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2022 Golf Croquet World Championship – Winner: Matthew Essick (USA)

The Championship was held at the Sussex County Croquet Club in the south of England between Saturday 30th July to Sunday 7th August 2022.

Click here or on the logo above to go to the dedicated Event website: gcworlds2022.org/

RESULTS

Full results can be found on Croquet Scores: 14th WCF Golf Croquet World Championship

STREAMING
A full programme of streamed matches from the Championship took place. All the footage can be found on the Croquet England YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/croquetengland

2020 Golf Croquet World Team Championship Tiers 3 – Champions Mexico

Congratulations to Mexico - Winners of the Tier 3 Golf Croquet World Championship.

This delayed 2020 event took place at the Guildford & Godalming Croquet Club between 20th to 23rd July 2022. Mexico, Portugal and Czech Republic played together with an Iran + team.

The Guildford & Godalming club looked after the players well with fast lawns, firm hoops and good food. The WCF would like to thank the club and all the volunteers who helped to make this event run so smoothly.

Mexico won with 2 wins against Portugal and the Czech Republic, and drew against the Iran team made up of Omied Hallam and some hastily convened club players who stepped into the breach when the Iranian VISAs failed to arrive in time.

Portugal came second and the Czech Republic third.

Full results can be found on Croquet Scores: 2020 GC WTC T3

August 2022 Newsletter

Watch the Championship that is taking place right now

As this Newsletter is published we are in the middle of the GC World Championship, 30 July to 7 August at the Sussex County Croquet Club, England.

Spectators are welcome for £10 per day or £25 for the week, including a programme. Follow the links below to find out more and to get up to date results, player profiles and stories as the championship continues.

Live streaming will be taking place– links can be found on Facebook or go direct to the Croquet England YouTube channel

Last week!
Last week we held the 2020 (delayed) World Team Championship Tier 3:
This event was held between 20-23 July.

The four teams competing were the Czech Republic, Iran, Mexico and Portugal.

Portugal came second and the Czech Republic third.

Full results can be found on Croquet Scores: 2020 GC WTC T3

Hall of Fame reminder
Nominations for the 2022 Hall of Fame must be received by the Secretary-General, no later than 30th September 2022. Nominations can be made by any individual or by a Member Governing Body.

Here is a link to the current members, so please don’t nominate them again!

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.

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.
Read Chris Clarke’s article "Early Preview" comparing the teams on the WCF website.

Coming soon – events early 2023 in New Zealand

The 2023 Women’s AC World Championship is confirmed for 7-14 January in Canterbury, New Zealand. The Response Date for this event has now passed and we are pleased to announce that the event has attracted many of the top women players. The breakdown of the 40 places, including award of Ranking Places can be found here.

The 2023 Under 21 World Championship will be held between 8 - 12 February 2023 at two clubs in Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand. The host clubs are Croquet Mount Maunganui, 45 Kawaka Street Mount Maunganui (head-quarters), and Tauranga Croquet Club, The Domain, Cameron Road Tauranga.
The event capacity is 32 players. The response date is 24th August, so get your entries in now!
Competitors must be under 21 years of age on 31st December 2022.

Other 2023 Events

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

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

The GC Over 50’s World Championship will take place in Bunbury, Western Australia, between 14-21 October. This will be the last Over 50’s event following a recent decision that in future the minimum age will change to 60.

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.

Our 2022 European Champions!

European GC Open Championships: Winner Aston Wade

Aston started playing Association Croquet in 2016 during his first year at Winchester College. He later learned to play Golf Croquet at Hamptworth Croquet Club in the summer of 2020. The following year, he won the British Open at the age of 18.

This year, Aston has been gaining experience at the international level. Since winning the 2022 European Championships he has played for the England GC team in the Test Match vs Spain as well in the GC Home Internationals and the AC Home Internationals. He is currently competing in the GC World Championship at Sussex County Croquet Club.

Aston is currently studying Medical Sciences at the University of Exeter.

European GC Women’s Championship Winner: Begoña Elzaburu

Congratulations to Begoña Elzaburu, from Spain, winner of the 2022 European Women's GC Championship.

The first ever Women's European Golf Croquet Championship took place in Latvia between Thursday 30th June to Sunday 3rd July 2022.

Begoña has been playing GC for five years. Two of her sons also play, one of whom is a previous Spanish Champion. She has represented Spain several times, including at the 2019 GC Women's World Championship. Begoña works hard for croquet, being on the committee of her club, a national referee and she is also on the WCF Management Committee.

