Almost a decade of hard work will pay off for the South West Rocks Croquet Club as they watch the final preparations for their new field finished over the next few months.
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The club, which was formed in 2008, have spent the last 10 years playing on the local football and cricket ground but that will all change when the facility next to the South West Rocks Country Club is complete.
The Croquet club members have worked tirelessly to raise funds by hosting barbecues, garage sales and holding raffles to contribute $50,000 towards the $75,000 required to build the facility.
The club also received a huge boost from the community, receiving $12,000 from the South West Rocks Rotary and yearly donations of $1,000 from the Uniting Church.
The South West Rocks Country Club donated funds as well as providing an agreement for the Croquet Club to have the land for the next five years.
The Croquet Club president Allan Burgess expressed the new field will make numerous improvements for their club.
“We have always had to play on the footy fields and the ball runs differently on there due to divots and it isn’t the flattest of grounds,” Burgess said.
“We had to maintain it but it didn’t stop visiting teams from laughing upon seeing the ground we played on.
“Now we will be playing on a great field every time we play and it will give us the opportunity to host Pennant matches and other big tournaments.”
Burgess believes the Pennant matches and other big tournaments, which often go for three to four days, will also benefit the community.
“We will be able to host prestigious events and bring a couple of hundred people into the area,” Burgess said.
“They will come and stay at the caravan park or other accommodation, eat out at the Country Club or other restaurants and a lot of people will be better off for it.”
The club is hoping their new field will give more exposure to the club too.
“We have 48 members but some people don’t know we exist,” Burgess said.
“Hopefully we will increase in numbers because of our new location and we are always encouraging others to join.”
Burgess and the club members expressed their gratitude to the support they received in their pursuit of a new field.
“Thanks goes out to everyone who supported us along the way, we couldn’t have done it without them,” Burgess said.
The Croquet Club is hoping to play on the field before the end of the year with their official opening to be held in January next year.
