Author: Debbie Lines

WCF starts search for next Secretary-General

here

The WCF Management Committee has emailed all WCF Members and RCOs to inform them that it is seeking a successor to Stephen Mulliner who will retire as Secretary-General on 31 August 2021 on the completion of his second four-year term of office.

The successful candidate will be appointed Deputy Secretary-General from 1 September 2020 and will work alongside Stephen until 31 August 2021.  The intention is that they will then be appointed Acting Secretary-General until 31 December 2021 and then begin a four-year term on 1 January 2022.  They will be eligible to be apppointed for a second four-year term.

The advertisement and job specification may be found here.

The closing date for applications is 31 July 2020.

2020 GC World Team Championships – Tier 2 – Player Information

This will be held in Spain between 11 to 16 October

The Spanish hosts have provided the following Event Information for Players

We believe that travelling into Spain should not be an issue provided that individuals have been vaccinated and/or can demonstrate a negative Covid test shortly before travelling.  See https://www.mscbs.gob.es/.

Organising and other officials:

Tournament Director: Begoña Elzaburu
Tournament Manager:  Felipe Mestanza
Tournament Referee: Alfonso Urbano
Event coordinator: Carolina Ruiz de Alda
Tournament Treasurer: Casilda Chávarri
Sponsors Director: Enrique Prados del Amo
Media Director: José Luis Álvarez-Sala
Venues coordinator: Gabriel González-Gordon
Representative Real Club de Golf Vista Hermosa: Rocío Medina
Representative Real Club de Golf Novo Sancti Petri: Rafael Hernández-Alcalá
Representative Sherry Golf Jerez: Alfonso de la Calle

We are thinking of proposing a visit to Cadiz for the families, this could be done by boat and then walking with a guide or in a touristic bus,  it would take whole day. So, for the social act for everyone we are thinking of a visit to El Puerto de Santa Maria or a wine cellar which is more compatible with the playing schedule.

For the hotel reservations we are proposing the same thing as last time, but we have added some houses that are of people that we know that would rent and that they are near the main lawns and nice

  1. The first one comes from one of the venue owners. In fact the lawns of Sancti Petri belong to the Iberostar Hotels and they have decided to make this special offer for the players and their Friends. Attached is the document where you will be able to see their hotels.
  2. The second one is from a hotel which is situated walking distance from the main venue (aproximately 1 km).They have 2 hotels.
  3. HOTEL PUERTO SHERRY (all prices are orientative, please consult with them).  Economy for 2 people Monday and Tuesday: 108€ per night other nights 135€
    Family room for 4 people Monday and Tuesday 175.50€ per night other days 202.50€
    If you would like to reserve you can call +34 956872000 or by mail  reservas@hotelpuertosherry.com
  4. LAS SUITES DE PUERTO SHERRY
    Apartment for 4 persons (2 double rooms) Monday and Tuesday: 144€ noche & per night other days: 189€
    Apartment of 3 rooms for 6 people  Monday and Tuesday: 179.10€ other nights: 265,50€
    If you would like to reserve in the Suites: +34 956852675  or by mail recepcion@lassuitesdepuertosherry.com

We also give you other options of the hotels that had already been recommended:

  • Hotel Soho Boutique Vista Hermosa (formerly Hotel Los Jandalos Vistahermosa) 4* Their Price for a double room is 125€ per night.
  • Apartamentos Soho Boutique Vista Hermosa (formerly Apartamentos Los Jandalos Vista Hermosa) 4* They have different size appartments. For 2 persons 95,70€ per night for 5 people 136,20€ per night.

Both of this hotels are in the same Street which is 2 kilometers away from the main venue. A Good walk, but still possible!(after all we are sportive people) You can reserve either by Telephone: + 34 956873411 or by mail to:  sbvistahermosa@sohohoteles.com

We strongly recommend you to be at walking distance. The provided transport will be from the main venue to the other venues in the morning and at the end of the day, but from there you will have to go to your houses.

