Alexandra Ararat Croquet Club secretary Barbara Shannon said club life member Bette Schultz, 90, opened the day by running the first hoop.

"We had a great turnout and have gained new members since the COVID-19 lockdown ... it is great to see new people at the club," she said.

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"Even the doctors and physios are telling people to come and play croquet for the exercise, especially because you can't use the indoor pool at the moment.

"We have some players that have Parkinson's and they just play one or two games. You play what you feel comfortable with and just go from there.

"It's starting to gain momentum, and I think people are sick of sitting at home.

It's not just for the oldies ... If we get enough interest we will do twilight games for kids after school."

Ararat resident Carol Crawford joined the croquet club two weeks ago and said it had been a great social outlet during the COVID-19 pandemic. .

"We wanted something to do, to get out of the house instead of being home all day," she said.

"Seven days at home is a lot. I have been a worker and a business owner, so it's lovely to have this outlet."

The Alexandra Ararat Croquet Club has 17 members which meet up on Tuesday and Saturday afternoons.

"We weren't allowed to play for a while. We had to wait for permission from the council to approve playing," Mrs Shannon said.

"Due to Covid we had to change everything. We have been able to play since September but a lot of members are in their 90s and are still hesitant to come regularly."

Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, Mrs Shannon said the club would not be able to host their annual tournament and President's Day.

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"We can't plan for our tournaments because we can only have a certain amount of people playing at the moment," she said.

"We are part of the Ballarat and District Croquet Association so we usually have people from Ballarat and Lismore come to our tournament, and we also travel around the region to play.

"Before Covid we even had a couple from New Zealand call in ... and interstate travellers would also join in.

"People that are driving through the town will often ring and ask if they can come and play."

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