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February 2015 Newsletter

WCF February 2015 Newsletter

The newsletter provides a summary for WCF Members of what the Management Committee has been doing recently and what is on the agenda in the near future.  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.

Council debates and decisions

Council approved the amendments to Statutes 301 to 309, including changes to Statute 303 to cater for the new world championship allocation process on 18 January 2015.  New versions of the Statutes, the Event Regulations and the Sports Regulations are available on the WCF website.

What has been happening this year so far?

New Official Rulings for the 4th (2013) edition of the Golf Croquet Rules were published with effect from 1 January 2015.  The final stages of preparation for the 2015 Under 21 GCWC and the main Golf Croquet World Championship proceeded smoothly and both events were held very successfully in New Zealand.  Many thanks to Croquet New Zealand and to the event management teams led by Gordon Smith and Geoff Young for making it all happen.

Preparations for the next Association Croquet World Championship have begun and will gather pace later in the year.  Discussions are in progress concerning the date and location of the second Golf Croquet World Team Championship following Egypt’s proposal to advance the date from March 2016 to October/November 2015.

The new web-site encountered some minor technical problems which have now been overcome.  It should be fully active before the end of March.  The two web-sites will be run in parallel for a few weeks before closing the old site.

Recent and forthcoming WCF championships

2015 Under-21 Golf Croquet World Championship

This was held at the United Croquet Club, Christchurch, New Zealand from Sunday, 1 February to Thursday, 5 February 2015.  28 competitors from Australia, Egypt, England and New Zealand took part with pre-event expectations focussing on England’s Harry Dodge and the Egyptian squad of four.  However, what transpired was a home victory in very challenging playing conditions of fast courts and very firm Atkins hoops.  In the semi-finals, Egypt’s Marwan El Sabarouti gained revenge for a block defeat by Harry Dodge, winning 4-7, 7-4, 7-4, and New Zealander Josh Freeth defeated fellow-countryman Felix Webby 7-3, 7-5.  The final was extremely close but Josh continued to show admirable control and resolve to edge out Egypt’s Marwan by 5-7, 7-6, 7-6.

2015 Golf Croquet World Championship

This was held at the Mount Maunganui Croquet Club in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand’s North Island from Saturday, 7 February to Sunday, 15 February 2015.  The block stage also made use of clubs at Katikati, Rotorua and Whatekane.  80 competitors arrived from Australia, Belgium, Egypt, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.  After two successive non-Egyptian world champions, Egypt sent a large and strong squad to try and recover the title they had held from 1996 to 2008.  Much attention focussed on whether Reg Bamford could defend the title he won so spectacularly in Cairo in 2013.  Or would Ahmed Nasr gain his revenge and a third world title?  Or, perhaps, Hamy Erian, the 25 year old wunderkind of Egyptian croquet, would confirm his class and take his first World Championship.

The reality was fascinating.  Hamy made his way to the semi-finals with his typical efficiency and lack of drama and 12 consecutive match victories.  There he met Chris Clarke, providing a home country representative.  Chris had dropped one block match to another New Zealander, John Christie, but had otherwise looked in excellent form.  He and Hamy had a closely fought semi-final in which the young Egyptian demonstrated his calmness under pressure and won 7-2, 4-7, 7-6, 4-7, 7-3.  In the other half of the draw, Reg had had a tough time against the young New Zealander, Hemi McLaren in the opening round but then made a good start against Ahmed El Mahdi, another top Egyptian who had never made as much impact on a GCWC as the quality of his play would indicate.  Ahmed now caught fire with superb shooting and swept into the semi-final by 4-7, 7-4, 7-1.  There he met England’s Stephen Mulliner who had despatched Ahmed Nasr 7-5, 7-6 in the quarter-final.  However, El Mahdi continued his excellent form and won 7-6, 7-3, 7-6.

The final was dramatic.  Hamy looked invincible as he took the first two games 7-4, 7-5 and Ahmed’s shooting was clearly not operating at the level he had shown in the previous two matches.  However, he clawed back in the third by 7-4 and repeated this in game 4.  Any doubts about Hamy’s confidence were swiftly dispelled as he took a 5-1 lead in the decider.  However, after a prolonged duel at hoop 7, Ahmed began an astonishing run of six consecutive hoops to take the game 7-5 and the title.  Many congratulations to both players for a truly excellent display.

