Debbie Lines, Author at World Croquet Federation

Dame Mary Berry to Open the 2023 Women’s GC Championship

Dame Mary Berry has kindly agreed to attend the Opening Ceremony as Guest of Honour.

Dame Mary is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. She studied in France at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, before working in a number of cooking-related jobs. She has published more than 75 cookery books, including her best-selling Baking Bible in 2009. Her first book was The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook in 1970. She hosted several television series for the BBC and Thames Television. More recently, she was a judge on the television programme The Great British Bake Off until 2016.

The Opening Ceremony will commence at 3.45pm on Sunday 6^th August and play will commence on Monday 7^th August culminating in Final’s Day on Monday 14^th August.

The event is being contested by most of todays top Women players. Egypt’s Soha Mostafa will be defending her title which she won in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand in 2019. Soha is one of 13 strong Egyptian players competing for the trophy. Home contenders include Rachel Gee, Debbie Lines & Gabrielle Higgins. Rachel Gee is the current holder of the European Golf Croquet Championship as well as a previous winner of the Women’s World Championship. Debbie Lines is the current holder of the Association Croquet Women’s World Championship and Gabrielle Higgins is the current runner up in the same event. Other strong contenders include Jenny Clarke from New Zealand and a previous finalist and Judith Hanekom from South Africa, the 2014 champion.

Spectators are most welcome.

One day Entry Fee £10 or whole tournament pass £25 payable at the gate.
(Children up to age 12 FREE, over 12’s half price).

Free parking available adjacent to the club in Kingston Lane, Southwick BN43 6YW.

Light lunches, refreshments and a licensed bar available throughout the Championship.

For further details visit the Women’s GC World Championship Website: www.gcwomensworld2023.org

European Golf Croquet Club League Results – CERN Heat 10/11 june

European GC Club League 2023 - CERN Heat June 10th and 11th

CERN (Switzerland) ran out narrow victors over Suedwest (Germany). With only two teams participating the heat was played as a direct head to head match. The captains opted for an all-play-all best of three format over the weekend. Ian Sexton (CERN) won all four of his matches 2-0 and was ably supported by Danny Davids who won three of his matches. The top German performer was Kevin Ferguson (3 match wins).

The final score was CERN 9 Suedwest 7.

For full results visit Croquet Scores: ERC Club League - CERN heat 10/11 June

June 2023 Newsletter

Congratulations to Rachel Gee - winner of the 2023 European GC Championship

This European event was held between 25-28th May at the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club in Devon, England. A field of 32 keen GC players attended the event.

Rachel Gee beat Aston Wade, last year's winner, in the final in 3 games 7-3, 6-7, 7-2.

Full report to follow soon.

For the results see: Results in Croquet Scores

New WCF President required from 1^st January 2024

Ian Burridge has indicated that he does not intend to stand for a second term when his current 4-year term as WCF President finishes at the end of this year.

Those interested in developing our sport are invited to get in touch now to find out more about what is involved. Please email the Secretary-General at secretary@worldcroquet.org for more information.

The formal process for applications is via Member nominations and this process will start later in the year.

Qualifier Entries:

The AC World Championship still has spaces but the GC Women’s is now full (although you can be added to the Reserve List).

To enter either qualifier go to the English CA Fixtures Calendar, which is found on the Compete page of the CA Website. To enter you must first register for (or renew) a Reciprocal Rights Account. If you have any problems, you can contact the CA Office (caoffice.org.uk) for assistance. Once submitted, the office should take approximately one working day to provide the necessary access so that you may enter online.

Later this year

GC Over 50 World Championship

The GC Over 50 Championship will take place in Bunbury, Western Australia, between 14-21 October. This will be the last Over 50’s event following a recent decision that in future the minimum age will change to 60.

This event also has a Facebook page: GC World Over 50 Bunbury 2023

There are two qualifiers, one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast. See this post for more information and how to enter: O50's Qualifier entry information

2023 GC Over 50’s Championship Qualifier Entry Information

The ACA have now released entry information for the two qualifying tournaments for the Over 50's Championship:

- Western Australia, Cambridge Croquet Club, Sunday 8th October to Wednesday 11th October 2023. Download the pdf for information on how to enter: 2023 Over 50 GC Qualifier Flier - Cambridge

- Eastern Australia ,Cairnlea Victoria, Tuesday 26th to Thursday 28th September 2023. Download the pdf for information on how to enter: 2023 Over 50 GC Qualifier Flier - Cairnlea

If extra places for the main event become available after the main cut-off date of 27th August, then these will all come from the West Coast qualifier.