Basic Croquet Terms Translated

Ever wanted to know how to describe croquet in Swedish or Spanish? Well now you can! https://worldcroquet.org/basic-croquet-terms-translated/

2023 Under 21 GC World Championship Entry Information

The 2023 Under 21 World Championship will be held between 8 - 12 February 2023 at two clubs in Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand.

The host clubs are Croquet Mount Maunganui, 45 Kawaka Street Mount Maunganui (head-quarters), and Tauranga Croquet Club, The Domain, Cameron Road Tauranga.

Main Event
The event capacity is 32 players. Entry is free for Under 21 championships.

Age Limit

This event is only open to players who are Under 21 on 31st December 2022. The criteria is defined in section 5.1.5 of the Sports Regulations: 5.1.5 A player may compete in an Event subject to a maximum age limit if their age does not exceed the limit on the preceding 31st December.

So, anybody who is 20 or younger on 31^st December 2022 may compete. Anyone who turns 21 prior to that date, may not.

Format

The format of the Championship will be:

Block play: 4 blocks of 8 players playing Bo3 matches over 3 days. Draw attached. The top 4 in each block will qualify for the Knock-Out stage.

Knock-Out: The Knock-Out Stage will comprise 16 players, with the matches best of 3 games. The final will be a best of 5 match if time allows. Otherwise best of three.

Plate: Entry will be open to those that do not qualify for the Knock-Out Stage. It will consist of block play and matches will be single games. It will be followed by a knockout stage of at least semi-finals and finals which will consist of best of three games.

Bowl: Entry will be open to 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 quarter-final losers in the Knock-Out Stage. It will be a knock-out event and matches will be the best of three games.

Event Management:

Event Lead: Graham Roberts
Tournament Director: Geoff Young
Tournament Manager: Sue Roberts
Assistant Manager: Gretchen Benvie
Tournament Referee: Gretchen Benvie

Committee Members: Members of the organising committee are from all the clubs and have experience/expertise in event management.

The WCF Appeals Committee will be established prior to the event.

The Tournament Manager will be based at Croquet Mount Maunganui.

A Players meeting will be held at Croquet Mount Maunganui on Tuesday 7^th February.

All lawns will be available for a practice session on Croquet Mount Maunganui & Tauranga, time to be advised.

Travel, Transport, Accommodation and Catering

Players will be responsible for their own accommodation: however, the organising committee will supply information on accommodation available including backpacker, motel and hotel.

The organising committee will endeavour to provide transport for players, provided funding permits, to the Croquet Club from accommodation and back, if accommodation is between Tweed Street and Mount Hot Pools Adams Ave, Mount Maunganui. Transport will also be arranged if games are played at Tauranga Croquet Club.

Lunches will be available at Croquet Mount Maunganui or can be purchased at local bakeries.

Social programme

There will be an official opening ceremony to welcome players and officials at the Croquet Mount Maunganui on the afternoon of 7^th February at 4 p.m.. Local dignitaries will be invited to attend and a traditional Maori welcome will be arranged.

The Knock-Out Stage Draw will be carried out in public at the Croquet Mount Maunganui as soon as convenient after the completion of the block play and any play-offs.

A closing Dinner held on 12^th February for presentation to Winners.

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 Contact Info & Bios
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.

Main Event Key Dates
Invitation Date	13/07/2022	This is the date that Members will be formally invited to send players to participate in this event.
Response Date	24/08/2022	This is the date by which Member nominations for Ranking and Wild Card places must have been received by the WCF Management Committee. Members must also specify the number of Membership Places they wish to take up and RCO's should advise if they would like to request a Membership Place.
Allocation Date	07/09/2022	The World Ranking List to be used to determine the initial allocation of Ranking Places is that published at the end of the Allocation Date.
Announcment Date	21/09/2022	MC announces recipients of Ranking Places and Wild Card Places. This is also the date that a pandemic final Go/No Go decision will be made, should it be necessary.
Closing Date	22/10/2022	This is the last date Members can nominate players for their Membership Places. Within 1 to 2 days the MC will announce recipients of Membership Places and Replacement Ranking Places.
Player Contact Info & Bios	22/11/2022	This is the latest date by which players must provide their contact details, bio's and a headshot photo. Earlier receipt is appreciated,

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 and the host clubs have in place.