2015 Women’s Association Croquet World Championship

This will be held in Nottingham from Saturday, 25 July to Saturday, 1 August 2015.  The Event capacity has been increased to 36 players.  The names of the 32 players with Ranking Places, Wild Card Places and Membership Places are available on the WCF website under World Championships.

2016 Association Croquet World Championship

This will be held at the National Croquet Centre, West Palm Beach, Florida from Friday, 22 April to Saturday, 30 April 2016.  The Qualifying Tournament will be held from Sunday, 17 April to Wednesday, 20 April 2016.  The Invitation Date is expected to be in June 2015.  More details will be available on the WCF website in due course.

MC Topics completed or closed in 2015

MC 309:           2014 MC Report approved and published.

MC 310:           2015 Official Rulings on the 2013 GC Rules approved and published.

MC 312:           GCWC qualifier places.

Topics open, pending or under administration on 28 February 2015

MC 251:           2014 Women’s GCWC (player survey to be completed)

MC 278:           Review of croquet activity among Members.

MC 282:           2015 GCWC, February 2015 (player survey to be completed)

MC 283:           2015 Women’s Association Croquet World Championship, July 2015.

MC 284:           New WCF web-site.

MC 285:           2015 Under 21 GCWC, February 2015 (player survey to be completed)

MC 291:           Appointment of GC Ranking Officer and Assistant Ranking Officers.

MC 295:           2016 Association Croquet World Championship.

MC 311:           Regulation policy.

MC 313:           2016 GC World Team Championship.

MC 314:           Women’s GC World Team Championship.

Outlook for March

The main activities for the month will be analysing the results of the player surveys for the last three WCF events, continuing to administer the forthcoming 2015 Women’s AC World Championships and continuing the review of the WCF Statutes.

 Stephen Mulliner

Secretary-General 3 March 2015

2016 AC World Championship – Winner: Stephen Mulliner

The 2016 Association Croquet World Championship
The National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach, Florida Saturday, 16 April to Sunday, 24 April 2016.

Winner: Stephen Mulliner (England)

Finalist: David Maloof (USA)

Stephen Mulliner in play

The new champion is Stephen Mulliner (England) who defeated David Maloof (USA) in the final -4, -17, +5, +7, +26tp.

Full results are available at https://croquetscores.com/2016/ac/wcf-world-championship

Commentary

Stephen Mulliner (ENG) and David Maloof (USA) contested an 11.5 hour five game final in the Association Croquet World Championship at the National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach.  For the first time, live video streaming was available as well as a court-side commentary on CroquetScores.

Mulliner and Maloof ensured that there would be a new name on the Wimbledon Cup and, as both are 62, that the new World Champion would be the oldest ever winner, let alone for the first time.  Maloof is a professional tennis coach who has made rapid progress in US and world croquet in the last few years.  He has one of the best swings in the game and is renowned for his calmness and infrequency of error.  He had accounted for Paddy Chapman (NZE), the 2013 runner-up, and David Maugham (ENG), a stalwart of the England team, in the quarter and semi-final rounds, two major scalps.  He was a deserved winner of the first two games of the final and was tantalisingly close to winning 3-0 after over 7 hours' play in the bright Florida sunshine on a tricky court.

Mulliner discovered croquet at Cambridge University in 1975 and soon rose to the top of the Engish game, winning the President's Cup in 1981, a feat he repeated on four further occasions.  He has also won the British Open Championship three times, the last in 2000 when his opponent was none other than Reg Bamford.  Mulliner had survived close encounters with Stephen Forster (AUS) and Danny Huneycutt (USA) in the last 16 and quarter-final rounds and could easily have lost to either player.  Both matches went to a fifth game and he made it through to meet Reg Bamford (SAF), a four-time AC World Champion, and the firm favourite to make it a fifth in 2016.

