Morning Coffee: USCA's Croquet Week Is On

David McCoy beat Matt Griffith 7-5, 7-6 to claim the championship flight at the Croquet Week GC tournament. In first flight, Mike Sexton beat Bill Bromley 7-4, 7-1 for first place. (Full Results)

Croquet Week continues on with the annual planning meeting on Tuesday. Friday night is the annual awards ceremony, but the main event is the Club Teams Championship which kicks off Wednesday.

The USCA National Club Teams Croquet Championships will be held on the lawns at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 12-16.  Ninety players from clubs throughout the United States are expected to compete in five flights in this doubles only event on the Center’s courts. Teams not only compete for victory in their respective flight but are also competing for the coveted Lyons Trophy, which is awarded to the top clubs in three divisions.

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Morning Coffee: Curling Gets All the Love

If you watch the video above, it's clear why members of the world croquet nation have been grinding their teeth over the past week or so. How did curling get so lucky? Why does croquet get relegated to that little dark corner as the quirky, quaint throwback to another time? The injustice of it all.

I've watched a few different email conversations sprout up around the topic and at least one has angled into a "we need to" or "we should" thread that may be accurate but likely will have little impact. I don't know that I can truly assess the issues that affect the progress of the WCF and the associations of Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, but I believe that I can speak to the challenge that the USCA faces.

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Blamire's Unofficial History of Croquet

 

John Blamire submitted this satirical piece for the USCA's Croquet News magazine this past fall. As space has become increasingly tight in each issue, this turned out to be too long to make the cut. After an apology, I offered to post the piece on Croquet Network and John agreed. Enjoy -- Dylan Goodwin

Excerpts from the Unofficial History of Croquet
Part One: The Early Years 

by - John “the Professor” Blamire

Before Dawn.

Croquet was a popular sport long before the dawn of recorded history which makes its origins hard to find and interpret. However the discovery of mammoth tusks arranged in the form of hoops or wickets starting at the time of the Cromagnons in the Pathetolitic era gives us our first clue as to when the game first started and how it got its name. “Magnon” means "player" and “Cro” means "the game", so Cromagnons were "players of the game" and they took it very seriously.

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2017 MacRobertson Shield to California

The Mission Hills Croquet Club in Ranch Mirage, CA has announced that it has submitted a bid to host the next MacRobertson International Croquet Shield in 2017. The bid must be approved by all four MacRobertson Shield countries. The United States has only hosted the event one previous time -- at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, FL in 2003.

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USCA Croquet News Magazine 2013 Volume 3

The USCA's Croquet News Magazine Volume 3 for 2013 mailed out in December and has reached most members by now. You can also now enjoy the PDF version which is available in the member's section of the USCA website along with back issues all the way back to 2007.

One advantage of the PDF is that all website and e-mail links are live, so if you see an interesting reference you can reach out right away. The PDF version is best viewed as "two-up" and "show cover page" if you want to see the full spreads (on your Adobe Reader top menu: View/Page Display).
 
This issue features articles on both the GC National Championship and the US Rules National Championship. You will also find an interview with Western North Carolina District President Michael Albert on the keys to the recent success with golf croquet in his district. And, there is coverage of the Solomon Trophy Test from August and an interview with Stuart Lawrence that sheds light on his experiences at the 2013 WCF Association World Singles Championship. Cheryl Bromley is our player profile and the usual line-up of columns and departments are on deck for your enjoyment.

 

Please continue to send your letters or questions to uscacroquetnews@yahoo.com so we can keep the "Inbox" page active and informative. Also note that due to the limited page space, brevity is greatly appreciated.

Hope your New Year is filled with plenty of croquet!

Best Regards,

Dylan Goodwin, Croquet News Publisher
uscacroquetnews@yahoo.com

Morning Coffee: MacRobertson Thoughts Day 3

It's a bit of a challenge to offer insight on an event half a world away, but it's still a good time to scratch out a few thoughts on the event:

KUDOS FOR CNZ VIDEO
Daily video interview's from Croquet New Zealand. This is so long overdue for croquet. It's easy and it really gives everyone following a much better insight on the event. Well done for New Zealand. These videos have been shared in the Croquet Network video section. And yes, I do want this area to become the official collection site for web video on croquet.
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2014 MacRobertson Shield: Team USA Preview

Doug Grimsley submitted a Team USA preview on the upcoming MacRobertson Shield World Team Championship. Also, check the Croquet Network Association Forum for updates and dialogue on the event.

The US team goes into the 2014 MacRobertson Shield tournament with three-and-a-half more years of experience, and a realistic chance to win their first Mac title -- or finish dead last -- that's how much the competition has tightened over the last few years.  England has gone into the last six or seven Macs as

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Morning Coffee: USCA Grand Prix Surprise

If you haven't dialed into the USCA Grand Prix race lately, you might be in for a bit of a surprise. Danny Huneycutt currently has 30,418 points to lead the race while Ben Rothman has second place with 27,280 points.  That should change slightly as the Association Doubles National Championship results have not yet been submitted and Rothman took a win there with partner Doug Grimsley. However, it's unclear whether or not that would actually bump Rothman into first.

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