Author: Debbie Lines

2022 Association Croquet World Team Championship Tiers 2.1, 2.2 and 3

Congratulations to the winning teams at the 2022 AC World Team Championship - Tiers 2.1, 2.2 and 3.

This event took place at the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club, Devon, England between 9-14 August 2022.

It started with an early pre-match on 8th August between Canada and Sweden, to determine which team would compete in Tier 2.1. This was due to the previous test remaining unfinished back in 2017. Sweden were successful and so took their place in Tier 2.1 for the main series of tests.

Tier 2.1 therefore consisted of Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Wales. By the final day it was very tight between Scotland and Wales. The final test was 3-3, a tie, however, Scotland took the series due to winning more of the Singles matches.

Congratulations to the team of Duncan Reeve, Lorna Dewar, David Warhurst and Chris Martin.

Tiers 2.2 and 3 started by competing together and after 2 days were split into the 2 divisions. The 5 teams were Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany and South Africa.

Tier 2.2 was won by Canada. Congratulations to Brian Cumming, Nick Mitchell, Jim Wright and Pierre Dunn.

Tier 3 was won by South Africa. Congratulations Andrew Hobbs,Nick Harvey, Judith Hanekom and Christine Wakeham.

Full results can be found on CroquetScores:

WCF AC WTC Canada v Sweden Play-off 8th August 2022
WCF AC WTC Tier 2.1
WCF AC WTC Tiers 2.2 & 3
WCF AC WTC Tier 2.2
WCF AC WTC Tier 3

Player profiles can be found on the Budleigh Salterton website -  please click here

2022 Golf Croquet World Championship – Winner: Matthew Essick (USA)

Congratulations to Matthew Essick - 2022 GC World Champion.

The WCF would like to thank Croquet England and the Sussex County Croquet Club for hosting the Championship, as well as the many volunteers who helped to ensure the event ran smoothly.

2022 GC World Championship Winners and Medalists, with Ian Burridge WCF President and Mike Town, Tournament Manager
Matthew Essick - 2022 GC World Champion

The Championship was held at the Sussex County Croquet Club in the south of England between Saturday 30th July to Sunday 7th August 2022.

Click here or on the logo above to go to the dedicated Event website: gcworlds2022.org/

RESULTS

 

 

 

 

Full results can be found on Croquet Scores: 14th WCF Golf Croquet World Championship

STREAMING
A full programme of streamed matches from the Championship took place. All the footage can be found on the Croquet England YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/croquetengland

2020 Golf Croquet World Team Championship Tiers 3 – Champions Mexico

Congratulations to Mexico - Winners of the Tier 3 Golf Croquet World Championship.

This delayed 2020 event took place at the Guildford & Godalming Croquet Club between 20th to 23rd July 2022. Mexico, Portugal and Czech Republic played together with an Iran + team.

The Guildford & Godalming club looked after the players well with fast lawns, firm hoops and good food. The WCF would like to thank the club and all the volunteers who helped to make this event run so smoothly.

Mexico won with 2 wins against Portugal and the Czech Republic, and drew against the Iran team made up of Omied Hallam and some hastily convened club players who stepped into the breach when the Iranian VISAs failed to arrive in time.

Portugal came second and the Czech Republic third.

Full results can be found on Croquet Scores: 2020 GC WTC T3 

The Mexican team celebrate their win
The teams are gathered and ready to go. Championship starts 21st July.

2022 European GC Women’s Championship


2022 Women's Golf Croquet European Championships
Congratulations to Begoña Elzaburu, winner of the first ever European Women's Golf Croquet Championship.


Winner: Begoña Elzaburu from Spain, Runner Up: Paz Gonzalez De Aguilar from Spain, 3rd Silvija Freimane from Latvia, Shield Winner - Sabine Martinsone Latvia, Bowl Winner - Jane Morrison from ireland and Plate winner, Tania Varsa from Latvia.

For the full report click here

Full results on CroquetScores: https://croquetscores.com/2022/gc/womens-european-championship

 


2022 Women's Golf Croquet European Championships

The Women’s Golf Croquet European Championships 2022 was held in Latvia between Thursday 30th June  to Sunday 3rd  July 2022.

The event was played across two venues: the Ikskile Croquet Club (IKK), Vecnorinu iela 18, Ikskile, LATVIA, where there are three full size courts, and a satellite venue in Sigulda with one full size court.

 

European Women’s GC Information

August 2022 Newsletter

Watch the Championship that is taking place right now

As this Newsletter is published we are in the middle of the GC World Championship, 30 July to 7 August at the Sussex County Croquet Club, England.

Spectators are welcome for £10 per day or £25 for the week, including a programme. Follow the links below to find out more and to get up to date results, player profiles and stories as the championship continues.

