Croquet Search Trends (December 2010)

Here are the hottest trending keywords to hit croquetnetwork.com in December:

01. croquet network
02. wii croquet
03. ben rothman
04. brian cumming
05. croquet video game
06. steve scalpone
07. alix verge
08. croquet magazine
09. david collie
10. frank vuitch
11. leo nikora
12. morford mallets
13. navy croquet
14. rufus bayard wilmington
15. us open croquet

Morning Coffee: WCF Hall of Fame, Paul Skinley, Big 10 Croquet and Swing Trainer

Click to visit CNet StoreThe free digital digition of the December / January issue of Croquet Network is going through final corrections and release is imminent. Expect the full media blitz at anytime.

The WCF is accepting 2011 nominations for the Croquet Hall of Fame. Follow the link to see previous inductees and a link to the online nomination form.

In other WCF news, Martin French is providing a monthly newsletter on WCF activities that will be available as a PDF.

Great article on Paul Skinley appeared on the Wauganui Chronicle website the other day as a follow-up to his North Island Championship win. Here's an excerpt:

"I'm not sure how many times I've won this tournament because I haven't played in it often - but I played in it when I was 15 in 1974, and won. So it's nice to win it at 51, going on 52."

Full results for the North Island Championship and the South Island Championship are available on the Croquet New Zealand website.

The CA website has a photo up for Rutger Beijderwellen's new swing trainer.

The ACA has made an invitation (PDF) available for the Inaugural GC President's Tens to be held February 11-14 at the Victorian Croquet Centre in Cairnlea.

Check the CWO Australia forum for several posts from Liz Fleming on the flooding in Australia. Opening excerpt:

These 100-year floods in Queensland, with three rivers overflowing their banks, have put most of the croquet lawns under water and dislocated both croquet players and crocodiles.

An Abilene, Texas reader gave croquet a little press on the Reporter News website, when she claimed that croquet might be too rough for the Big 10 after their "less-than-stellar" bowl season.

Morning Coffee: Nine-Wicket Dates, Desert Classic and Egyptian Balls

Click to visit CNet StoreWelcome to 2011 folks! Here's to a year filled with croquet. Catching up on recent news ...

Midwest Regional VP Matt Griffith has confirmed that the Missouri Croquet Association will again host the USCA Nine-Wicket National tournament in Kansas City. Dates have been set for September 16-18.

The Mission Hills Club has a flyer out with details on the upcoming Desert Classic Association event to be held January 25-29 in Rancho Mirage, California. Mission Hills has a busy schedule and you check out more events on their club website -- http://www.missionhillscroquet.com/

In case you missed it yesterday, the USCA has announced the 2011 Solomon Trophy team.

Bob Alman has posted a feature article on the upcoming International Polo Club Palm Beach Invitational detailing the choice to utilize Egyptian GC balls for the event. In addition, Bob has posted profiles for all of the players that will participate in the tournament, which has an $8,000 purse.

Leo Nikora posted a fascinating set of photos of John Solomon completing a single peel during the 1969 MacRobertson Shield on the Maui Club site.

And for the last item of the day, this blog link popped up in my news feed and claims to offer a comprehensive list of movies that feature croquet. Certainly, such an article is a good idea, but I'm pretty sure there are some missing from the list. One afternoon, I caught what seemed to be some 1970's romance movie that featured a brief bit of a croquet match in the background. However, I can't remember the title (help me out by commenting if you know). Fortunately, there is a better list of croquet movies provided in this 2005 article on Croquet World Online (reprinted from the English Croquet Gazette).