If you wish we can also propose to you 3 houses that are all walking distance (around 800 meters away from the main venue):

  1. House for 14 people with 5 rooms and 4 bathrooms. Contact Carla 667543636
  2. House for 14 people with 6 rooms and 6 bathrooms. Good living room, garden and a swimming pool (in shared areas) Contact Sol 687422494
  3. House for 10 people with 5 rooms and 5 bathrooms. Big living room and terrase and garden with a private pool. Contact Begoña 609132892

We are thinking of not doing an actual paper programme since all the information will appear in the Web and we would like to launch it with more time than last time.

As for the practice on the day before we imagine that each team will take care of their own transport to the venue where they want to go.

We would like to organise Streaming for the finals and may be semi-finals, but we are still on it.

May 2020 Newsletter

WCF May 2020 Newsletter

Largest Ever Development Grant Awarded

A 30% grant of up to 15,000 EUR has been awarded to the Latvian Croquet Federation to part-fund the building of their first multi-lawn venue. The planned three lawn club is to be built in the town of Ikskile, 30 miles east of Riga, and it is hoped that the main part of the work, including the creation for the courts, will be completed later this year.

Coronavirus and the WCF 10 year Championship Schedule

As previously announced, the coronavirus pandemic has already caused us to postpone the GC World Team Championship Tiers 2 & 3 events due to be held in Spain and England this year.

After consultation with all the affected Event Hosts, namely the Members due to host events from 2020 to 2023, it has been decided that the best approach is to move the entire WCF forward calendar back by 12 months, beginning with the 2020 Women’s AC World Championship. This will hopefully provide a degree of certainty. The existing Event Hosts have agreed to work on that basis and, whilst the exact dates need to be finalised in the coming months, the revised Schedule is:

WCF Event Host Original Revised
date date
2020 GC World Team Championship Tier 2 Spain May-20 May-21
2020 GC World Team Championship Tier 3 England Jul-20 Jul-21
2020 Women's AC World Championship New Zealand Nov-20 Nov-21
2021 Under 21 GC World Championship New Zealand Jan-21 Jan-22
2021 GC World Championship New Zealand Feb-21 Feb-22
2021 AC World Team Championship Tiers 2/3 England Aug-21 Aug-22
2021 AC World Team Championship Tier 1 (MacRobertson Shield) Australia Nov-21 Nov-22
2022 AC World Championship England Jul-22 Jul-23
2022 Over 50 GC World Championship Australia Oct-22 Oct-23
2023 Under 21 GC World Championship USA Mar-23 Mar-24
2023 GC World Championship USA Mar-23 Mar-24

In the original Schedule, the MacRobertson Shield was scheduled for 2025, its centenary year. The

plan is still to achieve this, if possible, with slight revisions to the Schedule around that time if necessary.

Development Committee/Business Plan

The WCF has published its Business Plan for 2020-2023 which can be found at Business Plan 2020-2023


An important part of delivering this plan will fall to the recently re-established Development Committee. Anyone interested in joining this committee should contact either of its MC members, Ian Burridge (Burridge.Ian@gmail.com) or Roberts Stafeckis (Roberts.Stafeckis@gmail.com).

Global Resources

The WCF has recently launched an initiative to try to share more resources on a global basis. The initial offerings, croquetscores.com, Court Booking Systems, Swiss Management Software, information relating to developing a club and an index of YouTube videos can be found at New Croquet Resources page

Anyone with similar resources which they are prepared to share with the global community should contact Ian or Roberts (as above).

Handicap Advice Sheet

A WCF advice sheet has been agreed which provides information on how Members that do not operate a national handicapping system can facilitate handicap play amongst their players, it can be found at WCF Advice Sheets

Player Surveys

The results of the player surveys from the recent GC World Team Championship (Tier 1) and AC World Championships can be found at World Championship surveys

Hall of Fame

Nominations are sought for potential inductees in 2020, these should be sent to the Secretary-General before September 30th for consideration by the Hall of Fame Committee. Nominations should be in accordance with the following:-

“A nomination by an individual is to take the form of a written citation which should demonstrate how the candidate has made an outstanding contribution to any of the Games of Croquet as a player, administrator or supporter or any combination thereof. A citation should be in English and not less than 500 words and should be accompanied by a photograph or portrait of the candidate.”

