Author: Debbie Lines

Management Committee announcement regarding our Russian RCO

In response to Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Management Committee has decided that it would not currently be appropriate for the WCF to respond positively to any request from the Russian RCO under the WCF statutes to participate in any WCF event or to receive financial assistance for the development of the sport in Russia.

This decision has not been taken lightly and it is hoped that the situation can be re-assessed soon.

The above statement was emailed to WCF Members and Recognised Croquet Organisations on 3rd March 2022.

 

Temporary Amendment to Sports Regulations – clarification 25th February 2022

In February 2021 Council voted 38-0 in favour of accepting a Temporary Amendment to the WCF Sports Regulations. This amendment is relevant to the upcoming GC World Championship in July. Please see updated link: https://worldcroquet.org/temporary-amendment-to-sports-regulations/.

This amendment allows players to qualify for Ranked Places by playing 10 games in the previous 24 months, instead of the previous 12 months.

It has recently come to light that this amendment does not fully cover what was intended and is unclear. The Management Committee (MC) minutes from January 2021, minuted that “The agreed alternative was to use the MaxGrade over 24 months and require 10 games in 24 months”.

Two other clauses within Appendix 2 of the Sports Regulations also make reference to the 10 games in 12 months, and as a result, the temporary amendment, as published above, is left ambiguous.

To clarify, the additional relevant clauses in Appendix 2, where 12 months should be replaced with 24 months are:

4.2.3 in the case of the Initial Allocation Ranking List and, subject to paragraph 7.4, the Replacement Ranking List, are based on a minimum of 5 ranked games (AC) or 10 ranked games (GC) in the 12 24 months ending on the relevant day and on the highest grade achieved by players in that period; and

7.4 Replacement Ranking List
The Replacement Ranking List may contain players who were not on the Initial Allocation Ranking List provided that they have played a minimum of 5 ranked games (AC) or 10 games (GC) in the 12 24 months ending on the date on which the vacancy arises and have informed the S-G by e-mail that they wish to play in the Event.

The Ranking Lists created for the upcoming GC World Championship will be created and applied on the basis of 24 months in all 3 clauses.

We apologise for any confusion this may have caused.

Introducing your newly elected ERC Members

The ERC is made up from elected representatives from WCF European Members.

Following an election process finishing on 20th February 2022, the committee has four members as below.

Per WCF Statute 126.4, the Chairman will be Roberts Stafeckis, being the only representative from the WCF Management Committee.

The fifth position on the ERC is currently vacant.

Chair - Roberts Stafeckis - Latvia

Re-elected on 1st January 2024.
Term ends 31 December 2027.

Andrés Álvarez‑Sala - Spain

Elected on 21 February 2022.
Term ends 31 December 2025.

Alan Looney - Ireland


Elected on 1st January 2024.

Term ends 31 December 2027.

Duncan Catterall - England

Elected on 1st January 2024.

Term ends 31 December 2027.

Michael Böer – Germany

Elected on 1st January 2024.

Term ends 31 December 2027.

New GC Ranking Officer Richard Bilton

The Management Committee are pleased to announce that Richard Bilton has taken over from Stephen Mulliner as Golf Croquet Ranking Officer. Our thanks go to Stephen Mulliner for his many years of hard work.

Richard started playing Croquet in 2008 at the age of 11, and significantly improved when he joined Nottingham Croquet Club in September 2015. In January 2017, Richard was selected for the GC International Performance Development Squad, and finished 3rd place in his first English National Singles Championship (Ascot Cup) at the end of the season. At the end of 2017 he was awarded the Spiers Trophy for the most improved GC player that year. In May 2018, Richard won his first open tournament, the Hunstanton Open Series and finished the year by winning the Ascot Cup, his first GC 'major'.

Richard was part of the winning England team in the inaugural GC England v Spain Test Match. He came 5th in the  2019 GC World Championship in Sussex and went on to play for England in the 2020 GC World Team Championships in New Zealand, in which England came third.  Richard won the GC British Open Doubles Championship in 2021 while partnering Reg Bamford.

