Ben Rothman Wins USCA GC Nationals

Championship Flight
1. Ben Rothman
2. Danny Huneycutt
3. Rich Lamm
3. Leo Nikora
5. Sherif Abdelwahab
5. Paul Bennett
5. Jacques Fournier
5. Arthur Bagby

Championship Doubles
1. Paul Bennett/Jacques Fournier
2. Danny Huneycutt/Sherif Abdelwahab
3. Ben Rothman/Bob Van Tassell
3. Ron Eccles/Leo Nikora

First Flight Singles
1. Karl-Heinz Kempfer
2. Eric Sawyer
3. Jean Engebretson
4. Bob Riddell
5. Sheri Foroughi
5. Mary Rodeberg

First Flight Doubles
1. Eric Sawyer/Caren Sawyer
2. Bob Riddell/Mary Rodeberg
3. Karl-Heinz Kempfer/Phyllis Butts
3. Bob Morford/Nick Gray

Second Flight Singles
1. Welles Farago
2. Ruth Stotter
3. Betty Teoman
4. Marc Clausen
5. Jerry Phillips
5. Paul Christy

Second Flight Doubles
1. Welles Farago/Marc Clausen
2. Jerry Phillips/Paul Christy
3. Larry Stotter/Ruth Stotter
3. Helen Orgill/Phil Arenson        

Martin French is WCF Secretary General

From WCF President Charles Jones:
 
This is to advise that  Martin French of the Ipswich Club, U.K. has been appointed Secretary General of the WCF. The WCFMC was impressed with the high standard of applicants received.  Martin has many skills both from within croquet and in his working life that he will bring to this position. I thank all members for the interest shown in this position. I look forward to the contribution I know Martin will make to the WCF organization and wish him well.

Morning Coffee: 2011 GC World Championship Allocation, U.S. Tourney Results, GC Exhibition

Ben Rothman won the Pasadena Playoff GC Exhibition match over Mohammad Kamal 10-6. The full summary is available on Croquet World.

Several U.S. Tourneys posted results recently. Standings have been placed in the Croquet Network forum here:

The WCF announced the initial allocation for the 2011 Golf Croquet World Championship. It will include 64 players and be held in London from July 18-24, 2011 at the Hurlingham and Surbiton clubs. WCF member organizations are requested to provide to the WCF a list of nominees by February 28, 2011. There will be a Qualification Event held in England, July 15-16. This event will be open to a maximum of 16 players, with eight places initially reserved for overseas entries. The closing date for entries to this qualifier will be June 1, 2011. Allocations follow:

Ahmed Nasr – Holder
Reg Bamford – Runner-up
Chris Clarke – Semi-Finalist
Mohammed Nasr – Semi-Finalist
 
Australia 6
Canada 1
Egypt 7
England 7
Ireland 2
Italy 2
Japan 1
New Zealand 6
Scotland 1
South Africa 2
United States of America 3
Austria 1
Germany 1
Spain 1
Sweden 3
Switzerland 1
Wales 1
Belgium 1
Czech Republic 1
Finland 1
Norway 1
Denmark 0
Isle of Man 0
France 0
Jersey 0
Palestine 0
Russia 0
 
Qualifiers 4
Wildcards 6

Source: http://www.croquet.org.nz/?id=364&entityType=Event

Croquet Search Trends (October 2010)

Here are the hottest trending croquet search keywords to hit Croquet Network in October:

01. Wii Croquet
02. Jerry Stark
03. Ben Rothman
04. Croquet Network
05. Rocco Mango
06. Morning Coffee Croquet
07. George Cochran
08. Rhys Thomas
09. 2010 Gateball Video
10. Fargo Moorhead Croquet
11. Kevin Betz
12. Elaine Moody
13. Ian Sidey
14. Patrick Sweeney
15. Headland Buderim Croquet Club

2010 USCA Selection Eights Results

FIRST EIGHT
Rk / Player (Wins)
1 -- Jim Bast (9)
   -- Ben Rothman (9)
3 -- Brian Cumming (8)
   -- Danny Huneycutt (8)
   -- Chris Patmore (8)
6 -- Doug Grimsley (6)
7 -- Jeff Soo (5)
8 -- Rich Lamm (3)

