Ten members of Bury Croquet Club recently returned from a memorable visit to Bury’s German twin town of Schorndorf, combining a week of croquet with friendship, cultural exchange and the opportunity to experience the developing German croquet scene.
The principal purpose of the visit was to Croquet Club Waldau, in the Stuttgart region. Established only three years ago, the club was delighted to welcome Bury Croquet Club as its first overseas visitors.
Waldau is affiliated with the German Croquet Association and forms part of the sports complex operated by Luftbad-Verein-Stuttgart e.V. The club currently has around 30 members and is still developing its facilities and playing programme.
The Bury visitors were able to experience the club’s lawns at first hand. As might be expected from a relatively new facility, the lawns are currently somewhat “challenging”, but this did little to diminish the enjoyment of the visit. Indeed, the combination of friendly competition, new surroundings and the enthusiasm of the Waldau members made for three particularly enjoyable days of croquet.
Matches were played throughout the visit, with English and German players forming mixed pairs and playing both with and against one another. The games provided more than simply competition: players were able to exchange techniques, discuss different approaches to the game and share their experiences of developing croquet within their respective clubs.
The visit also demonstrated the value of international club-to-club exchanges in introducing players to different styles of play and helping newer clubs develop their experience and confidence.
The sporting programme concluded on Saturday, when several members of the Schorndorf twinning delegation joined the group and took the opportunity to play croquet themselves. This was followed by a farewell dinner at the famous Stuttgart Television Tower restaurant. The tower, completed in 1956, was the world’s first television tower constructed from reinforced concrete and has become one of Stuttgart’s best-known landmarks. The tower overlooks the croquet lawns.
During the evening, commemorative pennants and gifts were exchanged between Croquet Club Waldau Chairman Thomas Müller and Bury Croquet Club representative Roy Spencer.
Thomas Müller thanked Bury Croquet Club for making the journey to Waldau, while Roy Spencer thanked the Waldau committee and members for their excellent hospitality and for making the visit such an enjoyable experience.
The visit built on an earlier connection established in 2025, when members of the Schorndorf twinning partnership visited Bury and were welcomed to Bury Croquet Club at Whitehead Park, where they were introduced to the game and played alongside their Bury hosts.
That initial encounter has now developed into a genuine sporting exchange, linking two clubs separated by hundreds of miles but united by their enthusiasm for croquet. It is also hoped that this will create further sporting connection between Shorndorf and CC Waldau.
Bury Croquet Club Vice-Chair Roy Spencer said:
“We are extremely grateful to everyone in Schorndorf and at Croquet Club Waldau for the wonderful welcome and hospitality we received. It was a fantastic opportunity to play croquet together, exchange ideas and, most importantly, strengthen the friendships between our clubs and communities.”
For Bury Croquet Club, the visit was a reminder that croquet can provide an excellent means of building international friendships, while for Croquet Club Waldau it marked an important milestone in the development of a young club welcoming its first overseas opponents.
Both clubs hope that this will be the beginning of further exchanges in the years ahead.
Report by Roy Spencer.
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