Is Croquet Really a Growing Sport?

“Honestly, has croquet even grown in the last 10-50 years? I see cornhole and Excel spreadsheet competitions on ESPN with sponsors …”

This question popped up in the comments of the Croquet Network Facebook page in January of 2025. For years, croquet players have felt that the sport is growing. More tournaments. More new faces on the lawns. But no one is providing any real support for that claim.

But that data sits right in front of all players, and it tells a clear story. The World Croquet Federation (WCF) website offers dedicated pages for both Association croquet and golf croquet, tracking the total number of players participating in ranked matches each year. Charting that data shows a global participation trend that is both unmistakable and, by any reasonable definition, explosive.

*NOTE: 2025 data is not full year

Yes, GC is the Driver

Of course, the growth story is quite clear and the WCF data backs it up. Golf croquet is driving the sport to new highs despite starting well behind AC, which began tracking ranked games in 1985. The GC data kicks off in 1998 and had nine players in that first year, compared to 937 for AC.

The crossover to GC happened in 2013, and the gap increased from there. There is an interesting period from 2004 to 2006, where both codes were flat. But the breakout for GC seemed to take hold in 2007 as the version averaged 24 percent growth in each following year through 2011.

CONCERN FOR AC

Association enthusiasts worry about the future of their code and the trend lends merit to the discussion. Overall, though, when you take a look at the cumulative chart, it shows a wonderful story for the sport. AC was on a healthy growth trend prior to GC coming onto the scene, and some would claim it’s not the easiest sport to pitch. I actually don’t agree with that notion, but I do agree that it takes longer to learn the skillset and tactics.

*NOTE: 2025 data is not full year

As an advocate for AC, I actually find these numbers encouraging. AC has flattened and is now seeing a decline in total numbers, but it’s not falling off a cliff. I have to think in the long term that having a large base of players experienced with single-shot ball skills is a much better conversion opportunity than people who have to start from square one.

But I do recognize the concern over court space and how having 80 GC players at a club versus six AC players can create a power dynamic issue. Still, those seem like solvable problems. And ultimately, it feels pretty good to say the sport has grown 200 percent since 2010.

FULL TABLE: AC / GC GROWTH

Year AC GC Grand Total YOY (Total)
1985314314
1986372372▲ +18.5%
1987393393▲ +5.6%
1988421421▲ +7.1%
1989550550▲ +30.6%
1990534534▼ -2.9%
1991642642▲ +20.2%
1992721721▲ +12.3%
1993787787▲ +9.2%
1994742742▼ -5.7%
1995831831▲ +12.0%
1996842842▲ +1.3%
1997933933▲ +10.8%
19989379946▲ +1.4%
19991035611096▲ +15.9%
200010041991203▲ +9.8%
200111121391251▲ +4.0%
200211672801447▲ +15.7%
200311592221381▼ -4.6%
200412683921660▲ +20.2%
200512683881656▼ -0.2%
200612004111611▼ -2.7%
200711875161703▲ +5.7%
200811596621821▲ +6.9%
200912526931945▲ +6.8%
201011628341996▲ +2.6%
2011120511962401▲ +20.3%
2012116713042471▲ +2.9%
2013117714032580▲ +4.4%
2014119018953085▲ +19.6%
2015122620613287▲ +6.5%
2016120421593363▲ +2.3%
2017127424153689▲ +9.7%
2018131027614071▲ +10.4%
2019124129194160▲ +2.2%
202083522483083▼ -25.9%
2021114236604802▲ +55.8%
2022114939205069▲ +5.6%
2023118244865668▲ +11.8%
2024114447365880▲ +3.7%
2025109849236021▲ +2.4%
 

*2025 is not full year data. The data was pulled on December 15, 2025.
Source: World Croquet Federation ranking data (ranked-game participants by year).

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