SECOND EIGHT
Rk / Player (Wins)
1 -- Damon Bidencope (13)
2 -- Charlie Gillmarten (11)
3 -- Bob Kroeger (8)
4 -- Stuart Lawrence (6)
   -- John Osborn (6)
6 -- Paul Billings (5)
7 -- Johnny Mitchell (4)
8 -- Paul Emmett (3)

THIRD EIGHT
Rk / Player (Wins)
1 -- Michael Carmichael (11)
2 -- Adrian Wadley (9)
   -- Martyn Selman (9)
4 -- George Cochran (8)
5 -- Leo Nikora (6)
6 -- Tim Rapuano (5)
7 -- Russell Brown (4)
   -- Steve Scalpone (4)

FOURTH EIGHT
Rk / Player (Wins)
1 -- Mike Gibbons (11)
2 -- Jon Essick (9)
3 -- Steve Summer (8)
   -- Mike Taylor (8)
5 -- Jane Beharriell (6)
   -- Robert Hurst (6)
   -- Eileen Soo (6)
   -- Tom Yates (6)
9 -- Tony Reaves (4)
10 -- Donna Dixon (1)

28th Texas Croquet Classic: Battles on the Court and from the Heavens

By Joe Yoder / Photo Gallery by Scott Kennedy

DALLAS, TX -- This year’s Texas fall tournament was another classic. Twenty-two players from Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas joined in three days of often down-to-the-last shot singles. Not only was the competition heated but the torrential storm that blew in Saturday afternoon made things even tougher. As much as four inches of rain fell on the court in Heath, TX and totally swamped it. The court in Quinlan also was rained out. Fortunately, by the time it arrived few key matches remained.

The one game that was affected was an elimination block match between Matt Griffith and Donna Dixon. Fortunately the rain stopped and the match was held after the Saturday night dinner and under the lights at Bob Chilton’s court. Matt took advantage of some early deadness problems that frustrated Donna and he won the match and advanced to the playoffs.

It’s also interesting that the first use of Instant Replay (photographic evidence) happened during the tournament. Scott Kennedy is an avid player and photographer and was shooting Frank Vuitch’s jump shot just for its photographic interest. After the shot, there was a question if Frank shot with Blue had completely cleared Yellow, which was in the hoop and against the wicket. It was a concern because during the shot Yellow moved slightly. After examining Scott’s photo it was determined that Yellow had moved but only because Blue struck the cross bar and this induced Yellow’s movement. Everybody involved examined the photo and unanimously agreed it was a great shot!

Another innovation was using alternate starting positions. We put red and blue tape up the outside of the legs of #1 and Rover and always started the Championship players from this position. It worked well, avoided the log-jam that frequently slows the start of the second game and helped keep the games on schedule.

This year was also the most challenging to organize because of constantly changing court conditions. North Texas had over 60 days of below freezing temperatures during the winter and when that combined with the summer’s unusually hot and humid weather the biggest challenge was saving the courts. Depending upon the constantly changing conditions, we considered holding the event on one, two and even three courts at various time--with the third being 80 miles away in Tyler. Harold Menzel did over 20 different bracket arrangements plotting the ramifications of travel time and the number of players.

Fortunately, Bill and Suzan Copeland’s court in Quinlan, TX. recovered (we thought) and we settled on two courts. Alas, just before the tournament the virus that had been lying dormant reared its ugly head and killed 60% of the grass but, even though it looked pretty bad, it still played surprisingly well. Bob Chilton’s court recovered due to the Herculean work of his green’s keeper, Antonio Flores, who hand watered the bent grass court at least three times a day all through the 100º+ days of summer to save it.

Words cannot express our appreciation to Harold Menzel, bracket manager. He never once complained about the constantly moving target of the number of players, courts and travel times. The result of all his great work was a smooth running, enjoyable tournament. Carrie Shapiro’s work with the food arrangements also was appreciated. A Texas-sized “Hip Hip Hooray” shout-out to Bill and Suzan Copeland and Bob Chilton whose relentless work on their courts made it possible.

