Author: Debbie Lines

2024 European Golf Croquet Club League – Closing date to enter your club is 28th January

Clubs can now enter the 2024 European Club League heats.

As at 21st January, 21 clubs have already signed up for the 2024 European Club League but there are still places available. For the best chance of securing a place for your club make sure you enter before the closing date of January 28th.

Visit page:  2024 European GC Club League for all the information you need: when and where the heats will be held, the venue for the 2024 Grand Final, the entry form and the rules.

Don't delay, entries due by January 28th 2024.

AC Country Rankings as at 31st December 2023

The latest AC Team Rankings (as at 31 December 2023) are:

Position

Country

Average Grade

Players

1

England

2,578

6

2

Australia

2,541

6

3

New Zealand

2,491

6

4

USA

2,430

6

5

Scotland

2,114

6

6

Ireland

2,112

6

7

Wales

2,063

6

8

South Africa

1,944

6

9

Canada

1,923

6

10

Sweden

1,614

6

11

Spain

1,592

6

12

Germany

1,450

6

13

Austria

1,658

5

14

Latvia

1,277

5

15

Switzerland

1,731

3

16

Czech Republic

1,620

3

17

Iran

2,201

1

18

Jersey

2,120

1

19

Luxembourg

1,970

1

GC Country Rankings as at 31st December 2023

The latest GC Team Rankings (as at 31 December 2023) are:

Position

Country

Average

Players

1

Egypt

2,587

6

2

England

2,470

6

3

New Zealand

2,456

6

4

Australia

2,443

6

5

USA

2,426

6

6

Spain

2,348

6

7

South Africa

2,267

6

8

Ireland

2,150

6

9

Wales

2,137

6

10

Canada

2,130

6

11

Sweden

2,087

6

12

Germany

2,085

13

Switzerland

2,049

6

14

Czech Republic

2,010

6

15

Latvia

1,998

6

16

Scotland

1,938

6

17

Norway

1,908

6

18

Mexico

1,841

6

19

Finland

1,813

6

20

Austria

1,943

5

21

Belgium

2,209

1

22

France

1,832

1

23

Portugal

1,660

1

ERC Election Results

The election closed on 31st December 2024.

The four candidates with the most votes, who are elected to the European Regional Committee (ERC) are:

      • Alan Looney – nominated by the Croquet Association of Ireland
      • Duncan Catterall – nominated by Croquet England
      • Michael Böer – nominated by the Deutscher Krocket Bund
      • Roberts Stafeckis – nominated by the Latvijas Kroketa Federacija (re-elected)

Their term of office started on 1st January 2024 and lasts for four years.

They will join Andrés Álvarez‑Sala from Spain who has two more years on the committee before his term ends.

On this occasion Daniel Studerus was not elected. We thank him for making himself available and hope that he might try again should places become available again in future.

December 2023 Newsletter

Ahmed el Mahdy won the 2023 retraVision GC Over 50’s World Championship

The 2023 retraVision Over 50's Golf Croquet World Championship was held in Western Australia between Saturday 14th October 2023 to Saturday 21st October 2023 at two venues, the Moorabinda Croquet Club (MCC) and the Bunbury Tennis Club (BTC).

2023 Over 50's Champion - Ahmed el Mahdy

Congratulations to Champion Ahmed El Mahdy from Egypt who now adds the Over 50's to his impressive list of titles, including GC World Champion in 2015. Showing strong form throughout the Championship, Ahmed beat fellow Egyptian Omar Fahmy in 3 straight games in the semi-finals with barely a clearance missed. In the other side of the draw Jenny Clarke from New Zealand won through to the final by beating Jeff Newcombe, one of the qualifiers. Jenny took the first game of the best of five final 7:5 with good clearing and some excellent hoop shots. However, Ahmed settled in patiently and his long hoops and accurate clearing were too strong, and he won the next three games.

The winners lineup

The Plate was won by Brett McHardy, from Australia who beat Steinar Olsen from Norway 2:1 in the final. In the Bowl, Australian Pete Landrebe came through 7:5 7:5 against Stephen Mulliner. Torben Bak, another qualifier who did well in the main event, reaching the last 16, made it to the final of the Shield but lost to Barry Jennings, also Australian.

The WCF should like to thank the ACA for hosting the Championship. Special thanks go to the Moorabinda Croquet Club and the Bunbury Tennis Club for the use of their excellent lawns. Our thanks also to the Manager Chris Clarke and to Director Max Kewish and to the many other officials and volunteers who organised the event.

Online GC Rules Training Pack – now available on the WCF website

The WCF are pleased to announce the launch of an online GC Rules training pack.

This suite of 28 modules has been formed into an easy-to-follow study plan. The aim of this pack is to provide remote clubs, whose players cannot easily travel to study or take an exam in person, with an online alternative. We hope this resource will be of benefit to these remote clubs by giving them the confidence that someone in their area has been able to take advantage of this training.