Croquet Hall of Fame

Stephen Mulliner

Secretary-General

6 June 2020

Revision of 10 year Championship Schedule

WCF 10 year Championship Schedule – coronavirus pandemic announcement

Following the postponement of the lower Tiers of the GC WTC, the WCF Management Committee has consulted with the Event Hosts for the WCF Events planned to be held in 2020 to 2023.  All parties unanimously agree that the most practical and appropriate response to the impact of the pandemic is to decide now to postpone all WCF Events by one year, starting with the Women’s Association World Championship due to be held in November 2020.  It is hoped this will provide sufficient time for the situation to stabilise.

However, it is also recognised that one or more further one year postponements may be necessary if the global situation does not improve sufficiently to make holding international events feasible.  The situation will be kept under review.

The initial amendment of the 10 year Championship Schedule is as follows.  Please note that the revised dates are approximate and subject to detailed agreement with the relevant Event Hosts who have all indicated their support.

 WCF Event Host Original Revised
    date date
2020 GC World Team Championship Tier 2 Spain May-20 May-21
2020 GC World Team Championship Tier 3 England Jul-20 Jul-21
2020 Women’s AC World Championship New Zealand Nov-20 Nov-21
2021 Under 21 GC World Championship New Zealand Jan-21 Jan-22
2021 GC World Championship New Zealand Feb-21 Feb-22
2021 AC World Team Championship Tiers 2/3 England Aug-21 Aug-22
2021 AC World Team Championship Tier 1 (MacRobertson Shield) Australia Nov-21 Nov-22
2022 AC World Championship England Jul-22 Jul-23
2022 Over 50 GC World Championship Australia Oct-22 Oct-23
2023 Under 21 GC World Championship USA Mar-23 Mar-24
2023 GC World Championship USA Mar-23 Mar-24

The MacRobertson Shield is due to be held in England in 2025 which will be the centenary of its founding.  It was also agreed that, if possible, this event should still be held in 2025 with the forward calendar being revised slightly to accommodate this.”

Stephen Mulliner

Secretary-General

2019 Women’s Golf Croquet World Championship survey

2019 Women’s GCWC survey results

Responses: 24/56 = 42%

Q1.1: Did you receive the Player Briefing Notes before the event?

Yes: 86%, No: 14%

Q1.2: If you did, was the information well-presented and useful?

Yes: 100%

Q2.1: Did you attend the player briefing meeting?

Yes: 74%, No: 26%

Q2.2: If so, was the information well-presented and useful?

Yes: 87%, No: 13%

Q3: Was the format of the event appropriate?

Yes: 100%

Q4: Was your number of games each day too many, not enough or about right?

Too many: 0%, About right: 95%, Not enough: 5%

Q5: Was the overall duration of the event too long, too short or about right?

Too long: 4%, About right 87%, Too short: 9%

Q6: Was the event well-managed?

Block stage: Good: 87%, Medium: 13%, Poor: 0%

Main event: Good: 90%, Medium: 10%, Poor: 0%

Consolation events: Good 90%, Medium: 5%, Poor: 5%

Q7: Was the event well-refereed?

Good: 65%, Medium: 35%; Poor: 0%

Q8: Did the new GC Rules cause any problems for you?

Yes: 4%, No: 96%

Q9.1: Did you make use of the on-line results?

Yes: 96%, No: 4%

Q9.2: Did you make use of the on-line commentary?

Yes: 68%, No: 32%

Q10.1: Catering at venue 1

Did you like the meals? Yes: 100%

Were they good value? Yes: 95%, No: 5%

Were they available at the right time? Yes: 89%, No: 11%

Q10.2: Catering at venue 2

Did you like the meals? Yes: 95%, No: 5%

Were they good value? Yes: 95%, No: 5%

Were they available at the right time? Yes: 95%, No: 5%

Q11.1: Were the courts at venue 1 of suitable quality?

Good: 87%, Satisfactory: 13%, Poor: 0%

Q11.2: Were the courts at venue 2 of suitable quality?

Good: 0%, Satisfactory: 74%, Poor: 26%

Q12: Were the balls of adequate quality?

Venue 1: Good: 91%, Satisfactory: 9%, Poor: 0%

Venue 2: Good: 91%, Satisfactory: 9%, Poor: 0%

Q13: Were the hoops well set?

