Croquet
20 August, 2024
Fay's dedication recognised
Wimmera Croquet Association recently presented Fay Pearson with a certificate of appreciation after a dedicated 54 years of playing croquet.
Ms Pearson was an avid tennis player until she developed tennis elbow, and made the switch to croquet in October 1970.
She played at the Warracknabeal Croquet Club for 41 years until a lack of numbers caused the club to close.
"People got older and they stopped playing," Ms Pearson said.
"You have to be reasonably fit because there's a lot of walking.
"When I left we only had three members."
In 2011, Ms Pearson moved to Horsham and joined Kalimna Park Croquet Club, continuing her love of the sport.
"I loved it right from the start," she said.
"It's a technical, thinking game - that's what I like about it."
Over the years, Ms Pearson has been selected for the state team four times, which saw her travel to Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney.
She also participated in the Wimmera Championships, and has entered many doubles tournaments with different partners.
Ms Pearson was a delegate for the Wimmera, travelling to Melbourne every two months for croquet meetings, and was on the state selection committee for three years.
Ms Pearson described croquet as "snooker on grass".
"Unfortunately croquet is a low profile sport," she said.
"I've been trying to get more people in, but that hasn't worked."
Unfortunately, Kalimna Park Croquet Club's member pool has also declined over the years and it also folded recently.
"We finished with seven members," Ms Pearson said.
"It's a shame.
"If only people knew how good it actually is."
Now, Ms Pearson said, she will most likely explore playing golf-croquet in Horsham.