As well as for those in remote locations, the course may be used by anyone, either in part or in full. We expect it to be helpful to those who wish to:

i) refresh themselves on some of the rules
ii) use as pre-learning before attending an in-person course
iii) use for self-study before taking an exam with an Examining Referee

Details of the online test are to follow soon. On completion of the online test students will receive a certificate showing their result in the test. To become a qualified referee students will need to sit the relevant exam in their country.

The WCF should like to thank Ian Shore, from the Chiltern Croquet Academy, for creating these modules. He is currently busy working on the on-line test questions… watch this space!

2023 Hall of Fame new inductee: Mr Ahmed Hamroush from Egypt

Ahmed Hamroush, first President of the Egyptian Croquet Federation, is admitted to the WCF Hall of Fame

Mr Hamroush was instrumental in bringing Egyptian GC into the rest of the World, as well as the first President of the Egyptian Croquet Federation. His full citation can be read on the WCF website:  Hall of Fame Members

Mr Hamroush was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman as part of a documentary about the British Empire. Filmed at the Gezira Croquet Club in Cairo. Watch from about 33 minutes in.

Video clip >  The British Empire - Jeremy Paxman

Dawson Balls Mark 3 – Primary Colours now WCF approved

The WCF have now approved the new Mark 3 Dawson balls Primary colours. We hope to receive secondaries for testing very soon.

Paul Manwaring advises that he is now back in production and will be able to meet orders for Primary Colours very soon. His plan is to sell to Australian Clubs from 15 January 2024 onwards and international orders from 15 February 2024.

The WCF wish to thank Paul for his perseverance trying new 'recipes' following one of the key chemicals being banned. Well done for getting this across the line.

Meet the WCF Management Committee (MC) – From 1st January 2024, there are several new faces on the team

Congratulations to José Álvarez-Sala from Spain, who won the election for President. His term starts on 1st January 2024 and lasts four years. As President José hopes to guide croquet through further growth, something he has done admirably in Spain over the past two decades.

New on the Management Committee is Jeff Soo from USA. He brings a wealth of experience administering croquet as well as being a top player in the three versions played in the USA: Association, Golf and 6 Wicket (US Rules).

Samir Patel was successfully voted back onto the committee and so stays for another 4-year term. His experience and knowledge is an invaluable asset to the WCF. Staying on the committee is Begoña Elzaburu, Debbie Lines (Secretary-General), Graeme Roberts, Mohamed Raslan, Peter Payne (Treasurer) and Roberts Stafeckis.

Leaving the committee after four years is Hal Denton from the USA. We thank Hal for his work over the past few years and wish him well.

Thank you Ian Burridge

Ian Burridge: WCF President 2020-2023

After four years as President, Ian Burridge is moving on to other challenges. Ian started as President on 1st January 2020 and most ably guided the WCF through the difficult times of the pandemic. This involved the delay and re-organisation of many events and a complete re-think of the forward calendar.  Despite the challenges of the pandemic, during his time as President, Ian efficiently steered the MC through its day-to-day activities, such as event planning, grants to help small clubs, improving the regulations and much more. Specific projects he helped the WCF to deliver include:

Advantage GC – this version of handicap GC allows players of different standards to play a game that is more similar to level play and it is now played widely across all our Member countries.

European Regional Committee - Ian was very focussed on getting this set up and has been extremely active assisting the ERC committee since they started nearly two years ago.  Ian masterminded and managed the European Club League last year and will continue to manage it during 2024 – information on how to enter your club into the 2024 heats will be coming out soon.

The MC would like to thank Ian for his hard work and commitment. We wish him all the best for the future.

ERC Committee

The European Regional Committee was formed two years ago, and we are already saying goodbye to some of our first committee members as they finish their term of office. Thank you to Daniel Larsson, John Swabey and Kerstin Loretz for helping set up the ERC in its early years.

Remaining on the committee is Andrés Álvarez-Sala, whose term lasts until the end of 2025.

Roberts Stafeckis, the current Chair, also finishes his first term at the end of this year and he has put himself forward for re-election. Four places on the committee are available and we had five nominations, so we are currently in the middle of an election which finishes on 31st December 2023.

European Club League – the results

2023 ERC Club League Champions - Dulwich

The first year of the European Club League finished with the Grand Final, held at the Roehampton Club in London, England. Congratulations to Dulwich, our first winners.

Well done to the Finals Day team of Pierre Beaudry, Jonathan Claxton, Guy Scurfield and Andrew Hobbs.

Full details of all of the heats and the final can be found on the WCF webpage: https://worldcroquet.org/european-golf-croquet-club-league-the-grand-final/

European Championships 2024

The ERC are running three Championships during 2024. For more information on each one, please follow the links below.

Those interested in playing should contact their national organisations to make themselves available. Please note, the deadlines are short, so do not delay.

