Croquet: an interesting social game for retirees to enjoy all year round

Why the Renaissance Croquet Group is a big hit!

The Croquet Group at Renaissance Retirement Living started in the early days of the village, and has been steadily running ever since. Trevor Shinners started playing four years ago and stepped up into his role of coordinator the following year.

“I hadn’t played croquet before Renaissance but I’ve found it’s a great game. You can play croquet here every day if you like, but most players get out on the court two or three times a week. We also play at night in the summer evenings. For our group, it’s more of a social get-together, with some banter, although we have ‘serious’ players who compete around Australia.”

The perfect way for retirees to enjoy light exercise

If you’re new to croquet, it’s a game played in pairs or singles on lawns using mallets, balls, and hoops. The object of the game is for a player to use their mallet to knock their ball through a sequence of hoops before their opponents do.

“Croquet is a game of coordination and concentration. It involves some walking but doesn’t preclude people who have difficulty walking,” Trevor said. “Some of our players just take it a little more slowly and still enjoy the game. It’s all about getting outdoors and exercising.”

The Renaissance Croquet group plays two different styles – Golf Croquet and Aussie Croquet. Golf is a faster interactive game, where the players aim to be the first to get the ball through a hoop and achieve the highest number of hoops, out of a set number. Aussie style is played in pairs or singles, on a smaller court, with each player having to get through five hoops and hit a centre peg before their opponents do. Ricochet style is also played by some more advanced players.

Who can enjoy a game of croquet?

“The game attracts men and women of all ages. We have around 14 to 16 players at Renaissance with mixed group play, as well as men-only and women-only sessions,” Trevor said.

The group runs two competitions a year. There’s the Wirawira Trophy for the Aussie Croquet comp and the Renaissance Cup for Golf Croquet. At Christmas, the Croquet Group has a combined Christmas lunch with the pétanque (a French form of lawn bowling) group.

“Croquet is a game that’s simple to learn but harder to master. It can be competitive, but most of our players simply enjoy having fun while socialising with other residents.”

Staying active in your retirement

At Renaissance Retirement Living we have one of the largest and most diverse range of activities in any retirement village – and most are run by our residents. Just like our croquet club members, residents find common interests and are supported to create to pursue that activity on a regular basis.

At Renaissance we value the importance of keeping active and social and guarantee you’ll never be bored! Come and see for yourself at one of our information sessions. We can chat over a cuppa, meet some of the residents, and take a tour of our beautiful village. Call us today on (07) 3820 7700 or contact us online and we’ll be in touch.