Newsletters Archives - World Croquet Federation

May 2025 Newsletter

The WCF intends to become an Incorporated organisation

Ever since it started in the late 1980’s the WCF has been run as an unincorporated organisation.

It has no separate legal personality of its own. The WCF Statutes control how we are organised and managed on a day-to-day basis. The Management Committee (MC) in accordance with the Statutes and the various other WCF Regulations and Policies, run the WCF and ask the WCF Council, made up of individuals from each Member Country, to vote on any topics that involve change or spend which is not budgeted.

Incorporation was included as a key objective in the WCF 2024-2027 WCF Business Plan.

Why does the WCF need to Incorporate?

The main advantage of incorporation is that the incorporated entity has its own separate legal personality and acts in its own name. An incorporated entity will benefit from limited liability for its members, perpetual succession, the ability to enter into contractual obligations, and enter into and execute documents in the name of the incorporated entity.

An incorporated structure typically benefits from stronger global recognition, making it more visible and credible to external stakeholders than an unincorporated model.

Specifically, there are various reasons why the MC are proposing incorporation:

- - To facilitate easier banking
  - To provide easier access to funding, such as sponsorship deals and potential grants
  - To facilitate getting insurance cover
  - To remove personal liability from the MC

We will become a Company Limited by Guarantee
After reviewing the options, the Management Committee have recommended to the WCF Council that we become a Company Limited by Guarantee.

The MC are in the process of asking Members to approve a spend of approximately £8,000 for the appointment of legal consultants to help us with the required company set-up.

We need help to write the Articles of Association and the Memorandum of Association for the new company. The aim is that these will reflect as closely as is possible the existing WCF Statutes and Administration Regulations, so that the WCF may continue to operate, on a day-to-day basis, as it does today.

Can you help with the legal work required?

Do you have the expertise to be our Legal Consultant for the new company set-up? If you are willing to help us pro-bono we would very much like to hear from you. The WCF is not a wealthy organisation, and the spend required to make this change, will eat into our reserves. These reserves can be better spent on developing our sport.

Please get in touch by Sunday 11th May at the latest if you can help. After that date if the spend is approved we will go ahead and engage consultants.

Spotlight on .... Action for AC

The recent growth in Golf Croquet has not always been reflected with matching growth in Association Croquet. We know that many clubs around the world are increasingly introducing new players only to GC. Over the past 5 years, the number of AC players in the rankings has declined by 11%. This decline amongst top players is likely to be reflected in an even larger drop at grassroots level amongst beginners and high handicaps. There is a risk that some clubs may soon not have enough players and coaches able to pass on their AC skills.

Do you have best practice to share?
Has your club found a way to retain or introduce both codes effectively?

If you have success stories to share, please email us with your stories. Using the WCF Facebook page, we'll share your thoughts with others, who can hopefully make use of your great work in their own clubs.

Send your stories to the WCF at: secretary@worldcroquet.org

WCF Appointments for 2026

Something to start thinking about….
Would you like to help run the WCF from January 2026 onward?

The Management Committee serve 4-year terms ending on 31^st December. At the end of this year 5 of the committee reach the end of their terms. Some may choose to stand again, but even if they do, there will be elections to select from those who wish to stand.

Debbie Lines, the current Secretary-General, also reaches the end of her term at the end of this year. Debbie has indicated she will not be available to serve a second term, so we will need a new S-G.

The MC will be formally requesting nominations in due course, but for now, if you’d like to know more about what is involved, please ask.

February 2025 Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Starting soon .... the WCF PFC Mallets Golf Croquet Team Championship : The Openshaw Shield will be held between Monday, 17th to Sunday 23rd February 2025 at the Northern Tasmanian Croquet Centre, St Leonards, Tasmania.

The teams are announced, the flags and trophies are waiting, and the organising team are getting ready.

The link for the livestream is 🎯 PFC Mallets WCF GC World Teams Championship 🎯

The 8 teams competing are: Australia, England, Egypt, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and the USA.

Spotlight on…. "Play Croquet - A Quick Guide"

Download this new handy leaflet "Play Croquet - A Quick Guide"

This A4 tri-fold leaflet includes brief instructions of how to play both Association Croquet and Golf Croquet. It was recently created by Croquet England who have kindly produced a version for the WCF to share with all our Members.

The leaflet is suitable for use by all beginners. It will give them an idea of how to play, whether in their local park, sports club or schools. We hope Clubs can use it as a hand-out.

Also available in Spanish: Jugar al Croquet Una Guia Rápida

Sharing best practice…. Make AC Coaching Fun

Association Croquet is reportedly struggling despite more people playing croquet now than ever before. The growth of GC is encouraging and new clubs are starting up in many places. However, very few new GC players are being introduced to AC as well. The WCF AC Regeneration Group are investigating ways that we can support growth in AC and research is planned. Here are a few initial thoughts from the group.

AC is often spoken about as if it is a complex game and difficult to learn. However, it is actually quite a simple game at its most basic level. The terminology can confuse, so instead of telling people to roquet, croquet and continuation shot, try “hit another ball and get two extra shots”.

We encourage those introducing AC to others to examine their teaching styles. Ask yourself: Am I boring people with technical details? Does it matter if they understand break play already?

- Make it fun: don't bore the beginner with complex rules, get them playing straight away. Consider fun variants, such as One Ball or Pirates.
- Make it quick: 14pt games or even fewer points to start them off. Games for beginners should be short, around 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Make it easy: try Short Croquet which uses smaller, half size lawns, and set the hoops nice and wide.

October 2024 Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Starting next week! The GC World Champions starts 18th October at Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club, Virginia, USA.
Livestreaming from Tuesday 22nd October.

See webpage: 2024 GC World Championship

... and in February 2025
We're pleased to announce that a sponsorship deal has been secured with PFC Mallets for the upcoming World Teams Championship. The WCF PFC Mallets Golf Croquet Team Championship : The Openshaw Shield will be held between Monday, 17th to Sunday 23rd February 2025 at the Northern Tasmanian Croquet Centre, St Leonards, Tasmania.

