Morning Coffee: Jenny Clarke Wins Australian Open, WCF Blog, U.S. GC

In case you missed it, Jenny Clark took the Australian Open singles title. The ACA site has full results for both singles and doubles.

The USCA website has a full photo gallery and summary of the recent USCA GC Nationals Tournament. In addition, singles champion Ben Rothman has a rundown of the event posted on his CroquetPro blog.

Also from Ben's blog, he has an updated post on "an easy way to a good swing."

Big news from the WCF as new secretary general Martin French has started a What's Happening with the WCF Blog. This a great move as I've already dropped that RSS feed into the automated news feed in the right column of the Croquet Network front page, so you'll see any new posts from the WCF as they come up. That feed collects all of the very few available croquet dedicated RSS feed. More croquet sites need RSS feeds and a simple concept is to use an external free service for a blog and automatically feed that blogs headlines into the front page of your main site. Definitely a traffic driver and a way to keep users engaged. Also, it simplifies your updating process.

Recent winners from he 25th New Zealand Veterans’ Northern Championship held at the Whangarei Croquet Club in Whangareri:

Association Championship Singles
Winner - Roger White
Runner up - Richard Williamson

Association Handicap Singles (2 rounds)
Winner - Roger White
Runner up - Richard Williamson

Association Doubles
Winners - George Depree & Helen Wilkinson
Runners up - Verna Williscroft & Margaret Lindsay

Golf Croquet Handicap Doubles
Winners_ Judy Keogh & Jon Thackray
Runners up - on a c/b - John & Carol Christmas

Golf Croquet Handicap Singles
Winner - John Christmas
Runner up - Carol Christmas

Full Results

Upcoming Croquet Tournaments / December-April 2011

December 2010

Dec 1–5 / USCA Florida Regional Championship / Sarasota County Croquet Club, Sarasota, FL
Erica Sherman / 561-478-0760 /

Dec 7-11 / 2010 US Open (AC) / Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, California
Stan Patmor / 602-955-1547 or 800-294-0875 /  / TD Rory Kelley rkelley@postsignaz.com

January 2011

Jan 7–9 / SCCC High Handicap Adjuster (Singles Only) / Pinebrook Park, Venice, FL
Charlotte Neagle / 941-412-8828 / charlotte.neagle@gmail.com

Jan 17–22 / Palm Beach CC Invitational / National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Archie Peck / 561-818-6039 / archiepeck@aol.com

Jan 25–29 / Desert Classic (AC)/ Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, CA
Ron Hendry / 760-832-7681 / 760-567-6236 / croquetca@dc.rr.com / Ben Rothman, TD

Jan 26–30 / Beach Club Invitational / The Beach Club, Palm Beach, FL
Stewart Jackson / 561-514-9007 / 917-215-5428 / lequipe@aol.com

February 2011

Feb 2–5 / Desert Adventure Golf Croquet Tournament (GC) / Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, CA
Ron Hendry / 760-832-7681 / 760-567-6236 / croquetca@dc.rr.com / Ben Rothman, TD

Feb 3–6 / SCCC Winter Singles Invitational / Pinebrook Park, Venice, FL
Charlotte Neagle / 941-412-8828 / charlotte.neagle@gmail.com

Feb 8–12 / Peyton Ballenger Invitational / Croquet Club at PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Missy Diack / 561-630-0119 / missydiack@comcast.net / John Osborn, TD

Feb 17–20 / Green Gables Croquet Club Palm Beach Winter Tournament / Palm Beach CC, Palm Beach, FL
Clair Flinn / 732-449-2933 / 908-875-5439 / bracer5@msn.com / Herb Roemmele, TM

Feb 18–20 / SCCC Club Doubles/Singles Championship / Pinebrook Park, Venice, FL
Charlotte Neagle / 941-412-8828 / charlotte.neagle@gmail.com / continued on March 18-20, 2011

Feb 23–27 / 4th Annual Int'l Polo Club Palm Beach Invitational (GC) / International Polo Club, Wellington, FL
Don Jacobson, Host / 561-254-0999 / donjay16@aol.com / Mohammad Kamal, TD / $8000 purse, $5000

