South East Council Constituency
Contents...
Serving Members
Samir Patel (until October 2023)
Samir has been playing croquet since taking up the sport in 1994 as a student at Oxford University. He is now a member of Surbiton Croquet Club, with Association and Golf Croquet handicaps of -2 and -3 respectively. He has represented England and Great Britain in international matches since 2007, including as team captain since 2013. He has won the President's Cup and two Open Doubles Championships. He captained the victorious England MacRoberston Shield team in Australia in 2022.
In support of croquet administration, Samir joined the Publishing Committee in 2002, with an initial focus on the CA Website. He later joined multiple committees, including International, ICT and Tournaments. The latter included responsibility for maintaining and improving the CA's Tournament Regulations. He also manages several tournaments each year, ranging from Handicap Weekends to the Open Championships.
Internationally, Samir has been a member of the World Croquet Federation's Management Committee since 2015. As part of this role he created, and now runs, the WCF Facebook Page (@WorldCroquet) and has been the event lead for several AC and GC individual and team World Championships.
Samir aims to ensure that the CA has a strategy to grow croquet in England:
- Attracting and recruiting more players from a wider demographic.
- Making coaching available for those who want to improve.
- Improving facilities, particularly in regions that are currently not well served.
- Increasing the number of people playing competitive croquet.
- Making a greater proportion of our money available for investment in our sport, rather than for day-to-day running costs.
Samir observes that the new CA governance model offers the opportunity to change how croquet is run. he maintains that the new Council needs to set strategy and direction, with measurable targets and goals, to get the best from the work done by volunteers within the committees in support of the sport.
Andrew Stewart (until October 2024)
Andrew has been playing croquet for about 10 years. He took up the sport following retirement and started playing at West Worthing Croquet Club, which is part of a large multi sports club. He subsequently became Chairman of the croquet section and then Vice Chair on the board of directors of the main club. He still holds these posts. He is also a member of Sussex County Croquet Club.
In 2019 Andrew became part of the organising committee for the GC World Championships and West Worthing lawns were used for part of the early stage of the competition. Subsequently he took on the roles of Treasurer of the South East Federation and then Chairman following the retirement of Bill Arliss. The Federation has membership of over forty clubs and, as well as providing them with advice and support, runs several leagues and tournaments each year.
Andrew's background is in banking. He was a senior branch manager before retirement. He has also taken on various voluntary roles including working for the Citizens Advice Bureau and The National Trust.
West Worthing Club has a membership of over 1,000 and sitting on the board of directors has involved Andrew in many strategic and significant financial decisions. One of his responsibilities was to incorporate the club and convert it into a Community Interest Company.
Andrew is particularly keen to see croquet become more recognised by the general public as a serious sport and for it to be played by a much more diverse group of people than we have at present. Young players are, he says, key to the future of croquet and must be encouraged at every level.
Composition
The South East Council constituency covers the area of the South East and London Federation.
Election Cycle
One of the three members of this constituency is due for election each year. Ian Cobbold decided not to stand for re-election in 2022. Carol Driver of Purley Bury CC was elected unopposed to replace him and took up her post in October 2022.
Carol Driver (until October 2025)
Carol's background is as an HR Director and she has worked in the public, private and voluntary sectors . She has a strong track record in high level strategic and committee work. She works part time as Corporate Services Director for The Change Foundation, the charity that uses sport to change the lives of marginalised young people. Carol manages the HQ - so she knows first hand the challenges of maintaining a sports ground and generating income.
Carol has been involved with the charity for the past 30 years, initially as Trustee and Treasurer and most recently as a staff member, helping it grow into a £1million per year organisation, working with thousands of young people.
Carol played a large number of sports including hockey, netball and racquet sports and played cricket for Surrey. She has insight into how clubs operate successfully and how sport can build and enhance communities. She is keen to join the Council and to represent the South East Constituency. She has visited a number of clubs in the region through playing in matches. She is very interested in how the sport of croquet develops and aware of the significant challenges we face.
Further Information
Please see the election rules for further information about the election process and the guide to the skills sought.
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