Bamford soon established a 2-0 lead including an extraordinary sextuple peel in game 1 in which he overcame several probems and brought the break to a thrilling and successful conclusion.  He offered Mulliner a glimpse of hope in game 2 when a second sextuple was apparently heading for a smooth and much more routine conclusion when he failed to run a short penultimate hoop.  However, Mulliner had his own problem at the same hoop and Bamford soon made the score 2-0 in his favour.  Mulliner responded by hitting a long roquet in turn 3 of game 3 and reaching 4-back with a good leave.  However, Bamford had been in remorseless hitting form and made no mistake with the 19 yard shot down the East boundary. Shortly afterwards, he had laid up for a third sextuple and given Mulliner a 35 yard shot to stay in the match.  Lady Luck now intervened and Mulliner's shot clipped the ball he could barely see behind a hoop.  He seized his chance and completed a triple peel to win +20tp and extend the match.  In game 4, Mulliner hit in turn 4 and decided to lay for his own sextuple so that Bamford would face a 30 yard shot.  Bamford missed and Mulliner brought home a sextuple with almost as many adventures as Bamford's effort in game 1.

The fifth game was short and simple.  Mulliner hit in turn 3 and went to 4-back.  Bamford this time just missed the 19 yard shot down the East boundary and Mulliner made no mistake with a delayed triple peel to take the match and claim his place in the final for the third time in his 40 year playing career, the others being in 1997 (when he lost 3-1 to Robert Fulford (ENG) in Bunbury, Western Australia) and in 2008 (when he also lost 3-1 to Chris Clarke (ENG) in Christchurch, New Zealand).

Against Maloof in game 3, Mulliner was pegged out when for 4-back with his remaining ball.  He had to hit a 26 yard shot across court to get a chance of finishing and made two hoops before failing to approach rover.  Maloof missed a 13 yard roquet and Mulliner took this unexpected second chance by running rover and hitting a 13 yard roquet to gain an easy peg-out and stay alive in the match.  Maloof gained an early advantage in game 4 but missed a return roquet after 1-back and Mulliner was able to reach peg and penultimate against 2-back and 4-back before Maloof regained the innings with an 18 yard roquet.  Both players then hit long shots alternately but Mulliner had the last and was able to finish and level the match 2-2.  

By now it was after 7 p.m. and the light was going to become an issue.  The players agreed to move to a floodlit court and have an extended warm-up on the new surface. After two early errors on which Maloof was unable to capitalise, Mulliner reached 4-back with a good leave.  Maloof missed his 18 yards roquet attempt and Mulliner calmly conducted a delayed triple peel to a successful conclusion to take the game, the match and the title.  He had been obliged to play twenty games of high-intensity croquet in four consecutive days to achieve victory and his reputation for determination, focus and the will to win could not have been more searchingly tested.

The prize-giving was conducted by David Openshaw on behalf of the World Croquet Federation, and Johnny Mitchell, the President of the United States Croquet Association.  The efforts of the officials and the large number of volunteers were publicly recognised and received great appreciation from the players and the audience.  A warm tribute was also paid to the recently late Bernard Neal who had done much to help the development of croquet in both the UK and the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.  As a committee member of the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, it was he who arranged for the donation of the magnificent Wimbledon Cup by the AELT&CC to be the trophy for this championship.

The other medallists and prize winners were:

Semi-finalists: Reg Bamford (South Africa) and David Maugham (England)

Championship Shield: Stephen Forster (Australia)

Championship Bowl: James Death (England)

Championship Plate: Ian Lines (England)

2014 Business Plan

Introduction

The purpose of this Business Plan is to highlight major items for attention in the year ahead.  We re-state our vision, review our strengths and weaknesses, and identify realistic actions which will enable the WCF and croquet to move forward.

Vision

The WCF’s vision, set out in WCF Statutes 103.1 remains valid, namely “to make Croquet a well-known, well-understood, well-respected and well-supported sport in countries throughout the world”.

Assessment of the WCF’s current situation

Strengths

    • Steadily growing Membership
    • Vibrant events schedule
    • Strong demand from players
    • Growing popularity of Golf Croquet
    • Strong financial reserves
    • Ready commitment from Members to host events
    • Active volunteer workforce

Weaknesses

    • Several Members have small and static playing populations
    • Very limited representation in some regions (Central and South America, parts of Africa and Asia
    • WCF events require considerable volunteer input, and this can be difficult to muster for some Members

Opportunities

    • Continue improving relationship with Members
    • Find ways to ramp up development in smaller Members
    • Take the sport to a wider audience through TV
    • Growing “over 50” world population may expand pool of potential recruits
    • Promote GC as a way to increase the number of young players
    • Attract new Members in regions where there is some form of croquet played
    • Attaining 40 Members is now feasible - may unlock World Games, etc.