Richard is currently on the English CA Tournament Committee and GC Rules Committee. In 2020, Richard became the GC Assistant Ranking Officer for England and he spent the latter half of 2021 shadowing Stephen Mulliner in the role of WCF GC Ranking Officer.

For the time being Richard will continue as Assistant Ranking Officer (ARO) for England. In his role as RO he is well supported by the full team of ARO's, as listed below. We also thank Stephen Mulliner for continuing to enter and manage the results for Egypt.

ARO Australia - Peter Freer
ARO England - Richard Bilton
ARO New Zealand - John Christie
ARO Spain - Felipe Mestanza
ARO United States - Jeff Soo

February 2022 Newsletter

Changes to Management Committee (MC)

On first January the Management Committee welcomed three new team members – Peter Payne as Treasurer and Begoña Elzaburu and Graeme Roberts as general committee members. We welcome them to the team.

In late December, Amir Ramsis resigned from the WCF MC. Amir had recently been inducted into the WCF Hall of Fame, served eight years on the committee as well as being a past WCF President. The MC would like to thank him for his many years working on behalf of croquet.

As a result of his resignation from the MC we are currently asking Members for nominations to fill the vacant position. If you are interested, please apply via your Governing Body. Nominations close 15th February, so please ensure you allow sufficient time for them to handle your application. Please see the WCF news item: https://worldcroquet.org/would-you-like-to-help-run-the-wcf-2/


Launching the European Regional Committee (ERC)

The WCF statutes now provide for the creation of a European Regional Committee (ERC) that will, once fully functional, take care of European croquet affairs, and among other matters, will run the European Championships.

ERC Committee
The committee is currently being formed. If you wish to be nominated, please apply via your governing body. For more information, see the news item on the WCF website: https://worldcroquet.org/formation-of-european-regional-committee-erc-and-invitation-to-nominate-candidates-for-the-committee/

To learn more about the ERC, please go to the new page on the WCF Website: https://worldcroquet.org/european-regional-committee-erc/


2022 WCF Events

The 2020 GC World Team Championship Tier 3 (delayed into 2022) is to be held at Guildford & Godalming, UK, between 20th July and 23rd July. The four teams competing are Czech Republic, Iran, Mexico and Portugal.

We can now confirm that the 2022 GC World Championship is to be held at the Sussex County Croquet Club between 30th July and 7th August. Invitations for this event went out on 7th January and close 17th March. Please apply through your Governing Body in plenty of time. It will be preceded by a qualifier 25th to 28th July, at the nearby Compton Croquet Club in nearby Eastbourne.

The 2022 AC World Team Championships Tiers 2 and 3 are to be held at Budleigh Salterton, UK, from 9-14th August 2022. Twelve teams have entered: Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Portugal, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales.  The 12 teams will be allocated into three Tiers.

The 2022 AC World Team Championship Tier 1 (The MacRobertson Shield) is to be held at Cairnlea, Victoria, Australia, from 12-29th November 2022.

The WCF and the Event Hosts are monitoring the pandemic closely and final decisions on whether to go ahead will be taken in late March.

2023 Events

The 2023 Women’s AC World Championship is confirmed for 7-14 January 2023 in Canterbury, New Zealand.

We are also in discussion with Croquet New Zealand about a junior GC event in early 2023.

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.

2024 and beyond – we are currently reviewing the forward calendar following a Member and Player survey.

ERC Events for 2022

The European Golf Croquet Open will take place in Budleigh Salterton, Devon on the dates previously announced - Thursday 26 May to Sunday 29 May. If you wish to play in either of this event, you need to apply via your Governing Body who need to submit their player nominations to the ERC by Sunday, 27 February 2022.

A new European Event, the Women's Golf Croquet Championship will take place in Latvia, from Thursday 30 June to Sunday 3 July 2022. If you wish to play in this event, you need to apply via your Governing Body who need to submit their player nominations to the ERC by Sunday, 20 March 2022.

