Category: Latest News

Debbie Lines resigns as Secretary-General and is appointed Chair of WCF Incorporation Committee

Debbie Lines has decided to resign early as Secretary-General, having determined that her time over the next few months can best be spent as Chair of the WCF’s Incorporation sub-committee and she has been formally appointed by the Management Committee to that role. As such she will work with Peter Payne and Samir Patel to complete the work required to transfer the WCF to a limited company. The transition to an incorporated company is important for the ongoing health and financial security of the WCF and Debbie is keen to focus on that work.

Debbie had been due to finish as Secretary-General at the end of the year with Rosemary Landrebe working alongide her as Deputy. Instead, Rosemary Landrebe takes on the Secretary-General role with immediate effect.

Debbie will continue to support the Management Committee over the next 4 months and will work closely with Rosemary to hand-over the responsibilities of Secretary-General. She will be on hand to support the new Secretary-General and the Management Committee and we expect a smooth transition.

The Management Committee would like to thank Debbie for her service over the past five years, and for her on-going support over the next four months.

 

 

Rosemary Landrebe is appointed as the next Secretary-General

The WCF Management Committee is very pleased to announce that Rosemary Landrebe from Australia has been appointed Deputy Secretary-General with effect from 1 September 2025. 

As previously announced, Debbie Lines will retire on 31 December 2025 on the completion of her four-year term, and it is the intention that Rosemary will become Secretary-General from 1st January 2026. She will be eligible to be appointed for a second four-year term from 1 January 2030 to 31 December 2033.

Rosemary has been a senior manager in various roles, specialising in operations management and analysis. She has experience of managing stakeholders at all levels working across sporting and not-for-profit organisations. She has also spent time supporting Croquet Australia and the New South Wales boards, working on various implementation and improvement projects and coaching programs.

Rosemary has been playing croquet for more than 40 years, plays both AC and GC at the top level, and has represented Australia and New South Wales on several occasions.

The MC believes that Rosemary’s passion and commitment to croquet and professional experience make her an ideal candidate for the role.

Colonel Tony Hall OBE – RIP

It is with great sadness that we report that our much loved croquet colleague, Colonel Tony Hall OBE, has died at the age of 93. Tony was still playing croquet until very recently and was known to many all over the international croquet world. He was a great friend to the WCF, having been our President from 1999 to 2003, and frequently referee’d at our Championships. He will be greatly missed.

His Hall of Fame citation can be read here: Tony Hall – WCF Hall of Fame 2010

Our condolences to his friends and family.

2025 Hall of Fame Nominations – due by 30th September

Nominations to the 2025 WCF Hall of Fame are due by Tuesday 30th September.

So far, a total of 53 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 the Secretary-General. Nominations may be made by individuals or through Member countries. Please include a citation of not less than 500 words out-lining your nominees croquet achievements. Please also send a decent 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

GC Country Rankings as at 30th June 2025

The GC Team Rankings (as at 30 June 2025).

No major changes at the top this quarter, but quite a few swaps in the middle of the field. This reflects the amount of croquet being played in  Europe during the summer months.

Position

Country

Average

Players

1

Egypt

2,584

6

2

USA

2,539

6

3

England

2,509

6

4

New Zealand

2,472

6

5

Australia

2,466

6

6

Spain

2,372

6

7

South Africa

2,267

6

8

Ireland

2,149

6

9

Wales

2,141

6

10

Canada

2,138

6

11

Sweden

2,109

6

12

Germany

2,054

6

13

Scotland

2,050

6

14

Czech Republic

2,036

6

15

Latvia

2,013

6

16

Switzerland

1,961

6

17

Austria

1,952

6

18

Norway

1,907

6

19

Mexico

1,885

6

20

Finland

1,818

6

21

Portugal

1,807

5

22

Belgium

1,946

2

AC Country Rankings as at 30th June 2025

The latest AC Team Rankings (as at 30 June 2025) are:

