Every now and then you might walk out of an afternoon class and see students playing croquet in the Peace Quad.

“Just another beautiful Thursday afternoon, what the hell else do we have to do?” said Kent Wood, administrative assistant in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and president of the Croquet Society.

Croquet is an outdoor sport that was introduced in England in 1852 or 1853, possibly by nuns or French refugees. The term “croquet” is a form of the word croche, an old Northern French word which means “shepherd’s crook.” The French also called croquet, “hockey stock.”

So how did croquet make it to Loyola’s campus? Skelly McCay A’01 wasn’t fond of other sports, but he enjoyed croquet. As a result, English Professor and Croquet Society Adviser Mary McCay, obtained funds from the Student Government Association to purchase a croquet set. As she was in Ireland at the time, McCay bought a croquet set and sent it to Loyola.

During the first years of British Competitive Croquet, McCay gave out prizes to those who came out to play. She gave the best prizes to those who came in last along with those who followed behind.

“We played teams, and the team that came in last place won the best prize and the team that won first place won the worst prize,” said McCay.

Though there are no prizes given out anymore, but Wood is welcoming and competitive with new players.

Wood took over as de facto president two years ago when McCay was promoted to interim dean of the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences. Kent is known to play with the black ball out in the Peace Quad along with other students from the University of New Orleans and Tulane University.

“The weekly games were a time that allowed us to escape the monotony of the daily routine. We didn’t play croquette just because it was fun, we did it because it allowed us the opportunity to be part of a hodgepodge of people that would otherwise not come together, professors and students, alike all as one for an hour a week,” said Giulio Riccio A’08.

For those who like to travel, in the summer of 2010 the croquet society will play croquet internationally courtesy of the English department’s study abroad program in Ireland.

“It is a cool way for students to meet new people,” said philosophy freshman Lindsey Childers.

The croquet team meets every Thursday afternoon in the Peace Quad. Refreshments are provided during the games.

Bridget Boudreuax can be reached at [email protected]