Croquet News Clips: Croquet Shirt, Egyptian Open and Wine & Wickets

Designer Duncan Quinn has unleashed a "croquet shirt" on the world. Other than the one on the left being predominantly white, I'm not sure what would classify these as croquet shirts. I suppose they look comfortable, but ultimately I'd suggest a modification. You can keep the pink trim on the white, but I'd also offer four more versions with blue, red, black and yellow trim for each. Again, the mention of Adrien Grenier makes me think that some how, some way, HBO is going to come after my Entourage script based on Ari Gold being a closet, elite-level six-wicket player. Also, I better mention our own Croquet Network Store for those who like to bring a little humor to their fashion on the court.

The Egyptians once again showed their dominance in golf croquet. Sherif Nafaa claimed the 5th Egyptian Open by defeating 21-year-old Ahmed Yasser 2-7,  7-,6  7-6,   5-7,  7-5. It must have been a thrilling match, but I'd be curious to know how long this final series lasted. Nafa earned $2000 (U.S.) for the win. More details are available over several new items on the WCF website.

Wine, Wickets and Wheels, oh my. The Hayes Croquet Club continues to push the envelope for aggressive growth and marketing of the game as they are planning several croquet events to be weaved into a July 1-4 celebration at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center near Fremont, Ohio. As it has been recently brought to the attention of the croquet world that the Presidential Center contains a massive collection of croquet books and artifacts, the Hayes Club was formed roughly one year ago to acknowledge the collection and already boasts 40 members that play weekly on the lawns at the center. Now, they are promoting this Wine, Wickets & Wheels event. It seems like a massive undertaking and the best way to understand it is to check out the details on the CroquetWorld website.

Croquet News Clips: John Prince Cartoon, Egyptian Open and 50

John Prince illustrationIf you follow the Nottingham Board List, the above cartoon will probably amuse you. Beyond on that you should check out this web page on the John Prince (scroll down) that has all kinds of croquet illustrations.

Sometimes it seems like Egypt is the heart of croquet. Sure, Great Britain is pretty much the dominant force, but check out this quote from the WCF site on the Egyptian Open.

Yesterday at a Press Conference Members of the Egyptian Croquet Federation Board and WCF President answered questions for about an hour on subjects ranging from the strength of Egypts players, how croquet is developing into new countries, funding for international events and development of croquet in Egypt.

I haven't heard the word press conference associated with croquet much here in the states.

If you want to impress me, put 50 years in the game. Muriel Woodward, 87, and Eileen Trenwith
from the Yorke Peninsula in Australia were honored for 52 and 50 years respectively as members of the Moonta Croquet Club.

“I love it and I just enjoyed playing," Woodward said. "I didn’t go out there expecting to win. I just wanted to enjoy the game. I used to go away to tournaments and always take a beginner as a partner. I like teaching others and passing on my love for the game.”

This certainly highlights one of the many benefits of croquet and I love the passion they show for the game.