welcome to
NELSON BAY CROQUET CLUB
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Nelson Bay Croquet Club has been established for 30 years. It is located in the Blue Water Paradise of Port Stephens, just north of Newcastle, NSW. Membership is open to all who are interested in the game, and visitors are warmly welcomed.
Members play two the three internationally recognised forms of Croquet – Golf and Ricochet - at present, there are no regular Association games. The Club plays both social and competitive games five days each week on four professionally maintained full sized courts and has a small clubhouse on-site. We also have an active program of social events.
Playing schedule available here:
11:30am to 2:00pm SUNDAY 27th SEPTEMBER 2026
FREE!!
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Come-and-Try croquet
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All ages
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Free coaching
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Play a game
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Sausage sizzle
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
CLUB COMPETITIONS 2026
Sunday 13th September
Sunday 25th October
Blowes Shield Doubles
President’s Cup
HUNTER ZONE HUB ACTIVITIES 2026
Thursday 20th August
Thursday 8th October
Thursday 5th November
GC Skills (all levels) @ 9am
Ricochet Friendship Day @ 9am
Gateball Come-and-Try
COACHING DATES 2026
Regular Coaching Sessions
Monday afternoons – all, content as required
State Pennants – as requested by teams
To be confirmed – beginner coaching
Hunter Zone Hub activities are for all players – if you are interested contact Nancy Ainsworth to register your interest.
Email: nancyainsworth146@bigpond.com
Mobile: 0418 472 087
All activities are scheduled at Lake Macquarie Croquet Centre, Glendale (Toronto Croquet Club).
LATEST NEWS
COACHING SESSION
Monday 3rd August 2026
Pam Barnwell and Derek Bull conducted a coaching session on advanced tactics for Division 1 (GC handicaps -6 to 4) and Division 2 (GC handicaps 5 to 8) players on Monday 3rd August 2026.
Pam has won numerous Australian and NSW championships, including the NSW Champion of Champions tournament, and has been selected as a NSW representative. Derek has also won numerous Australian and NSW championships and has been selected as a NSW representative.
The session was well attended and all the participants took away many ideas for improving their Golf Croquet.
Derek Bull and Faby Batho - tactics
Derek Bull and Rob Batho,
jump shot
Pam Barnwell - tactics
TOMPSON TROPHY A GRADE
Sunday 2nd August 2026
The Thompson Trophy Golf Croquet A Grade (handicaps -6 to 4) intraclub competition was held on Sunday 2nd August 2026. With a number of A Grade players unavailable, only three players entered: Rob Batho, Trevor Black and Marty Quirke. To ensure a fair test of the players’ skills, the competition was played as a round-robin of 19-point games with no time limit.
Marty Quirke dominated both his games to win the A Grade trophy for the first time. A good quality competition despite the low number of entries.
Sherry Gordon prsents the trophy to Marty Quirke
NSW ADVANTAGE GOLF CROQUET CHAMPIONSHIPS
Doubles: 8th and 9th July 2026
Singles: 10th to 12th July 2026
Ballina Cherry Street Croquet Club
Five members of the Nelson Bay Croquet Club travelled north to play in the NSW Advantage Doubles (8th and 9th July) and Singles (10th to 12th July) hosted by Ballina Cherry Street Croquet Club.
16 pairs entered the Doubles which was played as 2 blocks of 8 pairs in a round-robin qualifying round followed by a knock-out final series. In Block A, Faby Batho & Rosemary Taylor qualified for the finals by winning 3 of 7 games and finishing 4th in the block. In Block B, Rob Batho playing with Paul Coomer (Newcastle National Park) qualified for the finals winning 5 of 7 games and finishing top of the block, with Liz Friend & Sherry Gordon winning 3 games, finishing 6th in the block and moving on to the Plate competition. Rob & Paul lost in the semi-final, but finished 3rd beating Carol & Bryan McMinn (Newcastle National Park) in a play-off. Faby & Rosemary lost in the semi-final but won the quarter final losers play-off beating June Cox & Beverley Philps (Casino) and then Susanne Maher & Marilyn Nelson (East Brisbane). Liz & Sherry lost in the 1st round of the Plate competition. The eventual winners were Donna & Stewart Sinclair (Port Macquarie).
23 players entered the Singles which was played as 3 blocks of 7/8 players in a round-robin qualifying round followed by a knock-out final series. In Block A, Liz Friend won 3 of 7 games to finish 5th in the block. In Block B, Faby Batho won 3 of 6 games to finish 4th in the block; in Block C, Sherry Gordon won 4 of 7 games to finish 4th and Rob Batho won 3 of 7 games to finish 6th in the block. None qualified for the Top 8 championship finals, but Faby, Liz and Sherry qualified for the 9-16 knock-out play-off while Rob moved to the Plate competition. Sherry had 3 wins to finish 9th in the championship with Liz 11th and Faby 13th. Rob finished 3rd in the Plate competition. The eventual winner was Susan Bryan (Sawtell).
Liz, Sherry & Faby
at Ballina
Doubles block players
Doubles block players
Division 3 Golf Croquet State Pennants Finals
The 2026 Division 3 State Pennants Finals will be hosted by the club on Sunday 26th and Monday 27th July
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
CLUB COMPETITIONS 2026
Sunday 13th September
Sunday 25th October
Blowes Shield Doubles
President’s Cup
HUNTER ZONE HUB ACTIVITIES 2026
Tuesday 14th July
Hoop Setting & Lawn Workshop @ 1pm
COACHING DATES 2026
Regular Coaching Sessions
Monday afternoons – all, content as required
State Pennants – as requested by teams
To be confirmed – beginner coaching
Hunter Zone Hub activities are for all players – if you are interested contact Nancy Ainsworth to register your interest.
