Herr Doppler had forecast a 25% chance of rain for today, but the 75% majority won out to welcome CS Thursday noon croquet back for a new year with a beautiful, sunny day and a mild breeze on the croquet pitch at Playfields Park.

Three regulars from last season showed up to play today, and you could hardly tell any of them had taken the better part of seven months off from the game. As a matter of fact, with the exception of a few remarkably lucky hits, you could hardly tell that one or two of them had ever played the game before in their lives. And yet, with the "beginner's mind" so sought after by zen masters, these intrepid three managed to play through two full circuits within the confines of the 12 o'clock hour.

The first game began with a series of extraordinary shots by Dragoon (red), but fickle luck departed like so much wind-blown pollen halfway through the course. With Dragoon on the ropes, Ribera (black) then surged to the lead, making the most of her free strokes gained at the midway post and wickets. She ended up finishing an easy first. Coats (blue) had bad luck early in the game when his mallet misfired. Fortunately no one was hurt. The game resumed, but that bad shot cost him and kept him well back til the end. The second game was marked from the start by shots taken out of turn, and the confusion built from there. Frankly, it's surprising no one was lost on the course.

Luck, of course, always plays a role in any sporting competition; in this case, that role would have earned it top billing. Still, all were in good spirits and said they enjoyed today's play -- and certainly the weather -- and they plan to return for a re-match next week.

THE RESULTS:
GAME 1: 1ST: RIBERA (black) 2ND: DRAGOON (red) 3RD: COATS (blue) Game Time: approx. 16 minutes
GAME 2: 1ST: RIBERA (black) 2ND: COATS (blue) 3RD: DRAGOON (red) Game Time: approx. 20 minutes

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