The 8 teams competing are: Australia, England, Egypt, Ireland, New Zealand South Africa, Spain and the USA. The holders, New Zealand will be hoping to retain their trophy, whilst Spain, newly promoted from Tier 2 will be keen to challenge the others in the top tier.

Spectators are welcome at both of these events if you wish to go along. Some livestreaming is expected and links will be published on this website and on the WCF Facebook page, a few days before each event.

Refereeing Corner - Scotland course

A GC Referees course was held at Balgreen Croquet Club in Edinburgh on 29th September 2024 at the request of Croquet Scotland, sponsored by the WCF. The course was led by Ian Shore and Ian Cobbold (Croquet England Examining Referees) and the candidates were examined to Croquet England standards.

The candidates were asked to prepare using the WCFs Online Training and Study Pack and this enabled the course to be held on a single day, rather than the normal two. The first time this combination had been used. The morning was largely devoted to on-court tuition and the afternoon for the written exam and on-court test.

Eight candidates had signed up for the course but one withdrew a few days before the course. Using the online training pack proved very successful with all the candidates passing the written exam, most by a comfortable margin. Well done to everyone who qualified.

Sharing best practice…. Mobile phone use on lawns

A few months back there were some questions raised on social media as to whether players may use their mobile phones at the edge of the court, or indeed, carry them around the lawns. This issue is covered in clause 6.6 of the WCF Sports Regulations:

6.6 Mobile Phones
Players must abide by any restrictions imposed by the club at which play is taking place.
For GC, the use of mobile phones during a match and within five yards of any court in which a game is in progress is prohibited. Players who keep phones on them or in their court-side bags must ensure they are switched off or in silent mode.
For AC, Players who keep phones on them or in their court-side bags must ensure they are switched off or in silent mode. When a Player is not actually in play, they may use their mobile phone provided such use does not contravene Law 57.2 nor distract those in play and does not delay play at all.

As referenced above, in the AC Laws clause 57.2 requires that players must not take advantage of any advice during a game, no matter what form this may come in i.e. written, spoken etc. In the GC Rules, Part 4 Clause 14 has similar provisions.

Regarding Smart Devices, such as watches or similar, the Regulations, Laws and Rules don’t yet cover these devices, technology getting ahead of our updates. These should be considered on the same basis as mobiles.

Headphones – in GC, use of these is not recommended: how would you hear your opponents off-side direction? In AC, some players do find it calming, however, please ensure that you are able to hear your opponent forestall. If used at all, for instance, at your club, please ensure they are used safely and courteously.

If you have some best practice you wish to share, please get in touch, so we can feature it in our next newsletter.

Regulatory Updates

Since our last Newsletter, the following regulatory updates have been approved by WCF Council:

Topic 130 - Code of Conduct Policy
On 26th August Members approved this new policy.

Topic 135 - 2025 Fees Proposal
On the same date, Members voted to approve revised fees for tournaments and Member subscriptions.

Topic 137 - ERC Allocation Procedures
On 7th October, Members approved the amendments.

The following consultations or votes are in-progress as at the publication of this newsletter:

Topic 138 - Child Protection
A review of the permission forms for Under 18 participants in ERC and WCF events.

Spotlight on…. Oxford Croquet Website

The Oxford Croquet (OxCr) site was started 22 years ago when the internet was a relatively new thing. Initially it collected together Dr Ian Plummer's (Dr P) coaching notes for the Oxford University Club and has rolled on from there. Whilst the site's appearance is now somewhat dated, Dr P tries to keep the information up-to-date. He spent last winter updating the database of world croquet clubs and their locations to include the type of mallet sport they play – this work continues.

There are approximately 700+ pages of information with sections on how to play, equipment, laws, refereeing, rankings, tournament management, technical, lawn care, world croquet club finder, club management, health & safety, promoting croquet, history, contacts & links, FAQ and miscellany.

The selection of material very much reflects Dr P’s own interests, hence in his words, “there are plenty of 'techie' articles”. Basic measurements such as ball bias, expansion when hot and heating due to sunlight were he says “great fun to do”. As was using publicly available land height data to view if croquet courts were level.

Hurlingham courts 2-6 and the bowls lawns. The river runs left to right at the bottom.

Contributions are welcomed from elsewhere and are collected whenever found e.g. from the Nottingham list.

OxCr has tried to lead the way in making association croquet material available to the public. For example, it hosted the first appearance of the Laws of Association Croquet on the web, offered on-line tournament management and demonstrated a tournament booking scheme.

Of the more recent additions the most valuable ones have been the animations of standard manoeuvres, 'The Virtual Lawn™', which plays in a standard web browser and give clarity to what is happening.

A sequence of diagrams does contain the information but like learning dance steps from a diagram, it requires perseverance.

Not all the publications available on the site have been without difficulty. It took 6 years and the redrawing of 202 diagrams, to be able to make Keith Wylie's Expert Croquet Tactics available to the cognoscenti.

The most popular page on the entire site, after the home page, is one to work out all-play-all scheduling (a round-robin or American block).

How to play, equipment and lawn layout are popular but treating worms in lawns comes out top!

Dr P says that the site's appearance is now getting dated and eventually it will be migrated to a new format which can cope well with mobile devices. It also needs an httpS:// address so that browsers do not complain that it is insecure. Fortunately, the nuclear launch codes were recently removed, so this is not an issue.

http://www.oxfordcroquet.com (please use http:)

The Spanish Federation celebrate their 30th Anniversary

Since the end of the 19th century (circa 1880) there exist pictures and graphic news of friendly or family croquet matches in Spain, especially in the north of Spain -"French Croquet" or "Crinoline Croquet". But this year marks the 30^th Anniversary of the official constitution (22 March 1994) of the Spanish Croquet Federation (SCF). At the present time the SCF has almost 3,000 members and 35 croquet clubs (with 54 playing lawns) located in various Spanish regions. It is a full member, with 8 votes, of the World Croquet Federation (WCF).

