WCF December 2014 Newsletter
The newsletter provides a summary for WCF Members of what the Management Committee has been doing recently and what is on the agenda in the near future. Your comments are always very welcome. It is made available to all on the WCF web-site and via the Nottingham list and other croquet bulletin boards.
Council debates and decisions
The three regular fourth quarter administrative WCF Topics, namely the review of the Business Plan (Topic 36) and Budget (Topic 38) and the election of an Independent Examiner (Topic 37) for the forthcoming year were all approved. David Walters had informed us that 2015 would be his last year as our Examiner and we thank him for his years of service.
The application from the Uruguay Croquet Federation to become an Observer Member was Topic 39 and achieved a record vote in favour of 58-0! We extend a very warm welcome to Uruguay and look forward to other South American members in due course. In Topic 40, Council approved the MC recommendation that e-mail voting should become an approved method of reaching Council decisions on a permanent basis.
The MC consulted the Council earlier in the year under Topic 33 about possible amendments to Statutes 301 to 309, including changes to Statute 303 to cater for the new world championship allocation process. The responses have been incorporated in amendments proposed to Council as Topic 41 and the Closing Date is 18 January 2015.
What has been happening in December?
The Announcement Date for the 2015 Women’s ACWC occurred on 21 December. Twelve Ranking Places and one Wild Card Place were awarded. 19 Membership Places and four Qualifier Places take the total to 36. The Qualifying Tournament will be held at Nailsea Croquet Club near Bristol from Saturday, 18 to Monday, 20 July 2015.
The new web-site has been delivered with a more interesting and marketing-focussed home page and simpler navigation. Population with data is under way and the plan is to launch the new web-site later this month and run the two web-sites in parallel for a few weeks before closing the old site.
Recent and forthcoming WCF championships
2015 Under-21 Golf Croquet World Championship
This will be held at the United Croquet Club, Christchurch, New Zealand from Sunday, 1 February to Thursday, 5 February 2015. The Event Capacity is 28 and Ranking Places and Membership Places have been awarded to competitors representing Australia, Egypt, England and New Zealand.
2015 Golf Croquet World Championship
This will be held at the Mount Maunganui Croquet Club and other clubs in the Bay of Plenty region, North Island, New Zealand from Saturday, 7 February to Sunday, 15 February 2015. A Qualifying Event will be held from Tuesday, 3 February to Thursday, 5 February 2015. The Event Capacity is 80 and Ranking Places, Wild Card Places and Membership Places have been awarded to competitors representing Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. Full details can be found on the WCF web-site under World Championships.
2015 Women’s Association Croquet World Championship
This will be held in Nottingham from Saturday, 25 July to Saturday, 1 August 2015. The Event capacity has been increased to 36 players and the announcement of Wild Card Places and Ranking Places will be made on 21 December. Members who have requested Membership Places must inform the WCF of the names of their players by 25 January 2015.
2016 Association Croquet World Championship
This will be held at the National Croquet Centre, West Palm Beach, Florida from Friday, 22 April to Saturday, 30 April 2016. The Qualifying Tournament will be held from Sunday, 17 April to Wednesday, 20 April 2016. More details will be available on the WCF website in due course.
MC Topics completed or closed in December
MC 301: Topic 33 comments to be incorporated in revised draft.
MC 304: World Championship medals purchase.
MC 305: Election of Independent Examiner.
MC 306: 2015 Budget.
MC 307: Uruguay Croquet Federation membership application.
MC 308: Adoption of e-mail voting on a permanent basis.
Topics open, pending or under administration on 31 December
MC 278: Review of croquet activity among Members.
MC 282: 2015 Golf Croquet World Championship, February 2015.
MC 283: 2015 Women’s Association Croquet World Championship, July 2015.
MC 284: New WCF web-site.
MC 285: 2015 Under-21 Golf Croquet World Championship, February 2015.
MC 291: Appointment of GC Ranking Officer and Assistant Ranking Officers.
MC 295: 2016 Association Croquet World Championship.
MC 309: 2014 Management Committee report.
MC 310: Approval of GC Rulings.
Outlook for January
The main activities for the month will be continuing to administer the forthcoming World Championships and beginning the review of the rest of the WCF Statutes.
Stephen Mulliner
Secretary-General 11 January 2015