The government's roadmap out of lockdown allows outdoor sports venues to reopen from March 29th this year. We sense our members are missing their croquet, and since the lawns are ready and the weather forecast is good, we will start our 2021 season early, with lawns 1-5 and the east pavilion available from 9:00 a.m. on March 29th. We still have to observe hygiene and social distancing measures to keep everything we do within the letter and spirit of the law and as COVID-safe as possible. New COVID-19 rules will be shared soon, based on the guidance from the Croquet Association. (The main changes from the 3rd edition will concern the number of people allowed on a lawn, limitations on the use of indoor spaces (pavilions), and allowing members and visitors on site without prior booking with some provisos). For the first week or so, building work will still be taking place in the west pavilion so we will have access only to the east pavilion.
There are some changes to the lawn booking system and to the guidance for lawn use (appearing soon on the lawn booking page) including greater use of 28-yard (half) lawns for less formal play, to help us accommodate all our expected activity on the east lawns for the first part of the season. We hope and trust that we will soon have use of the new west lawns too. Grass growth is looking very promising but we must not jeopardise the long term quality of the fine turf by using them before they are robust enough for regular foot traffic, and creating a mudbath! The Spring growing season will be crucial.