In these 30 years the National Croquet Team or players selected by the Spanish Governing Body have participated in 89 World or European Croquet Championships across the various Championship types. They have won the 2017 and 2018 European AC Championships, the 2022 and 2024 European Women's GC Championships, the 2026, 2017 and 2024 European GC Championships, and as a National Team the 2020 GC World Team Championship Tier 2.1. Currently 29 players have a GC DGrade above 2000 and there are around 30 with an AC Grade above 1200.

The SCF has organized, since its constitution in 1994, successive Spanish Championships (30 of AC, 17 of GC, 10 Women's GC, 9 of AC or GC Under-21, 8 National Inter Clubs, 3 Over-60 and 3 Spanish AC Open and 3 Spanish GC Open). In the last four years (2021-2024) 438 Spanish ranked competitions have been included in Croquet Scores.

Croquet has recently been recognised in Spain as an official sport. Currently, the SCF is working to achieve its inclusion in the Spanish Olympic Committee and hopes to be able to continue to develop croquet in Spain and, consequently, to be able to help world croquet and the WCF in its growth.

In celebrating this 30^th Anniversary the SCF would like to thank the WCF for these thirty years of great help, as well as for the magnificent work carried out by the SCF's successive Boards of Directors. Likewise, many thanks to the different countries and foreign croquet clubs for the enormous support with which they have welcomed the Spanish National Team and the Spanish players.

Ranking Updates: how are they done?

These are not automatic or immediate and rely on one of our hard-working volunteers taking the time to process the updates.

There are a team of Ranking Officers around the World who update the rankings for us. Please note that they do their best to get results entered every week, but sometimes it might take a little longer. We rely on these volunteers, so please be patient if your spectacular win, and meteoric rise up the list, doesn’t show within a few hours.

Should results still be missing after two or three weeks, please report this, using the relevant results email:

AC: acresults@worldcroquet.org and GC: gcresults@worldcroquet.org

July 2024 Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Plans for the next Golf Croquet World Championship continue.

This will be held at the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club in the USA between Friday 18th October and Saturday 26th October 2024.

The Qualifier, which is at the same venue on 13^th to 16^th October, had more entrants than the 40 spaces. Good luck to those of you playing in October.

Tier 1 of the GC World Team Championships, competing for the Openshaw Shield, are being held early next year in Tasmania, Australia. The 8 teams competing are: Australia, England, Egypt, Ireland, New Zealand South Africa, Spain and the USA. The holders, New Zealand will be hoping to retain their trophy, whilst Spain, newly promoted from Tier 2 will be keen to challenge the others in the top tier.

WCF Vacancy: ERC Event Co-ordinator

Would you like to help administer the European Championships? Want to contribute to the sport you love? If so, then this role is for you.

The European Regional Committee (ERC) are recruiting for someone to administer the European Championships. The role will involve managing all the admin that is done by the WCF. Key tasks include liaising with the host organisers and managing the entry process. Typically, the ERC schedule two to three events each year. The European Club League may be added to this role for the 2026 season onward. Full training provided.

Please see the WCF news post to find out more about the role and how to apply: ERC Event Co-ordinator

Applications close 31st July 2024.

Croquet Expands again…

Members voted to upgrade Portugal from an RCO to an Associate Member in June. The growth of the sport in Portugal is good to see, and we hope some of you may choose to go and play over there.

A bit about croquet in Portugal. They have 5 clubs, mainly in southern Portugal although they are trying to set up a club in the Lisbon area. They hold the Benamor Open each year, which is open to non-Portuguese players and ranked on Croquet Scores. GC is the main variant played, although there are some AC players.

To find out more, take a look at their website: portuguesecroquetassociation.pt.

Refereeing Corner

Referee Training – Latvia GC Course

Ian Shore, from the Chiltern Croquet Academy, ably assisted by Ron Carter, enjoyed a few days in Riga, Latvia in early May, running a GC Referee’s course. There were 8 trainees of whom 7 decided to sit the exam, and they all passed.

The course was hosted by Viktors and Sandra Harlinskis at their Sigulda clubhouse, which had all the facilities needed. The course was blessed with blue skies and some even took their written exams outside.

5 candidates from Latvia, one from Finland and one from Estonia passed both the on-court test and the written exam. Ian Shore, used the standard Croquet England test and exam paper.

One of the candidates had this to say about the excellent course “Every detail has been thought of, wonderful handouts, presented perfectly on time, precise answers to any questions. It by far exceeded my expectations. I will definitely recommend the course to anybody who wants to improve their GC refereeing skills”.

Online Rules Training

If you are interested in learning more about the Rules, the WCF launched the Online GC Rules Training Pack in December. The course uses easy to follow modules and includes the option to take a simple on-line test at the end.

Sharing best practice….

Another new feature of our Newsletter is to share useful documents and best practice created by our wonderful Members. This month, I’m pleased to highlight the Croquet Scores handy guide prepared by Croquet New Zealand. Although some of this is specific to New Zealand, most of it will easily transfer across to other Members.

The guide can be downloaded from CNZ’s website on page “Tournament Documents” - CNZ Key Documents

If you have some best practice you wish to share, please get in touch, and it can feature in our next newsletter.

WCF Hall of Fame – call for nominations

Do you think someone is missing from the WCF Hall of Fame? Is there someone who has contributed to our sport at a world level that should be honoured in this way. Nominations may be made by sending an email to the Secretary-General, Debbie Lines, and should include at least one photo and a written citation. Nominations close on 30^th September 2024.

To find out more and to see who has already been inducted into the WCF Hall of Fame, follow this link: 2024 WCF Hall of Fame nominations

Want to play overseas?
Sign up for the WCF Members Events WhatsApp group

The WCF has recently launched a WhatsApp group “WCF Members Events” specifically aimed at allowing our Members to share events open to overseas players. The same WhatsApp group will also be used to share details of any livestreaming being run by Members.

