NEWS
Greg Bury calls time as General Manager of the Australian Croquet Academy
After almost 3 years as General Manager of the Australian Croquet Academy, Greg Bury has announced his intention to resign from the role. Greg will also be stepping down from his volunteer role as National Coaching Co-ordinator.
Croquet Australia established the Australian Croquet Academy in 2020 to develop programs, functions and resources to support club development and all aspects of game development for players, coaches, referees and officials to build the capacity and capability across all levels of the sport. Greg wrote and produced the Academy Development Plan and was recruited as the first ever General Manager of the Academy due to his experience, skills and knowledge in all levels of croquet both on and off the court. Greg demonstrated a vision and passion for the sport that was infectious and he was instrumental in initiating several national programs that targeted players, coaches, officials and volunteers from grassroots through to international level.
During his time with the ACA, Greg helped navigate the organisation through COVID-19, improving the relationships between the State Coaching Co-ordinators to develop and deliver a National Coaching program as well as working closely with the Board, Committees, States and Appointed Officers to develop and oversee key projects. Greg developed several National programs across the areas of communication and technology, marketing, sponsorship, pathways and development, recruitment and retention and one of his passions, the Youth Training Program. One of Greg’s legacies will be the completion of the Youth Training Program and associated resources which will support the launch of Croquet Australia’s Sporting Schools Program later this year, something that Greg has been instrumental in driving and delivering to target the next generation of croquet players.
Greg has always gone above and beyond in his role to oversee the digital and social media content and online communications for the ACA including developing and delivering the quarterly ACA online magazine and bi-monthly Bulletin. Greg wrote all the current ACA coaching manuals and led the creation of the ACA Learning Management System (LMS), including the development and production of skills, drills and promotional videos. He also launched the ASC’s Game Plan platform in every state and has created a repository of information and resources on the LMS to support club and volunteer development at all levels of the sport.
His ability to engage effectively with internal and external stakeholders was a key strength and Greg has been instrumental in creating relationships with the University of Queensland, the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Sports Foundation, the National Disaster Relief Program as well as partnership arrangements with Don Close and Peter Coles to invest in youth and high-performance programs. Greg’s contribution as a volunteer has also been significant and he has contributed countless hours as the National Coaching Co-ordinator as well as various ACA committee roles and this year initiated the ACA’s volunteer recognition program.
As an active player, Advanced level Coach, Mentor and Volunteer, Greg has spent many hours on lawns across Australia developing and building the capacity of others within croquet. His passion, commitment and dedication to croquet, not to mention his wealth of knowledge and experience across all areas will be missed and we hope he remains involved in some capacity to continue to add value to the sport he loves.
On behalf of the Board, Staff and Members of Croquet Australia, I would like to thank and acknowledge Greg for his contribution to the ACA and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
Melanie Woosnam
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Croquet Association
Position Vacancy – ACA Secretary
Dear State Associations and Member Clubs,
On behalf of the Board of the Australian Croquet Association Inc. (ACA) and following the resignation of former Secretary Jim Clement, the ACA is now seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for the position of Secretary of the ACA Board. The role of Secretary may be an elected or appointed position on the Board. If the Secretary is also a Director, they also have all of the responsibilities of the other Board members as described in the attached Board Director Position Description.
The Secretary is the chief governance officer of the ACA and in partnership with the Chairperson, the Secretary is responsible for ensuring that the ACA is run in accordance with its constitution, rules, by-laws, policies and procedures.
The ACA now has a CEO who provides direct support to the Board and is the conduit between the ACA Board, Staff, State Associations and key stakeholders in relation to strategic and operational matters. The CEO oversees all ACA Staff and management responsibilities on behalf of the ACA as well as the implementation of the organisations strategic and operational plans in line with the approved budget.
The role and responsibilities of the Secretary are detailed in the attached Position Description and primarily include:
- calling meetings of the Association, including preparing notices of meeting and of the business to be conducted at the meeting in consultation with the President and CEO;
- taking minutes of each meeting and circulating these promptly after each meeting for review and approval;
- in conjunction with the CEO, keeping copies of all correspondence and other documents relating to the ACA;
- in conjunction with the ACA Administrative Officer, maintaining a register of members of the Association;
- carrying out the role efficiently and to a high standard and in a manner that promotes confidence in the ACA’s leadership within the Croquet and Gateball communities;
- supporting the President, Board and CEO to ensure the ACA continues to fulfil its governance role by driving the performance of the ACA, promoting and advancing the success of the sport and fostering relationships with members, affiliates and key stakeholders.
