Soo: Riva Back from 0-2 to Advance #08

Plate, Bowl, and of course Main KO quarterfinals were played today. The Shield (for players knocked out in the round of 16) has a doubtful level of interest. The widely dispersed venues are probably a factor (participation in the Bowl was also on the low side). Now that the tournament is in its final stages it feels like a unified event again. Those on hand to watch the Main KO quarterfinals were treated to four great matches, each with its own character.
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Clarke: Top Four - Chapman, Mulliner, Bamford and Riva #08

We were treated to four interesting matches at Kelburn today. The sun was out and there was no breeze, so conditions were as benign as they could be. By early afternoon there were a couple of faster patches near hoops on most of the lawns which made breakplay that bit more interesting. The first match to finish was Chapman v Patel. It looked like a straight games victory for the Kiwi before he failed rover when about to peg Patel out in the third. Patel took that game, but Chapman then won the fourth.
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Clarke: Advancing to the Super 8 #07

Another still and sunny day at Kelburn meant that playing conditions were easy. The Riva v Death game “enjoyed” even easier conditions since they played on a lawn with five day old hoops. It was a high-quality match where a Death ball to 4-b was countered with a Riva ball to 1-b followed by a tpo with two balls pegged out 1 v 1-b. Death picked up a 2-ball break off the contact but missed his rush to h4. Riva then took position at 1-b and after Death missed an overly aggressive shot, finished next turn. In the second game, Riva went to 4-b 4th turn, failed to pick up a break 6th turn and finished after Death cornered 8th turn.
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Clarke: 2018 AC Worlds Preview

The 2018 WCF Association Croquet World Championship starts this Saturday in Wellington, NZ. Five clubs are being used and I’ll try to send photos from each of them as the event progresses. There are eight blocks of 10 players with the top four qualifying for the knockout from each block, with ties on wins being broken with play-off games, so net points are irrelevant.
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Morning Coffee: US Announces MacRob Roster?

There was certainly a bit of drama in the long wait for the US MacRobertson Shield roster line-up. I was sort of expecting a Livestream press conference with fireworks, cheerleaders and some AC/DC. Alas, the roster quietly appeared on the Americas forum on Croquet World Online. The report there names Jeff Soo, Ben Rothman, Danny Huneycutt, David Maloof, Matthew Essick
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Morning Coffee: CWO Interviews Soo

CWO INTERVIEWS JEFF SOO: An extended interview with American legend Jeff Soo has been posted on the the Croquet World Online site. Lots of good stuff. Here's an excerpt before you jump in:

Golf Croquet is a boon, nothing mixed about it. The health of croquet isn't measured by how many dues-paying members there are, but how much croquet is being played. Golf Croquet has a much broader appeal than Association Croquet or American rules. Maybe if the USCA put more work into the development Golf Croquet events we'd get more members. Right now there's very little on the calendar.

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Morning Coffee: Bryant Repeats at NZ Open

Visit the storeAre you ready for a little trip to New Zealand? Most of the croquet news this week centers around the New Zealand Open, so grab your passport and enjoy the rundown ...

NZ OPEN REPEAT: Greg Bryant defeated Toby Garrison 3-1 (-26tp, +26tp, 26tp, +9tp) to retain the New Zealand Open Association title. Full match commentary here--
http://www.croquet.org.nz/associations/nz/nzopen2012/commentary.html

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Croquet Network Magazine (May/June Digital Issue)

The new issue of Croquet Network magazine is now available for viewing as a digital magazine on your PC or laptop for $3.00. Yep, the era of free viewing is over, but c'mon it's three bucks -- less than a beer in most pubs.
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Morning Coffee: WCF News Machine, ACA Championships and NZ Results

Visit StoreStill adjusting to the time change, so we shifted the MC one day. Enjoy the news ...

From 38 entries, eight wildcards have been chosen for the 2011 WCF World GC Championship to be held in London, England in July. The wildcards are --

Howard Cheyne, ENG
Marcus Evans, ENG
Ian Lines, ENG

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Morning Coffee: Bryant Wins New Zealand Open

Greg Bryant wins the New Zealand Open 3-0 (26tp-19, 26tp-0, 26tp-3) over Robert Fletcher. The win came after Bryant battled through a 2-0 deficit in the sem-finals against Paddy Chapman. Bryant won that match 3-2 (17-26, 9-26tp, 26-tp-10, 26tp-0, 26-12 otp). Full bracket available on the official New Zealand Open website ... with commentary from Chris Clarke located here.
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