Only one person from each country will post into the group, but anyone can sign up to read the notices.

So, if you wish to travel and play overseas, but not sure what events have spaces, sign up now: Link to WCF Members Events WhatsApp group

Regulatory Updates

Since our last Newsletter, the following regulatory updates have been approved by WCF Council:

Topic 132 - Ranking Amendments re Returners and Fast Improvers.
Members voted to approve the amendments on 7^th June.

Topic 134 - Privacy Policy
The WCF is domiciled in the UK and is therefore required to comply with UK data protection and privacy laws. Members approved the policy on 9th May.

Topic 136 - Portual upgrade to Associate Member.
Members approved their upgrade on 6th June.

The following consultations or votes are in-progress as at the publication of this newsletter:

Topic 130 - Code of Conduct consultation
The second consultation completed and constructive feedback was received from Members. We expect to send a final version to vote within the next few weeks.

April 2024 Newsletter

Croquet Expands again…

Not so long ago we welcomed Hong Kong as an RCO and many of you will now be reading their regular Newsletter, recounting tales of their activity, including coaching and national tournaments. See the blog on their website to read all about them: Hong Kong Croquet Club website

Corfu

The WCF are now pleased to report that Corfu has joined the WCF. Corfu is one of the largest of the many Greek Islands. The Corfu Club have been welcoming players to their tournaments, both GC and AC, for many years, and we are really pleased that they’ve now chosen to join us. They too publish regular newsletters, see their website for more: Corfu Croquet Club website

Refereeing Corner

Want to learn the rules?
The WCF launched the Online GC Rules Training Pack in December. We know that many of you are now studying and learning using this online resource. We hope it is going well and that you are using either the WhatsApp group or the Facebook page if you need support.

The associated online test is currently under-going testing and will be launched within the next week or so.

Expertise Sharing
The WCF have also launched GC WhatsApp group “WCF Global GC Referee Queries”. This group is specifically for qualified referees to use when they come across queries that they cannot answer. Each Member has nominated one individual to post into the group from their country. Other referees can join but will have view only access. Stephen Mulliner, chair of the GC Rules committee, is monitoring this group and will respond with answers.
WCF Launch GC Referee WhatsApp group

Upcoming Events

Plans for the next Golf Croquet World Championship are well underway. The response date was 19^th March and we’ve had 150 entries for the 80 places! The MC are reviewing the entries and will announce Ranking Places and Wild Cards by 16^th April at the latest.

Members are reminded that names for their Membership Places must be received by the Secretary-General no later than 16^th May 2024.

The Qualifier will be held from 13^th to 16^th October, also at Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club, and has 40 places. To find out more: How to enter the Qualifier

Regulatory Updates

Since our last Newsletter, the following regulatory updates have been approved by WCF Council:

Topic 126 - GC Knock Out seeding Consultation
Members voted to approve Block Separation by Grade as a new method to seed the Knock-Out stage of WCF GC Events. This method will be used at all 2024 championships.

Topic 127 - ERC committee nominations
Roberts Stafeckis was re-elected and remains Chair of the ERC. See below for introductions to the new committee members.

Topic 128 - President and two new Management Committee Members
Jose Alvarez-Sala, Samir Patel and Jeff Soo. See previous newsletter.

Topic 129 - Election of Brian Havill as Independent Examiner.
Elected.

Topic 131 - WCF Statutes and Regulation Update
Revised versions of our Statutes and four of our Regulation documents were approved by Members on 28th March 2024. See post: Revised Statutes & Regulations

Topic 133 - 2024 Budget and approval of 2022 Accounts

The following consultations or votes are in-progress as at the publication of this newsletter:

Topic 130 - Code of Conduct consultation
A draft was previously sent out to Members some months ago. This original consultation received mixed results. Following further discussions and a complete re-draft, a second consultation was sent to Members on 17^th March 2024. Consultation closes 8^th April 2024.

Topic 132 - Ranking Amendments re Returners and Fast Improvers
The consultation closed at the end of January. The Ranking Operations Committee are reviewing the feedback received with the intention of this soon going out for a vote with minor amendments.

Topic 134 - Privacy Policy
A draft is with Members for consultation, which closes 9th April 2024.

Spotlight on….

A new feature of our Newsletter, each issue we will feature one of our useful links or resources.

This month the spotlight is on…. Paddy Chapman’s useful coaching site croquetdev.com. In particular, the section on AC Break Play. Using simple and easy to follow interactive diagrams, this is a MUST read for everyone who wants to understand how the basic patterns of AC work.

Click here> Croquetdev.com/breaks

It’s very easy to follow and it clearly shows how the Roquet > Croquet > Continuation pattern works, and demonstrates 2-ball, 3-ball and 4-ball breaks and various variations.

Share this with your clubs, and get your beginners understanding how to play AC, from their sofas!

NEWS from around the World

Croquet England
Croquet England has now been set up as a charitable organisation and is the new name for the National Governing Body for Croquet in England. The associated changes to administration and operation have been put in place during late 2023 and early 2024. This has involved many changes, including to their policies and procedures and to the website. The new Croquet England website is more outward focussed, whilst the old Croquet Association website remains but will increasingly be for affiliates only.

To see the new website: Croquet England new website

Croquet in Spain – artificial lawns
The A La Par Foundation in Madrid has a full-size artificial grass lawn, the first in Spain. The Spanish Croquet Federation are working with the WCF so that we can jointly learn more about how this type of club can help expand croquet in Spain, or indeed, around the world.

The Foundation's croquet field is located in the Fuencarral-El Pardo district of Madrid. It was opened in June 2023 and the Spanish Croquet Federation have given it approval for use in their local events and tournaments.

