Croquet Search Trends (May 2010)

With his impact on the croquet world, it was no surprise that Jerry Stark was the number search term to hit the site in May. Here is the complete May list for hottest trending croquet keywords that hit CroquetNetwork.com last month:

01. Jerry Stark
02. Wii Croquet
03. Morford Mallets
04. Pasadena Croquet Club
05. WCF for iPad
06. Eric Sawyer
07. Croquet Video Game
08. Croquet Piping Kennedy
09. Paula Mol
10. Croquet Magazine
11. Croquet Champions
12. Big Lobster Croquet
13. Sonoma Cutrer Croquet Tournament
14. Bennington Croquet League
15. American Way Magazine
16. Annapolis Croquet
17. Croquet Club Santa Fe
18. Golf Croquet Suburbiton
19. New Paltz Croquet
20. North American Open

June Croquet Poll: What Shoe Do You Wear?

This month's croquet poll asks the simple question -- what brand of shoe do you prefer for croquet? You can find the poll here on in the right hand column.

Last month's poll asked about croquet news consumption preferences and it seems clear that we need to focus a little more on the website and e-newsletter. Final results:

How do you prefer to receive your croquet news?

Croquet Network Magazine (June Issue Available)


Click to launch the full edition in a new window

The June issue of Croquet Network was released over the weekend and features coverage of the College National Championship played in April at the Merion Cricket Club. In addition, the June issue includes a tribute to Jerry Stark repinted from the Croquet World website along with a profile of U.S. golf croquet champion Mohammad Kamal. As a bonus, Eric Sawyer contributed a report on a recent GC tournament held in Pasadena to honor Kamal.

Regrettably there is an error on the cover. I apologize as Pavlos Papadopoulos was spelled wrong. Surprisingly, changing out a digital magazine is a little more challenging than you might think -- mainly because of URLs and view counts. It will be corrected as soon as possible.

To be notified of future issues, sign up for the Croquet Network newsletter in the right column. View the back issues here -- password free.

May Croquet Links: Grand Haven, SUNY New Paltz and Austria

Grand Haven Croquet Club -- Palm Coast, Florida club with a model website. Beautiful design with plenty of information.

SUNY New Paltz Facebook Group -- This is where the SUNY New Paltz team likes to hangout online.

Austrian Croquet Federation -- Federation website for croquet in Austria with news, schedule, photo galleries and more.

All links above will now appear in the Croquet Links section on the navigation bar at the top of the site. Any links back are greatly appreciated.

Morning Coffee: Stark Cup, Sunshine Coast Withdraws, Rocky Mountain International

According to the WCF website, the USCA has named a trophy in honor of Jerry Stark, to be awarded to the USCA AC National Singles champion in perpetuity -- the "Stark Cup." If you wish to make a donation toward funding the trophy on Jerry's behalf, you may send it to Shereen Hayes at the USCA, with a notation for Jerry.

USCA
700 Florida Mango Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
USA

According to the Croquet Australia website, the Sunshine Coast Region of Queensland withdrew the offer to conduct the World Association Championships in 2012. Reports on the Nottingham list indicate that the previously reported dates of April 23 will May 1 will likely be revised as well.

The Rocky Mountain International association tournament made the Denver post with a small preview featuring a photo of Jeff Soo and a short follow-up noting the overall win for Ben Rothman.

American Champion - Jerry Stark

Jerry Stark holds the Solomon Trophy (on left) / photo by Genie Hendry

A Great Loss for the Sport

It has been posted on the Nottingham List that Jerry Stark passed away yesterday. Jerry was an icon in the American croquet world and genuinely respected by players all across the international community. Jerry was the U.S. Association Rules National Champion in 2000 and 2006.

I did not know Jerry, but I think all players in the Kansas City were inspired by his story, which for croquet began in the KC backyard scene. It is a sad day for American croquet.

Profile from American Way Magazine (American Airlines, page 42)

http://www.emag-americanwaymag.com/july_15_09.html

Incidentally, this article pushed me to start the Croquet Network digital magazine.

Croquet World Online Tribute with Interview from 2004

Morning Coffee: WCF World Championship 2012, Site Changes and New Imperial Wicket

The WCF announced the location and dates for the 2012 Association World Championship over the weekend. The website indicates the event will take place April 23 through May 1 on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. However, it was noted on the Croquet Network facebook page that May 1, 2012 is a Tuesday, so keep an eye out for a clarification.

This will be the 13th World Championship event and Reg Bamford of South Africa is the defending champion. The WCF expects 80 players from 20 countries to take place in the event.

Outgoing St. John's Imperial Wicket Cameron Coates confirmed that Blake Myers from Santa Fe, New Mexico will be the Imperial Wicket for the 2010-11 season.

There are a few tweaks on the website. The news module on the side has now moved to a dedicated page. A link is located on the top website navigation menu. Replacing the news on the sidebar is the Croquet Network Twitter feed. The main reason for the change is that the news is pulled in from several RSS feeds and on occasion is slow to load. Instead of slowing up delivery of the main page, it's just as easy to keep it separate. Most of the croquet news stories of interest are posted in Twitter feed.

Photos and summary of the Lee's Summit Waterford Doubles Nine-Wicket event are available on the Missouri Croquet Association website. Brad Clouse took first place at the event with a 5-0 record.


Join the Mailing List
Name:
Email:
Subscribe  Unsubscribe