Diana Sargent on how she got hooked on croquet

Born: New Zealand, June 22, 1961.

Husband: David.

Children: Scott, Camille, Odette, Jemma and Luke.

Education: Dannevirke North School before attending Dannevirke High School.

Sporting highlight: starting my croquet career with the Warrnambool Croquet Club when I was 59-years old.

Diana, we'll speak about your croquet career shortly, but did you play much sport when you were young?

No, I only played some sport at school. I had no real talent.

We moved to Australia from New Zealand when I was 27 years old.

The main reason for the move was there were more opportunities in Australia.

There were more work opportunities for the children and better education.

We originally settled up on the Gold Coast and lived there for 27 years before moving down to Warrnambool six years ago.

Why did you move to Warrnambool six years ago?

David and I purchased the Elm Tree Motel.

Originally, David came down to see the motel and we purchased it. I'll never forget how David described Warrnambool to me on the phone. He said it was a lovely clean city where the people are very friendly. He has been proven right.

The Elm Tree Motel has been a very good business, but we were knocked around by COVID. We had strict guidelines put in place because of the virus.

We were allowed to have essential workers but missed out on overseas travellers. We're an independent motel which has 14 rooms.

We're working very hard to offer people who visit Warrnambool a very happy accommodation experience.

It's a tough industry to be involved in but David and I just love meeting the people and making them feel at home.

We have a lot of regular clients who love visiting Warrnambool for different events or they come down to visit family or friends.

One example relates to the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival. It was disappointing that there was no carnival last year because of COVID.

This year our regulars have been back in contact. There all keen to come back to the races.

We only have a couple of our rooms left for this years carnival.

The May Racing Carnival is a wonderful event for Warrnambool and district. It has a real party atmosphere.

We have a woman who comes from Melbourne a couple of times a year just because she loves the area.

She just uses her time down here as a real chill-out time away from everything that is going on in Melbourne.

What time do you start work at the Elm Tree Motel?

They're long days. We're usually up before 6am preparing breakfasts and we don't finish until about 9pm each day.

Let's talk about croquet. How did you get involved in the sport?

I was talking to a few local women and they said they were involved with the Warrnambool Croquet Club.

They said it's a great game to play - just to unwind. I knew about croquet on the Gold Coast, but it never really come across my mind to play the game.

I went there one day to see what it was like and I enjoyed the experience. I found myself going home reading about croquet online.

There's a lot of strategy involved in playing croquet. I've got really hooked on the game and met some lovely new friends because I took up the game. It's a really interesting game.

The Warrnambool Croquet Club has a wonderful history. The club started in 1961. There used to be five croquet clubs in Warrnambool. Over the years, the other clubs folded but the Warrnambool Croquet Club has stayed in existence.

There's other clubs around the district at Koroit, Portland, Hamilton and Terang they make up the pennant association.

Portland has magnificent facilities over there for its players.

Who are some of the good croquet players that play at Warrnambool?

There's been a lot of good players over the years.

I would have to say Ian Kelson and Elaine Fitzgerald would rank as the best ones at the club now.

How many members does the club have?

It's over 30 members. We're always looking for more members. Our numbers have dwindled over the last few years but we're having a real resurgence in numbers.

We encourage anyone to come up and take part. It's a real social club.

The clubrooms and facilities are excellent. There's a four day tournament coming up from April 24.

There are different combinations playing.

We're expecting big crowds will turn up to watch the tournament. It's a wonderful opportunity for people to come up and learn about the game and check out our facilities in Cramer Street next to the City Memorial Bowls Club.

Is croquet a straight forward game to play?

There's three types of croquet. The most popular form of the game is called golf.

With golf, you just go from hoop to hoop.

The first one that gets to seven points wins the game. The other two are ricochet and association.

We recommend newcomers to play golf. Ricochet and association take more skill to play and people graduate to playing those forms of croquet after starting off with golf.

We welcome newcomers to the club each Sunday morning to come up and have a hit and a giggle. There's a bit of music going on, and John Patterson is there offering assistance and advice to anyone that's interested in learning about the game. There's nothing serious about the game. We've purchased a dozen new mallets for people to come up and play.

There are protocols put in place regarding COVID, which make it safe for anyone to come and play.

Usually, we have players playing golf on Monday and Friday afternoon. Ricochet is played Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning while association is on Wednesday morning and Saturday afternoons.

The funny thing is I never expected in a million years that I would have taken up learning and playing croquet when I was 59 years old.