2024 GC European Championship
This will be held between 16-19 May 2024 at the Sussex County Croquet Club in Southwick, near Brighton, England.  https://worldcroquet.org/2024-european-gc-singles-championship/

2024 GC European Women's Championship
This will be held between 1-4 August 2024 at the Saffrons Croquet Club, Compton, Eastbourne, England.
https://worldcroquet.org/2024-european-gc-womens-championship/

2024 AC European Championship
This event is returning after a gap of six years. It will be held between 15-18 August 2024 at the Carrickmines Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin, Ireland.
https://worldcroquet.org/2024-european-ac-championship/

Launching Online GC Rules Training

Our smaller Members do not have the infrastructure or geography to support on lawn courses or exams. This material has been created to provide them with an online training course (and in due course a test). It will allow these countries to improve the quality of refereeing on offer.

The material covers all the GC Rules.  It has been designed so that it can be used by players wishing to understand the GC Rules better with additional modules for those wanting to become qualified referees. Laid out as a study plan it takes students through everything they would need to pass the written elements of a typical GC Referees exam. It also covers, via video links, some of the on-lawn material, but obviously this is limited.

This material has been created for the WCF by Ian Shore of the Chiltern Academy as a global resource that will be available to all. The WCF are extremely grateful to Ian for producing this useful resource. The material sometimes links to material published on the Croquet England website and we thank them also for access to these resources.

To find out more, and to access the Study Pack, go to webpage: Online Referee Study Pack

Online GC Rules Study Pack

Overview of Study Pack

Our smaller Members do not have the infrastructure or geography to support on lawn courses or exams. This material has been created to provide them with an online training course (and in due course a test). It will allow these countries to improve the quality of refereeing on offer.

The material covers all the GC Rules.  It has been designed so that it can be used by players wishing to understand the GC Rules better with additional modules for those wanting to become qualified referees. Laid out as a study plan it takes students through everything they would need to pass the written elements of a typical GC Referees exam. It also covers, via video links, some of the on-lawn material, but obviously this is limited.

This material has been created for the WCF by Ian Shore of the Chiltern Academy as a global resource that will be available to all. The WCF are extremely grateful to Ian for producing this useful resource. The material sometimes links to material published on the Croquet England website and we thank them also for access to these resources.

It can be used in multiple ways:

i) as above, by smaller croquet nations who cannot easily access examining referees;

ii) for existing fully qualified GC referees who want to refresh their knowledge on some or all of the content;

iii) as a training aid for those to use before attending a course;

iv) for anyone who wants to understand the rules of GC. It is generally considered that a good knowledge of the rules will help players to improve their play.

Frequently Asked Questions

The introduction to the course includes a complete study guide and explanation, however, we list below some answers to typical questions.

How long does it take to complete the course?

There are 28 modules overall, including one designed specifically for those who wish to train as referees. All the rest are suitable for anyone wishing to learn the GC Rules better. We estimate each one should take around 1-2 hours to complete.

Each module stands on its own and can be studied in isolation. There is no requirement to do the whole course.

What support is available while studying?

    • We have set up dedicated Facebook and WhatsApp groups. We invite both students and fully qualified examining or championship referees.
    • For our small Member countries: Examining referees from around the world are being approached who will be able to provide telephone, email or conference call support for our remote learners. This volunteer resource is kindly offered and limited, so we will restrict their time to just those serious students forced to learn the rules remotely due to geographic constraints.

Does this provide a qualification?

Those who complete the on-line test will be issued with a "Certificate of Completion". The certificate will show the score they have achieved.

Will students be able to use this worldwide?

The main aim of the material is to improve the quality of refereeing within our smaller Member countries.

Each of our Members may decide for themselves how to work with students who have completed the on-line test.

Is it possible to upgrade to a Qualified Referee?

This must be done via a face to face exam including the on lawn elements. Many Croquet Academies around the World offer 1 or 2 days training courses. Students who feel they are ready without further study, would need to arrange to sit the exam with an Examining Referee.

How to download

The material is found here: WCF GC Rules Study Pack

Please note: some modules include videos. These modules need to be downloaded in order to run the videos.
Please note: we do NOT recommend running this course from a phone

Ian Shore

Facebook

SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS

A closed Facebook page has been set up which is open to those studying and to experienced referees who are happy to answer questions posed by the students.

Facebook Group: GC Rules Training

 

Whatsapp

WHATSAPP

There is also a WhatsApp group. To request entry please email the Secretary -General on secretary@worldcroquet.org.

The test

THE TEST

When you have completed all the modules in the 'Online Rules GC Study Pack' and feel that you are ready to sit the test, please email Debbie Lines, the WCF Secretary-General @ secretary@worldcroquet.org.

Please do not request to do this too early. You may only resit the test once and we require at least a 3 month gap between sittings.

We will email out a link to the test, together with the necessary instructions.

After completion, the results will be sent out together with the correct answers. You will separately receive a 'Certificate of Completion' which will show the score achieved and the date.

Please note: it will be up to each Member to decide how to use this online certificate and to decide what authority it conveys. The WCF have not set a 'pass' or 'fail' mark. Holders of this Certificate of Completion are not qualified GC Referees. To become a GC Referee you will need to separately sit and pass an exam recognised by your Member Governing Body.