Reg Bamford is one of the most accomplished players in croquet history. He is a three-time WCF Association Croquet World Champion and twice the WCF Golf Croquet World Champion (in 2013 and 2017) and held both titles simultaneously from April to August 2013. He has won the British Association Croquet Open Championship eleven times since 1992 and the British Golf Croquet Open Championship ten times since 2002 and is the holder of more than 50 individual championship titles.
Beginning the game at age nine in South Africa, Reg began competing at the highest level almost immediately. Since 1986, his end-of-year playing grade has only dipped below 2,600 on two occasions. He has achieved the year-end Number One world ranking eight times and has been consistently ranked among the top five players in the world for nearly a quarter of a century.
Reg is also one of the most likeable individuals in the game, a great ambassador for the sport and his native country. Despite living in the UK since the early 1990s, Reg has consistently maintained his South African nationality in world croquet competitions. This devotion has surely kept him from competing for Great Britain in the prestigious MacRobertson Shield, as his residency in London and an Irish grandfather would allow.
Reg is also the only known individual to have ever played croquet at the North Pole. This occurred in April 2005, when Reg trekked to the Pole with, among much needed survival provisions, a croquet mallet and a ball.
Reg’s adventurous spirit is amplified by his intense determination and dedication to croquet. He is known among players for his rigorous training exercises, spending hours alone on the court after matches are completed, perfecting his swing and technique.
Reg’s dedication reaches well beyond croquet. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and founder and CEO of Sable Group (formerly 1st Contact) —a recruitment enterprise which provides financial and migration solutions to South African and other professionals living in the UK and Europe.
Reg and his wife, Adrienne, currently reside in London and have two children, Alex and Oliver.
Updated August 2017