EUROPE NEWS

European Club League – the heats

As we start the European summer season, we’re excited that this new Club League continues this year with 28 clubs competing in 7 heats around Europe. Good luck to all the teams competing.

To find out more about the 3 ERC Events being held this year, visit the new look Events page of the ERC website.

Introducing the new ERC committee

The ERC has now been operating for over two years, and some of our original committee have stood down. Our thanks to Kerstin Loretz, John Swabey and Daniel Larsson for their assistance over the past two years.

We welcome some new faces to the European Regional Committee team:

Alan Looney – Ireland

Alan Looney is the Honorary Secretary of the Croquet Association of Ireland (CAI) and is a Past President of Carrickmines Croquet & Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin, the home of the Irish Croquet Championship since 1909.

Alan has represented Ireland at both GC and AC and plays both disciplines both socially and competively. He is a keen supporter of European competitions and has been a local advocate for the European Golf Croquet League with Carrickmines agreeing to be a host in June 2024.

Alan is also on the CAI organising committee for the 2024 European Association Championships which will be hosted by the CAI in Carrickmines CLTC in August 2024, and since joining the ERC in January, he has taken on the ERC Event Lead role.

Duncan Catterall – England

Duncan is keen to help croquet grow in Eruope. He is keen to explore how we can promote croquet to a wider audience via both public engagement and highlighting world class play.

He hopes to utilise his experience as an architect/designer to look into the digital presence of the ERC, specifically a public facing website and social media engagement.

His croquet events business ‘Croquet & Cocktails’ gives him experience with understanding the commercial viability of croquet and its potential sponsorship opportunities. Many of you will have seen the livestream footage from the recent Invitational Event in Mauritius which Duncan managed.

He also serves on the Croquet England marketing team and hopes these two roles will enhance each other.

Michael Boer – Germany

Michael is excited by all the new events and activity in Europe since the ERC was founded. He is keen to actively help to ensure that this continues successfully into the future.

Michael has been playing croquet for 20 years and loves maintaining contacts with players from all over Europe by playing in these international tournaments. He has been a member of the board of the German Croquet Association for several years.

They join Roberts Stafeckis, Chair, who was re-elected and Andrés Álvarez‑Sala, whose original term doesn’t end for another two years.

December 2023 Newsletter

Ahmed el Mahdy won the 2023 retraVision GC Over 50’s World Championship

The 2023 retraVision Over 50's Golf Croquet World Championship was held in Western Australia between Saturday 14^th October 2023 to Saturday 21^st October 2023 at two venues, the Moorabinda Croquet Club (MCC) and the Bunbury Tennis Club (BTC).

2023 Over 50's Champion - Ahmed el Mahdy

Congratulations to Champion Ahmed El Mahdy from Egypt who now adds the Over 50's to his impressive list of titles, including GC World Champion in 2015. Showing strong form throughout the Championship, Ahmed beat fellow Egyptian Omar Fahmy in 3 straight games in the semi-finals with barely a clearance missed. In the other side of the draw Jenny Clarke from New Zealand won through to the final by beating Jeff Newcombe, one of the qualifiers. Jenny took the first game of the best of five final 7:5 with good clearing and some excellent hoop shots. However, Ahmed settled in patiently and his long hoops and accurate clearing were too strong, and he won the next three games.

The Plate was won by Brett McHardy, from Australia who beat Steinar Olsen from Norway 2:1 in the final. In the Bowl, Australian Pete Landrebe came through 7:5 7:5 against Stephen Mulliner. Torben Bak, another qualifier who did well in the main event, reaching the last 16, made it to the final of the Shield but lost to Barry Jennings, also Australian.

The WCF should like to thank the ACA for hosting the Championship. Special thanks go to the Moorabinda Croquet Club and the Bunbury Tennis Club for the use of their excellent lawns. Our thanks also to the Manager Chris Clarke and to Director Max Kewish and to the many other officials and volunteers who organised the event.

Online GC Rules Training Pack – now available on the WCF website

The WCF are pleased to announce the launch of an online GC Rules training pack.

This suite of 28 modules has been formed into an easy-to-follow study plan. The aim of this pack is to provide remote clubs, whose players cannot easily travel to study or take an exam in person, with an online alternative. We hope this resource will be of benefit to these remote clubs by giving them the confidence that someone in their area has been able to take advantage of this training.

As well as for those in remote locations, the course may be used by anyone, either in part or in full. We expect it to be helpful to those who wish to:

i) refresh themselves on some of the rules
ii) use as pre-learning before attending an in-person course
iii) use for self-study before taking an exam with an Examining Referee

Details of the online test are to follow soon. On completion of the online test students will receive a certificate showing their result in the test. To become a qualified referee students will need to sit the relevant exam in their country.

The WCF should like to thank Ian Shore, from the Chiltern Croquet Academy, for creating these modules. He is currently busy working on the on-line test questions… watch this space!

2023 Hall of Fame new inductee: Mr Ahmed Hamroush from Egypt

Ahmed Hamroush, first President of the Egyptian Croquet Federation, is admitted to the WCF Hall of Fame

Mr Hamroush was instrumental in bringing Egyptian GC into the rest of the World, as well as the first President of the Egyptian Croquet Federation. His full citation can be read on the WCF website: Hall of Fame Members

Mr Hamroush was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman as part of a documentary about the British Empire. Filmed at the Gezira Croquet Club in Cairo. Watch from about 33 minutes in.

Video clip > The British Empire - Jeremy Paxman

Dawson Balls Mark 3 – Primary Colours now WCF approved

The WCF have now approved the new Mark 3 Dawson balls Primary colours. We hope to receive secondaries for testing very soon.

Paul Manwaring advises that he is now back in production and will be able to meet orders for Primary Colours very soon. His plan is to sell to Australian Clubs from 15 January 2024 onwards and international orders from 15 February 2024.

The WCF wish to thank Paul for his perseverance trying new 'recipes' following one of the key chemicals being banned. Well done for getting this across the line.

