Press Release--The Chicago Croquet Club

A NEW GAME IN TOWN--THIS JUNE 15.

Chicago has a new game in town. In February, the Park District
gave its official go-ahead launching the start of the Chicago
Croquet Club. Built in the 1920's, the clubhouse and lawns in
Jackson Park have given Chicago one of nation's premier public
venues for croquet.

Chicago has already caught the attention of the United States
Croquet Association (USCA), in West Palm Beach, Florida. Intent
on jumpstarting the sport in the nation's third largest city, the
USCA croquet school is sending its chief instructor, Bob
Kroeger, to Chicago to help host the Chicago Croquet Club
Opening Day on Saturday, June 15 (rain date June 16). This is
an all-day event of instruction and croquet playing, running from
9am-5pm.

The clubhouse and lawns are nestled in resort-like
surroundings along the beach at 57th Street, just behind the
Museum of Science and Industry. Enclosed by Lake Michigan,
the beaux-arts architecture of the Museum of Science and
Industry, and shaded beneath the trees of Jackson Park, it is
hard to believe you are only five minutes from the Loop.

This is not the game you remember from your backyard. The
lawns look like golf course putting greens, except flat and
rectangular. Players send balls around the court and through
wicket openings that are barely wider than the balls, using
36-inch 3-lb. mallets that look like elegantly crafted wooden
sledgehammers.

Croquet is a post-Civil War import from the British Isles. The
sport had a roaring start in America, but suffered a setback in the
1890's when Boston clergymen worked to have the game
banned from Boston Common because of the drinking,
gambling and licentious behavior that has sometimes been
associated with the game.

Today, the sport is well into its comeback. The United States
Croquet Association has nearly 300 member clubs, sanctioning
hundreds of local, regional, national and international
tournaments each year.


While everybody fondly remembers sending their opponent's
balls into the shrubbery from the backyard days, the six-wicket
game has a great deal more strategy at work. Players typically
think three or four moves ahead like chess. The croquet shot
(you may remember it as "the send") involves hitting two balls at
once to precise locations, much the same as in pool.

But don't let any of this intimidate you! Beginners can learn
everything they need to know in minutes to play a variation on the
six-wicket game known as "Golf Croquet." While the finer
strategies and shots at work in the regular six-wicket game will
develop over time, you can learn the basic rules in a single
game. The Chicago Croquet Club will provide all the equipment
players need to get started. And for those interested in a
weeknight game after work, the lawns are lighted for evening
play.

"We are very excited about croquet in Chicago," says the USCA's
Bob Kroeger, "with its current facilities and expansion potential,
Chicago could easily become a major player on the national
tournament circuit in a very short time."

Anyone interested in a game of croquet may play free of charge
by contacting the Chicago Croquet Club. And for those who fall in
love with the game and the surroundings, Full and Associate
memberships are available for the season.


Contacts: Reporters should contact Doug Johnson at
312-692-1980, or E-mail at jdouglasjohnson@...


Special Events:

Opening Day Itinerary, Saturday, June 15 (rain date, June 16)

9am-11am: Bob Kroeger teaches the 7 basic shots.

11am-12pm: Demonstration game of USCA Croquet

12-2pm: Lunch & open play

2pm-5pm: Play USCA rules croquet with Bob Kroeger instructing

-------------------------
WEDNESDAY NIGHT GOLF CROQUET-2ND WEEKEND OF THE
MONTH

The Chicago Croquet Club will organize 'Golf Croquet Nights' the
second Wednesday each month through the end of the season
(June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11). The focus will be
on introducing new players to the easy-to-learn variation known
as golf croquet. Golf croquet will run from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. Golf
croquet nights are free-of-charge and open to all. The lawns are
lighted for evening play.

-------------------------
CORPORATE & NON-PROFIT EVENT PLANNING

The Chicago Croquet Club will organize croquet outings for your
corporate event, church group, or non-profit organization. Please
contact the Chicago Croquet Club at 312-692-1980 for more
information.

-------------------------
MEMBERSHIP

The Chicago Croquet Club has Associate and Full Memberships
available. Please contact Jason Benson at 312-208-1692, or
jason.benson@... for more information.

-------------------------
DIRECTIONS FROM DOWNTOWN CHICAGO:

Drive south on Lakeshore Drive toward the Museum of Science
and Industry. You will come to a light at 57th Street on Lakeshore
Drive. Sitting at this light you will see the front of the Museum of
Science and Industry. Staying on Lakeshore Dr., go straight
through this light about 1/4-mile to the next light, just south of the
museum. On the right you will see a black metal fence that
surrounds the lawns and the clubhouse.

Turn right at that light into the parking lots. Next, turn LEFT at the
T. After turning left, keep bearing left, staying at the east end of
the parking lots. You will see a "Do Not Enter" sign, but if the lot
isn't busy just ignore that sign and stay on the east end of the
parking lot. On the southeast corner of this parking lot you will
see a gated entrance to the yacht club, and to the left of the yacht
club entrance you will see a narrow driveway. (It doesn't look like
you can drive on that driveway, but you can.) Take that driveway to
the clubhouse and you may park beside the clubhouse.

-------------------------
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:

Take a #10 (express) or a #6 bus (after 5:30pm) to the Museum
of Science and Industry. Walk around to the east side of the
museum, through the parking lot to the south end of the
museum. Once you are at the south end of the museum, look to
the southeast and you should see a black gate that surrounds
the lawns. Just walk toward that gate.