Category: Old Championship Posts

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.

As at 28.7.22 there have been THREE Withdrawals

- Jose Riva
- Maram Nabil
- Evan Newell

As the cut-off date has now passed, these and any future withdrawls with become addditional places from the Qualifier.

This means that there are now 7 places from the Qualifier.

This list will get updated should any further withdrawals take place.

The 2023 AC Women's World Championship will be held between 7 - 14 January 2023 at three clubs in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand, head-quartered at the six lawn United Croquet Club. The other two clubs are St James Croquet Club, 2 courts and Cashmere Croquet Club, 3 courts.

Main Event
The event capacity is 40 players. The entry fee for successful entrants will be £96.00.

Format
Block play:    4 blocks of 10 players playing single games over 3 days.  The top 4 in each block will qualify for the Knock-Out Stage.
The blocks will rotate around the venues.

Knock-Out:   The Knock-Out Stage will comprise 16 players.  Seeding will be Grade-Based Seeding in accordance with Appendix 7 Section A of the WCF Sports Regulations.

Round 1 will consist of matches of best-of-three games. The quarter-finals will consist of matches of best-of-three or best-of-five games at the discretion of the Tournament Manager.  The semi-finals and final will consist of matches of best-of-five games if time permits.

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 of at least semi-finals and a final which will consist of matches of  best-of-three games.

Bowl:  Entry will be open to the 1^st 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 2^nd round losers in the Knock-Out Stage.  It will be a knock-out event and matches will be best-of-three games.

Venues:  All Knock-Out main event matches will be played at the United Croquet Club, Christchurch.

Day 4:   This day will be reserved for block play-offs and if possible, the Plate block games will be started  at the other venues.

Use of double banking: the main event Knock-Out will be single-banked, apart from the first round.  The main event blocks will be double banked and other events will depend on detailed schedules. The Manager will have the right to double bank as necessary in order to ensure the tournament stays on schedule.

Hoops:  Atkins Quadway set at the largest ball per court plus ¹/₃₂ inch with an upward tolerance of ¹/₆₄ inch.

Qualifying Tournament
The Qualifying Tournament will be held in Wellington, North Island, New Zealand (venue tbc) between 3 - 5 January 2023. Further details to follow.

Entry Method Main Event
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 secretary@worldcroquet.org.

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

Pandemic
There is still some risk that travel or other restrictions arising as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic may cause the cancellation of the Event, although this is not anticipated unless the global situation changes. Players are advised that any expenditure incurred is at their own risk.

Players will be expected to comply with whatever rules the government and/or Croquet New Zealand have in place.

Further information about the event, including the venues, local accommodation and attractions, transport links, the event timetable (including social events) and any other relevant information, will be published nearer the start date.

The closing date for Members to nominate players for their Membership places was 8^th May. All Members have nominated valid players for their Membership places.

The file below shows these 38 players and also the previously awarded Ranking and Wild Card Places. The player lists are displayed in various orders for ease of use. It also includes the 70 players currently on the Replacement Ranking List.

2022 GC WC Places 8.5.22

There are four places remaining which will be awarded to the qualifiers from the Qualification Event. The closing date for entries to the qualifier, (enter online via the English Croquet Association website), is 25^th May 2022.

Player Information

The following information is requested from all the above competing players by 8^th June 2022 (or sooner if available).

• • A recent photograph (ideally headshot)
  • One or two paragraphs of biographical details
  • Any food allergies (so we can notify the club catering team)
  • Contact email and mobile phone numbers for during the event (for use by the Tournament Manager

Please note, the photo and bio may be published on the event website and on the WCF website. Some live filming by the Croquet Association may take place during the event, and 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 Secretary-General and Tournament Manager only and deleted after the event in line with data protection and privacy best practice.

Entry Fees

These are due by 10th June at the latest. Please pay by bank transfer if  possible, this will avoid costly PayPal charges. Players should be notified how to pay in this way by their Member.

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 10/07/2022 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 13.6.22, then the next most highly ranked player on the Replacement Ranking list on that date will be offered the place. After the cut-off date, the places 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 regarding the venue and programme, will be published on the WCF website and on the Championship website over the coming weeks.

Players who have been notified that they have received a place in the upcoming World Championship need to pay their entry fees of £108 by 10th June 2022 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.

All players who can pay by Bank to Bank transfer are encouraged to do so. Instructions are included in each players announcement notification email. This avoids the WCF incurring costly PayPal fees.

If necessary, please pay by PayPal using the button below:

The Association Croquet World Team Championships Tiers 2.1, 2.2 and 3 is due to take place later this year between 9-14 August at the Budleigh Salterton Club in Devon, England.

We have had a team drop out, and to keep the total team numbers to 12 (a nice number for the format) we have decided to put in place a “World Select Team” (WST). This team will be ideally made up of players from countries not sending a full team. This will allow more countries to be represented and provides an opportunity for AC players from other countries to compete internationally this summer.

The cost per player selected will be £72 each. All other costs such as travel and accommodation are the responsibility of the selected player.

This Select team will play if no other teams drop out, or if the numbers of teams left in the event again requires an extra team to help the format, or in any case if it has not been stood down before 30th June. This would allow any players intending to play approx. 5 weeks notice to book travel and accommodation.

The Select team will compete in Tiers 2.2 or 3, which will start by being played jointly and then mid-way through be split into the two tiers. Teams of four are required but we may select a squad of up to six players, including the Captain. Peter Payne from Switzerland has agreed to Captain this team. Peter has many years experience at Association Croquet and has experience playing in this type of event. We are very pleased that he has agreed to guide and lead this team.

The key decision dates are:
- Nomination of players: by Tuesday 31st May 2022
- Selection date: Thursday 9th June 2022 (Members will be notified if any of their nominees have been selected within 1-2 days of this date)
- Cut-off to play date: this is the date by which this team will definitely play (even if other teams subsequently withdraw) – Thursday 30th June 2022

Assuming we have more applications than needed, the WCF Tournament Committee will select from those who have made themselves available.

Players who wish to join this team are invited to apply through their Member Governing Body who will need to submit names to Debbie Lines by midnight (UK time) Tuesday 31st May 2022.

The entry fee of £288 per team for this event is now requested and should be paid by the Team Announcement date of 9th June 2022 at the latest.

As emailed, we would prefer you pay us via bank transfer, this avoids costly PayPal fees. However, should you need to pay by PayPal, please use the button below.

Please ensure you insert your Country in the reference field for your payment.