Meet the WCF Management Committee (MC) – From 1^st January 2024, there are several new faces on the team

Congratulations to José Álvarez-Sala from Spain, who won the election for President. His term starts on 1^st January 2024 and lasts four years. As President José hopes to guide croquet through further growth, something he has done admirably in Spain over the past two decades.

New on the Management Committee is Jeff Soo from USA. He brings a wealth of experience administering croquet as well as being a top player in the three versions played in the USA: Association, Golf and 6 Wicket (US Rules).

Samir Patel was successfully voted back onto the committee and so stays for another 4-year term. His experience and knowledge is an invaluable asset to the WCF. Staying on the committee is Begoña Elzaburu, Debbie Lines (Secretary-General), Graeme Roberts, Mohamed Raslan, Peter Payne (Treasurer) and Roberts Stafeckis.

Leaving the committee after four years is Hal Denton from the USA. We thank Hal for his work over the past few years and wish him well.

Thank you Ian Burridge

After four years as President, Ian Burridge is moving on to other challenges. Ian started as President on 1^st January 2020 and most ably guided the WCF through the difficult times of the pandemic. This involved the delay and re-organisation of many events and a complete re-think of the forward calendar. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, during his time as President, Ian efficiently steered the MC through its day-to-day activities, such as event planning, grants to help small clubs, improving the regulations and much more. Specific projects he helped the WCF to deliver include:

Advantage GC – this version of handicap GC allows players of different standards to play a game that is more similar to level play and it is now played widely across all our Member countries.

European Regional Committee - Ian was very focussed on getting this set up and has been extremely active assisting the ERC committee since they started nearly two years ago. Ian masterminded and managed the European Club League last year and will continue to manage it during 2024 – information on how to enter your club into the 2024 heats will be coming out soon.

The MC would like to thank Ian for his hard work and commitment. We wish him all the best for the future.

ERC Committee

The European Regional Committee was formed two years ago, and we are already saying goodbye to some of our first committee members as they finish their term of office. Thank you to Daniel Larsson, John Swabey and Kerstin Loretz for helping set up the ERC in its early years.

Remaining on the committee is Andrés Álvarez-Sala, whose term lasts until the end of 2025.

Roberts Stafeckis, the current Chair, also finishes his first term at the end of this year and he has put himself forward for re-election. Four places on the committee are available and we had five nominations, so we are currently in the middle of an election which finishes on 31^st December 2023.

European Club League – the results

2023 ERC Club League Champions - Dulwich

The first year of the European Club League finished with the Grand Final, held at the Roehampton Club in London, England. Congratulations to Dulwich, our first winners.

Well done to the Finals Day team of Pierre Beaudry, Jonathan Claxton, Guy Scurfield and Andrew Hobbs.

Full details of all of the heats and the final can be found on the WCF webpage: https://worldcroquet.org/european-golf-croquet-club-league-the-grand-final/

European Championships 2024

The ERC are running three Championships during 2024. For more information on each one, please follow the links below.

Those interested in playing should contact their national organisations to make themselves available. Please note, the deadlines are short, so do not delay.

2024 GC European Championship
This will be held between 16-19 May 2024 at the Sussex County Croquet Club in Southwick, near Brighton, England. https://worldcroquet.org/2024-european-gc-singles-championship/

2024 GC European Women's Championship
This will be held between 1-4 August 2024 at the Saffrons Croquet Club, Compton, Eastbourne, England.
https://worldcroquet.org/2024-european-gc-womens-championship/

2024 AC European Championship
This event is returning after a gap of six years. It will be held between 15-18 August 2024 at the Carrickmines Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin, Ireland.
https://worldcroquet.org/2024-european-ac-championship/

September 2023 Newsletter

Congratulations to Robert Fulford - 2023 AC World Champion

2023 AC World Champion Robert Fulford with the Wimbledon Cup.

The 2023 WCF AC World Championship was held between 15^th and 23^rd July 2023. The event was sponsored by Rockwell Hurlingham Waterfront developments, Howard Sosin and the Hurlingham Club. 18 countries were represented, coincidentally matching the 18^th time this event has been held. There were 9 competitors who had played in the first Championship in 1989, also based at Hurlingham, a testament to the evergreen qualities of croquet players.

For the 18^th event, it was good to see it return to London where the first championship was held back in 1989.

The 2023 final saw a repeat of the 2022 Golf Croquet final with Matthew Essick versus Robert Fulford. That these players reached the final in both codes is a testament to their skill and commitment to the sport. This time Robert Fulford was triumphant and won the Wimbledon Cup for the 6^th time.

Congratulations also go to James Death, winner of the Shield, Debbie Lines, winner of the Bowl, Robin Brown, who won the Plate and Sandy Greig, who won the Manager's Invitational.

The WCF would like to thank all the organisations, clubs and volunteers who helped to make this event run so smoothly.

Jamie Gumbrell is the 2023 GC Women’s World Champion

Thank you to Mary Berry, our Guest of Honour at the Opening Ceremony

The 6^th Women’s Golf Croquet World Championship was held in Brighton, England in early August. Competitors from 16 countries competed. After the traditional parade of flags and welcome speeches, the event was formally opened by celebrity Mary Berry with the cutting of a special ‘croquet and flag’ themed cake.

Jamie Gumbrell from Australia beat Rachel Gee (2011 Champion) in the final, with a display of technical excellence. Her shooting and hoop running was almost faultless throughout the match. Commiserations to Rachel on a hard fought tournament, and congratulations to Jamie.

Congratulations also to Perihan Elwy, winner of the Shield, Judith Hanekom winner of the Bowl and Jessica Bullen who won the Plate.

Thank you to all those who helped to run this event, the WCF appreciate that without the tireless efforts of Clubs and their volunteers, we could not run these events.

Coming up soon!

The 2023 retraVision GC Over 50’s World Championship will take place in Bunbury, Western Australia, between 14-21 October. Keep an eye out on both the WCF Website and the Event website for more information about the players, the draw and of course, live-streaming!