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

GC Country Rankings as at 30th June 2022

Position	Country	Average	Players
1	Egypt	2,552	6
2	England	2,461	6
3	USA	2,341	6
4	New Zealand	2324	6
5	Spain	2,291	6
6	Australia	2,279	6
7	South Africa	2,221	6
8	Wales	2,207	6
9	Canada	2,172	6
10	Ireland	2,045	6
11	Sweden	2,022	6
12	Switzerland	2,008	6
13	Germany	2,008	6
14	Latvia	1,963	6
15	Czech Republic	1,942	6
16	Scotland	1,939	6
17	Austria	1,916	6
18	Norway	1,862	6
19	Mexico	1,804	3
20	Finland	1,750	3
21	Belgium	2,248	1

AC Country Rankings as at 30th June 2022

Position	Country	Average Grade	Players
1	England	2531	6
2	Australia	2462	6
3	New Zealand	2455	6
4	USA	2397	6
5	Wales	2148	6
6	Ireland	2131	6
7	Scotland	2107	6
8	South Africa	1952	6
9	Canada	1891	6
10	Germany	1518	6
11	Sweden	1500	6
12	Austria	1525	5
13	Czech Republic	1468	3
14	Switzerland	1991	2
15	Iran	2168	1
16	Jersey	2114	1
17	Luxembourg	2006	1
18	Mexico	1539	1
19	Spain	1214	1

2022 European GC Women’s Championship: Winner Begoña Elzaburu

Congratulations to Begoña Elzaburu, from Spain, winner of the 2022 European Women's GC Championship.

The first ever Women's European Golf Croquet Championship took place in Latvia between Thursday 30th June to Sunday 3rd July 2022. The event was played across two venues: the Ikskile Croquet Club (IKK), Vecnorinu iela 18, Ikskile, LATVIA, where there are three full size courts, and a satellite venue in Sigulda with one full size court.

Latvia surprised the foreign players not only by perfect lawns, excellent organisation, and warm hospitality, but also by tropical temperatures of 30 degrees and above. There was not a single drop of rain during the four days of the games, although the lawns were flooded by a sudden thunderstorm just a few hours before the opening ceremony.

Among 28 players from 7 countries, 5 countries were represented by their women’s ranking leaders, Jane Morrison from Ireland being the top seeded player with DGrade just over 2000.

Spain was represented by 10 players, Latvia benefited from the host country status and was able to enter 6 players.

Players were seeded into 4 blocks of 7, and top 4 players of each block were promoted to the main knock-out. After the block stage, there were 6 Spanish, 5 Latvian, two English, two Irish, and one Swiss player among the top 16.

There have been several surprises during the Championship. Sabine Martinsone, from Latvia, won the Shield trophy having been seeded just number 19. Rocio Mato, from Spain, was seeded number 27, and finished 8th. At the same time, the third seed missed the knock-out, and the number one seed lost in the first round of the knock-out.

The first semi-final on Sunday morning between Paz Gonzalez de Aguilar, from Spain, and Michelle Leonard, from England, finished relatively early in two games in favour of Paz with 7/5, 7/6. Another semi-final between Begoña Elzaburu, from Spain, and Silvija Freimane, from Latvia, required 3 games and lasted over 4 hours before Begoña secured an all-Spanish final by beating Silvija 7/6, 6/7, 7/5.

The final match presented some high-quality croquet, however Begoña gave very few chances to her friend and opponent Paz, beating her in two games 7/4 and 7/5.

The third-place match between Silvija and Michelle was the last one to finish before the awards ceremony could start. Silvija secured a victory in two games, 7/4 and 7/6.

Another two young Latvian players, Sabine Martinsone and Tania Varsa, won the Shield and Plate trophies respectively, and the top seeded Jane Morrison, from Ireland, won the Bowl.

The Championship has contributed greatly to promotion of croquet. There have been a number of interviews on printed media, two rather long stories on television, and non-stop streaming of the games throughout the days.

The Opening ceremony was attended by three Ambassadors. The Spanish Ambassador also arrived on the final day to watch the finals and awards ceremony.

Apart from the opening and closing ceremonies, the was a river cruise on Thursday night and an official dinner on Saturday night.

According to the forward calendar of the WCF, the next Women’s GC European Championship is scheduled to take place in 2024.

Report by Roberts Stafeckis

Winner: Begoña Elzaburu from Spain, Runner Up: Paz Gonzalez De Aguilar from Spain, 3rd Silvija Freimane from Latvia, Shield Winner - Sabine Martinsone Latvia, Bowl Winner - Jane Morrison from ireland and Plate winner, Tania Varsa from Latvia.