Live streaming will be taking place– links can be found on Facebook or go direct to the Croquet England YouTube channel

 

Click the image to go to the dedicated EVENT WEBSITE
Click the image to go the FACEBOOK page

 

Last week!
Last week we held the 2020 (delayed) World Team Championship Tier 3:
This event was held between 20-23 July.

The four teams competing were  the Czech Republic, Iran, Mexico and Portugal.

Mexico won with 2 wins against Portugal and the Czech Republic, and drew against the Iran team made up of Omied Hallam and some hastily convened club players who stepped into the breach when the Iranian VISAs failed to arrive in time.

Portugal came second and the Czech Republic third.

Full results can be found on Croquet Scores: 2020 GC WTC T3

Coming up soon!
The 2022 AC World Team Championships – Tiers 2.1, 2.2 and 3 will take place at Budleigh Salterton, UK, from 9-14th August 2022.
Find out more on the WCF website or click the picture to go to  the Budleigh Salterton Club page.

 

Hall of Fame reminder
Nominations for the 2022 Hall of Fame must be received by the Secretary-General, no later than 30th September 2022. Nominations can be made by any individual or by a Member Governing Body.

Here is a link to the current members, so please don’t nominate them again!


Hosts wanted for future events
The forward calendar for the next 12 years was published a couple of months ago. Clubs interested in hosting any of our events should make their interest known via their Governing Body.

The 2022 AC World Team Championship Tier 1 (The MacRobertson Shield) is to be held at Cairnlea, Victoria, Australia, from 12-29th November 2022.
Read Chris Clarke’s article "Early Preview" comparing the teams on the WCF website.


Coming soon – events early 2023 in New Zealand

The 2023 Women’s AC World Championship is confirmed for 7-14 January in Canterbury, New Zealand. The Response Date for this event has now passed and we are pleased to announce that the event has attracted many of the top women players. The breakdown of the 40 places, including award of Ranking Places can be found here.

The 2023 Under 21 World Championship will be held between 8 - 12 February 2023 at two clubs in Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand.  The host clubs are Croquet Mount Maunganui, 45 Kawaka Street Mount Maunganui (head-quarters), and Tauranga Croquet Club, The Domain, Cameron Road Tauranga.
The event capacity is 32 players. The response date is 24th August, so get your entries in now!
Competitors must be under 21 years of age on 31st December 2022.

Other 2023 Events

The 2023 AC World Championship will take place in London, England between 15-23 July.

The GC Women’s World Championship will take place in Sussex, England between 7 -14 August.

The GC Over 50’s World 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.


European Regional Committee (ERC) - update

The ERC Forward Calendar can now be found on the WCF European Regional Committee page of the website. Hosts are sought for some of these events. Please contact Roberts Stafeckis, chair of the ERC, if interested.


Our 2022 European Champions!

European GC Open Championships: Winner Aston Wade

Aston Wade is presented with the trophy by Roberts Stafeckis, Chair of the European Regional Committee of the WCF

Congratulations to Aston Wade who beat Rachel Gee 7:3, 7:2 in the final.

The  European Golf Croquet Championship took place in Budleigh Salterton, Devon between Thursday 26 May to Sunday 29 May.

Aston started playing Association Croquet in 2016 during his first year at Winchester College. He later learned to play Golf Croquet at Hamptworth Croquet Club in the summer of 2020. The following year, he won the British Open at the age of 18.

This year, Aston has been gaining experience at the international level. Since winning the 2022 European Championships he has played for the England GC team in the Test Match vs Spain as well in the GC Home Internationals and the AC Home Internationals. He is currently competing in the GC World Championship at Sussex County Croquet Club.

Aston is currently studying Medical Sciences at the University of Exeter.

European GC Women’s Championship Winner: Begoña Elzaburu

Congratulations to Begoña Elzaburu, from Spain, winner of the 2022 European Women's GC Championship.

 The  first ever Women's European Golf Croquet Championship took place in Latvia between Thursday 30th June  to Sunday 3rd  July 2022.

Begoña has been playing GC for five years. Two of her sons also play, one of whom is a previous Spanish Champion. She has represented Spain several times, including at the 2019 GC Women's World Championship. Begoña works hard for croquet, being on the committee of her club, a national referee and she is also on the WCF Management Committee. 


Basic Croquet Terms Translated

Ever wanted to know how to describe croquet in Swedish or Spanish? Well now you can! https://worldcroquet.org/basic-croquet-terms-translated/

 

2023 AC Women’s Championship Ranking Places

The Management Committee have agreed the following allocation of places for this 40 person event.

Capacity = 40

  Member Places

20

  Qualifier

4

  Ranking Places

16

 

Ranking Places

The 16 Ranking Places have been awarded to the following players, based on the Initial Ranking List dated 28th July 2022. This is based on their Max DG ranking over 12 months as per Sports Regulations Appendix 2, clause 2.3.