We are pleased to announce that the Australian Croquet Association have secured retraVision as main sponsors for this event.

This will be the last Over 50’s event following a recent decision that in future the minimum age will increase to 60.

2023 Hall of Fame Nominations – due by 30th September

Nominations to the 2023 WCF Hall of Fame are due by Saturday 30th September.

So far, a total of 51 individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since 2006. They include some of the greatest players in the history of the game and people who have made other significant contributions to the development and enjoyment of Croquet as administrators, coaches or benefactors. Many Members have served the game in more than one capacity.

Please send your nominations to Debbie Lines, the Secretary-General. Nominations may be made by individuals or through Member countries. Please include a citation of not less than 500 words outlining your nominee's croquet achievements. Please also send a good quality photo or two that can be used on the website, should their nomination prove successful.

Further information regarding the process, the regulations and existing members of the Hall of Fame can be found on the WCF website at the following links:

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame Members

New WCF President – nominations due by 31^st October

Ian Burridge, our current President, will finish his four-year term at the end of this year. Ian has indicated that he does not intend to stand for a second term. The Management Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his hard work over the past few years. His time in office has been strongly influenced by the epidemic and the need to delay and reschedule all our Championships, and he helped to guide us through these difficult times extremely well.

We are therefore inviting nominations. The WCF President is the outward, most senior face, of the WCF. The President is responsible for helping to set the forward Business Plan and then in steering the Management Committee towards its delivery. He or she chairs our meetings and leads our strategic and policy discussions. Presidents are elected for a four-year term and may stand for a second term if they wish.

Nominations are open now and will close on 31^st October. If on that date, we have more than one candidate, we will move to a Member vote.

Two positions on Management Committee – nominations due by 31^st October

As well as a new President, two members of the Management Committee finish their terms at the end of this year: Samir Patel and Hal Denton. They may choose to stand again, however, we would encourage new candidates to make themselves available.

The Nomination Process

All nominations, whether for President or the Management Committee, must be made via the Member Organising body to the Secretary-General and may be submitted by Full or Associate Members. Nominees may come from a Recognised Croquet Organisation (RCO) but must be nominated by a Member.

All nominations for these positions must be authorised in writing or by email by the candidate and by an appropriate officer of the nominating Member. Nominations must be accompanied by a brief résumé of the candidate’s personal details and their objectives as President or MC Member. They must be received by the Secretary-General no later than the 31^st October 2023. A headshot photo would also be appreciated.

Note: Election – if there are more candidates than open positions, there will be a Council Election. The process for this will be circulated should it become necessary.

Nominations for President should also indicate whether the person wishes to stand for election to the Management Committee, should they be unsuccessful as President.

For more information, please contact the Secretary-General or ask any of the existing Management Committee.

Ranking Systems

The GC and AC ranking systems are run by volunteers and I am sure you will join me in thanking the Ranking Officers for their hard work. The GC system in particular involves several Assistant Ranking Officers (AROs) ensuring that the results from their part of the world are properly entered into the rankings.

We are always looking for people to support the existing AROs and to get trained up on how to do this important work. If you think you have the skills and time to support croquet in this way, please get in touch.

England win the European Teams Championship.

2023 European Team Championship: the England team

9 countries gathered at Cheltenham, England for 4 days of mixed AC and GC matches. Each team had one AC player and 2 GC players in a format designed to test both versions of our sport.

Thank you to the Cheltenham Club for hosting and to all the volunteers and officials who organised the event. Congratulations to the English team, comprising Euan Burridge, Aston Wade and Stuart Smith, who beat Wales 3:0 in the Final.

European Golf Croquet Club League

This exciting new event is designed to give club players throughout Europe the opportunity to play abroad and also to find the Champion club team in Europe.

Three further heats have now been held, these being at Ikskile in Latvia, CERN in Switzerland and Dulwich in England. For tournament reports and results, visit the event webpage: European GC Club League Page

Dulwich, Ealing, Roehampton (ENG), Ikskile (LAT), CERN (CHE) and Sherry (ESP) compete in the 'Grand Final' to be held at the prestigious Roehampton Club, London (England) 13-15^th October 2023.

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

March 2023 Newsletter

Congratulations to our latest Champions

3 World Championships have been completed since our last Newsletter. Well done to our new Champions:

2022 AC World Team Championship Tier 1: the MacRobertson Shield: Champions England, comprising Captain Samir Patel and his team mates Christian Carter, Harry Fisher, James Death, Jamie Burch and Mark Avery.

2023 AC Women’s World Championship: Champion Debbie Lines, England

2023 Under 21 GC World Championship: Champion Aston Wade, England

The WCF would like to thank the ACA and CNZ for hosting these events for us. Particular thanks go to the army of volunteers who prepared the lawns, set the hoops, fed the players, organised the admin, billeted players and of course the many club players who gave up their lawns.

Thanks also to the live-stream and social media teams, which were superb at all three events. To watch the livestreaming, follow these links:

MacRobertson Shield – provided by 'MySportLive' all days were streamed, with commentary provided from both local players but also remotely from players around the World.

AC Women’s Championship – provided by Maori Active, under the leadership of Greg Bryant. All four days of the knock-out were streamed. These have been collected on the WCF YouTube AC Women’s Playlist Women's AC World Championships Playlist

Under 21 Championship – also provided by Maori Active by Greg and his team, these can also be viewed via the WCF YouTube channel: Under 21 World Championships Playlist

Coming up soon!

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

The 2023 GC Women’s World Championship will take place in Sussex, England between 7 -14 August.

Qualifiers for both of these events can now be entered via the English CA Fixtures List, 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 (email: caoffice@croquet.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.

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.

Hosts wanted for future events
The forward calendar for the next 12 years can be viewed on the Upcoming Events page of this website. Clubs interested in hosting any of our events should make their interest known via their Governing Body.