2023 Women’s GC Championship – Player List updated 15th May

15th May Update

Following a withdrawal, Spaniard Susana Romero has accepted a replacement ranking place.

Breakdown of Places, Player List and Replacement Ranking List as at end 15th May 2023

21st April Update

Following two withdrawals, two Australian players have been accepted places: Pam Barnwell and Virginia Arney.

Breakdown of Places and Player List as at end 21st April 2023

5th April Update

South African Christine Wakeham has withdrawn and been replaced by Lindsey Hobbs. There are no other changes and rankings shown are still as at 30.3.23.

2023 GC Women's Player List and Replacement List - 5th April

30th March Update

Please find attached the latest list of players and the Replacement Ranking list.

2023 GC Women's Player List and Replacement List - 30th March

14.3.23
The closing date for Members to nominate players for their Membership places was end of 14th March 2023 (UK time).

At time of publishing there are three outstanding places to resolve:

- 14th March - Jana Mohamed Saaid, in receipt of a Ranking Place withdrew and was replaced by Manal Khodier, representing Egypt, who was top of the Replacement Ranking List (RRL). She had previously been one of Egypt's Member Place nominees. Egypt have 14 days to replace her or the place will be released to the RRL. Place released.

- As at the closing date, one member released their place. I am currently liaising with the top player on the RRL to see if she wishes to play. 18.3.23 Update - Dallas Cooke, New Zealand, has accepted the place.

- Vanesa Fernandez, selected to represent Mexico, is listed in the Rankings as from USA. This has been queried with Vanesa and Mexico. 18.3.23 Vanesa has confirmed she meets the criteria and wishes to represent Mexico.

The file below shows the current players in receipt of a Membership Place, Wild card place or Ranking Place.

Breakdown of Places and Player List as at end 14th March 2023

Replacement Ranking List 15.3.23

There are four places remaining which will be awarded to the qualifiers from the Qualification Event. This will take place between 3-5 August 2023 at the Eastbourne Croquet Club in East Sussex. It will be open to 20 players. Entry is via the English CA online Fixtures Entry system, full details can be found here: GC Women's Qualifier - how to enter

Entry Fees

The entry fee of £136 per entrant is now requested and must be paid by 16th April 2023.

Per WCF Sports Regulations Appendix 2, clause 6, players who fail to pay by the due date will lose their place. The relevant sections of the regulation are below for your information:

6.1 Subject to paragraph 6.2, failure to pay the entry fee by the due date will lead to automatic disqualification and the place will be filled in accordance with paragraph 7.
6.2 Before disqualifying a player for failing to pay their entry fee on time, at least two reminders must have been sent to the Member which nominated the player and all reasonable efforts must have been made to contact the player directly.

All players who can pay by bank transfer are encouraged to do so. This avoids the WCF incurring costly PayPal fees. Players should be notified how to pay via bank transfer by their Member.

If unable to pay in this way, you can pay by PayPal, details for which can be found on the link below:

How to pay your entry fees by PayPal

Player Information

The following information is required from all the above competing players by 14th April 2023 (or sooner please if available).

- A recent well-lit photograph (ideally headshot)
- 150-250 words of biographical details
- Contact email and mobile phone numbers for during the event (for use by the Tournament Manager

Please send this information online via Google Forms. Please click on this link: Enter your Player Information here

Please note, the photo and bio may be published on the event website and on the WCF website. Players should expect some live streaming and the press may be present taking photographs. Players should note that their results will be published on Croquet Scores. The contact details will be held by the WCF S-G and Tournament Manager for use during the event.

Withdrawals

If for any reason a player cannot now take up their place, please notify me as soon as possible so that a replacement can be found. Per the Sports Regulations, the following process is followed in the event of a withdrawal:

Players who have received a Membership Place: when a player withdraws, the Member has 14 days to nominate a replacement; if no player is nominated a Replacement Ranking Place is awarded. If the 14 days expires before the Qualifier closing date of 19th July 2023 the place becomes an extra qualifier from the Qualification tournament.

Withdrawal by a player who received a Ranking or Wild Card place: when a player withdraws, if this is before the cut-off date of 22nd June 2023, then the next most highly ranked player on the Replacement Ranking list at the end of that day will be offered the place. After the cut-off date, the place becomes an extra qualifier from the Qualification tournament.

After the Qualifier Closing date, all withdrawals from the main event become extra qualifiers from the Qualification tournament.

Further details will be published on the WCF website and on the Championship website over the coming weeks.

2023 European GC Singles Championship: Winner Rachel Gee

Congratulations Rachel Gee - Winner of the 2023 European GC Championship

Rachel Gee, winner of the 2023 GC European Championship (credit Jayne Ellery)

Full results: Croquet Scores 2023 European Championship, Budleigh

Tournament Report , written by Louise Smith.

Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club were once again hosts to the ERC European Golf Croquet Championships, 25/28^th May 2023.

Players from 12 countries competed in the familiar 4 blocks of 8 players, with the top four from each block progressing to the Last 16 and Championship knock-out. The tournament fans out into various consolation events as play unfolds, but all players have the opportunity to play on, right until 31^st/32^nd placings.

After four days of glorious sunshine, and some superb examples of golf croquet skills, the Championship Final was contested by the previous 2022 finalists, Aston Wade and Rachel Gee, both representing England.

In a reversal of fortunes, this year Rachel took the title 2/1 with an impressive performance from both players. This is Rachel’s third European Championship victory.

Euan Burridge (England) won the Shield, beating Nicolas Denizot 7/6, 7/3.

The Bowl Final featured Ian Burridge, (Wales), and Patricio Garay Jnr (Spain), with the Spaniard victorious 4/7, 7/6, 7/2.

The Plate was won by Glenn Fauske (Norway) in a match against Charlie von Schmieder (Ireland) 7/2, 7/2.

PRE-EVENT INFORMATION

The 2023 GC European Championship will be held between 25 - 28 May 2023 at the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club in Budleigh, England.

Main Event
The event capacity is 32 players. The entry fee for successful entrants will be £68.00, based on a rate of £17 per player per day for 4 days.

Format
Block play: 4 blocks of 8 players playing single games over two and a half days. The top 4 in each block will qualify for the Knock-Out Stage.

Knock-Out: The Knock-Out Stage will comprise 16 players. Seeding will be Position-Based Seeding in accordance with Appendix 7 Section B of the WCF Sports Regulations. Knock-Out will consist of matches of best-of-three games.

Plate: Entry will be open to those that do not qualify for the Championship Knock-Out Stage. It will consist of block play and matches will be single games. It will be followed by a knock-out stage.

Bowl: Entry will be open to the first-round losers in the Knock-Out Stage. It will be a knock-out event and matches will be best-of-three games.

Shield: Entry will be open to the second-round losers in the Knock-Out Stage. It will be a knock-out event and matches will be best-of-three games.

Use of double banking: The Manager will have the right to double bank as necessary in order to ensure the tournament stays on schedule.

Entry Method
Players should submit their availability to their Member Governing Body in accordance with their published entry method. Any applicants from non-Member countries should email their availability, by the response date, to erc@worldcroquet.org.

Allocation Process

Allocation shall be done according to the WCF Sports Regulations taking into account specific Variations to the WCF Regulations to be used in all ERC events, version 1.1 published on WCF website Europe page.

The Member Place Limit for this event is 5.

Player Information
Successful entrants should note that contact details, a photograph and a short bio for the programme, must be provided to the ERC as per the published timetable.

Further information about the event, including local accommodation and attractions, the event timetable and any other relevant information, will be published nearer the start date.

Key Dates
Invitation Date	15 Dec 2022	This is the date that Members will be formally invited to send players to participate in this event.
Response Date	12th Feb 2023	This is the date by which Member nominations for Ranking and Wild Card places must have been received by the WCF Management Committee. Members must also specify the number of Membership Places they wish to take up and RCO's should advise if they would like to request a Membership Place.
Allocation Date	26th Feb 2023	The World Ranking List to be used to determine the initial allocation of Ranking Places is that published at the end of the Allocation Date.
Announcement Date	5th March 2023	Announcement of the players who have been awarded Ranking Places and eventual Wild Card Places.
Closing Date	2nd April 2023	This is the last date Members can nominate players for their Membership Places. Within 1 to 2 days the ERC will announce recipients of Membership Places and Replacement Ranking Places.
Player Contact Details & Bios	1st May 2023	This is the date by which players are asked to provide their contact details, bio's and a headshot photo
Entry Fee Due Date	7th May 2023	* note new due date * Any players awarded a place on the Announcement Date will lose their place if they have not paid by this date.

Key Personnel
Tournament Director	John O'Gorman
Tournament Manager	Louise Smith
WCF Event Lead	Roberts Stafeckis
Tournament Referee	tba

2023 GC Over 50’s World Championship – Entry Fees

Players who have been notified that they have received a place in the upcoming World Championship need to pay their entry fees of £136 by 12th June 2023 at the latest.

Per WCF Sports Regulations Appendix 2, clause 6, players who fail to pay by the due date will lose their place. The relevant sections of the regulation are below for your information:

6.1 Subject to paragraph 6.2, failure to pay the entry fee by the due date will lead to automatic disqualification and the place will be filled in accordance with paragraph 7.

