WCF March 2015 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 also made available to all on the WCF web-site and via the Nottingham list and other croquet bulletin boards.
Council debates and decisions
The WCF Council is currently deliberating on two topics with a closing date of 12 April. Topic 42 is a recommendation from the MC that Palestine’s Observer Membership be terminated as, unfortunately, it seems that there has been no organised croquet activity there for some time. Topic 43 is a recommendation from the MC to adopt a policy confirming that Regulations applicable to a WCF Event should not be varied in relation to that Event during its lifecycle.
What has happened in March?
The player surveys from the three recent Golf Croquet World Championships have now been analysed. A total of 37 players replied (Women’s GCWC 10, U21 GCWC 5 and GCWC 22) and the MC is grateful to them all for expressing their views. A summary is available on the WCF websites.
Perhaps the most interesting results were in relation to questions asking for comments on the use of the Atkins Quadway hoops, the use of the Block Seniority Method for seeding the knock-out stage and about the GC wrong ball law, Rule 11. The use of Atkins hoops in the U21 GCWC and GCWC was supported by 17 players and opposed by six (four did not comment) and the Block Seniority Method was approved of by 28 players and disapproved of by nine. The wrong ball rule was supported by 23 players and disapproved of by 14.
The dates of the next Association Croquet World Championship in April 2016 were settled and are given below. An active discussion of how best to stage the Golf Croquet World Team Championship was required after Egypt suggested that March 2016 in Cairo would not be feasible. The MC is pleased to report that the (English) Croquet Association has agreed to host both Tier 1 and Tier 2 in May 2016.
Keith Aiton resigned from the MC and Samir Patel has been co-opted to fill the vacancy. Samir and three other MC members will retire on 31 December 2015 but will be eligible for re-election. Keith was first elected in 2007 and the MC is very grateful to him for his years of service to the WCF.
The new web-site has been delivered with a more interesting and marketing-focussed home page and simpler navigation. It is now active and can be found at http://www.worldcroquet.org.uk. The current and new web-sites will be run in parallel until the new site is fully populated with archive data. Suggestions regarding the layout and content will be welcome.
Recent and forthcoming WCF 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. The names of the 32 players with Ranking Places, Wild Card Places and Membership Places are available on the WCF website under World Championships.
2016 Association Croquet World Championship
This will be held at the National Croquet Centre, West Palm Beach, Florida from Saturday, 16 April to Sunday, 24 April 2016. The Qualifying Tournament will be held from Monday, 11 April to Thursday, 14 April 2016. Please note the revised dates which are six days earlier than announced last month in order to oblige the NCC. The Invitation Date is expected to be in June 2015. More details will be available on the WCF website in due course.
2016 Golf Croquet World Team Championship
Tier 1 will be held at the Surbiton Croquet Club in south-west London from Sunday, 15 May to Saturday, 21 May 2016. Tier 2 will be held elsewhere in southern England from 14 or 15 May to 20 May 2016 with the intention that players from teams in both tiers can meet for a combined championship celebration.
MC Topics completed or closed in March
MC 251: 2014 Women’s GCWC
MC 278: Review of croquet activity among Members.
MC 282: 2015 GCWC
MC 284: New WCF web-site
MC 285: 2015 Under 21 GCWC
MC 311: Regulation policy
MC 312: 2015 GCWC Qualifier Places
MC 315: Management Committee vacancy
MC 316: Refereeing Regulations – amendment of Reg 3(d)
Topics open, pending or under administration on 31 March 2015
MC 283: 2015 Women’s Association Croquet World Championship, July 2015
MC 291: Appointment of GC Ranking Officer and Assistant Ranking Officers
MC 295: 2016 Association Croquet World Championship, April 2016
MC 313: 2016 GC World Team Championship, May 2016
MC 314: Women’s GC World Team Championship.
Outlook for April
The main activities for the month will be focussed on the Statute Review and the early administration of the 2016 ACWC and 2016 GC WTC.
Stephen Mulliner
Secretary-General 3April 2015