Congratulations to Dulwich
The 2023 European Club League Champions
Updated 12th October 2023
Congratulations to the 6 qualifiers from the West Coast qualifier: Jeff Newcombe, Torben Bak, Paul Christmass, Brian Scott, Basil Ladyman, Kim Reynolds.
Since this finished yesterday there has been another withdrawal, so congratulations also to Ellie Griffith who also now as a place in the main Championship.
Good luck to everyone.
Please find attached the latest list of players (rankings still as at 25.8.23).
12.10.23 Over50s Breakdown of Players and Player List
Updated 2nd October 2023
Following a withdrawal on 2nd October, please find attached the latest list of players (rankings still as at 25.8.23).
Please note, as the cut-off date for this event has now passed, this withdrawal means there are now 6 places available from the West Coast qualifer event.
Congratulations to Penny Morrison-McGill and John Carr who were the two successful Qualifiers from the East Coast Qualifier.
2nd October 23 Over50s Breakdown of Players and Player List
Updated 20th September 2023
Following a Ranking place withdrawal on 20th September, please find attached the latest list of players (rankings still as at 25.8.23).
Please note, as the cut-off date for this event has now passed, this withdrawal means there are now 5 places available from the West Coast qualifer event.
20.9.23 Over50s Breakdown of Players and Player List
Updated 12th September 2023
Following a Ranking place withdrawal on 12th September, please find attached the latest list of players and the Replacement list (rankings still as at 25.8.23).
Please note, as the cut-off date for this event has now passed, this withdrawal means there are now 4 places available from the West Coast qualifer event.
12.9.23 Over50s Breakdown of Players and Player List
Updated 11th September 2023
Following a Ranking place withdrawal on 10th September, please find attached the latest list of players and the Replacement list (rankings as at 25.8.23).
Please note, as the cut-off date for this event has now passed, this withdrawal means there are now 3 places available from the West Coast qualifer event.
11.9.23 Over50s Breakdown of Players and Player List
Updated 4th September 2023
Following a Member place withdrawal on 25th August, please find attached the latest list of players and the Replacement list (rankings as at 25.8.23)
4.9.23 retraVision GC Over50s Breakdown of Players and Player List
Updated 10th July 2023
Following a Member place withdrawal, please find attached the latest list of players and the Replacement list (rankings as at 7.7.23)
Breakdown of Places and Player List and Replacement List at 10.7.23
Updated 19th June 2023
Following a Member withdrawal and a Replacement Withdrawal, please see updated player lists.
19.6.23 Over50s Breakdown of Players and Player List and Replacement Ranking List
Update 13th June 2023
Following 3 further withdrawals the player list and Replacement Ranking List has been updated.
13.6.23 Over50s Breakdown of Players and Player List and Replacement Ranking List
Update 22nd May 2023
Matt Griffith, USA has accepted the Replacement Ranking Place available.
Over 50's Breakdown by Country, Player List and RRL as at 22.5.23
12th May 2023
The 2023 GC Over 50's World Championship is due to be held in Western Australia between Saturday 14th October 2023 to Saturday 21st October 2023.
The closing date for Members to nominate players for their Membership places was end of 12th May 2023 (UK time).
At the closing date Sweden did not provide a nominee for one of their member places. This place has therefore been released and is currently on offer to the highest ranked player on the Replacement Ranking List.
The file below shows the complete list of current players in receipt of either a Membership Place (23 players) or Ranking Place (20). It also includes the Replacement Ranking list as at end 12th May 2023.
Over 50's Breakdown by Country, Player List and RRL as at 12.5.23
Age Restriction
Members and Players are reminded that there is an Age Restriction for this event. Entrants must be 50 or over on the start date of the event. “Sports Regulations - Clause 5.1.6. A player may compete in an Event subject to a minimum age limit if they have attained the minimum age on the first day of the Event.”
Any players on the list who don’t meet this requirement should immediately notify their Member and the Secretary-General of their ineligibility and withdrawal.
