Rich River Croquet Club hosted the Goulburn Valley Croquet Association association croquet pennant finals on Wednesday, as Quarry Hill battled Hybrids for the championship.

Quarry Hill came in with a far superior differential, but Hybrids, a mixed team from Echuca-Moama, Deniliquin and Shepparton, entered as minor premier with the most games.

Each team featured players ranked in divisions one to four, paired against the matching opposition player.

The Bendigo-based club jumped out to a big lead in the final after winning both doubles matches, and its division one player, Lois Kirk, was the first to secure a singles win, putting Quarry Hill a match away from the title.

The other singles were more drawn-out affairs, with Hybrids in with a chance to force a tie and send it to a tiebreaker on hoops.

They would come close, winning two of the three, but Quarry Hill went home with the flag 4-85 to 2-66.

Association croquet is a more complex and longer version of croquet, usually contested by more experienced players.

The more accessible golf croquet typically has a larger player population.

Because of the limited player base for association, GVCA president Cherie Lessing said the pennant competition provided a good opportunity to bring players together from clubs around the region.

“Karyn-Camillie King, who’s playing for Quarry Hill, she comes from Williamstown, so she’s come up here to play especially,” she said.

“We’ve got players from all over the GVCA district.

“We didn’t have enough players to make all specific teams so we just put them together to give everyone a game.”

Rich River and a combined Kyabram/Shepparton outfit rounded out the four-team competitions.

The GVCA golf croquet pennant is also reaching its climax, the final to be held in Shepparton on Thursday.

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Friday, 13th September 2030

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