Morning Coffee: NC Open, Mission Hills and the Double Target

Ben Rothman won the North Carolina Open this weekend and Jeff Soo posted a nice breakdown on the CroquetNC.org website with diagrams showing all of the key positions.

Bob Alman has an in-depth feature on the Mission Hills Croquet Club in Rancho Mirage, California, that chronicles how the 10-court club has built membership and become the "NCC of the West."

Featured in the Mission Hills Croquet Club article are several beautiful croquet paintings by Veronique Branger.

Leo Nikora has posted a critical gap analysis of roqueting a two-ball target ... relative to the distance of the two target balls. It includes a nice graph showing the percentage of success.

Check out this set of professional photos taken at the 2010 Rocky Mountain International Open. Very nice.

Croquet Search Trends (May 2010)

With his impact on the croquet world, it was no surprise that Jerry Stark was the number search term to hit the site in May. Here is the complete May list for hottest trending croquet keywords that hit CroquetNetwork.com last month:

01. Jerry Stark
02. Wii Croquet
03. Morford Mallets
04. Pasadena Croquet Club
05. WCF for iPad
06. Eric Sawyer
07. Croquet Video Game
08. Croquet Piping Kennedy
09. Paula Mol
10. Croquet Magazine
11. Croquet Champions
12. Big Lobster Croquet
13. Sonoma Cutrer Croquet Tournament
14. Bennington Croquet League
15. American Way Magazine
16. Annapolis Croquet
17. Croquet Club Santa Fe
18. Golf Croquet Suburbiton
19. New Paltz Croquet
20. North American Open

Morning Coffee: Stark Cup, Sunshine Coast Withdraws, Rocky Mountain International

According to the WCF website, the USCA has named a trophy in honor of Jerry Stark, to be awarded to the USCA AC National Singles champion in perpetuity -- the "Stark Cup." If you wish to make a donation toward funding the trophy on Jerry's behalf, you may send it to Shereen Hayes at the USCA, with a notation for Jerry.

USCA
700 Florida Mango Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
USA

According to the Croquet Australia website, the Sunshine Coast Region of Queensland withdrew the offer to conduct the World Association Championships in 2012. Reports on the Nottingham list indicate that the previously reported dates of April 23 will May 1 will likely be revised as well.

The Rocky Mountain International association tournament made the Denver post with a small preview featuring a photo of Jeff Soo and a short follow-up noting the overall win for Ben Rothman.

American Champion - Jerry Stark

Jerry Stark holds the Solomon Trophy (on left) / photo by Genie Hendry

A Great Loss for the Sport

It has been posted on the Nottingham List that Jerry Stark passed away yesterday. Jerry was an icon in the American croquet world and genuinely respected by players all across the international community. Jerry was the U.S. Association Rules National Champion in 2000 and 2006.

I did not know Jerry, but I think all players in the Kansas City were inspired by his story, which for croquet began in the KC backyard scene. It is a sad day for American croquet.

Profile from American Way Magazine (American Airlines, page 42)

http://www.emag-americanwaymag.com/july_15_09.html

Incidentally, this article pushed me to start the Croquet Network digital magazine.

Croquet World Online Tribute with Interview from 2004

Morning Coffee: WCF World Championship 2012, Site Changes and New Imperial Wicket

The WCF announced the location and dates for the 2012 Association World Championship over the weekend. The website indicates the event will take place April 23 through May 1 on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. However, it was noted on the Croquet Network facebook page that May 1, 2012 is a Tuesday, so keep an eye out for a clarification.

This will be the 13th World Championship event and Reg Bamford of South Africa is the defending champion. The WCF expects 80 players from 20 countries to take place in the event.

Outgoing St. John's Imperial Wicket Cameron Coates confirmed that Blake Myers from Santa Fe, New Mexico will be the Imperial Wicket for the 2010-11 season.

There are a few tweaks on the website. The news module on the side has now moved to a dedicated page. A link is located on the top website navigation menu. Replacing the news on the sidebar is the Croquet Network Twitter feed. The main reason for the change is that the news is pulled in from several RSS feeds and on occasion is slow to load. Instead of slowing up delivery of the main page, it's just as easy to keep it separate. Most of the croquet news stories of interest are posted in Twitter feed.

