USCA Nine-Wicket Nationals Forecast

Tomorrow kicks off the USCA Nine-Wicket National Championship in Kansas City. The weather looks fantastic except for a slight chance of rain on Saturday (doubtful in my opinion). Since I'll be playing, it'll be a bit rough, but I'll look to provide daily updates if possible (they may be brief). I'll set up an open thread for tomorrow and please feel free to utilize the comments to discuss the tourney.

Unofficial projected numbers:

  • 15 players for championship singles
  • 8-9 doubles teams
  • 8 players will battle it out for the cutthroat title. Defending champ Brad Clouse will defend his title

Let the games begin.

Croquet News Clips: Archie Burchfield, Sports Illustrated and Going for 100

Wow, working on the magazine has kept me away from the website more than I would like. A lot of news to catch up on:

The Archie Burchfield article on the Garden & Gun website tipped off by the USCA website last week was fantastic. Really seemed to maybe blur a bit between legend and reality, but that makes it even more interesting. It gave me a slightly different take on Jack Osborn:

"Archie got his number and called him up in New York City. 'Understand you boys play some croquet,' he said to Osborn and then invited him to bring his two best players to Kentucky for a match. Uncharmed, Osborn was neither slow nor particularly polite in telling Archie that he and his rube buddies could never hope to compete with the high strategy and skill levels of USCA players. Then he hung up."

I guess I was familiar with Osborn wanting cultivate that elite status, but I always took it as he thought that was the best way to grow the sport. If I buy into the portrayal in this article, it seems to be more of a firm belief. The description of the final between Archie and Mark Burchfield versus Osborn and Archie Peck is worth the read. A final note -- that's an interesting website name. I don't necessarily associate those two things with each other.

The Burchfield article sent me to the SI Vault to search for croquet stories. The SI Vault is a cool section of the Sports Illustrated website where you can check out full back issues of the magazine. I found two articles on croquet:

Here's the article SI did on the Burchfields vs Osborn/Peck final and here is the link to how it appeared in the magazine (go the end of the magazine and page back to 128).

And here's a 1995 article on Jacques Fournier as an eighth grader. The article is on page 12 and they even added a real live photo.

Being from Kansas, I want to discredit this portrayal of Kansas croquet with "no laying in." The stereotype that has handcuffed the sport. For the record, I've never played a game of croquet without a boundary.

Going for the century mark? Croquet two times a week might be the key:

The widow and mother-of-five drives herself to the shops, to church and to croquet two mornings a week.

Two things in this standard backyard croquet story standout to me. The first is they mention that croquet is much cheaper than golf and only requires a "twelve-pack of PBR" to play. I find that to be an odd coincidence in that I awarded a twelve-pack of PBR for my first backyard tourney. Not long after our little backyard club, became known as the PBR Tour. This quote also caught my attention:

“A lot of people think it's an old British man's sport, but many young people can play because it is really competitive.”

I was thinking that's a weird stereotype. However, I thought a little more and remembered that I had one grandfather that came straight over from Wales and my dad's side was British too. Another recent discovery is that I've landed in my early forties. So there you are -- I'm really an old British man and I play croquet. Stereotype = true.

Online Croquet Magazine Launch

Today, I'd like to announce the launch of Croquet Network Online Magazine. It is planned to be monthly and can be downloaded or viewed from this site with the username and password below. This first issue is just 11-pages, but we're just getting started and I've got some good stuff going for future issues. The first issue focuses on the USCA Nine-Wicket National Championship and features an interview with tournament director, Matt Griffith.

username: croquet
password: wicket1

Login at this link:

/croquet-magazine-online/

PLEASE NOTE: This issue is open to anyone, so feel free to forward it around. However, I am encouraging people to sign up to the e-newsletter on the main website (right nav bar) as the username/password for each future issue going forward will be delivered to subscribers via e-mail. This username and password will expire on October 15, 2009.

Croquet Shirt: The Beautiful Game

Croquet Network Product of the Month -- The Beautiful Game Golf Shirt

Each month, Croquet Network will feature a croquet shirt or product from the store. This month, we're featuring "The Beautiful Game" Croquet Collection. To buy this product or get details on it, go to The Beautiful Game Croquet Golf Shirt page. To see more products, go to "The Beatiful Game" Collection.

To see all of the Croquet Network croquet shirt designs go to the Croquet Network Store.

Nine to Six: Part 1 - Clearing Deadness

USCA Stock Photo

This month kicks off a new series that I'll call "Nine to Six" that endeavors to describe changes that nine wicket players will encounter when they try out the U.S. rules six wicket game. There's a lot of quality information on six-wicket on the internet, but some of it seems pretty complex and is presented all at once. The aim here is to slice this into smaller concepts to allow players to absorb as needed. Also, I need to clarify that I have been playing the six-wicket game for just one-year and have not attended tournaments. So, more experienced players should feel welcome to chime in using the comments and clarify if I am leading people astray. I do think my inexperience is useful in that the concepts are fresh in my mind.