6.2 Before disqualifying a player for failing to pay their entry fee on time, at least two reminders must have been sent to the Member which nominated the player and all reasonable efforts must have been made to contact the player directly.

Successful players from the Qualifier, must pay as soon as possible after qualifying.

Please pay by PayPal using the button below:

2023 GC Over 50’s World Championship – Player Information

The following information is required from all the above competing players by 10th June 2023 (or sooner please if available).

- A recent well-lit, clear and good quality photograph (ideally headshot)
- 150-250 words of biographical details
- Contact email and mobile phone numbers for during the event (for use by the Tournament Manager)

Please send this information online via Google Forms. Please click on this link: Player information Google Form

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why is this requested via a Google Form?
The organisers for this event will pick up all the bios directly from the Google Form. This reduces the workload. If everyone sends the bio into the WCF separately, maybe by email, word document, pdf, whatsapp etc., then it would then have to be cut and pasted into some central repository. Much simpler if everyone feeds it into one place in one format in the first place.

Why can’t you re-use the information I sent last time?
Regarding your contact details: due to data protection rules, we ask that personal data is not kept by the organisers after the event, so emails and telephone numbers need to be captured each time. And of course, these could easily change year on year.

Regarding your bio: firstly, there is no way for me to know who wants to keep an old bio and who wants to update it, so we ask for new each time. Plus, most players prefer to update the words for each event. Especially those of you that play both codes, who may want to say different things depending whether it’s GC or AC. You might have major wins in one code and not in the other for instance.

Who might read my bio?
It could be used in various ways to advertise and promote the event. Variously, it could be included in Sponsor Packs, the Event Website, the Programme, or perhaps sent to the Press.
Our sport needs sponsorship to help make these events financially viable. We need to look professional to attract sponsors. It is therefore important that your bios are sensible, well-written and give a good impression to the World.

Why is this information requested so early?
Work to prepare for a World Championship starts very early. The website and programmes are put together by volunteers, many of whom have other commitments. We need to give them as much time as possible to do this, to ensure that they not only do a good job, but that no undue stress is put on them. The army of volunteers works hard to make these world championships run smoothly and to ensure that you, as a player, have a fantastic event. As players you are not asked to do a lot to help, providing this information is something you can do.

Do I have to provide this information?
Per WCF Sports Regulations, Appendix 2 Singles Events, Clause 6.3, all players are required as part of their participation in the event to send this information through on request, in the format and manner requested by the Secretary-General and the hosts.

6.3 …. all player information requested must be received by the date specified in the Invitation. This might include a photograph, email address, contact phone number during the event (if available) and up-to-date biographical details. These should be sent to the Secretary-General in the format requested.

European Golf Croquet Club League Results – Dulwich Heat 29/30 April

European GC Club League 2023 - Dulwich Heat 29/30 April

Four teams took part in the second heat of this competition. Dulwich (England), Sherry (Spain), Sussex (England) and Zurich (Switzerland). Unfortunately shortly before the event Sussex became unable to field and eligible team for the whole duration of the event. It was agreed in advance that their results would not count towards determining the finishing positions and the two qualifiers for the Grand Final at Roehampton in October.

A fantastic weekend's croquet saw Dulwich comfortably winning but second place came down to the final two games with Sherry just edging out Zurich.

Dulwich beat Sherry 7-3
Dulwich beat Zurich 9-1
Sherry beat Zurich 6-4

1st Dulwich (2 wins), 2nd Sherry (1 win), 3rd Zurich)

Other matches

Dulwich beat Sussex County 7-0
Sherry drew with Sussex County 5-5
Sussex County beat Zurich 8-2

Full result are available at https://croquetscores.com/2023/gc/euro-league-dulwich-heat

Position	Country	Average	Players
1	Egypt	2,558	6
2	England	2,488	6
3	USA	2,397	6
4	New Zealand	2383	6
5	Spain	2,351	6
6	Australia	2,297	6
7	South Africa	2,278	6
8	Wales	2,198	6
9	Ireland	2,182	6
10	Canada	2,110	6
11	Germany	2,090	6
12	Sweden	2,056	6
13	Latvia	2,034	6
14	Switzerland	2,029	6
15	Scotland	1,995	6
16	Czech Republic	1,923	6
17	Norway	1,901	6
18	Mexico	1,751	6
19	Austria	1,882	5
20	Finland	1,755	5
21	Portugal	1,960	2
22	Belgium	2,243	1
23	Uruguay	1,805	1

WORLD CROQUET FEDERATION

Author: Debbie Lines