Doug was recently invited to compete in the Croquet NSW Bronze Medal event at Tempe  alongside 10 others.

All 10 players have a world ranking, with some of them having played for Australia in various countries over the past few years.

The winner of this event - who was Peter Freer of Canberra - qualified to represent NSW in the prestigious Australian Golf Croquet Gold Medal in Adelaide in September.

Doug said Freer won this “outright” after three days of intense and strong competition.

This competition is held in conjunction with both the Australian Men’s and Women’s Singles Champ-ionship and the Interstate Shield which is held over a total of 12 days.

To make sure there will be enough lawns to accommodate all players there will be six Adelaide Croquet Clubs made available.

While Doug may not have qualified for the Gold Medal event, he perhaps was given the next best thing - an invitation to compete in the Australian Men’s Singles in Adelaide.

He will join five others from around NSW to test themselves against all representatives from other states around the country. 

This will be the fifth time Doug has played in an Australian Croquet Association National event, and he’s looking forward to the challenge.

“I was encouraged to attend because I was told it helps with my ranking in NSW,” he said.

“I’m proud to represent Young again at such a competition.”