2022 European GC Singles Championship: Winner Aston Wade

2022 MacRobertson Shield – an article by Chris Clarke

May 2022 Newsletter

Forward Calendar

The current calendar only goes out to 2024. The Management Committee have been reviewing the frequency of Championships and have surveyed both Members and Players to gain feedback on this. The conclusions reached, and a proposed 12 year calendar, are currently in Consultation with members and we hope to publish the results soon.

Gender Policy

The WCF are pleased to announce that we now have a Gender Policy in place for our Championships. This can be viewed on page “Gender Policy” of the WCF website.

2022 WCF Events

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

The 2022 GC World Championship is to be held at the Sussex County Croquet Club between 30^th July and 7^th August. Member place nominations close on 8^th May and a list of players will be published on the WCF website shortly afterwards. A qualifier will be held 25^th to 28^th July, at the nearby Compton Croquet Club in nearby Eastbourne (please enter via the England CA Fixtures book).

The 2022 AC World Team Championships Tiers 2 and 3 are to be held at Budleigh Salterton, UK, from 9-14^th August 2022.
** World Select Team **
Twelve teams originally entered this event but we have had a withdrawal leaving us with an awkward number of eleven. The Management Committee have decided to create a “World Select Team” made up from players from countries not otherwise competing. If you are interested in joining this team, please see the article Exciting Opportunity for more information. Applications to play should be made via your WCF Member contact by 31^st May 2022.

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.

2023 Events

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

The 2023 GC Under 21 Championship is confirmed for 8-12 February in New Zealand (venue tbc).

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

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

The GC Over 50’s World Championship will take place in Bunbury, Western Australia, between 14-21 October.

European Regional Committee (ERC) - update

The second meeting of the ERC was held on 19th April 2022. The key items discussed were:

Daniel Larsson, from Sweden, was welcomed onto the committee. His term lasts until 31 December 2023.
The ERC is exploring the possibility of organizing an under 21 European GC tournament. More information will be provided soon.
The AC European Tournament will from now on take place every two years. The host for the 2024 edition will be indicated shortly.
The GC European Tournament will continue to be held on a yearly basis.

For more information about this sub-section of the WCF and how it operates, please see page “Europe” on the WCF website.

ERC Events for 2022

The European Golf Croquet Championship will take place in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England, between Thursday 26 May to Sunday 29 May.

A new European Event, the Women's Golf Croquet Championship will take place in Latvia, between Thursday 30 June and Sunday 3 July 2022.

For more information please see page “ERC – 2022 Championships” on the WCF Website.

Mohamed Raslan is elected to the Management Committee

The WCF is pleased to announce that the management committee has been joined by Mohamed Raslan from Egypt who successfully won the election that closed on 20th March 2022. He will serve until 31 December 2025.

His croquet journey started in 1982 in Alexandria, Egypt as a player for Somouha and Alexandria sporting clubs. When he moved to Cairo, he joined Maadi club and within a few years, he became involved with the team management. As the head of the team’s management committee, he led the efforts to organize a successful annual national tournament. He also facilitated corporate sponsorship allowing the team to gain financial independence. In December 2021, Raslan was elected president of the Egyptian Croquet Federation.

New GC Ranking Officer Richard Bilton

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

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

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

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

For the time being Richard will continue as Assistant Ranking Officer (ARO) for England. In his role as RO he is well supported by the full team of ARO's, ARO New Zealand - John Christie, ARO Spain - Felipe Mestanza, ARO United States - Jeff Soo, Peter Freer - Australia. We also thank Stephen Mulliner for continuing to enter and manage the results for Egypt.

6^th Edition GC Laws Published

The WCF Management Committee are pleased to report that the 6th Edition of the WCF Golf Croquet Rules was approved by the required two-thirds majority, with 50 votes in favour and no votes against.

The new Rules will come into immediate effect for WCF Events. They can be found here: WCF GC Rules 6th Edition - Final 7.3.22. They can also be found on this website on page: The rules of golf croquet

The WCF Management Committee wish to express their thanks to the members of the GC Rules Committee for the many hours of hard work spent updating these rules.

Regulatory Updates

On 21st February 2022, the WCF Council voted to adopt new Sports and Admin Regulations. These can now be viewed on the WCF Website page: https://worldcroquet.org/wcf-business/statutes-regulations/. Council also approved their use with immediate effect in events during 2022.

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

WORLD CROQUET FEDERATION

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