Threats

    • Will the growth in internet gaming reduce the number of young people interested in a sport like croquet?
    • Impact of GC on other codes
    • Gateball may compete for attention and limit our growth
    • Recovery from the Global Financial Crisis is modest and obtaining significant event sponsorship remains very difficult

Activities

The work of the WCF falls into four main categories, namely:

    • World Championships
    • Development
    • Communication with Members
    • Administration and finance

1.       WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Completed goals

    • Held a successful GCWC and ACWC in 2013
    • Obtained preferred bidders for all tiers/divisions of 2014 AC WTC
    • Confirmed allocation of teams to tiers/division of World Team Championships
    • Continued regular updating of 10 Year Schedule
    • Completed ‘best practice’ guidance for event hosts.

Continuing goals

    • Confirm new allocation procedure for World Championships
    • Re-run the annual bid process through to 2018
    • Hold successful AC WTC, Over-50s GCWC and Women’s GCWC in 2014
    • Mark the WCF’s 25th Anniversary in 2014.

2.       DEVELOPMENT

The main requirements for this important area are:

Members coming forward with viable capital grant projects or other development concepts requiring funding assistance

    • Volunteers willing to undertake coaching trips
    • Available budget.

Completed goals

    • A coaching trip to India took place in January 2013
    • An international coaching training course was held in England in April/ May 2013
    • Coaching trips were organised to Austria, Germany and Latvia
    • A high-quality film of the 2012 GCWTC is now available.

Continuing goals

    • Assess demand for translations of Laws, Rules and Commentary and undertake pilot of matched-funding as demand requires
    • Encourage viable projects to build the first 4-court venue in a Member’s country, with WCF capital grant assistance
    • Hold another international coaching training course
    • Arrange a further three coaching trips to smaller European members
    • Investigate significant sponsorship opportunities.

3.       COMMUNICATION WITH MEMBERS

A healthy organization ensures that its Members are always fully informed about its activities and plans and, in the case of the WCF, of the current state of the future World Championship programme.

Completed goals

    • The new WCF web-site has been fully implemented
    • The monthly newsletter to Members has become embedded
    • The 10 year Schedule of Events has been updated to 2018.

Continuing goals

    • Implementing reliable webmaster support for the WCF web-site.

4.       ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

The MC and Council have refreshed how they operate.  The new trial Council decision-making process is aimed at empowering WCF Members, to make them more engaged, better informed and more in control.  The following does not include the business-as-usual activities such as arranging events, accepting entries, financial management and so on.

The WCF has good financial reserves but the recent reduction in event sponsorship has led to a re-examination of the funding the WCF derives from events.

Completed goals

    • 2013 Financial Review approved and implemented with consequential amendments to Event Regulations, Finance Regulations and Investment Policy.

Continuing goals

    • Work with Australia, England, New Zealand and USA to align AC International Laws Committee and WCF GC Rules Committee
    • Learn from the trial Council decision-making trial and consider improvements if necessary
    • Observe and analyse effects of new four-year cycle budgeting
    • Ensure adequate and reliable support for WCF web-site.

The Management Committee

December 2013

John Solomon has died at 82

John Solomon has died at 82

John Solomon, one of croquet’s all-time greats, died last week at 82. He will be remembered as the first croquet “superstar” who, as a young man, provided a desperately needed publicity boost to the game in the fifties when croquet could have shrunk almost to nothing. His international reputation in the sixties was instrumental in encouraging the first competitive croquet between England and the USA.

Despite his huge success in championship and international play, he was ambitious in playing terms, never content just to rely on what he knew would win matches. He is credited with the first ever three-ball triple and the first one-player doubles win at the British Open. Put simply, John Solomon was one of the greatest players ever to hold a mallet. The game owes him a very considerable debt.

2014 AC WTC Tier 2.2 – Champion Spain

The Tier 2.2/3 Association Croquet World Team Championship competition was held at Sussex County Croquet Club near Brighton, England from 11 to 16 May 2014. Seven teams competed, namely Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

Spain, with the youngest team headed for five days of the six by Jose Riva, were installed as the starting favourites and largely justified that status, winning five of their six Tests by 7-3 or more. However, the Austrians also showed excellent form and took Spain to the wire on the final afternoon. Spain finally claimed victory against the Tier 3 team by 6-4 and so completed a clean sweep of six Test victories and became the second winners of the Tier 2.2 competition.

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