October 2014 Newsletter

WCF October 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 also made available to all on the WCF web-site and via the Nottingham list and other croquet bulletin boards.

Council debates and decisions

Three WCF Topics were published to Members and two have reached their closing dates and received responses.  Topic 33 concerned proposed amendments to current Statutes 301 to 309 intended to re-organise and shorten the text without any significant change in intent.  These Statutes deal with the versions of croquet recognised by the WCF, responsibility for the relevant laws and rules and the regulation of individual’s ability to represent countries in WCF and other international events.  Comments have now been received from several Members and these are now under review.  Topic 34 received Member support for a MC proposal to advertise future WCF Topics on the WCF website and e-mail lists.  The text of the Topic will be published on the WCF website so that individuals with an interest or experience in the subject-matter will be able to pass on their views to their WCF Member and so help to develop that Member’s contribution to the Topic discussion.  This will be trialled throughout 2015.  Topic 35 is open and seeks Members’ views on the appropriate refund policy to adopt when players withdraw from a World Championship having already paid their entry fee.

What has been happening since July?

The main activity was the administration and preparation for the five forthcoming WCF championships and details of these events are given in the following section.  Other MC matters included seeking agreement for the long-term support of CroquetScores and agreeing that the WCF should seek to appoint a Golf Croquet Ranking Officer to complement the role of the existing AC Ranking Officer and to appoint Assistant Ranking Officers for both AC and GC to reduce the “key person” risk that currently exists.  The scope of the forthcoming WCF Statute Review has been under consideration and is expected to include a review of the existing WCF and MC sub-committees as well as the role of the WCF in relation to the MacRobertson Shield and the International Laws Committee.

Recent and forthcoming WCF championships

2014 Over-50 Golf Croquet World Championship

This was held at the Egyptian Croquet Federation lawns and at the Gizera Croquet Club in Zamalek, Cairo from Sunday, 5 October to Saturday, 11 October.  36 competitors from Australia, Egypt, England, Ireland, Latvia, Scotland, Spain, South Africa and USA took part and enjoyed glorious weather.  16 players progressed to the knock-out stage.  The second Over-50 Golf Croquet World Champion is Salah Hassan of Egypt who defeated Hazem Mahmoud, also of Egypt, in the final.  Salah is a former double Golf Croquet World Champion, in 1997 and 2000.

2014 Women’s Golf Croquet World Championship

This will be held in Cairo from Sunday, 16 November to Friday, 21 November.  The Event Capacity is 40 players and competitors will represent Australia, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland and the USA.

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 is 32 players and the Response Date by which Members must inform the WCF if they wish to be awarded Membership Places is Sunday, 23 November 2014.

MC Topics completed or closed

MC 279:           Croquet Federation of India coaching request.

MC 280:           Italian Croquet Association financial assistance request.

MC 286:           Statute 301-306 amendments – sent to Council for comment as Topic 33.

MC 287:           Hosting of 2017 AC WTC Tier 2.1.

MC 289:           Upgrade of Belgium membership status – approved by Council.

MC 290:           Appointment of Andrew Hope to Hall of Fame Committee.

MC 292:           Review of WCF and MC sub-committees – incorporated in Statute Review.

MC 293:           Member consultation practices – resolved through WCF Topic 34.

Topics open, pending or under administration on 31 October 2015

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 288:           CroquetScores agreement.

MC 291:           Appointment of GC Ranking Officer and Assistant Ranking Officers.

MC 294:           Governance Working Group.

MC 295:           2016 Association Croquet World Championship – USCA bid expected soon.

MC 296:           Review of methods of making economic foreign payments.

MC 297:           Entry fees refunds policy – submitted to Council as Topic 35.

MC 298:           2010 MacRobertson Shield medals – MC agreed to award these retrospectively.

MC 299:           2015 WCF Annual General Meeting – will be held during 2015 GCWC.

MC 300:           2015 Business Plan to be published in draft to Members in November.

MC 301:           Statutes 301 to 304 – Topic 33 comments to be incorporated in revised draft.

MC 302:           Advertising of consultations and proposals – approved under Topic 34.

MC 303:           2014 Hall of Fame inductees to be announced in 2014Q4.

Outlook for November

The main activities for the month will be continuing to administer the forthcoming World Championships, finalising the revision of Statutes 301 to 307 for submission to Council, beginning the review of the WCF Statutes and preparing the 2015 Business Plan and Budget.

Stephen Mulliner

Secretary-General 2 November 2014