Venue 1: Good: 74%, Satisfactory: 26%, Poor: 0%

Venue 2: Good: 56%, Satisfactory: 35%, Poor: 9%

Q14: Closing ceremony

Good: 80%, Satisfactory: 15%, Poor: 5%

2020 Golf Croquet World Team Championship Tier 1 survey

2020 GCWTC Tier 1 survey results

Responses: 9/32 = 28%

Q1: Did you attend the player briefing? If so, was the information well-presented and useful? Was the scheduling of the briefing convenient?

All responses were positive.

Q2: Was the format of the event appropriate?

Yes: 89%, No: 3%, Other 11%

One comment expressed a preference for longer Test matches.

Q3: Was your number of games each day too many, not enough or about right?

About right: 100%, Too many: 0%, Not enough: 0%

Q4: Was the overall duration of the event too long, too short or about right?

About right: 78%, Too long: 17%, Too short: 22%

Q5: Was the event well-managed?

Yes: 100%, No: 0%, Other: 0%

Q6: Was the event well-refereed?

Yes: 33%, No: 33%; Other: 33%

Some referees were thought to have been insufficiently knowledgeable.

Q7: Were the courts of suitable quality?

Yes: 44%, No: 22%, Other: 33%

Courts could be very challenging and the two sets of courts differed noticeably.

Q8: Were the balls of adequate quality?

Yes: 100%, No: 0%, Other: 0%

Q9: Were the hoops well set?

Yes: 67%, No: 0%, Other: 33%

Contradictory "Other" comments - hoops were too difficult / hoop settings could have been tougher.

Q10: How did you rate the event overall?

Very good: 56%, Good: 44%

2020 Association Croquet World Championship survey

2020 ACWC survey results

Responses: 33/80 = 41%

Q1: Did you attend the player briefing? If so, was the information well-presented and useful? Was the scheduling of the briefing convenient?

Generally positive but information about transport arrangements to satellite venues could have been clearer.

Q2: Were the transport arrangements satisfactory?

Yes: 64%, No: 0%, Other 36%

Six of the 11 "Other" comments simply stated that the respondent had used their own transport.

Q3: Was your number of games each day too many, not enough or about right?

Too many: 0%, About right: 70%, Not enough: 30%

Q4: Was the overall duration of the event too long, too short or about right?

About right: 88%, Too long: 6%, Too short: 6%

Q5: Was the event well-managed?

Yes: 52%, No: 9%, Other: 39%

"Other" comments related to modes and effectiveness of communication with players, consolation games, dress code enforcement and lack of social events at the mani venue in the evenings.

Q6: Was the event well-refereed?

Yes: 39%, No: 15%; Other: 46%

"Other" comments related mainly to slowness and over-use of ball markers.

Q7: Were the courts of suitable quality?

Yes: 76%, No: 0%, Other: 24%

Some of the satellite venues were felt to be too slow and needed more mowing.

Q8: Were the balls of adequate quality?

Yes: 76%, No: 3%, Other: 21%

The balls at the satellite venues were preferred to those at the main venue.

Q9: Were the hoops well set?

Yes: 70%, No: 3%, Other: 21%

The hoops at the satellite venues were generally wider than those at the main venue.

Q10: How did you rate the event overall?

Very good: 36%, Good: 33%, Satisfactory: 21%, Poor: 3%, Very poor: 6%

Development Projects – Updates

Brian Lozano has been in touch to say that he had a catalogue or GC matches on Youtube already in place and has since already added an AC catalogue too, they can be found here San Diego Croquet Youtube Link Brian is happy to collaborate with anyone who thinks they can help build on this resource and help with the non-Youtube material.
Following a suggestion from Sally Harper (Australia) that an online croquet quiz might be a good idea we were inclined to agree, although we do not see it as a WCF Development Project. We have contacted Chris Clarke and he has agreed to host an on-line “World Croquet Quiz”. He intends to hold quizzes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, starting next Tuesday 7th April. The times and further details will be posted to the Notts List, Australian List, Facebook and WCF Website in due course.
We have added a further project to the list of ideas, a Club Court Booking System and this is one of the projects where we currently have a live lead. We also have initial leads on #1 Established Croquet at other sports venues, #6 creating video content to attract young players and #8 League Management.
The original annoucement with a full list of projects can be found here https://www.worldcroquet.org/index.php/latest-news/394-development-projects

Relaunch of the WCF Hall of Fame

Bryan Dawson, the inventor and manufacturer of the Dawson Croquet Ball, has been inducted in the WCF Hall of Fame in recognition of his unique contribution to modern croquet.  Bryan received his certificate of induction from the WCF President Ian Burridge, during the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Association Croquet World Championship.