Please Note: This position may be an appointed, non-voting position with an open term or it may be an elected or appointed voting Board position with a 2 year term. The ACA Board meets monthly and the CEO and ACA Staff manage the day to day affairs of the Association.
If you have an interest in the role of Secretary on the ACA Board, please forward your EOI, stating your relevant skills and experience in the role of secretary, meetings and minute taking, administration and/or general committee governance, to the ACA CEO, Melanie Woosnam ceo@croquet-australia.com.au by COB Friday 2 June, 2023. Position Description can be found on the ACA website under Employment.
We ask that States, Associations and Clubs to please share this notification with their members.
Melanie Woosnam
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Croquet Association
WCF GC OVER 50’s QUALIFIERS
The World Over 50’s GC Championships is scheduled for the 14-21 October at Bunbury Croquet Club, Western Australia. Two qualifying events will be held in the lead up to decide the remaining 4 places. For more information on the Qualifying Events please click on the links below.
Event Flyer: Eastern Qualifier – Victorian Croquet Centre (Cairnlea)
Event Flyer: Western Qualifier – Cambridge Croquet Club
Entries can be made via the following links:
UPDATE – WCF Over 50s
The World Croquet Federation has appointed Peter Payne as the Event Lead for the upcoming Over 50’s World Championships to be held in Bunbury Western Australia. Please click on the links below for more information.
2023 WCF Over 50’s World Championships – Update
The World Croquet Federation has announced the 20 Ranking places for the 2023 Golf Croquet Over 50’s World Championships. The Championships will be held in Bunbury, Western Australia in October and will include 7 Australians. Congratulations to:
Gary Phipps (WA)
Peter Landrebe (NSW)
Marty Clarke (WA)
Lester Hughes (VIC)
Brett McHardy (WA)
Peter Freer (NSW)
David Hanbidge (NSW)
For more information on the Over 50’s Championships please click on the link below:
ACA Rebranding and Marketing Project
ACA has contracted Beyond Break to undertake a Rebranding and Marketing Project. To ensure we receive as much data as possible could all members complete the brand perception survey. To access the survey, please click on the link below.
If you have any trouble accessing the online version of the survey, please click on the link below to access a word version.
Brand Perception Survey (Word)
Anyone completing the word version must complete the survey and then save it to their own computer. They will then need to email the saved copy to Tamara at Beyond the Break at tamara.badenoch@btbconsulting.com.au
This survey will be available electronically and remain open until 11 April and will become an important tool as we undertake this project.
Dawson Balls Update
The original Dawson ball recipe went out of production following changes to Australian product regulations which banned one of the substances used. Testing continues to recreate a recipe that meets the specification. The WCF have been advised that there has been some success. Final testing is underway so we hope production might start again soon.
ACA Bulletin
Please click on the link below for the latest ACA Bulletin.
ACA Online Magazine
The 2023 Summer edition of the ACA Magazine is now available online. For access, please click on either of the link below the links below.
Summer 2023 Edition – Flip pager version
Endorsement of WGU Statutes
The ACA Board, at its meeting of 9th November 2022, endorsed the WGU Statutes, including that limiting membership of the WGU to one representative body for Gateball in any country. The text of the endorsement is available here.
WCF 2023 AC World Championships
The 2023 Association Croquet World Championship will be held between 15 – 23 July 2023 at clubs in South West London, head-quartered at the Hurlingham Club. The field will be 80 players.For more information see: https://worldcroquet.org/world-championships/upcoming-events/2023-association-croquet-world-championship/
WCF AC Women’s World Championships – Australian Contestants
Congratulations to the following members for gaining a place in the WCF AC WWC: Alison Sharpe*, Claire Bassett*, Heather Knight*, Jacky Lynch, Kathy Grant*, Kerri-Ann Organ*, Lois Kirk*, Rosemary Landrebe*, Rosemary Newsham*, Shirley Howlett, Tricia Devlin*, Virginia Arney* and Yuni Rowell* (* = Ranking place).
Letters of Support
Clubs and others submitting grant applications can apply to the Croquet Australia Secretary for a letter of support by completing the request form here