Photos and summary of the Lee's Summit Waterford Doubles Nine-Wicket event are available on the Missouri Croquet Association website. Brad Clouse took first place at the event with a 5-0 record.

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Croquet Search Trends (April 2010)

Here is the April list for hottest trending croquet keywords that hit CroquetNetwork.com last month:

01. Annapolis Croquet
02. St. John's Croquet
03. Navy croquet
04. Croquet Network
05. Wii Croquet
06. Solomon Trophy 2009
07. Greenwich, Connecticut Croquet
08. Alix Verge
09. Sarasota Croquet Tournament
10. Robert V. Salinas
11. 2010 Croquet National Championship
12. Croquet Southern Cal
13. Peachwood Classic
14. Croquet Champions
15. Shane Botwin
16. New York Croquet Club
17. Morford Mallets
18. Croquet Jokes
19. Carie Shapiro
20. Palm Beach Croquet

Morning Coffee: Mission Hills News, Sunflower Wickets and more

Recent activity and news from the Mission Hills Croquet Club in Rancho Mirage, California as reported by Genie Hendry:

• Ben Rothman was on site from November 2009 thru April 2010 as our contract “Croquet Pro.” It is now OFFICIAL ... Ben will return in November on the Mission Hills Staff and will again be offering lessons, clinics and his valuable expertise in directing our tournaments. During the summer, he’ll be playing in tournaments with fellow TEAM USA members in preparation for the MacRobertson Shield Trophy competition, which will be held in August in England. You can catch Ben at the NA Open at the Sonoma-Cutrer Winery in Windsor, CA, and the entire USA Mac-Rob team at the Rocky Mountain Invitational in Denver, CO. GOOD LUCK GUYS ... GO TEAM USA!!!!!
• Mission Hills’ own Ron Hendry has accepted the USCA Western Region Vice President position from Patrick Sweeney of Portland, Oregon. Patrick has done an outstanding job in representing the West through his participation as VP and by hosting the Western Regional tournament each year. Thanks for all your hard work for croquet, Patrick! The 2010 Western Regional will be held in Seattle, WA, August 26-29. See the USCA website, www.croquetamerica.com, for more details.

• Club President Jim Butts reports Jim Bonacci has “retired” as Club Treasurer and Mike Orgill will take up his responsibilities. Jim commends Bonacci on his diligent, responsive, and almost flawless performance for the past seven years of service to the club. Thanks to Mike for taking over this important job!

The Missouri Croquet Association provided equipment and referees for the First Annual Mahaffie Sunflower Wickets golf croquet fundraiser on Saturday morning in Olathe, Kansas. The single-elimination event had 32 players participate and reportedly raised $4000 for an expansion of the main building on the historic Mahaffie Farmstead. More details and photos located on the MCA website.

Scroll down this article to find details on a Bennington, Vermont summer croquet league.

Completed registration forms are due by June 4. Registration for the season is $50 per person plus a membership in the Park McCullough House Association, which is available at a special discounted rate to croquet league members ($30 individual, $20 senior/student, $50 couple/family).

Registration forms can be picked up at the Park McCullough House, and should be dropped off with check at the kick-off party on June 10. For more information, call 442-5441.

The Buffalo Rising website reports that The Olmsted Conservancy and the Buffalo Croquet Club are hosting an open house (more details and a great night croquet photo):

... on Sunday, May 16, from 1pm-5pm, adults are welcome to join in on a round of six and nine wicket croquet. The equipment will be provided, and families are encouraged to come out and watch. By hosting an open house, the conservancy is hoping to attract more players and leagues similar to the Buffalo Croquet Club, which is an organized men's league that plays every Monday night during the summer.

The West River Wickets Club recently appeared in a feature on hometownannapolis.com. Excerpt:

Around 2004, the West River Wickets Croquet Club was officially born. The group now boasts over two-dozen active members and a handful of trophies and titles from tournaments up and down the East Coast.