Originally it was a pastime of the French nobility in the XIIth and XIIIth Centuries. It is said that it was Louis XIV who bemoaned that not being able to play it in the Winter he’d have top lay it on a table, leading to the invention of billiards.

The modern versión of croquet was invented in Ireland, in 1830, being a distant cousin of golf. Two decades later it was taken to England as a pastime for the aristocracy.

In Spain it has only been played since the middle of the XIXth Century in Asturias, particularly Gijón. There the first well organised croquet group was formed in 1926, directed for many years by Casimiro Velasco, who had his own playing field and sports equipment brought from England. From the first half of the XXth Century it has been played in Santander, Basque Country and Galicia. In Andalucía it arrived in Cádiz at the end of the eighties in Jerez de la Frontera by the initiative of Vicente Fernández de Bobadilla, extending to Costa Ballena and Vista Hermosa.

In Marbella, specifically to Villa Padierna, this game arrives at the hand of Mar del Camino. She convinced Ricardo Arranz of the need to offer facilities for its practice. Not only that; the Villapadierna Raquet Club lends out the equipment required to play and offers two qualified professionals ready to teach all those interested in taking up the game.

“Last Summer we started classes in Sotogrande and I started to play. In one month I took part in a tournament in the Madrid riding club and I loved the croquet atmosphere, even though I’m a tennis player”, Mar del Camino assures us. She is convinced this game will also triumph in Marbella because “everything about croquet hooks you. The ambience captures you, the setting, because they are beautiful places like these marvelous fields, it hooks you that you must better yourself getting the ball through the hoop, knock balls away… it is a constant achieving”, Mar tells us. She assures us that it is a feminine sport, because “51 % of those federated in Spain are women” and many come as she does from tennis and also golf: “golf players have a greater ease for croquet than those who don’t play. My experience is that those that play golf are better at croquet because one has to have good aim. One has to have patience, concentrate even though it doesn’t seem like it.”

Croquet is a game that can be practiced alone or as a team. To play one need only wear white clothing (recommended, only required for official tournaments) and flat sole tennis shoes. The mallet and balls can be rented till one knows if it can get us hooked. In December (6-8) there is a charity tournament for the benefit of Amsudanm which provides a unique opportunity for seeing this game live.
For more information: www.amsudan.org