WIDELY referred to as an “inspiration” to Portland Croquet Club members, Alice Lamplough isn’t what you might call a typical athlete.

But at 93 years of age, Lamplough is still an active and involved member at the croquet club located in the Portland Botanic Gardens.

She explained that it’s a sport she picked up just over two decades ago.

“I played a bit of basketball and tennis in my younger days, but I hadn’t played sport for a few years when I took up croquet,” she said.

“My husband and I moved back here after many years away for family reasons and I was just looking around for something to do, and that’s how I initially joined.

“My husband and I moved back here after many years away for family reasons, and I was just looking around for something to do, and that’s how I initially joined.

“It’s just an all-inclusive type of sport, you don’t have to be any particular age group or anything like that, and there’s different versions of it that cater to different levels of ability.

“I did competition for a while years ago, but I got ill and since then I haven’t been able to get through a full day away, so I’ve just stuck with the lower-level type of games.”

Lamplough grew up in the New South Wales town of Corowa, a town right on the border with Victoria, where she met her late husband.

“We lived there for 16 years, before moving to the Sea Lake in the Mallee,” she said.

“From there we moved here, my husband worked as a stock and station agent, so we moved around a little bit, but he resigned from that, and we bought a couple of supermarkets and lived in Shepparton during that time.

“We came back here when we retired.”

Lamplough said there are number of different reasons why she keeps coming back to the club, chief among them being the social aspect to it.

“It’s a good community here and very welcoming and inclusive, they have the days where they bring the people with disabilities here and they have a go, it’s just great,” she said.

“It’s good for my health and wellbeing as well, it keeps me active and doing something and I always feel a lot better after I’ve finished a game.

“It’s a shame the membership numbers have dropped off a little bit, we’re down to about 40 members all up (including several who aren’t active) now, where we used to have 20 here on any given Wednesday.

“I’d particularly like to see more men involved with the club, it’s mostly women here these days.

“I think it’s a good sport to take up if you’re getting beyond bowls a little bit, there’s less bending over, we have plenty of people who play even while they still use walking frames.”

Lamplough also credited the sport and the community she has become a part of with helping “fill the gap” after her husband passed away.

“It gets me out of the house and doing things rather than couped up indoors,” she said.

In light of its desire to attract new members, the club has said it will be willing to give coaching and mentoring to new players should sufficient number sign up.

“(Croquet) is a sociable activity that is suitable for all ages and abilities, combining both mental and physical skills,” a statement from the club said.

Interested individuals are encouraged to contact Majella King on 0429 136 727.