Email: nancyainsworth146@bigpond.com
All activities are scheduled at Lake Macquarie Croquet Centre, Glendale (Toronto Croquet Club).
LATEST NEWS
COACHING SESSION
Monday 3rd August 2026
Pam Barnwell and Derek Bull conducted a coaching session on advanced tactics for Division 1 (GC handicaps -6 to 4) and Division 2 (GC handicaps 5 to 8) players on Monday 3rd August 2026.
Pam has won numerous Australian and NSW championships, including the NSW Champion of Champions tournament, and has been selected as a NSW representative. Derek has also won numerous Australian and NSW championships and has been selected as a NSW representative.
The session was well attended and all the participants took away many ideas for improving their Golf Croquet.
Derek Bull and Faby Batho - tactics
Derek Bull and Rob Batho,
jump shot
Pam Barnwell - tactics
THOMPSON TROPHY A GRADE
Sunday 2nd August 2026
The Thompson Trophy Golf Croquet A Grade (handicaps -6 to 4) intraclub competition was held on Sunday 2nd August 2026. With a number of A Grade players unavailable, only three players entered: Rob Batho, Trevor Black and Marty Quirke. To ensure a fair test of the players’ skills, the competition was played as a round-robin of 19-point games with no time limit.
Marty Quirke dominated both his games to win the A Grade trophy for the first time. A good quality competition despite the low number of entries.
Sherry Gordon presents the trophy to Marty Quirke
NSW DIVISION 3 STATE PENNANTS FINAL
Sunday 26th & Monday 27th July 2026
The 2026 Division 3 GC State Pennants Finals were hosted by Nelson Bay Croquet Club on Sunday 26th and Monday 27th July with the afternoon of Saturday 25th July available for practice prior to the tournament. The heavy rain of early July disappeared and the tournament was played under bright blue skies in perfect winter conditions.
39 teams entered the 2026 Division 3 State Pennants which are played in 4 regional qualifying competitions between March and October: Jamberoo BDD qualified from the Southern/ACT zone (9 teams); Coogee qualified from the Metro-South zone (8 teams); Mosman White qualified from the Metro-North zone (12 teams); and EDSACC Red qualified from the Hunter zone (10 teams).
None of the clubs or teams that qualified in 2026 have previously won the championship. Coogee won all 3 contests to be worthy winners for the first time. They started strongly with a 3-0 win over Jamberoo BDD and then beat runners-up EDSACC Red 2-1 with 2 matches going to the 3rd game. In the final contest, they beat Mosman White 2-1 again with 2 matches going to the 3rd game.
All the qualifying teams played well and with great sportsmanship, a great advert for the sport of croquet.
Action from the competition
The teams
David Wilson presents the trophy to the Coogee Team Captain
The winning Coogee Team
Sad end to the competition for Jo Cook of Jamberoo
NSW GOLF CROQUET ADVANTAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Doubles: 8th & 9th July 2026
Singles: 10th to 12th July 2026
Ballina Cherry Street Croquet Club
Five members of the Nelson Bay Croquet Club travelled north to play in the NSW Advantage Doubles (8th and 9th July) and Singles (10th to 12th July) hosted by Ballina Cherry Street Croquet Club.
16 pairs entered the Doubles which was played as 2 blocks of 8 pairs in a round-robin qualifying round followed by a knock-out final series. In Block A, Faby Batho & Rosemary Taylor qualified for the finals by winning 3 of 7 games and finishing 4th in the block. In Block B, Rob Batho playing with Paul Coomer (Newcastle National Park) qualified for the finals winning 5 of 7 games and finishing top of the block, with Liz Friend & Sherry Gordon winning 3 games, finishing 6th in the block and moving on to the Plate competition. Rob & Paul lost in the semi-final, but finished 3rd beating Carol & Bryan McMinn (Newcastle National Park) in a play-off. Faby & Rosemary lost in the semi-final but won the quarter final losers play-off beating June Cox & Beverley Philps (Casino) and then Susanne Maher & Marilyn Nelson (East Brisbane). Liz & Sherry lost in the 1st round of the Plate competition. The eventual winners were Donna & Stewart Sinclair (Port Macquarie).
23 players entered the Singles which was played as 3 blocks of 7/8 players in a round-robin qualifying round followed by a knock-out final series. In Block A, Liz Friend won 3 of 7 games to finish 5th in the block. In Block B, Faby Batho won 3 of 6 games to finish 4th in the block; in Block C, Sherry Gordon won 4 of 7 games to finish 4th and Rob Batho won 3 of 7 games to finish 6th in the block. None qualified for the Top 8 championship finals, but Faby, Liz and Sherry qualified for the 9-16 knock-out play-off while Rob moved to the Plate competition. Sherry had 3 wins to finish 9th in the championship with Liz 11th and Faby 13th. Rob finished 3rd in the Plate competition. The eventual winner was Susan Bryan (Sawtell).
Liz, Sherry & Faby
at Ballina
Doubles block players
Doubles block players