Croquet Break: Reach New Audiences

By Sue Sherer

The mission of the USCA is to promote the awareness, development and enjoyment of croquet in America and is focused on the following five key elements:

• Foster relationships by building community

• Support participation and continuity through organizational excellence

• Commit to growth through diversity and inclusion

• Develop and enjoy the sport through education

• Promote croquet as a lifelong activity and healthy lifestyle

One of the great ways to do that is to contact your State Senior Games organization and have them adopt croquet as one of their competitive sports. We did that three years ago in New York state by petitioning the Empire State Senior Games to add golf croquet, hosted at the Rochester Croquet Club. And now we have been successful at having the Kentucky Senior Games add golf croquet this year, hosted by Derby City Croquet. Why the Senior Games? When croquet is added to the list of sports in which senior athletes can compete, people who sign up for other sports will see it on the list and be intrigued and possibly sign up for your sport, too. We had three non-croquet players sign up to play with us in New York just because they saw it on the list and were competing in other sports at a different time. The state does the publicity and registration, provides the gold, silver and bronze medals, and often includes other items for each participant like a t-shirt, towel or pin. People who may not be aware that there is even a USCA and that croquet is a competitive sport will see it on the list of options they can choose. Participating in the state senior games gets the game of croquet out in front of the public eye in a way that our individual clubs cannot. If multiple states were to offer croquet at their level, winning athletes could then compete in the National Senior Games.

The National Senior Games Association (NSGA) exists today as a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of competitive sports, physical fitness and active aging to adults ages 50+. It currently is a 20+ sport, biennial competition for men and women 50 and over, and is the largest qualified multi-sport event in the world for seniors.

NSGA Member Organizations (individual states and territories) hold annual games with qualifying competitions in the year preceding The Games. For example, 2024 is a qualifying year at the state level to compete in the 2025 National Senior Games. In 2023 when the games were held in Pittsburgh, PA, and Columbus, OH, there were 11,681 senior athletes competing. Athletes that meet specific criteria while participating in Qualifying State Senior Games qualify to participate. To date, the NSGA has held 19 summer national championships.

To find contact information for your state, visit the NSGA website: https://nsga.com/state-games-information/. I’d love to know which states besides NY and KY have croquet on their list of options. The more states that add it, the greater the likelihood that it could be added at the national level and the more

John Q. Public sees croquet as an active, competitive sport that is a fun social, physical and mental game.

Together we can get exposure for the game we all love to a broader audience!

ABOUT THE WRITER:

When Norm Pike brought the game to us in 2007 from the Bombay club in St. Croix, our lives would never be the same! My husband Peter and I became directors for the Rochester Croquet Club for more than a decade, the Pikes having moved on to the Carolinas. My first tournament was in St. Croix and I managed first place in second flight. Later I would play at Patuxent, Buffalo and Annapolis, winning awards at the two latter tournaments. While I love to win, my true passion is passing along the love of this unique lawn sport to others. It was natural that when we moved to Louisville last year we were fortunate to team up with Margaret, the wife of the late Gary Bennett, and begin a new club in Kentucky on the court he had recently finished installing in his own backyard. We are pleased and proud to be introducing the game to a whole new crowd at Derby City Croquet!

Weekly Croquet Break

"Reach New Audiences" was originally published in the USCA’s Croquet Break weekly member newsletter. The newsletter is seeking articles on croquet-related subjects by USCA members to be published electronically in the weekly newsletter sent by email to all USCA members.

Procedure: Submit your piece to Sara Low (hoopsnflies@msn. com ) or Ursula Peck (membership@uscroquet.com) to be added to the weekly Croquet Break calendar. Before publishing, suggested edits (punctuation and spelling) and a final page will be sent to you for your approval.

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