Also, for players making the jump to six-wicket, I assume the basics of the game are understood -- partner balls and the six wicket pattern.*

Clearing Deadness

I'm starting with the rule that to this day, I have a hard time enacting. The rule is simply that when your opponent runs the one back wicket (see pattern here), you are allowed to clear deadness on one of your balls. You must declare clearing prior to starting your next turn. For clarification, you make think of one-back as the seventh wicket a ball scores or the first wicket as a ball starts the second half of the six-wicket configuration.

It's a challenging rule to remember and quite often beginners just miss it. I am sure there are a number of tricks players use as reminders. I know one player that takes off his hat when his opponent clears one-back. I now try to start every turn by asking a simple question in my mind:

"Do I have deadness on either ball and do I have an immediate option to clear?"

Compared to Nine-Wicket

Variations of the nine-wicket game are diverse, but in a lot of cases, nine-wicket players have no clearing rule, so the concept is totally new. However, it is listed in the official USCA options (option 1a) for the backyard game and is utilized at the USCA Nine-Wicket Nationals. When it is used for nine-wicket, it is occurs at the wicket after the turning stake (commonly referred to as the eighth wicket) There is a unique factor that complicates things a bit -- you must be behind in points to enact clearing. And further, it is the score at the end your opponent's turn that must be accounted for. Your opponent may be behind when he runs the eighth wicket, but ahead by the end of his turn. In such case, you could enact deadness clearing for one of your balls. In six wicket play, clearing can occur no matter what the score is.

*In my opinion, cutthroat or nine-wicket players that can execute split rolls and run a three- or four-ball break are ready to try six-wicket. If you are in this class, I'd find a nearby field or club and get started.

The Nine to Six Series (Highlighting Differences Between Nine-wicket and Six-wicket Croquet)

Part One -- Clearing Deadness
Part Two -- Post Roquet Options
Part Three -- Boundaries
Part Four -- Wiring
Part Five -- Rover Balls

News Clips: Shane Botwin's Mallet Choice, NC Tactics and the Rothman Tour

Warning. The above video does feature a mallet to the head. For the most part though, I think it would be pretty tame by today's television standards. What's all the hubbub? You guessed it. Showtime's Weeds series finished it's most recent season by having young Shane Botwin kill off the latest criminal behind the criminal (Pilar) with a mallet. The timing was bizarre as I had been thinking about a plot for HBO's Entourage based around a celebrity pro-am golf croquet tourney (unfortunately, they just did a standard celebrity golf tourney -- trash talk while golfing is much like trash talking during an afternoon of coloring book fun with your four-year-old). Back to Weeds. The show had become pretty tiresome, but that certainly was a spicy cliffhanger. Give the props team an "F" though. It looks like your standard toy mallet and I believe the intent was to imply that the elitest residence would house some sort of real croquet equipment. It would have been more convincing if Shane would have swung a Fenwick Elliott. It's just on the edge though. One serious portrayal of real croquet on a major television show would do a lot of good.

I just discovered this tactical series on CroquetNC.org -- Moving Past the Improvement Plateau. Very useful and thus far there is a Part One and Part Two. Great illustrations.

Ben Rothman posted a Google map of croquet clubs he has visited over the past few years. If Rothman has attended your tournament or visited your club, I'd say that's a pretty good endorsement.

September Croquet Links: North Carolina, Kansas City and Dyffryn Croquet

Clubs

CroquetNC.org -- This site covers North Carolina croquet and some great articles on tactics in the reference section.

Kactus Creek Croquet Club -- This is a club in Parkville, Missouri that boasts the only quality croquet field in the Kansas City Metro area. It also happens to be where I play. Matt Griffith built this field in his backyard over a period of seven years (2000-2007).

Association

The Croquet Association -- The association website for the sport of croquet in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. More news on croquet for the associated clubs than you can keep up with.

International

Dyffryn Croquet Club (Wales) -- Since my grandfather was Welsh, I had to get this club in. Looks like a beautiful place to play.

All links above will now appear in the Croquet Links section on the navigation bar at the top of the site.

News Clips: Solomon Trophy, Fulford's Nontuple and Croquet History

The USCA posted the Solomon Trophy team rosters over the weekend. Checking the rankings it shapes up to be one of the more competitive events in the series. Looking at the top three spots the Americans match up very well. Spots four through six favor Great Britain according to the rankings. The event will be held at the Mission Hills Country Clup in California, December 4-7. Great Britain leads the series 17-0. For more details on the history and format, check out this Croquet Australia web page.