Your Governing Body may have their own selection criteria and timetable which you need to follow. Whatever the local procedure, please give them time to review your application and pass it on to us.


Gender Policy

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) published new guidance in November 2021. The WCF are currently reviewing this with Members and expect to have a policy in place within a few months.


GC Rules 6th edition

The GC Rules committee has been reviewing all the feedback from the recent Consultation. It is expected that this will be ready to put to a Council vote within the next few days.


Advantage GC – 2022 Update

The 2021 trial was extremely well received and as a result this new variant has been added to the draft 6th edition of the GC Rules.

Following analysis of the results from last year, the Starting Scores Tables (for both 7 point and 10 point games) have been updated for 2022. Please use the new tables which can be found at: https://worldcroquet.org/advantagegc/

 


Regulatory Updates

The following revisions have been published:

WCF Statutes version 13.4 published January 2022: the main changes are addition of statute 125-127 Regional Committees; references to Ranking Operation Committee as applicable and insertion of Statue 135 Ranking Operation Committee.

WCF Event Regulations version 5 published January 2022: addition of Section 7 – Regional WCF Event Regulations and Appendix 7.

WCF Ranking Regulations version 1.1 published January 2022: amendment to clause 4.5

All WCF regulations can be found on the WCF Website page: https://worldcroquet.org/wcf-business/statutes-regulations/

 

Entry Information for 2022 Women’s GC European Championship, Latvia 30 June – 3 July 2022

Entries to participate in the 2022 Women's Golf Croquet European Championship are now invited from all European members and RCO's.

The 2022 Women's Golf Croquet European Championship will be held in Latvia: at the Ikskile Croquet Club, near Riga (3 courts) and at the Sigulda Croquet Club (1 court) over four days between Thursday 30 June to Sunday 3 July 2022.

Registration and players briefing will take place on Wednesday 29th June.

The entry will be limited to 32 players. The entry fee for successful entrants will be £48.00.

There will be 4 blocks of 8 players, each generated in accordance with the WCF Sports Regulations Appendix 4.  Block matches will be single games.  Games will generally be double-banked. Except in emergency conditions, games will be played without time limits.

The top 4 players from each block will qualify for the Knock-Out Stage.  Ties on match wins for qualifying places will be resolved in accordance with the WCF Sports Regulations Appendix 6.  Non-qualifiers will be eligible for the Plate Event.

The Knock-Out stage will be drawn and seeded conforming to the WCF Sports Regulations Appendix 7 Secton B. It will be double-banked, except for semi-finals and final, and played without time limits.

Round 1 (last 16), Round 2 and Quarter-finals will be best-of-three 13-point games and played without time limits. Semi-finals and Final will be best-of-five 13-point games if time allows.

The Plate
This will be played in accordance with WCF Sports Regulations Appendix 8 paragraph 2 and will consist of block play followed by a knock-out stage TBC.

The Bowl
This event is open to all players who lose in the first round of the Knock-Out Stage and will be played in accordance with WCF Sports Regulations Appendix 8 paragraph 4.

The Shield
This event is open to all players who lose in the second round of the Knock-Out Stage and will be played in accordance with WCF Sports Regulations Appendix 8 paragraph 5.

Main Event Key Dates

Invitation Date

1/02/2022

This is the date that Members will be formally invited to send players to participate in this event.

Response Date

20/3/2022

This is the date by which Member nominations for Ranking places must have been received by the ERC. 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

27/03/2022

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. (Note: 1).

Announcment Date

3/4/2022

ERC announces recipients of Ranking Places 
This date is also the Pandemic Go/No Go decision date.

Closing Date

17/04/2022

This is the last date Members can nominate players for their Membership Places. Within 1 to 2 days the MC will announce recipients of Membership Places and Replacement Ranking Places. 

Entry Fee Due Date

19/05/2022

If there is a reserve list, any players awarded a place on the Announcement Date will lose their place if they have not paid by this date.

Main Event Cut-off Date

5/06/2022

This is the date after which returned places will not be filled.


