Visit the Store Maine's Big Lobster Croquet Tournament will be held from Tuesday, September 6, through Sunday, September 11, 2011. The opening reception and BBQ will be on Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. and play will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The finals will finish before 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.  The format will be the same as all previous "Big Lobsters" -- nine wicket doubles and six wicket singles, USCA sanctioned.  Details and entry forms will be sent out later, but mark it on your calendars and come join us here on the coast of Maine for a fun week of croquet in a beautiful setting. Perry Mattson (mattsonsneck@gmail.com) will be the tournament manager and Larry Stettner (larryorfran@hotmail.com) will be the tournament director.

Check out this BBC 2 Radio interview with Bill Arliss of the Croquet Association. Interview starts at 19:30 --
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b011dbfn/Simon_Mayo_Drivetime_31_05_2011/

The Croquet Network website is experiencing explosive growth this year. The website broke monthly traffic records in April and then again in May, eclipsing 4,000 monthly impressions for first time. That's not necessarily huge in the world of websites, but considering the very humble start, the growth curve is definitely exceeding expectations. The word is obviously spreading. Thank you to all of the supporters for getting the message out.

The Australian Croquet Association announced the recent appointment of Nerida Taylor as the new ACA  Assistant Treasurer.

A quick glance at the USCA Grand Prix has Danny Huneycutt currently in first place. You can see the full standings on the USCA website. Top 20--

Rank/Name/Hcap/Singles PTS/Doubles PTS/Total
01    Danny Huneycutt    -3.5    14936    9516    24452
02    Ben Rothman    -3.5    13908    4243    18151
03    Chris Patmore    -2    9100    4550    13650
04    Johnny Mitchell Jr.    -2    10500    2640    13140
05    Brian Cumming    -2.5    7070    5400    12470
06    Derek Wassink    -2.5    7180    5210    12390
07    Richard Brackett    -2    6066    5378    11444
08    Peter Just    -2    6860    3620    10480
09    Bob Chilton    -0.5    3864    6238    10102
10    Richard Wilhoite    -0.5    3660    4752    8412
11    Doug Grimsley    -3    5350    2850    8200
12    Ted Knopf    -1.5    7500    510    8010
13    Ron Huxtable    0.5    3636    4108    7744
14    Jim Bast    2    3350    4200    7550
15    Kenneth (Tim) Bitting    -1    4220    2900    7120
16    Stuart Lawrence    -1    4580    2250    6830
17    Charles Loving Jr.    0.5    1800    4840    6640
18    Blaine Davis    0    5785    340    6125
19    Jackie Jones    -0.5    4420    1200    5620
20    John Warlick    1.5    4416    1144    5560