Croquet News: Australia Names MacRobertson Team and US Open Report

Ben Rothman took the 2009 U.S. Open by defeating Doug Grimsley 26-14otp, 1-26tp, 26-0tp. More details are to be posted in the CroquetWorld forum. Photos are available from Arthur Bagby.

The Croquet Australia website has posted their line-up for the MacRobertson Shield competion:

Kevin Beard
Martin Clarke
Ian Dumergue
Robert Fletcher
Stephen Forster
Peter Landrebe (Captain)

Reserves:
Trevor Bassett
Greg Fletcher

The USCA Nine-Wicket site just posted a rundown by Eric Sawyer on the 2009 Seward Family Fall Classic. The cutthroat event in Sacramento, California was held October 10 and had 73 players. That rivals their summer event which boasts 100 players. That again presents the case that nine-wicket play in the U.S. is under-estimated in this 2005 WCF Report as it is only based on members associated with the USCA. It reports 115 nine-wicket U.S. players. The "off the USCA map" cutthroat club that I play with has had participation that probably averages around 40 players each season this decade and a high of 80 players. That does not include MCA play that goes on right here in the same KC metro area.

Tournament Director Matt Griffith's report on the 2009 Nine-Wicket National Championship has also been posted on the nine-wicket site.

Croquet Video Game Review: Game Party 3 (Wii)

Dancing girls, golf-style swing and black wickets say croquet to me

A Decent Start, But ...

Once the Wii console was announced, it was clear to me that platform was perfect for a croquet game. So far, there has been no attempt at a croquet stand alone for the Wii, so we see the game as part of sports game compilations. The first one out of the gate was Summer Island Sports released in 2008. This fall saw the release of Game Party 3 ($29.99 to $22.99) from WB Games and Far Sight Studios which includes croquet and 18 other games.

Screenshot Gallery




The Rundown

It's based on nine-wicket croquet and the initial positive is that it does indeed utilize partner ball play with carry-over deadness. That step forward is immediately rendered useless by not allowing partner ball roquets. Yep, all strategic elements of the game are destroyed with that one mistake.

Game Party 3Otherwise, the engine isn't too bad. Or I guess I should say it is fairly enjoyable to play and makes sense for the most part with the Wii remote. However, the field appears to be a little small, though that is counter-acted by a rough maximum shot distance of 32 feet (assuming the field size is based on 100' x 50'). I suppose that makes sense because shot accuracy is based strictly on where you aim -- meaning with unlimited power you could really make a wicket from the maximum of 80' or 90' pretty easily. I would suggest that remote swing accuracy should be a factor in how straight the shot travels.

Another weakness would be what appears to be bugs with croquet shots. Sometimes it works and other times you'll try a croquet shot and it will go right through the other ball (not moving it at all). Placement of the striker ball is a little dicey as well with the worst aspect of that being that it will not allow you to place the striker ball in the boundary margin. Pretty hard to get the roqueted ball and the striker ball out onto the field with that limitation.

There is kind of a bizarre one-player option where you score points, but I gave up on that one pretty quickly. Up to four players can play, but there is no computer opponent. Since there is no real strategy, that is a little surprising. The AI wouldn't be a challenge to figure out.

The fact that the players use a golf-style swing makes me giggle, especially as accurate as they are.

The only other thing I can think to mention is I wonder what was behind the decision to make the wickets black. Visibility? They're also plenty wide. The dancing girls in the background remind me of many of the croquet events that I've played in over the years.

The Bottom Line

I would not recommend this for purchase for croquet players unless you are just a collector of everything croquet. Some of the other games on the disc are pretty fun (billiards, trivia), but I'm not sure that makes it worth the price. Again, I think the engine is a good start. Fix the partner roquet and the croquet shots and I think you could have a lot of fun with the game as is. Game developers feel free to contact me if you need technical consultation -- croquet and the Wii are made for each other.

Croquet Search Trends (November 2009)

Here is the November list for hottest croquet keywords that hit CroquetNetwork.com in November:

01. Justin Berbig
02. U.S National Championship
03. West Indies Croquet
04. Shane Botwin
05. Stephen Mulliner
06. Ben Rothman
07. Croquet Network
08. Egyptian Croquet Federation
09. Sue Leitinger
10. Stephanie Paduano
11. Rich Schiller
12. Ben Morehead
13. Karen Comeau
14. Jenny Clarke
15. Chris Clarke

Croquet News: Solomon Trophy, President's Cup and U.S. GC

U.S. SCORES HISTORIC SOLOMON TROPHY WIN -- I suppose it doesn't quite compare with the Miracle on Ice from the 1980 Winter Olympics, but the 11-9 U.S. win over Great Britain for the Solomon Trophy certainly represents a huge step forward for U.S. croquet. Great Britain came into the year's event with a perfect 17-0 record versus the Americans. However, based on world rankings, it appeared to be a close match on paper and it certainly was. If I am deciphering the Nottingham board reports properly, the home field advantage gave the Americans the final edge. Congratulations to the U.S. team for a great win.

Full results from croquetrecords.com

U.S. TAKES PRESIDENT'S CUP 2-1 -- In a prelude to Solomon Trophy play, the U.S. players took on members of the British team for the President's Cup. Last played in 2002, the competition is American rules croquet and featured the following matches:

US -- Danny Huneycutt beat Ian Burridge
US -- Ben Rothman and Ron Hendry beat Jeff Dawson and Tony Le Moignan
GB -- Samir Patel and Robin Brown beat Jeff Soo and Jim Butts

MOHAMMAD KAMAL WINS US GOLF CROQUET CHAMPIONSHIP -- After three days of competition at the National Croquet Center in Florida, Mohammad Kamal took the U.S. Golf Croquet title in a best of five finals against Sherif Abdelwalhab 7-2, 7-1, 7-4. The event featured the top level American GC players but only had a field of seven players. I certainly would think this event would fit much better sometime during the lighter summer schedule. I suppose heat is the consideration there, but it seems like a lot of events are jammed into the busy fall schedule competing against holidays, football and other croquet events. Early June or late August seems like it would be worth the risk.

