Ealing Croquet Club

With the Coronavirus situation evolving very rapidly, I wanted to update you on the decisions the Committee have made regarding playing croquet at Ealing.

You may have seen that yesterday the CA suspended all their tournaments and coaching sessions until further notice.

Our view is that it would be irresponsible and against government guidelines for us to host events that would see sizeable groups of people gathering together. Even though croquet is an outdoor sport, it would be hard to avoid a degree of close proximity, and we also need to be mindful of the perception of passing park users, who might well be unimpressed by such activities.

We have therefore taken the decision to postpone all club matches and tournaments until further notice. This includes the friendly against Watford, the Lloyd-Pratt against High Wycombe, the Rainbow opening day, the AC advanced tournament and the Charity one-ball heat. We would hope to be able to reschedule these events later in the season if the situation improves.

We are also postponing the AGM. This will push it past the deadline stipulated by the Charity Commission for it to be held, but we will be liaising with them, and they will doubtless be prepared to give us an extension in the unprecedented circumstances.

That leaves the question of individual play. I have attached an email from High Wycombe to their members outlining the measures they are taking. At this point it does not seem necessary to close the club completely, but members are requested to take every sensible precaution. This includes only one person entering the clubhouse at any time, and not using any of the upstairs facilities. There tends to be inherently less interaction and proximity in AC compared to GC, but GC players can ensure they maintain a 2-metre distance from each other, for instance by stepping away once they have played their shot, when all the balls are close to a hoop. We would also recommend playing singles rather than doubles wherever possible.

We will be opening all three lawns with immediate effect. Please do book a lawn on the website, to ensure we don’t have inadvertent mass gatherings.

Given the government guidance regarding the over-70s, our older members should exercise particular caution.

Needless to say, the situation may well continue to change rapidly, and we will update you if and when it does.

In the meantime, stay safe, and do let me know if you have any questions, or need particular support. One small ray of brightness amidst the gloom is that this state of affairs gives us the opportunity to demonstrate that there is such a thing as society, with communities pulling together to support each other, as is already happening.

With best wishes,

Simon Tuke
Chair