2010 USCA Western Regionals (Day One)

Peter Bach on court two

KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON -- It was a brisk day with a little bit of rain falling now and then for the first day of the USCA'S Western Regionals. The event is being hosted by the Puget Sound Croquet Club which has three courts available for play. The first day featured five rounds of hi-lo waterford doubles. Singles play is scheduled to be mixed in as well today. There are six players in the championship flight and five players in first flight.

FIRST DAY PHOTOS

Championship Flight:
Jim Butts (-0.5)
Cameron Guernsey (0.5)
Ron Hendry (-0.5)
Jim Herzog (0.5)
Steve Scalpone (-0.5)
Patrick John Sweeney

First Flight:
Gary Anderson (5)
Peter Bach (4)
Dylan Goodwin (10)
Steve Mossbrook (4)
Ed Priest (4.5)

Great Britain Wins The MacRobertson Shield

Great Britain secured their seventh straight MacRobertson Shield with Keith Aiton's win this morning over Australia's Martin Clarke Aiton -16,  +19tp,  +26tp. The current score is 12-5 with four matches left to play.

New Zealand secured second place yesterday against the United States. The Americans took two of three matches today and the final test score is NZ 15, US 5.

Placings will be as follows:

1. Great Britain
2. New Zealand
3. United States
4. Australia

Photos from Adrian Wadley

Morning Coffee: MacRob Drama, Nine-Wicket and the Weeds Mallet

Coffee in the evening? Why not?

The truth is this is only the second team croquet event that I've covered with last December's Solomon Trophy being the first. I think I may be spoiled because that event and this year's MacRobertson Shield have been wildly captivating.

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Morning Coffee: MacRobertson Shield

It's a rough month to have a croquet event or story and expect to get any attention. Clearly, the eyes of serious croquet players across the world are on Great Britain and the MacRobertson Shield competition. The U.S. team shocked the British team with a 3-0 sweep on day four to pull to 8-7. There had been talk about the British team clinching and now they go into the final day needing three wins. The Americans have the tougher challenge as they will require four wins out of the six matches.
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Croquet Network Magazine (August/September Issue Available)


Click to launch the full edition in a new window

The August/September issue of Croquet Network was released yesterday and features a preview of the MacRobertson Shield that includes a group interview with Paddy Chapman, Robert Fletcher and Ben Rothman. In addition, the issue includes an interview with USCA President Gene Young and a player profile on Doug Grimsley. To be notified of future issues, sign up for the Croquet Network newsletter in the right column. View the back issues here -- password free.

Upcoming Tournaments / August-October 2010

AUGUST 2010

Aug 6–22 / 2010 MacRobertson Shield / Manchester, Nottingham & Roehampton , Great Britain, UK

Aug 6–8 / 2010 CroqCan (American Rules) / Westmount & Mt. Royal Croquet Clubs, Montreal, QC, Canada
Alison Streight / astreight@hotmail.com

Aug 7–8 / NCC Open Singles Tournament / National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Archie Peck / 561-818-6039 / archiepeck@aol.com

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Morning Coffee: K.J. Choi Rocks Golf with a Better Putting Stroke

K.J. Choi stirred up the golf scene by introducing a croquet-style swing (video above) this summer. I think we all understand why this will be more effective. I was unaware that golf had made it illegal years ago to straddle the ball during a swing for a true croquet-style putting stroke. Must not look good on TV.
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