WCF April 2014 Newsletter
The newsletter provides a monthly summary for WCF Members of what the Management Committee has been doing during the past month and what is on the agenda for the coming month. Your comments are always very welcome. It is also made available to all on the WCF web-site and via the Nottingham list and other croquet bulletin boards.
Stephen Mulliner
Secretary-General
Council debates and decisions
There have been no issues for Council to decide this month.
What have we been doing in April?
Version 8.5 of the WCF Sports Regulations was published which incorporates the new rankings-based allocation procedure for WCF singles events approved as WCF Topic 19 and a few minor consequential amendments to the main body of the Regulations.
The MC has established a Development Sub-Committee consisting of Gabrielle Higgins (chairman), Keith Aiton and Roberts Stafeckis. This committee will deal with all aspects of croquet promotion internationally, including coaching, referee training and consideration of grant applications.
25th Anniversary commemoration
It is possible to trace the origins of the WCF to 1985 and, in particular, to a meeting of interested parties held at the Hurlingham Club, London on 17 July 1986. However, the generally agreed starting point is the inaugural General Meeting, also held at the Hurlingham Club, on Saturday, 15 July 1989 when Ashley Heenan, OBE, was elected as the first WCF President.
As referred to in the February Newsletter, the MC has been discussing how to commemorate the WCF’s Silver Jubilee which falls on 15 July 2014. Various ideas were considered but I am delighted to confirm that our President, Amir Ramsis, has very generously donated medals to be given to all the winners of singles national championships in Association Croquet, Golf Croquet and USCA Rules Croquet held in the 12 months from July 2014 to June 2015. This seems an appropriate way of recognising that the foremost duty of the WCF is to promote the playing of competitive croquet at the highest level.
Topics completed or closed up to end April 2014
MC 249: WCF web-site – a new site is under construction.
MC 251: The 2014 Women’s GCWC allocations have been made.
MC 252: The Governance Working Group is appointed and under way (Topic 29).
MC 254: The MC election process was completed.
MC 258: The 2014 Over 50 GCWC allocations have been made.
MC 259: Review of MC communication procedure.
MC 260: Extension of Statute 920-925 process submitted to Members (Topic 24).
MC 262: The Wimbledon Cup transport to Australia was completed.
MC 263: Topic voting and confidentiality – remitted to GWG.
MC 264: A press quote issue was explained and dealt with.
MC 265: MC Report and 2014 Business Plan were submitted to Members (Topic 25).
MC 266: MC election procedure – remitted to GWG.
MC 267: WCF 25th anniversary – commemorative medals will be awarded to winners of national singles titles from July 2014 to June 2015.
MC 268: Proposal from Belgium to support a joint croquet/gateball promotion exercise to be funded mainly by the EU Erasmus+ programme.
MC 269: Wales comments on documentation and Member relations.
MC 270: Investment proposals or new bank accounts were submitted to Members (Topic 31).
MC 271: Statute 303.2.1.2 amendment – submitted to Members (Topic 30).
MC 272: E-mail archive of MC decisions created.
MC 273: MC’s role in WCF Council voting process clarified.
MC 274: Confirmation that a Member’s votes and subscription level for a year is determined with reference to its member count on 1 January of that year.
MC 275: Statute 305 (Reciprocity of Membership) – the English CA has raised some questions about the interpretation and intent of this Statute. These will be covered in a general review of the drafting of the Statutes due to be completed by the end of 2014.
MC 276: World Croquet Day – starting in 2015, the first Saturday in May will be used as an opportunity to publicise croquet at national and international level and for clubs to organise recruitment drives.
MC 277: Development plans for 2015 and beyond – a MC sub-committee has been established to look into what the WCF can do beyond the current offerings of supporting attendance at the Croquet Academy and part-funding coaching trips to European Members.
The above list shows the breadth of issues that the MC deals with using its fortnightly Skype conference calls and e-mail exchanges to reach decisions. While we aim to give every topic adequate attention, we also aim to reach a decision and close them as soon as possible.
Open topics as at 30 April
MC 250: 2014 AC World Team Championship – preparations are now almost complete for the Tier 2.1 event at Carrickmines and the merged 2.2/3 event at Southwick respectively in May 2014.
MC 278: Review of croquet activity among Members.
MC 279: Request for coaching assistance from the Croquet Federation of India.
MC 280: Request for financial assistance for club development from the Italian Croquet Association.
MC 281: Formation of Working Group to review croquet ball production.
MC 282: 2015 Golf Croquet World Championship, New Zealand, February 2015.
MC 283: 2015 Association Croquet Women’s World Championship, England, July 2015.
MC 284: New WCF web-site – opportunity to review content and archiving.
MC 285: 2015 Under-21 Golf Croquet World Championship, New Zealand, February 2015.
Outlook for May
Tier 2.1 of the AC World Team Championship will be contested at Carrickmines, near Dublin from Monday 12 May to Saturday 17 May by teams representing Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Wales (the holders). The competition should be fierce and the Irish hospitality will no doubt live up to its legendary reputation!
Both the President and I intend to visit the Tier 2.2/3 AC World Team Championship event at Southwick which runs from Sunday 11 May to Friday 16 May and Amir will be there to present the trophies to the winners.
The Invitation Dates for the 2015 Under-21 GCWC and the 2015 GCWC itself have been set as 7 May 2014. These events will be held in New Zealand in February 2015 and further details will be found on the WCF web-site. It should be noted that the Event Capacity of the 2015 GCWC will be increased to 80, which will bring it into line with the ACWC, and these events will be the first World Championships to be held under the new Sports Regulations.
The fields for the 2014 Over-50 GCWC and 2014 Women’s GCWC will have been announced by or shortly after publication of this Newsletter. The events will be held in Cairo from 5-11 October and from 16-21 November respectively. There are currently five vacancies in the Over-50 and one in the Women’s and any Member may apply for a further Wild Card place.
Stephen Mulliner
Secretary-General
6 May 2014