District Schools Golf Croquet Champions 

Golf Croquet skills were put to the test by five Primary Schools in the district on Thursday morning 23rd November 2023 at the Te Aroha Croquet Club’s 3rd Annual District Schools Tournament on the Te Aroha Domain.  

Teams from Te Aroha Primary, St Joesph's, Springdale, Manawaru and Stanley Ave Primary Schools took part.Each team was made up of 4 pairs, playing a ‘round-robin’ type of event.  Five 20-minute games were played by each pair.  Morning tea was provided for all players and spectators sponsored by the Croquet Club and Fonterra.  The club members had children well organised, and even with pauses for Adrian Cooke’s very old Tin-Type Photography, the morning seemed to run without blemish. 

Months of practise paid off for the new District Schools Golf Croquet Champions with Te Aroha Primary taking the honours as clear winners. They were presented with the trophy by Mayor Adrienne Wilcox.  Team Captain 12-year-old Alice Melrose gave a gracious acceptance speech, thanking the Croquet Club for their commitment to the schools with their program and, of course, thanking her winning team.  Runners-Up this year were the back-to-back Champions from 2021-2022, St. Josephs.  During the presentations, Mayor Adrienne said to the teams that she knew nothing about croquet, in which she was duly given some great tips! 

As a result of the Croquet Club’s Schools Program throughout this year, the children’s learning and development came together and was on show for all, in this amazing inclusive game where the young competitors showed kindness, respect and leadership – as well as their croquet skills – not only to their fellow teammates, but to their opponents and to the club members. 

Tournament Manager, Alan Wilkie, said two things stood out this year: “the number of Mums & Dads who came and watched, it was incredible; and the natural ability by some of the kids. Those I’ve talked to want to take the game further – and as a club we are going to help them achieve that goal.”