and we are exploring the establishment of a U3A course, as well as starting to use various links and facilities to raise our profile on social media.  Publicity for some open ‘come along and try’ sessions has been paused for now. The CA are suggesting ‘Two ball Match-play’ as a good introduction to croquet generally, with elements of both Golf Croquet and the more complex four-ball AC format  https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=ca/ncd/ClubInfo   (scroll down to Suggested formats for NCD

Meanwhile,

our thoughts and prayers stay with you all and your families during these uncertain, and suddenly and dramatically changing times which are impacting upon each and all of us in so many, various, the same, and in different ways

Extracted from the Club’s March Newsletter:

Written by SIMON CHARRINGTON

Diary dates

Indoor croquet:  Tuesday 3rd March at 7.30pm – do come along – & All ESC members welcome.

Pre-season social:  Friday 27^th March 7.30pm in the clubhouse – bring a dish, Geraldine will be in touch to co-ordinate.  All being well, season starts Sunday 30 March at 2pm for first AC rollup.

Monthly Barbeques – Sundays:  17^th May, 14^th June; 19^th July; 16^th August; and 20^th September.  In the usual way we’ll be looking for volunteers to run these.

Croquet open sessions: the committee is working on details of dates, format, marketing and publicity.  Further information will follow in due course.

The autumn Ember Players’ production at Walton Playhouse is scheduled for 10^th (and possibly 9^th) to 12^thDecember (and matinee on the Saturday).  We will need volunteers to run the bar for the performances so do, please, mark the dates in your diaries.

FIXTURES

SECF AC ‘B’ League (handicap):  entry made, dates to be arranged and advised in due course

SECF AC Tournament at Southwick:  entry made, 9^th / 10^th May.  We have received confirmations of availability from four members but need one more for the Sunday plus reserves in case of unforeseen circumstances, and competition to put our best foot forward!  While the SECF encourage clubs to draft in players from other clubs should they find themselves short of a full team for the day, it would be far preferable to field a team fully from within ECC.

AELTC GC friendly:  6^th June  (home)

LAWN

Rain, rain go away!   Winter mowing has been monthly rather than weekly.  Periodic swooshing has continued and the new drains at the south east corner have been installed: huge thanks to Steve, Roger S and Roger D for their sterling work on these.   https://www.embersportsclub.org.uk/2020/02/08/croquet-lawn-maintenance/  

The soil samples have been taken and the results are back.  These show that the soil is in pretty good condition.  The advice, looking forward, is that we should consider aerating (tine/slit) to a regular programme, use an alternative moss treatment with less iron content and more effective application and coverage, and reduce the sand content by encouraging natural organic processes and no longer applying annual top dressing.   Cost-wise this involves pluses and minuses which we’ll be working through and making decisions. Ultimately, we have to fit the recommendations to our circumstances of little money, existing stock, but plenty of willingness to do right by the lawn.

Pre-season working parties for lawn, grounds and buildings maintenance:  please keep an eye on your emails for appeals for help in the next few weeks, which may, necessarily, have to be at shortish notice.

Meanwhile, the small lawn is operational, on dry days, with holes set for the hoops, and almost visible boundary lines.   Please use the correct hoops and the Barlow balls.  One-ball is a good format to try, and is good for developing and honing skills in positioning in front of hoops, long hit-ins and long hoop running.

South East Croquet Federation – AGM

Steve and I attended the AGM and proudly received the SECF B League trophy for 2019. https://www.embersportsclub.org.uk/2020/02/23/croquet-b-league-2019-trophy-presentation/

In getting our hands on this trophy we were able to check for sure that this is, indeed, the second time we have won it.  Sure enough!  There we are, engraved ‘2009 Ember CC’, so exactly ten years ago! Must be cause for a celebration.

The meeting itself went through the due processes.  We found it informative as regards the formal croquet structures, organisation and governance, and the relationship of the SEFC with the CA.   The Motions in the Agenda were debated and mostly either rejected or withdrawn.

The lunch afterwards provided a good opportunity for networking with members from other clubs and we made new croquet contacts and friends, and we shared experience.  The possibility of some mutual coaching days was mooted, i.e. predominantly GC clubs wanting AC coaching from us, and we wanting GC coaching from them. 

All in all, it was a good event.

Simon Charrington and Steve Edney represented Ember Croquet Club at the South East Croquet Federation (SECF) AGM today (23rd Feb 2020) at Surbiton Croquet Club.

The highlight of the meeting was undoubtedly the presentation of the B League Trophy for the 2019 season to Ember. The picture above shows Steve accepting the trophy from Bill Arliss, chairman of the SECF.

After the meeting, Surbiton supplied a very nice lunch of venison stew and a potato and cheese bake, followed by lemon mousse or cheese. We have made some contacts with other clubs, which may result in some more friendly games in the future.

Taking advantage of the dry sunny weather of the past week, the intrepid trio of Simon Charrington, Roger Stearn and Steve Edney, under the expert tutelage of Roger Dollimore, has installed two land drains under the lawn.

The first trench was dug on the south boundary on a line just to the right of the pavilion, near Hoops 4 and 5. The second trench is moreorless in line with the first Tennis lamp post, from the east boundary towards Hoop 4.

Hopefully this will go a long way to solving the drainage problem we have been experiencing after periods of heavy rain.

We will work tirelessly (tee hee) to make sure the lawn recovers, so Bob can still have success with his epic roll shots to Hoop 1 from that corner, when the new season starts at the end of March!

In the meantime, a couple of us having been honing our skills on the small lawn…

We are starting to prepare for the new season already. The lawn is rather soggy given all that rain we had before Christmas. Thanks to Mike Cutts, from Bowls, we have managed to aerate the lawn, and hope to repeat the tining process a couple of times before the end of March. The south east corner is still waterlogged so we will be digging some new drains in the next week or two. Hopefully that will help! The moss is taking hold too so, again through Mike C, we will take soil samples and get some professional advice

Here are some dates for your diary:

Pre-season social in the clubhouse on Friday 27th March. Bring a dish but not cheese and pineapple on a stick (Bob), or sausages on a stick (Steve), or jam tarts (Hugh). Apologies to the well-loved contributions from others but I particularly like those aforementioned delicacies!

Barbecues are usually on the third Sunday of each month:

May 17th

June 14th (as 21st is Father’s Day)

July 19^th

August 16th

September 20th

The GC match on 6th June HOME against All England Club (Wimbledon) is confirmed, so we are going to give GC a real go this year in preparation for that at least!

We also want to see if there is sufficient demand this year to put a team in for the SECF AC tournament at Southwick, taking place on 9th and 10th May. Please let David know if you are interested as soon as possible, as we have to register sometime in February. David will also confirm our entry into the B League, so we can defend our title.

The presentation of the B League trophy will take place at Surbiton during the SECF AGM on 23 February. Photo to be included in the next instalment, as well as one from the Casa Mia meal (this Friday 31st January), at which we raised a tidy sum for the refurbishment fund.

There are still two more indoor croquet evenings:

February 11th

March 3rd.

Finally, we hope to get the small lawn operational ahead of the official start of the season, potentially from February 3rd onwards. Please make sure you use the correct hoops and the Barlow balls please.

Take care until then!