Ben Rothman in play at the 2013 Eights

WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- The big news to come out of the 2013 U.S. Selection Eights weekend is a line-up change for Team USA for the upcoming MacRobertson Shield. Damon Bidencope has withdrawn due and his spot on the team will be taken by Rich Lamm.

Bidencope indicated that his withdrawal was due to family and business commitments noting that he couldn't give the time necessary to prepare fully and contribute at 100%.  

On the actual Selection Eights event, full results for each eight are available at croquetscores.com but the winners are:

First: Jim Bast, Ben Rothman and Jeff Soo (all 9-5)
Second:  Colin Irwin (11-3)
Third: Bob Van Tassell (11-3)
Fourth: Stephen Morgan (12-2)
Fifth: Bill Mead (10-4)
Sixth: Mike Todorvich (12-0) 

Sandra Knuth WalshSelection Eights is a hard event to cover or even follow because of the sunrise to sunset play and the round-robin nature, so the best I can do is give you my view from the fifth eight.

Bill Mead won our group with a 10-4 record. Despite a 1-3 start, I did briefly tie Mead on late Saturday at 8-3, but hit the wall hard and finished with three straight losses. Simon Jenkins snagged second in our group with a win over Mead in their final game.

The craziest finish I saw was between Bob Roth and Steve Summer. The last turn set up with Roth needing basically run around and peel his red ball and the peg out for a win. He didn't get the peel (4B), so he decided to set up the red ball for the hoop, spread Summer out then peg out. He did that fine and came off the court with a big smile, but as he came off the court our crew let him know that he just put one of Summer's balls on the A Baulk. Disappointment turned to amazement when Summer failed to remember the lift and took a 10-12 yarder at red instead of utilizing the lift. He missed and Roth sunk the hoop for the win.

If I've calculated this right, I played 39 hours of croquet in four days. Selection Eights isn't for the weak, it's for the addicted. For me though, this is the event I've always dreamed of playing in and it certainly didn't disappoint.

And despite the serious competitive nature, there is certainly some fun as well. Sandra Knuth Walsh didn't disappoint as she went all out with one of her famous outfits on the final day.

I enjoyed the first night the most as I was able to meet several players that I've only know via phone or e-mail. The true highlight though was when a retired tuna boat captain with severe limp showed me the entire history of American croquet.