Key Personnel

Tournament Director    

Roberts Stafeckis

LKF Representative          

Sandra Harlinska


Tournament Manager

Sandra Harlinska

Tournament Referee

Viktors Harlinskis

Webmaster

Tomass Freimanis

Pandemic
Sadly this announcement once again has to be accompanied by the clause that everything is subject to covid related travel restrictions, and players are advised not to enter any binding travel arrangements before the final confirmation that a specific event will definitely take place.

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Copy of Invitation

RESPONSE DATE: Sunday, 20th March 2022

This is the date by which all European Members and RCOs are requested to inform the WCF ERC:

(a) if they want to take up their Membership Place or Places. Full Members are entitled to two Membership Places. Associate Members are entitled to one Membership Place. RCO’s should advise whether they would like to request a Membership Place;

(b) the names of their eligible players who want a Ranking or Membership place in the Event.

Individual players who are affiliated to a WCF Member and want to gain a place in the Event must announce their availability via their Member.  However, if a player is not affiliated to a WCF Member and is not eligible to represent any WCF Member, they should contact the ERC  directly. Please use the email address erc@worldcroquet.org for communication related to this event.

ALLOCATION DATE: Sunday, 27th March 2022

The highest grades achieved by players in the 12 months ending on this date will be used to determine the initial allocation of Ranking Places.

ANNOUNCEMENT DATE: Sunday, 3rd April 2022

The players who have been awarded Ranking Places will be announced on this date.

This is also the date by which a Go/No Go decision in relation to the pandemic will be published. We recommend that players do not incur any costs before this date.

CLOSING DATE: Sunday, 17th April 2022

This is the last date on which Members can nominate players for Membership Places.

If you wish to play in this event, you need to apply via your Governing Body who will submit their nominations to the ERC by Sunday, 20 March 2022. Your Governing Body may have their own selection criteria and timetable which you need to follow. Whatever the local procedure, please give them time to review your application and pass it on to us.

For more information about this event, please contact Roberts Stafeckis who is organising this event on behalf of the ERC. Please contact him on email: erc@worldcroquet.org

Entry Information for European GC Open, Budleigh 26-29 May 2022

The European Golf Croquet Championship will take place in Budleigh Salterton, Devon on the dates announced earlier Thursday 26 May to Sunday 29 May.

This event has been initiated and planned well before the ERC was created, now the new ERC will take over the management of it. Please read the formal invitation to it further below in the text.

Pandemic
Sadly this announcement once again has to be accompanied by the clause that everything is subject to covid related travel restrictions, and players are advised not to enter any binding travel arrangements before the final confirmation that a specific event will definitely take place.

The entry will be limited to 32 players.

In order to encourage a wide participation of European Members:
1.      Each Member who has fielded five or more players in any of the last three championships will be entitled to nominate three players, namely England and Spain.
2.      Each Member/RCO who has fielded two to four players in any of the last three championships will be entitled to nominate two players, namely Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales.
3.      All other Members/RCOs will be entitled to nominate one player.

Ranking Places will be used to fill the event after Member places have been awarded. Spaces will be awarded to the applicants with the highest World Rankings on Sunday, 6 March 2022. However, no Member will be permitted to field more than five players (except to replace last-minute withdrawals).

If you wish to play in this event, you need to apply via your Governing Body who will submit their nominations to the ERC by Sunday, 27 February 2022. Your Governing Body may have their own selection criteria and timetable which you need to follow. Whatever the local procedure, please give them time to review your application and pass it on to us.

For more information about this event, please contact Roberts Stafeckis who is organising this event on behalf of the ERC. Please contact him on email: erc@worldcroquet.org

European Championships 2022 and Entry Information for European GC Open, Budleigh 26-29 May 2022

Announcing WCF European Championships in 2022

The WCF statutes now provide for the creation of a European Regional Committee (ERC) that will, once fully functional, take care of European croquet affairs, and among other matters, will run the European Championships.

We are therefore pleased to announce 2 Championships will run in 2022.

