It’s a brisk October afternoon, and only two of the four students still enrolled show up to Rick Alderson’s Croquet I class.
That didn’t dim the instructor’s belief in the sport’s future, however.
“These things are springing up all across the country,” said Alderson, referring to croquet classes.
Alderson, a Navy retiree who works at the post office picked up the sport himself only six years ago. He became a national champion two years ago in a doubles division and wanted to introduce a younger generation to the sport.
“People think croquet is a genteel type of game, but what a lot of kids like about it is that it’s a war out there,” said Alderson. “It’s a battle out there when you’re competing against someone else.”
The class teaches six-wicket, American croquet, which is different from nine-wicket backyard croquet.
“Backyard croquet is different in quality of equipment and layout, but the principles of the game are mostly the same,” said Rick Jeffries, co-owner and operator of River Ridge Golf Course in north Eugene, where the class is offered.
River Ridge hosts the class because of its five-year-old 84-by-105 foot lawn. The lawn idea was brought to Jeffries’ attention by Alderson. Jeffries also considered the facility because he and his wife Debbie, the co-owner, wanted to make the course more of a resort and event destination, capable of holding corporate outings.
“One of our goals was to be an event center and not everyone likes to play golf,” said Jeffries.
After the lawn was constructed, Alderson felt the need to expand the exposure of the sport, and he and Jeffries approached Peg Rees, associate director of physical education at the University, about a possible class.
“We thought it would be a good class to try at no risk, essentially, meaning if it doesn’t work, our department doesn’t take a loss, and really neither does the golf course,” said Rees. “It’s just more right now a fun experiment but if it catches on we’ll go with it.”
The “experiment” has been a positive one for the two students in the class, sophomores Alexander Hendricks and Allison Beard, who said they hope to create a club sport at the University for croquet.
“The strategy element is what I’ve most learned,” said Hendricks, who said the pair usually play for half the class, saving the other half for instruction.
The small class size – 13 students originally signed up – is of little concern to Rees.
“Often, new classes need a term or two to get the word out,” she said.
Jeffries and Alderson expect the class to be offered again in the spring, and hope for increased class size.
“It’s something that everyone can do and have fun,” Jeffries said.
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