Bryan is the first person to be inducted since 2014.  The WCF Management Committee is keen to receive further nominations for induction.  All those submitted by 30 September 2020 will be considered by the WCF Hall of Fame Committee which will announce the names those who have been recommended for induction by 30 November 2020.

A nomination by an individual is to take the form of a written citation sent by email to the Secretary-General.  It should demonstrate how the candidate has made an outstanding contribution to any of the Games of Croquet as a player, administrator or supporter or any combination thereof. A citation should be in English and not less than 500 words and should be accompanied by a photograph or portrait of the candidate.

 

Bryan Dawson

Hall of Fame
Bryan Dawson

Born: 1946
Inducted: 2019

Bryan Dawson is a resident of Adelaide, South Australia and played Association Croquet competitively from 1988 to 2013. He made regular appearances in the Australian Men’s and Open Championships from the start of his career to the early 2000s and was a stalwart of the South Australian Interstate Team from 1991 to 2011. In 1999, he travelled to the USA to play in the Sonoma-Cutrer and Resort at the Mountain events and, in 2000, represented Australia in the MacRobertson Shield in New Zealand as well as making a second appearance at Sonoma-Cutrer.

However, Bryan made his major contribution to the game of croquet as the maker of the eponymous Dawson Ball, the premier competition croquet ball for over 25 years from 1992. At his Adelaide workshop, he undertook years of painstaking research into the precise mix of plastics and colours required for the cold moulding process that would produce a croquet ball that met the specifications reliably by being perfectly round, robust enough to withstand years of vigorous use and almost totally resilient to temperature changes.

The manufacture of croquet balls had evolved from the use of boxwood at the dawn of the game in the 19th Century to various forms of composition balls in the 20th Century, culminating in the widespread use of the famous “Eclipse” ball manufactured by John Jaques. Unfortunately, the plastic cover of a compressed cork inner became a source of weakness and, from 1980 onwards, a cottage industry of croquet ball manufacturers began to emerge. Names such as Barlow, Walker, Willhoite came and went and, even today, Sunshiny balls are still regularly used. But, without any doubt whatsoever, the ball that steadily took centre stage in almost every croquet-playing country in the world as the 1990s wore on was the Dawson Ball.

The only exception was in Egypt which had been self-sufficient in ball-making for decades. As a Golf Croquet nation, the Egyptians preferred very hard balls and used wooden mallets which were had faces capable of handling the sharp impact of ball on mallet face. However, with the growth of interest in international Golf Croquet came the realisation that Egyptian balls did not suit the new generation of carbon-fibre mallets with brass inserts. The sharpness of the impact of ball on face tended to break the adhesion of the insert to the head. The Egyptian Croquet Federation recognised that it made sense to use Dawson Balls in their own international events not only to suit foreign visitors but also to prepare their own players for using Dawson Balls in world championships. The Dawson Ball can now claim to be genuinely ubiquitous in croquet terms!

As a youngster, Bryan did not excel academically but had a strong mechanical and inventive streak. He joined his father in his cabinet and joinery business and learned the importance of being a perfectionist. Bryan began making croquet mallets even before taking up the game and was then encouraged to turn his attention to making a reliable croquet ball. He adopted the cold moulding process and embarked on continual research over many years on the effect of different components on the colour, resilience and temperature stability of the moulded ball. The Dawson 2000 ball was his final development based on the most accurate metal master ball that he had ever made.

Bryan decided to retire in 2017 and sold the business to Paul Mainwaring, a fellow-South Australian, who has continued Bryan’s work and supplies Dawson Balls all over the world. The contribution of Bryan’s wife, June, should not be overlooked. She played a very important role in supporting Bryan in the running of his business and was particularly responsible for dealing with customers and ensuring the efficient transportation of thousands of sets of Dawson Balls all over the world.

Bryan’s unique contribution to modern croquet will be remembered and appreciated by croquet players for as long as the Dawson Ball continues to be used.