National Croquet Day

National Croquet Day - Sunday 3 May 2026: An Event near You

Croquet clubs around the country will be celebrating National Croquet Day in their own way. Here are a few clubs that have shared their details with us:

Southwell Croquet Club (03/05/26)
Contact Elaine Maiden 07966 554891
Vintage Croquet Afternoon
https://www.facebook.com/southwellcroquetclub/

Pendle & Craven Croquet Club (03/05/26)
Contact Ian Longstaff 07960 756962
Open Day and GC Tournament
https://pendleandcravencroquetclub.org.uk/

Bury Croquet Club (25/04/26)
Open Family Day 11am to 4pm
http://burycroquet.com/

Littlehampton Croquet Club
4th May 10am to 4pm
Have a cuppa and a cake, and try croquet
https://croquet-websites.org.uk/littlehampton/

National Croquet Day: A National Drive to Help Your Club

The more clubs that run open days on National Croquet Day, the more likely it is that these events receive regional and national press coverage, which in turn will drive more people to your open day.

If you are running an event for National Croquet Day, please email the CqE communications manager with details (even if they are draft at this stage) so that we can create a list of all events happening around the country.

To ensure attendance at your open day, clubs are encouraged to invite schools, community groups (such as U3A, churches, sports clubs) and local companies to come to the club to give croquet a try.

Make sure you post about your open day on your website and local marketing channels, as well as your social media accounts. Tag @CroquetEngland in your social media posts, and we can share these. Also, remember to email the CqE communications manager with details of your event so that we can create a national list of all the events happening around the country.

Supporting Materials

National Croquet Day Poster

Play Croquet Tri-fold Leaflets with space to add club details
Tri-fold Play Croquet leaflets (PDF Print Ready With Crop Marks)
Tri-fold Play Croquet leaflets (Standard PDF)

A National Croquet Day flyer has been created for all clubs to adapt and use. This was created with Canva, so the design can be shared with you directly or amended for you.

Your club details and images can be used to replace the existing content. Please contact Alison Maugham communications#croquetengland.org.uk for help.

Download the National Croquet Day standard poster (PDF)

Promoting Your National Croquet Day Events

Enlist Your Members' Help Now

Ask your members to distribute flyers/posters to other social groups, the local library, community noticeboards, and so on, ideally by mid-April. Make sure all members are aware of your National Croquet Day programme and are available to help.

Publicise Your Event in Local Media

Use the Communications Toolkit.

Paul Hetherington will provide a list of your local press contacts exported from a constantly updated press database. Contact him directly for this list.

Download a Draft Press Release

Advertise in Local Free Listings

Find out when the copy date is for any local magazines which offer free "What's On" listings. The May edition will probably be distributed during the second half of April with a copy date of late March/early April, so make sure you don't miss their deadline.

Banners

If you have a suitable location, why not invest in a vinyl banner to catch the attention of passersby?

First Impressions Always Count

Make sure visitors can find you! Put up direction signs and have a friendly volunteer at the entrance to welcome visitors, direct traffic, and point them in the right direction.

Consider using an online booking system (such as Eventbrite) to enable visitors to book sessions - see the webinar and step-by-step how-to.

Be ready: place club mallets in height order and have someone on hand to offer advice. Don't be too prescriptive on mallet grips; let people find what works for them.

Younger visitors. You might want to have a specific volunteer who is happy to help with younger visitors. Do you have suitable mallets? If not, why not see if you can borrow a garden croquet set or two?

Get People Playing

Most clubs will have their own method for introducing novices to croquet, but the most important thing is to get visitors on the lawns and playing as quickly as possible. Remember, this is just a taster - don't get bogged down in rules and tactics at this stage. Tell them about any free coaching, buddy system, new member discounts, etc. that you offer, as you go round. See Fun Games on a Croquet Lawn for some suggestions on short, quick games to run during public taster sessions, including printable downloads.

Remember, this will probably be the first time people have tried croquet, so set up your lawns to be quarter-sized, as beginners will find this much easier. If you have some wider hoops, use these as well.

Refreshments - and cake! Ever popular and a great opportunity to mention the social side of the club, give out information about your club, coaching and beginners courses, new member discounts and so on.

Following Up

Make sure you take down visitors' details and record the number of people who attended. An email address is most useful as you can send them club details, upcoming coaching sessions, or new-member offers to them.

Try to record email addresses digitally to avoid mistakes and reduce workload. You can collect email addresses online via a sign-up page on your website in advance of the event or have a laptop or tablet available on the day.

Once you have an email list, you can use tools like Mailchimp to easily send marketing emails to your email list. It can be a bit tricky to see straight away, but there is a completely free option for Mailchimp. The link above sends you straight to the free user sign-up.

Sharing Your Success

Clubs active on social media are encouraged to use the hashtag #nationalcroquetday when posting about their events.
Croquet England is active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the username @croquetengland. We will repost and share as much as we can - so do tag us!
We would love to hear how your National Croquet Day activities went, so please submit a short piece for potential sharing.

Any Questions?

Email communications#croquetengland.org.uk.