November 2021 Newsletter

We are pleased to report that between 11-16 October, in Cadiz Spain, we held the delayed 2020 GC World Team Championship Tier 2.

Held at the Real Club de Golf Vista Hermosa in Puerto Santa Maria, the Sherry Golf Jerez, and at the Real Club de Golf Novo Sancti Petri. Six full teams, plus a reduced Canadian team and a Select team, competed for the World Croquet Federation Salver.

Spain were seeded top and successfully beat second seeds Wales in the final by 10 matches to 3. The plate was won by Switzerland who beat Latvia. Players from Portugal and the UK joined the Canadian team and the Select teams to allow the event to continue with the scheduled 8 team format.

Spain celebrate their win.

For full details please see our News Item on the WCF website: GCWTC T2 Spain News Item and the event website: https://gcwtspain2021.com/

 

Stephen Mulliner Retires as Secretary-General

Stephen Mulliner retired on 31st August 2021 as Secretary-General of the WCF. During his tenure, the WCF has taken responsibility for managing the AC Laws, GC Rules and the Rankings as well as holding many successful championships.

Stephen was presented with a thank you gift from the WCF Management Committee on his retirement as Secretary-General on 31st August 2021.

Stephen has worked tirelessly to support croquet and will be missed by his colleagues on the Management Committee and all the Members he has supported so efficiently.

Stephen is replaced by Debbie Lines, who took over from 1st September 2021, after shadowing Stephen as his Deputy during the previous year.

We wish Stephen all the best with his future endeavours and hope to see him at many croquet events over the coming years.

2022 Events

The 2020 GC World Team Championship Tier 3 (delayed into 2022) is to be held at Guildford & Godalming, UK, between 20th July and 23rd July.

We can now confirm that the 2022 GC World Championship is to be held at the Sussex County Croquet Club between 30th July and 7th August. It will be preceded by a qualifier 25th to 28th July, venue tbc.

The 2022 AC World Team Championships Tiers 2 and 3 are to be held at Budleigh Salterton, UK, from 9-14th August 2022.

The 2022 AC World Team Championship Tier 1 (The MacRobertson Shield) is to be held at Cairnlea, Victoria, Australia, from 12-29th November 2022.

The WCF and the Event Hosts are monitoring the pandemic closely. As a result, the Invitation Dates for the above events will be delayed until approximately 5 to 6 months prior to the event start.


Event Frequency Survey – Forward calendar

A Member Consultation, requested by Croquet New Zealand, was recently concluded. It considered the merits of a reduction in the frequency of WCF Singles Events to reduce both time pressure and costs for players and Members.

The result of the consultation was inconclusive. The WCF therefore decided to undertake a Top Player Survey. This went out to circa 600 GC and AC players in mid-October. We are currently awaiting feedback before collating and analysing the results.


Elections for Treasurer and Management Committee

The nomination period finished 31st October. We received more nominations than there are open positions. Elections for both the Management Committee and Treasurer positions have therefore started with Member votes due by 5th December.


Gender Policy

The WCF has been consulting with our Members over the past twelve months regarding our Gender Policy. Following feedback from Members it was decided to wait for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to update their policy after the Tokyo Olympics. The IOC have recently advised that they are delaying the publication of their new ‘framework’ until after the February 2022 Winter Olympics. As there are no immediate Women’s events planned, the Management Committee has decided to wait until this is available before finalising our policy.