One of the tournament’s highlights was the play of Ted Schweitzer. Not only had Ted never played in a tournament, he had never even played a game. He worked two weeks before the tournament and took numerous lessons trying to become competitive. To quote Ted, “I learned more in this tournament than I could have in a dozen weekends.” Despite not winning a game, Ted accomplished his goals, had a great time, and is going to make a great addition to the game.

Everybody left with smiles on their faces and claiming they’d be back next year. If you are looking for a great fall tournament with great competition, food and camaraderie, consider the Texas Croquet Classic.

FINAL STANDINGS

Championship Flight

1. Jeff Caldwell
2. Joe Yoder
3. Britt Ruby
3. Matt Griffith
5. Bill Hixon
5. Matt Smith
7. Donna Dixon
8. Dale Poszgai
9. Billy Bob Breeden
10. John Dill
11. Bob Chilton
12. Bill Copeland

First Flight

1. Bob Knowlton
2. Harold Menzel
3. Frank Vuitch
3. Suzan Copeland
5. Roni Brazell
5. Rob Franks
7. Pat Garner
8. Scott Kennedy
9. George Blackburn
10. Ted Schweitzer

Morning Coffee: USCA Website and WCF Secretary General Position

The USCA website implemented a few notable changes over the weekend:

  • The first is a site map and search box geared at helping members navigate the incredibly deep and resourceful website. The site map link is always handy on the right side of the main menu for users that are struggling to find info they know exists.
  • The second initiative targets further grass roots growth for croquet in the United States. As part of the "Start a Club" web page, Leo Nikora has now provided a How to Build an Easy Website tutorial document. The tutorial goes step-by-step through the process of building an informational croquet club site on the free host service Weebly. Websites have become the new yellow page listing and unfortunately if you check the USCA directory, there are far too many U.S. clubs operating without a site -- generally considered the first resource that younger demographics will check for more information. One of the keys to the project is having the new club link to the USCA main site and the USCA site link back in return. This will hopefully give the new site enough power on Google search to top the listing for croquet searches in their community. In addition, more links into the USCA site will boost the already solid Google ranking for the USCA main site.

The Croquet Association website now has a job description available for the WCF Secretary General position.

Morning Coffee: Meadowood Dedication, Selection 8s and New FEC Website

Donna Stark recently posted on the Nottingham List indicating that the Meadowood Croquet Lawns will be officially dedicated in Jerry Stark’s honor next Wednesday, October 27th with a plaque of Jerry’s likeness installed court side. (Caring Bridge Journal Link)

"I understand the plaque is beautiful!  It has been delivered to Meadowood and will be mounted on a boulder set into the stone wall that runs the length of the croquet courts."

Hisham Abouesbaa of Egypt won the first 0ver 50's GC World Champion when he beat England's Stephen Mulliner 7-3, 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 7-4.

In case you missed it in the forum, the line-ups for the U.S. Selection 8's were posted earlier this week. The association event is scheduled for October 28-31 at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The Federation of European Croquet recently launched their new website. The federation has 20 member countries.

Danny Huneycutt announced on the Nottingham List that the 2011 USCA Association Croquet National Championship will be held April 10 – 16 (Sunday-Saturday) at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. More from Danny:

Some players outside North America have incorrectly been under the impression that you must be a member of the USCA to participate.  The USCA Association Croquet National Championship is to North America what the British Open is to Great Britain.  Singles and Doubles will be played throughout the week. 

Morning Coffee: High School Croquet, iPad Game and Over 50 GC

Catching up on the latest in croquet ...

Interesting news video on four high schools that are playing nine-wicket croquet in the Fargo, North Dakota area and are aiming to play a state championship next spring. The four schools that are playing include Moorhead, Shanley, West Fargo, and Fargo North.

Here's a review of a new croquet game for the iPad. I still don't have my hands on an iPad, so I won't be able to review this one.

The latest results from the WCF Over 50 GC World Championship are posted in the forum. For a summary on the action, check the front page of the WCF website.

Final standings from Nine-Wicket Nationals are available and have been posted in the forum.

The 100+ member Tega Cay Club in South Carolina also made a recent newscast: