The three-segment 2017 edition of the WCF Golf Croquet Championships is now well under-way in Cairnlea, Melbourne, Australia with the Under-21 GC World Championship now down to eight players. Here's an update on Day 3 from the Croquet New Zealand Facebook page:

In addition, the Qualifier has kicked off as well and is now in block play. It's scheduled to conclude on February 22, while the U21 event concludes on February 23. The top eight finishers from the Qualifier go to the main event. The ninth and 10th place finishers will square of against the top two finishers from the U21 event for the last two spots in the 80-player main event, which runs February 25 through March 5. Full information available on the event website: croquetvic.asn.au/2017-gcworlds/. Here are your weekly headlines ...

ST. JOHN'S MALLET MAKER: Each year when Croquet Network puts on the Annual Most Popular Mallet Poll, a few new names pop on the list. Gary Dunkelberger came up on the list with five votes and a bit of searching and it turns out he is the mallet maker for the the St. John's croquet team.

ANNAPOLIS CUP TICKETS ON SALE: St. John’s College now has tickets on sale for the 2017 Annapolis Cup to be held Saturday, April 22, 2017, at 1 p.m. on the front lawn of St. John's campus.

NEW ZEALAND WINNERS: New Zealand's Championships wrapped up this weekend with Aiken Hakes following his recent NZ Open with a 26tp-4, 26tp-5 win over Paul Skinley for the Men's Singles title. In the Women's event, Nina Mayard-Husson took the title with a 22-23, 22-16, 14-8 win over Alison Robinson. Robinson partnered with Steve Jones to claim the Mixed Doubles title with a 5-1 record in the Swiss event.

USCA CLUB TEAMS AUCTION: The 2017 National Club Teams Championship will be held March 15-19 and the USCA is soliciting contributions for its annual Silent Auction. Supports are encouraged to help by donating items to the Club Teams Silent Auction. Items that have done well in the past include: tournament entries, croquet lessons, weekend or week stays at vacation homes, art (pottery, paintings, and textiles), croquet memorabilia and cash donations. Contact Shereen Hayes at the USCA Office 561-478-0760 for information on how to send in your contribution.