Membership News

Hong Kong joins the WCF as an RCO
In December we announced that a Croquet Association has now been formed in Hong Kong. They have two clubs, the Hong Kong Cricket Club with 27 members and the Hong Kong Club with 15 playing members. In 2022 the HKCC hosted 4 tournaments and ran a league from Sept to April. These tournaments were singles and doubles Association and singles and doubles Golf. They have plans to hold National Championships next April.

Please offer them a warm welcome, and if you are in Hong Kong, why not get in touch and pay them a visit.

Croquet is doing well in Mexico
Mexico request upgrade to Associate Membership. It’s still going through a Council Vote, due to finish on 9^th March, but it seems likely that our Mexico RCO, who have expanded to two clubs and are growing their Membership, will soon be upgrading to Associate Membership. They have recently built a fantastic new club house at their base in Valle de Guadalupe, which is in the heart of Mexico Wine Country on the Baja California.

Spain goes from strength to strength
Congratulations to Spain which continues to grow. Player numbers have increased again year on year and with their 2023 Subscription they have upgraded to the maximum 8 vote Membership.

The below article describes their amazing growth.

Dawson Balls update
The original Dawson ball recipe went out of production following changes to Australian product regulations which banned one of the substances used. Testing continues to recreate a recipe that meets the specification. The WCF have been advised that there has been some success. Final testing is underway so we hope production might start again soon.

Completed WCF Business

Topic 116 – Ranking Changes Proposal: amends to the algorithm to reduce under-ranking in developing countries was passed on 4^th November and implemented on 18^th December

Topic 117 – For singles events, we consulted on members preferences for Single or Multi-venue events. Feedback was inconclusive but leant towards a preference for single venues but maintaining the larger entry of 80 players. The MC will bear the feedback in mind, but basically no change to the policy.

Topic 118 – Forward Calendar: Croquet England proposed moving the MacRobertson Shield to 2026. Members voted and approved the change.

Topic 119 – Equipment Regulations consultation. Thank you for your feedback, this is being reviewed and new Regulations will be put to a member vote shortly.

Topic 120 - Brian Havill was re-elected as the WCF Independent Examiner

Topic 121 – 2023 Budget: Members approved the budget. This included increasing player entrance fees to £17 per player per day. This allowed us to increase payments to our Hosts to ensure events are viable. The host now gets £15 of this for Teams event and £10 for Singles events. The WCF retains the remainder to cover our costs.

Czech Moravian Croquet Association – expansion of the facility at Telc
Topic 122, was a request for a grant for €15,000 to increase the two lawn club in Telc to four lawns. This will greatly improve their ability to host tournaments and to grow their membership. Work to lay the new lawns started a few weeks ago.

November 2022 Newsletter

Congratulations Matthew Essick - 2022 Golf Croquet World Champion

Congratulations to Scotland - winners of Tier 2.1

Congratulations to Canada - winners of Tier 2.2 and promoted into 2.1 for next time!

Congratulations to the South African team, winner of Tier 3

Well done Mexico - 2020 Tier 3 Golf Croquet World Team Champions

Congratulations to our Champions!

2022 GC World Champion: Matthew Essick

2020 GC Tier 3 World Team Champions: Mexico

2022 AC WTC Champions Tier 2.1: Scotland

2022 AC WTC Champions Tier 2.2: Canada

2022 AC WTC Champions Tier 3: South Africa

The Player Surveys for these events can now be found on the WCF Website: Championship Player Surveys

Thank you
The WCF wish to thank all the clubs that hosted events for the WCF in England earlier this year. To everyone at the clubs for releasing their lawns, and to all the volunteers where ever you are, your hard work ensures these events are a success, and we thank you.

- The Guildford & Godalming Club for the GC Tier 3
- The Sussex County Croquet Club for the GC World Championship
- Budleigh Salterton for the AC World Teams Tiers 2.1, 2.2 and 3.

Coming up soon!

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

Teams of six elite croquet players will compete over 2 weeks in a series of test matches. Australia are defending champions - can they retain the title or will England, New Zealand or the USA claim the shield?

A busy live-streaming schedule is planned, providing croquet enthusiasts around the world to watch some top class croquet. To find out more go to the event website and Facebook page by clicking on the images.

We wish all the players success. Let the best team win!

2023 Women’s AC World Championship
This will take place between 7-14 January in Canterbury, New Zealand. To find out more visit WCF Event Page: 2023 AC Women's Championship and also the Event Website Croquet New Zealand Event website

Players can still enter the Qualifier, to be held in Waikanae (North of Wellington) from 3-5 January 2023, with four places in the World Championship available. If you are eligible and interested in entering please go to the CNZ tournament page to enter. AC Women's Qualifier The allocation date is 3rd November 2022, but if not full on that date entries will remain open until 19^th December 2022.

Other 2023 Events (click the event name to learn more).

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

The 2023 GC Women’s World Championship will take place in Sussex, England between 7 -14 August.

The 2023 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.

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.

Regulations
On 30th September 2022, the WCF Council voted to adopt new Event and Sports Regulations.These can now be viewed on the WCF Website page: WCF Statutes & Regulations

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.

Want to watch some Croquet from home?
If so, you could take a look at the WCF YouTube Channel. It showcases some of the very best videos of top class, international croquet from around the world, as well as a few How To videos explaining the game. Use our Playlists to be taken straight to videos created by WCF Members and International croquet players. See World Championship footage, as well as National Championships from around the globe.

European Championship	2025 GC Championship	15-18 May	Budleigh, England
World Championship	2025 GC World Team Championships – Tiers 2 & 3	5 to 10 August	Sussex, England
European Championship	2025 U21 Championship	17-20 August	Telč, Czech Republic
World Championship	2025 AC World Championship	18 to 26 October	National Croquet Centre, Florida, USA There will be a qualifier starting on 14 October.

WORLD CROQUET FEDERATION

Category: Newsletters

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