Jacky has been playing croquet for 19 years, starting out playing in Maitland after she moved to Mulbring from the Central Coast and wanted something to do.

Jacky soon found the sport addictive and got her husband Geof involved too.

Jacky and Geof established the Branxton club in 2003, and Jacky has since been appointed the president of Croquet NSW and the State Director of School Croquet, is a qualified referee and level one golf croquet and association croquet coach.

She has run the NSW schools competition for the past eight years, and said many kids wanted somewhere to go from there.

Jacky was appointed the National Director for School Coaching after approaching Croquet Australia about setting up a national schools competition.

She then contacted all the states and is now in the process of setting up the national competition for the end of November this year.

Jacky said she hopes to break the stigma that croquet is a sport only meant for older people, by getting children involved in the game and getting croquet into the schools.

“I have a strong feeling that juniors are the future of croquet,” she said.

An experienced high-school PE teacher, Jacky has always had an interest in children and sport and said croquet is a great game for kids as it is outdoors, non-contact, tactical, can be learnt quickly and played throughout their whole life, from age nine to 90.

She said the people who are involved in croquet are very friendly and welcoming, and the game is not expensive to play.

While not all children will take up the sport after trying it, Jacky said that some kids that are introduced to the game through school will come back to it later in life.

She also said the recent introduction of the under-21s world championships, and this year the national school championship will give kids something to strive for.

Jacky said she has always loved the game and hopes to share that with the kids.

“I enjoy croquet, I’ve had a lot out of it and I’d like to pass that on,” she said.

BRANXTON CROQUET CLUB NEWS

Branxton Croquet Club’s coaches attended an intensive day of training at Maitland with the National Director of Coaching on the first Sunday of March.

Branxton players took part in the NSW Championships, with Helen Haines and Carol Hudson in Division 3 held at Toronto and Rod Dillon in Division 2 at Taree.

Six members competed at Maitland’s doubles tournament. All played well and Helen Enright and Carol Hudson finished runner up in their block.

The Branxton club will hold a “Come and Try Day” on World Croquet Day, Saturday May 2 at 10am. All are welcome to attend and there will be a sausage sizzle on the day. For more information contact Branxton Croquet Club on 4930 0733 or 4930 6154.