Ben Rothman has a more detailed re-count of Robert Fulford's recent nontuple. He even does a little translating for those not fully versed in association croquet lingo.

David Drazin had this recent article on the Croquet World on the origins of croquet. Ultimately, it appears that we are still settled on Ireland, though it always seems that there is speculation that it began in France. I'd like to buy into that one as I am thinking I could force the workplace in allowing a day off for croquet on Bastille Day.

From that same Origins article, this quote near the end caught my eye:

"Already there are signs that golf has eaten up more than its share of the landscape, and gateball's rapid rise may be in some way related to its space efficiency as compared to golf, or even to croquet."

I've always wondered how golf courses seem to thrive (prior to the "great recession" that is), yet the business plans for croquet clubs seem to be problematic -- number of players vs playing fields available vs maintenance and startup costs. Still, the overall expense of building and maintaining 18-hole golf course relative to maintaining four or even eight croquet fields doesn't even seem comparable. Thus far, I think bringing new people to the game and building the needed base of players for a club is a challenge due to the perceived complexity of the rules. However, I think golf croquet is a fantastic intro to the game and the utilization of that form is still under development as a player recruitment tool. In other words, I see signs that the recruitment problem is being solved and the game could be on the verge of a possible growth stage.

Upcoming Tournaments / September-October 2009

SEPTEMBER 2009

Sep 04-07 / Patuxent Invitational (US)
Paxtuxent, MD / Lee Hanna - Lehanna@aol.com

Sep 04-07 / Tulsa Classic 2009 (US)
Tulsa, OK / Bob Baker - baker111@tulsacoxmail.com (918.747.0214)

Sep 09-13 / Big Lobster Invitational (US)
Mount Desert Island, Maine / Larry Stettner - larryorfran@yahoo.com

Sep 10-13 / NC State Singles Championship (US)
Bald Head Island, NC / Frank Thompson - Frank@AVMetro.com (919.834.3059)

Sep 11-12 / The Third Annual "Great Croquet Caper '09" (9-Wicket)
Greenville, OH / www.bhrc.org

Sep 11-13 / 2009 Quebec Open (AC - US in lower flights)
Montreal, Quebec / Andrew de Courcy-Ireland - andrew_decourcy-ireland@canaccord.com (514.844.5520)

Sep 17–20 / Houston Invitational (US?)
Houston, TX / Johnny Mitchell - johnnym617@yahoo.com (832.725.8814)

Sep 18-20 / Merion Cricket Club Invitational (US)
Haverford, PA / Whitney Thain - wthain@merioncricket.com (610.642.5800)

Sep 19-20 / Greenwich Club Championship (US)
Greenwich, CT / Barbara Leeming - wicketstalker@gmail.com (203.801.4301)

Sep 23–27 / 20th Annual Pinehurst Invitational (US?)
Pinehurst, NC / Horace Hayworth - hhayworth@yahoo.com (910.690.8873)

Sep 23-27 / Autumn Leaves Invitational (US)
Cashiers, NC / Fred Jones - crokpeople@aol.com (941.484.3206)

Sep 24-27 / Osborne Cup (US)
New York, NY / Doug Moore - nycroquetclub@yahoo.com (212.473.2066)

Sep 25–27 / USCA 9-Wicket National Championship (9-Wicket)
Shawnee, KS / Matt Griffith - Kactuscreek@yahoo.com (816.891.6762)

OCTOBER 2009

Oct 02-03 / Mallet Mayhem 09 (9-Wicket)
Rockford, IL / www.tinkercottage.com

Oct 15-18 / Texas Croquet Classic (US)
Dallas, TX / Bob Knowlton - robertk@baylorhealth.edu (214.750.8722)

Oct 20-25 / Coastal Croquet Clubs Fall Invitational (US)
Hilton Head, SC / Avril Nicholson - avril@sc.rr.com (843.705.2929)

Oct 22-25 / Selection Eights (AC)
West Palm Beach, FL / Rich Lamm - richlamm@comcast.net or Jerry Stark - TPRover@aol.com

Oct 23–25 / Jekyll Island Invitational
Jekyll Island, GA / Dan Lott - lott1965@bellsouth.net (912.506.8744)

Oct 29-Nov 1 / West Indies Croquet Championship (US?)
St. Croix, VI / Les Kelley - lkelley@nnldlaw.com (340.773.9363)

Oct 30- Nov 1 / SCCC Fall Invitational (Singles Only) (US?)
Venice, FL / Jackie Jones - crokpeople@aol.com (941.484.3206)