28 June 2018
This season Croquet became an official sport at Abingdon, raised from the category of “activity”.
We gained some excellent new players from both the L6th and the Lower School. The Club gained investment from the School for competition standard equipment to support our entry to the National Schools Championships in September.
New matches this year with Portsmouth Grammar and St Helen's have increased our fixtures list and given new opportunities to play competitively. The OA fixture saw parents, OAs and boys play together in a round robin tournament with winners' ties being awarded to the top hoop runners of the afternoon.
Already arranged for next year is a lower school match with Abingdon Prep to add to our events too. We missed some of our stronger players from the 5th form in fixtures this year but with the external coaching and practice at Blewbury the skill and tactics of those who did train and play increased rapidly.
Keep croquet in mind for next summer as an alternative sport where everyone can excel with application and practice to master the 4 ball break, rushing, peeling and running hoops!