Position

Country

Average Grade

Players

1

England

2,577

6

2

Australia

2,524

6

3

New Zealand

2,499

6

4

USA

2,467

6

5

Ireland

2,158

6

6

Scotland

2,155

6

7

Wales

2,099

6

8

South Africa

1,905

6

9

Canada

1,858

6

10

Sweden

1,574

6

11

Germany

1,472

6

12

Czech Republic

1,525

5

13

Switzerland

1,611

3

14

Austria

1,642

2

15

Iran

2,198

1

16

Jersey

1,982

1

17

Luxembourg

1,914

1

18

Mexico

1,788

1

19

Portugal

1,519

1

20

Latvia

1,337

1

21

Norway

1,335

1

Advantage GC – Advice to Tournament Managers for Time Limited Games

It has recently been brought to the Management Committees attention by the WCF Advantage Rules Committee and Golf Croquet Rules Committee, that the current GC rules do not adequately cover how to determine the winner of Time-limited Advantage games if play is stopped before either side has reached its target score.

The intent is that this omission will be addressed in the next edition of the GC Rules. In the meantime, we advise National Governing Bodies to deal with this by releasing advice to the managers of their tournaments.

The GCRC recommendation is to use the concept of ‘Scoring Fractions’ to determine who has won once play has stopped, as defined by Rules19.1. Stated simply, this means dividing the number of hoops a side has actually won (when play has stopped), by the total number they needed to win at the start of the game.

Example:

Side A: started on -1 and therefore needed to score 8 points to win a typical 13-point game.

Side B: started on 2 and therefore needed to score 5 points.

If the score was 4:5 when play was stopped,

      • side A would have won 4 - (-1) = 5 hoops with a scoring fraction of 5/8 = 62.5%, and
      • side B would have won 5 - (2) = 3 hoops with a scoring fraction of 3/5 = 60%.

Therefore, Side A wins the game, having achieved the higher scoring fraction.

Unless the organising body has stated that tied games are allowed, if the scoring fractions are equal when play is stopped, play is to continue and the side that wins the next hoop is the winner of the game.

This advice only impacts Rules 19.1.4, 19.1.5 and 19.1.6.

2025 AC World Championship – Qualifier details

2025 AC World Championship Qualifier
This will take place between 14-16 October at the National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach, FL
How to enter:
Entry is direct via the USCA: USCA Entry site: WCF AC World Qualifier
Size of Event:
Entry limit 24 players
Entry Fee:
The entry fee is US $75
This event determines the Qualifier Places (4 or more) for the 2025 AC World Championship. Entrants must intend to play in the main Championship if they qualify. (Players who have already been offered a place in the main Championship are not eligible to play in the Qualifier.)
The Qualifier will be played as a strict Swiss in 8 or 9 rounds. (The format is subject to change if there is a large number of vacancies.)
The Qualifier Allocation Date is 14 July. If the event is oversubscribed on that date, the list will be sorted by DGrade* and the top 24 players will be offered places. The remaining players will be placed on a waiting list. If a vacancy arises, the waiting list will be newly sorted by DGrade and the highest-ranked player will be offered the place.
If the tournament is undersubscribed on the Qualifier Allocation Date, all the entrants will be offered places, and additional places will be offered in order of receipt of entry until the event is full.
The Qualifier Closing Date is 29 September; no entries will be accepted after that date.

* Unlike the ranking list used for allocating Ranking Places in the main Championship, the ranking list for this tournament is based on a player's most recent official DGrade, whether or not the player has played any games in the prior 12 months.

A beverage station will be provided.  Daily Lunches are not provided but will be available.  Players will be charged $16 plus tax and gratuity.

Location
National Croquet Center, 700 Florida Mango Rd, West Palm Beach, FL  33406, USA

Key Contacts
Tournament Director: Jeff Soo

Recruitment of new Secretary-General

Debbie Lines has advised that she does not intend to do a second term as Secretary-General and that she will therefore retire on 31st December 2025.

The Management Committee would like to recruit a replacement to start 1st September 2025, so that there is a four-month hand-over period.

New Secretary-General advertisement May25

For info: the WCF is currently going through the process of becoming a limited company. We do not expect this to impact the recruitment process or materially effect the job specification.

Applications and enquiries should be sent to this email address by 15th July 2025.

We strongly encourage candidates to talk to those familiar with the WCF and how it operates, before applying for the role. Both Debbie Lines and the current members of the Management Committee are all more than happy to respond to queries.