On 22 September 2025 Darla Blake resigned as Chair and Member of the Board of Croquet New Zealand (CNZ) for personal reasons. Darla was first elected for a two year term at the 2022 CNZ Annual General Meeting (AGM) and was re-elected at the 2024 CNZ AGM.
At the Board meeting on 29 September 2025 the Board elected Graeme Roberts as the new Chair of the Board of CNZ.
The CNZ Board subsequently sought to fill the vacancy left by Darla’s resignation, in accordance with the CNZ constitution. The Board approached John Borner, who has become well known across the croquet community over the last 15 years. John is currently a member of Cashmere Croquet Club and has been involved with croquet in Canterbury in various roles since joining the Croquet community. John is a qualified referee and has been active in promoting and developing Advantage GC. John is also a member of the World Croquet Federation (WCF) Advantage GC Operations Committee.
John accepted the request and at the Board meeting on 29 September 2025 the CNZ Board formally seconded John to the CNZ Board. He will be a member of the Board until the AGM and subsequently through to the end of the transition period until the new CNZ Board is elected.
The Board and the Chief Executive would like to thank Darla for her contribution and dedication over the last three years and wish her well for what lies ahead. Further they to congratulate Graeme on his election as Chair and welcome John to the Board of CNZ.
Chair Graeme Roberts says ‘I thank Darla for her contribution to the work of the Board over the past 3 years. It was characteristic of her thoughtful approach that, following her resignation, she sent us her two-page “to do” list. It covered the immediate tasks of electing the new Board and recruiting a new Chief Executive. It then focused on more enduring issues: better development of the tools and information Board members need, the establishment of trust and understanding with the croquet community, a review of the supporting committees that are essential to the functioning of CNZ, and the review and updating of CNZ’s strategic plan and various policies and procedures. A very useful guide for the Board and the croquet community as a whole going forward. I hope that Darla will continue to enjoy her croquet, with more time to be a player rather than an administrator.
I welcome John Borner to the Board and thank him for being willing to increase his workload in support of croquet both within New Zealand and internationally. I wish him well in his new role.’
