For those of you who subscribe to this list only and not the Nottingham Board – I have today posted the following:

Hi,

I know you are out there; there are ways of finding out who you are.  This is not big brother calling it’s only me with a little request.

Why are you subscribed to this English based List and not to the Australian List?  Last count I believe less than 30 subscribed.

Don’t you think it would be sensible to chat (or go on listen) to information which relates to something a little closer to home?

Lots of people in Australia call the Notts. List a bit of a bar room brawl – in my own view it can on occasion be rather robust but issues are aired freely, listened to, responded to and who knows maybe people administrating local clubs, regions and even the CA may take heart in knowing there is a wealth of interested people out there willing to debate issues, come up with answers and feed back valuable input for consideration at the administrative level.

We need to be able to do all these things on a localized basis too.

We had a Player’s Meeting during the recent Nationals in Melbourne – we could have put some or even all of that information out to the rest of Australia to view and comment on.  This would have given our ACA a much needed boost toward knowing what their members (States) and PLAYERS would like to see them work towards on our behalf.

We could all promise to be on our best behaviour and not go too close to anything we feel may be a little too sensitive.  I recognize things move very slowly in Australian Croquet but I am not suggesting wholesale change merely a little more open dialogue.

Let me start us off with a few suggestions:

How do people in each of the different States approach starting inter-school competition?

Is Ricochet as popular as Golf Croquet? (It is very popular in Qld.)

Would we like to see coaching workshops moving around the country in all or any of the mallet codes?  

Is there a pool of technical knowledge available to tap into for any club who has say issues with a Lawn problem?

I am going to post this onto our Australian List too.  Please respond on the Aus List even if it is only to say you have subscribed and are willing to LISTEN even if you don’t feel you have anything you want to say for now.  Give it time you may like it.  It really need not be feared, it may even help us all in the long term.

Please give it a try you may find you are introduced to people whose name you have never heard of and turn out to like them.  You may get to feel you know or understand a few of the players whose names you recognize but have never met.  Australia is a huge continent and socializing is rare between fellow players – the Aus List may prove a wonderful place for people to turn when they need assistance and we who subscribe will determine where the line in the sand is struck.  We can start out on an ‘afternoon tea’ basis and move on to a ‘beer at the pub’ approach when, and if, we feel the need.  

Regards,

Liz