Country

Ranking Places Awarded

Max Dgrade

Games Played

New Zealand

Jenny Clarke

2510

16

Australia

Alison Sharpe

2375

26

England

Gabrielle Higgins

2318

80

England

Debbie Lines

2125

86

Australia

Claire Bassett

2095

7

Scotland

Lorna Dewar

1989

91

Australia

Rosemary Landrebe

1964

51

England

Beatrice McGlen

1896

44

New Zealand

Alison Robinson

1890

25

Australia

Kerri-Ann Organ

1853

83

Australia

Tricia Devlin

1843

52

Australia

Yuni Rowell

1811

52

Ireland

Jane Morrison

1810

17

Australia

Heather Knight

1759

48

Australia

Lois Kirk

1734

38

New Zealand

Cindy Clarke

1734

27

Entry Fees

Players are advised that the entry fee of £96 should be paid by 12th October 2022 at the latest. Details of how and when to pay will be emailed out to players after the Closing date 11th September, once the Member Places have also been allocated.

Member Places

Members should send the Secretary-General the names of players to be nominated for their Member Places by 11th September 2022 at the latest. Some Members have already notified the names of their nominees - please note that these can be changed up to the above deadline.

Withdrawals

The Closing date for this event is 22nd November 2022.

If players with a Member Place drop out before this date, Members have 14 days to nominate a replacement. After this, the place reverts to a Replacement Ranking Place.

If players with a Ranking Place drop out before this date, the highest ranked player on the Replacement Ranking list will be awarded the place.

After the 22nd November 2022, any places returned will result in additional places awarded through the Qualifying Event.

2022 GC WC – Qualifiers

The qualification event was held between 25-28 July at the Compton Croquet Club in Eastbourne, England.

30 competitors competed in 3 blocks of 10. The top 4 from each block went through to a Qualification Block to determine the qualifiers.

The seven qualifiers were:

Simon Carter (England)
Mostafa Eissa (Egypt)
Tim Jolliff (England)
Ben Rothman (USA)
Dominic Nunns (England)
Ian Lines (England)
Joel Taylor (England)

The remaining five players from the qualifying block of 12 now become reserves should there be any further drop-outs. They were, in qualification order:

Lionel Tibble (England)
Richard Brooks (England)
Carlos Munoz (Spain)
Morgan Case (England)
Begona Elzaburu (Spain)

The consolation event was won by Debbie Lines (England), who beat Ignacio Arturo Gross Alesanco (Spain) in the final.

The WCF would like to thank the Compton Club for hosting this event. The lawns were well prepared and the catering was amazing. Thank you also to Andrew Fall and Hilary Smith for managing the tournament and to the referees, Stephen Custance-Baker and Martin Peacock.

 

Congratulations to Mexico – Winners of the Tier 3 Golf Croquet World Championship.

This delayed 2020 event took place at the Guildford & Godalming Croquet Club between 20th to 23rd July 2022. Mexico, Portugal and Czech Republic played together with an Iran + team.

The Guildford & Godalming club looked after the players well with fast lawns, firm hoops and good food. The WCF would like to thank the club and all the volunteers who helped to make this event run so smoothly.

Mexico won with 2 wins against Portugal and the Czech Republic, and drew against the Iran team made up of Omied Hallam and some hastily convened club players who stepped into the breach when the Iranian VISAs failed to arrive in time.

Portugal came second and the Czech Republic third.

Full results can be found on Croquet Scores: 2020 GC WTC T3

For player information, please go to the Guildford & Godalming Croquet club page for this event:  click here

ERC Meeting 5: Summary

Summary of the meeting of the ERC held on 5th July 2022

The key items discussed were:

Report about the Women's Championship 

The European Women's Championship had just finished. It was a sucessful event held during a Latvian heat wave.

Referees: different opinions about situation in the game, speed of the game, language difficulties between the different nationalities.

Change of DGrades: Spanish players achieved 38 points per player, Latvian gained 21 per player, all others lost on average 42 points per player. Debbie advised that the Ranking Operations Committee are looking into this.

Streaming: sometimes 3 games were parallel streamed. Facebook blocked streaming partly because there was music in the background.

Format of the 2023 Teams Championship - duration, etc.
Venue: Chaltenham is still ready to take this tournament. Host is the CA.
Date and duration: it was agreed to hold a 4 day event on August 2nd – 5th 2023.  

Format of the 2023 U21 Championship - number of players, age groups
Latvia offered to be the host and use the same format as for the recent Women’s event.
Dates: best would be first half of August, but there could be a clashing with the Team event, so 18th/19th is best.
Under 16 as a sub-event? There is no better solution than all play together, and a sub-trophy is given to the highest placed players of the sub-age group.

Ian Burridge suggested to talk about a general issue next time – what else can ERC do apart from event organisation

The next ERC meeting will be held on August 23rd 7pm UK