Final GC Placings:

1. Mohammad Kamal
2. Sherif Abdelwahab
3. Len Canavan
3. David McCoy
5. Mike Gibbons
6. Cheryl Bromley
7. William Bromley

Semi-Final Results:

Mohammad Kamal defeated David McCoy 7-6, 7-5
Sherif Abdelwahab defeated Len Canavan 7-3, 7-4

Croquet Network Magazine (December Issue Available)


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The December issue of Croquet Network Magazine is now available as true digital magazine through YUDU (no huge PDF download). All you need to do is subscribe to our free e-newsletter to gain access via password.

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Again, there is no charge for subscribing. This month's issue is 25-pages and is packed with the following features:

  • USCA National Championship coverage
  • Danny Huneycutt Profile
  • Editorial on Golf croquet
  • Tactical Article by Ben Rothman
  • Listing of popular croquet websites
  • Upcoming tournaments calendar
  • Relevant advertisements from croquet manufacturers
  • Active links in the magazine can take you directly to external websites or specific articles in the magazine
  • True digital magazine format through YUDU so you don't have to download a large PDF

If you love croquet, you can support this project simply by subscribing to the list. Just follow the steps below.

FREE ONLINE MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION


STEP ONE

To subscribe to the FREE monthly online Croquet Network Magazine (PDF), enter your e-mail and name in the form to the right. You will be sent offsite for a password that will get you into the digital magazine. Remember this password andClick the "Return to Website" to go to the magazine.

STEP TWO

The link will take you to the digital magazine via a YUDU page. You will need to enter the password on the first page.Next, you will be taken to a page that shows a cover of the current magazine. Click on the magazine to enter. You may be asked to enter the password one more time, but you should be logged in going forward.

STEP THREE

You can go ahead an enjoy the magazine right away, but later, you'll want to check your e-mail as you should receive an e-mail asking you to verify that you want to be subscribed to the e-newsletter. The newsletter is key in that it provides the password and link for each upcoming issue along with highlights from the website. Occasionally, this e-mail may go into your spam or junk mail folder. If you haven't received a verification check there or if you have any problems, contact me at goodwinworldmedia@gmail.com

NOTE

The current password is valid for all of the current year issues.

Opening Game (December 2009)

The video above is the last segment of the game five final between Iman El Faransawi and Alix Verge for the Women's Golf Croquet World Championship. If you haven't already, make sure you view the video before you go any further. Otherwise, I'll probably spoil what is a great viewing moment for any fan of croquet.

I suppose most of the croquet world already knew that Alix Verge had won the event, but the video taken by Chris Clarke truly caught me off guard. I think a lot of us would have been expecting a clearing of yellow there at the end. The double jump for the win takes your breath away.

Overall, I think the video series and following that championship event through the message boards provided a nice kickoff for the month of December, which by the way is still patiently awaiting the arrival of the December issue of Croquet Network magazine. Yes, things are still moving along, but it is an ambitious leap forward for this particular issue and the nature of this collaborative work means that we've seen a few delays. Let me just say that the release is near and hopefully it will be worth the wait.

On the website side of things, there was more planned for November than could really be posted. So, you may have noticed a few of the standard monthly posts didn't make it. I'm feeling a little more caught up on the web side, so we should get that back on track this month. Now, if we can just get this magazine lined out, everyone wil be happy. In the meantime, enjoy the site and have a great December!

Dylan Goodwin

Upcoming Tournaments / December 2009-January 2010

December 2009

Dec 03–06 / USCA Florida Regional Championship / West Palm Beach, FL
Erica Sherman - (561-478-0760) tournamentusca@aol.com

Dec 03 / USCA vs CA President's Match / Rancho Mirage, CA

Dec 04–07 / WCF Solomon Trophy / Rancho Mirage, CA
Rich Lamm - (415-928-5525) richlamm@comcast.com

Dec 04–06 / SCCC Doubles Invitational / Venice, FL
Jackie Jones - (941-484-3206 or 941-416-1009) crokpeople@aol.com

Dec 08-12 / 2009 US Open / Rancho Mirage, CA
Stan Patmor - (602-955-1547 or 866-252-2135) patmor@fastq.com

January 2010

Jan 18–23 / Palm Beach CC Invitational / West Palm Beach, FL
Archie Peck - (561-835-1726 or 561-818-6039) archiepeck@aol.com

January 19-23 / Desert Classic / Rancho Mirage, CA
Jim Butts - (760-328-9482) jbutts@dc.rr.com.

Jan 26–30 / Ocean Reef Anglers Club (ORAC) Invitational / ORAC, Key Largo, FL
Mike Todorovich - (305-684-9500) miketodo@aol.com or michael@arm-ins.com

Jan 27-31 / The Beach Club Invitational 2010 / Palm Beach & West Palm Beach, FL
Dwight Mayer - (561-845-8820) marshamontoya@msn.com

Jan 28–31 / Croquet at Koele / The Four Season Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele
Leo Nikora - (808-879-0087) leo@maui.net / www.mauicroquetclub.org/koele/