The traditional European Golf Croquet Championship will take place in Budleigh Salterton, Devon on the dates announced earlier Thursday 26 May to Sunday 29 May.

This event has been initiated and planned well before the ERC was created, now the new ERC will take over the management of it. Please read the formal invitation to it further below in the text.

* New European Event *
An absolutely new event for Europe is the Women's Golf Croquet Championship. This will take place in Latvia, from Thursday 30 June to Sunday 3 July 2022.

This will be the first European event fully planned and executed by the ERC. The formal invitation will be published very soon.

2023 Events
An Association Croquet European Championship will be planned in due course for 2023. All Members/RCOs are welcome to express their interest to host this event.

Pandemic
Sadly these announcements once again have to be accompanied by the clause that everything is subject to covid related travel restrictions, and players are advised not to enter any binding travel arrangements before the final confirmation that a specific event will definitely take place.

FORMAL INVITATION to the WCF European Golf Croquet Championship

26 May to 29th May - Budleigh Salterton Croquet club, Devon, England

The entry will be limited to 32 players.

In order to encourage a wide participation of European Members:
1.      Each Member who has fielded five or more players in any of the last three championships will be entitled to nominate three players, namely England and Spain.
2.      Each Member/RCO who has fielded two to four players in any of the last three championships will be entitled to nominate two players, namely Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales.
3.      All other Members/RCOs will be entitled to nominate one player.

Ranking Places will be used to fill the event after Member places have been awarded. Spaces will be awarded to the applicants with the highest World Rankings on Sunday, 6 March 2022. However, no Member will be permitted to field more than five players (except to replace last-minute withdrawals).

If you wish to play in this event, you need to apply via your Governing Body who will submit their nominations to the ERC by Sunday, 27 February 2022. Your Governing Body may have their own selection criteria and timetable which you need to follow. Whatever the local procedure, please give them time to review your application and pass it on to us.

For more information about this event, please contact Roberts Stafeckis who is organising this event on behalf of the ERC. Please contact him on email: erc@worldcroquet.org

Formation of European Regional Committee [ERC] and Invitation to Nominate Candidates for the Committee

The WCF is delighted to announce, that following a recent WCF Council vote, our statutes now provide for the creation of a European Regional Committee (ERC) as a sub-committee of the WCF. The ERC will fill the gap left by the now defunct European Croquet Federation. As such it will run the European Championships and work to develop croquet within Europe.

We therefore now need to put a committee in place. In accordance with the agreed WCF statutes, this committee will consist of 5 representatives, elected by European WCF Full and Associate members (see list at end of this email). Nominations may be received from European Members, Associates or RCOs but only Full and Associate members will be entitled to vote should an election be required.

This committee will be joined on an ex officio, non-voting basis, by the members of the WCF Management Committee from European Members, one of whom will be chosen by the new elected committee as the Chair. The Chair will have a casting vote should the elected committee be tied on a decision.
Note: MC members may also choose to stand for election to the ERC, in which case they would be entitled to vote if elected.

The Terms of Reference for the Committee can be read here: ERC Terms of Reference version 1

Nominations should be made via your Governing Body who need to submit them to the WCF Secretary-General by the Closing Date of 20th February 2022. Please allow time for them to pass them on. Your application should include a brief résumé that can be used if we have more than five applicants and need to hold an election.

If an election is required, a formal Notice of Election will be emailed to the European Members together with a closing date, which will be the first Sunday four weeks later. Votes received after the Closing Date will not be counted. In the event of a tie, the decision will be made by drawing lots. Successful candidates will take office immediately.

Applicants will normally hold office for a four-year term. However, to ensure some retention and cross-over of experience, this first committee will be split into two groups:
i) 3 will remain in post until 31st December 2025
ii) 2 will remain in post until 31st December 2023
The split will be drawn by lots at the first meeting of the committee. At the end of their term, committee members may re-stand for election.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask either myself or Roberts Stafeckis who is acting as ERC Liaison in this interim period.

Debbie Lines - WCF Secretary-General
Roberts Stafeckis - on behalf of the ERC