Qualification Events
There are four places remaining which will be awarded to the qualifiers from the two Qualification Events. These will take place in 1) Western Australia, Cambridge Croquet Club, Sunday 8th October to Wednesday 11th October 2023; and 2) Eastern Australia ,Cairnlea Victoria, Tuesday 26th to Thursday 28th September 2023. If extra places for the main event become available after the main cut-off date of 27th August, then these will all come from the West Coast qualifier.
Those interested in playing in either of the qualifiers should enter via the ACA website which is due to go live shortly.
Entry Fees are now due
The entry fee of £136 per entrant is now requested and must be paid by 12th June 2023.
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.
Players will be emailed our bank details via their Member and are requested to pay by this method if at all possible as PayPal incurs costly fees. Please ensure that 4 or 5 days are allowed for the payment to work its way through the banking system. Per the Regulations, the money needs to have arrived in our bank account by the due date.
If unable to pay in this way, you can pay by PayPal, details for which can be found on this link: https://worldcroquet.org/2023-gc-over-50s-world-championship-entry-fees/
Player Information
The following information is required from all the above competing players by 10th June 2023 (or sooner please if available).
Please send this information online via Google Forms. Please click on this link: https://worldcroquet.org/2023-gc-over-50s-world-championship-player-information/
Please note that at other recent events some of the photos received have been out of focus, poor resolution or with poor content. Please can all players send a good photo first time as this will avoid the event organisers needing to revert back to request better.
Please note, the photo and bio may be published on the event website and on the WCF website. Players should expect some live streaming and the 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 S-G and Tournament Manager for use during the event.
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 West Coast Qualifier closing date of 23rd September 2023, the place becomes an extra qualifier from the Qualification tournament.
Withdrawal by a player who received a Ranking place: when a player withdraws, if this is before the cut-off date of 27th August 2023, then the next most highly ranked player on the Replacement Ranking list at the end of that day will be offered the place. After the cut-off date, the place 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.
Congratulations to Robert Fulford - 2023 AC World Champion
The 2023 WCF AC World Championship was held between 15th and 23rd July 2023. The event was sponsored by Rockwell Hurlingham Waterfront developments, Howard Sosin and the Hurlingham Club. 18 countries were represented, coincidentally matching the 18th 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 18th 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 6th 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
The 6th 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.
New WCF President – nominations due by 31st 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 31st 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 31st 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 31st 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.
England win the European Teams Championship.
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.
Aston Wade wins the European Under 21 Golf Croquet Championship
The 2023 GC Under 21 European Championship was held between 17 - 20 August 2023 at the Ikskile Croquet Club (main venue with 3 courts) and Sigulda Croquet Club (one court) in Latvia. 28 competitors from 7 countries competed in the event.
Aston Wade representing England, beat Alfonso Morales from Spain, 2 to 1, 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) 13-15th October 2023.
Swedish Referees Course held 5th June
The WCF should like to thank Stephen Mulliner for flying to Sweden earlier this year to provide them with a Referees Course. He had a busy time of it, with 9 people attending the GC course and 6 the AC course. Well done to all those who attended and who are now able to use their skills to support play in Sweden.
retraVision: top Aussie Company to Sponsor World Croquet Championship in Bunbury
The ACA have recently announced a new major sponsorship deal with retraVision.
Croquet has entered the big league with famous Australian Retailer Retravision throwing its weight behind the sport down under. It’s a real coup for the sport in Australia and Western Australia to have a sponsor with the reputation of Retravision coming onboard. The Award Winning electrics appliance company is not only famous for its retail success, but its community minded approach to business. It has sponsored and linked with numerous organizations through the years. Now croquet is set to benefit from the company’s generosity.
Croquet New Zealand have shared details of the Memoral Service as follows:
Memorial Service: Saturday 26th August at 11.30am (NZ time)
Venue: Stonehaven, CHB Funeral Services, 10 Peel Street, Waipukurau, New Zealand.
For those unable to attend but who would like to follow the service there will be a video stream of the service, which can be accessed here:
The document below (click on link to open pdf) was recently created by the European Regional Committee and includes translations of key croquet terms into european languages.
Basic Croquet Terms Translation_August 23 update
We hope to add more languages soon from other WCF Member countries.