Feb 24–27 / 17th Audubon Croquet Invitational / Audubon Country Club, Naples, FL
John Richardson, TM / 239-653-9705 / 416-648-6249 / john_richardson@manulife.com / Fred Jones, TD

Feb 24–26 / Mar-a-Lago Doubles Invitational / Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL
John Osborn / 561-762-5904 / twenty6to2@aol.com

March 2011

Mar 1–5 / Mission Hills Invitational / Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, CA
Ron Hendry / 760-832-7681 / 760-567-6236 / croquetca@dc.rr.com / Ben Rothman, TD

Mar 3–6 / Charles Steuber Invitational / National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Archie Peck / 561-818-6039 / archiepeck@aol.com

Mar 11–13 / Boca Grande Invitational / Gasparilla Inn & Boca Bay, Boca Grande, FL
Blaine Davis, TM / 941-964-1092 / 201-506-1982 / blainedavis@att.net / Fred Jones, TD

Mar 13–15 / USCA Croquet Week Golf Croquet Championship (GC) / National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Erica Sherman / 561-478-0760 / tournamentusca@aol.com

Mar 15–16 / Hammock Dunes Club Championship / Hammock Dunes Club, Palm Coast, FL
Susan Cole / 386-986-4496 / spcole@cfl.rr.com / Ted Knopf, TD

Mar 16–20 / USCA Club Teams Championship / National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Erica Sherman / 561-478-0760 / tournamentusca@aol.com

Mar 18–20 / SCCC Club Doubles/Singles Championship / Pinebrook Park, Venice, FL
Charlotte Neagle / 941-412-8828 / charlotte.neagle@gmail.com /continued from February 18-20, 2011

Mar 28 – Apr 3 / USCA AC Rules National Championship (AC) / National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Erica Sherman / 561-478-0760 / tournamentusca@aol.com

April 2011

Apr 5–9 / USCA Western Regional Championship / Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, CA
Erica Sherman / 561-478-0760 / tournamentusca@aol.com / Ben Rothman, TD

Apr 8–10 / SCCC Spring Invitational (Singles Only) / Pinebrook Park, Venice, FL
Charlotte Neagle / 941-412-8828 / charlotte.neagle@gmail.com

Apr 14–16 / Mar-a-Lago Singles Invitational / Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL
John Osborn / 561-762-5904 / twenty6to2@aol.com

Apr 27–30 / Dorthy Fosse Invitational / Hammock Dunes Club, Palm Coast, FL
Susan Cole / 386-986-4496 / spcole@cfl.rr.com / Fred Jones, TD

Croquet Website Directory Additions (November 2010)

John Hobbs Croquet Mallets - Buy yourself a good mallet - improve your game
www.john-hobbs-croquet-mallets.mfbiz.com

Royal Tunbridge Wells Croquet Club - U.K. club has three full-size lawns and occupies a favourable position at the top of Calverley Grounds, Mount Pleasant in the centre of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
www.tunbridgewellscroquet.org.uk

Yorkshire Croquet Federation - U.K. federation is an association of clubs throughout Yorkshire
http://www.yorkshirecroquet.org.uk/

European Croquet Federation -- Exists to promote croquet amongst European countries.
http://www.croquet.eu.com/index.html

Tega Cay Croquet Club -- South Carolina Croquet Club
http://www.tegacaycroquet.com/

Jiminy Wicket -- Jiminy Wicket creates connections and smiles for people dealing with dementia by playing croquet.
http://jiminywicket.com/

Morning Coffee: Stark Court Dedication Photos, Rothman and Australian Open Prep

Kicking off this Wednesday morning and there is a lot of croquet going on as the U.S. has wrapped up some recent GC action and now the southern hemisphere is rolling into play. To update the Croquet Network scene, there are great materials lined out for what should have been the October/November issue of Croquet Network magazine. Job changes for me have really eaten into my person time and the issue though nearly finished has slowed to a crawl. The Croquet Network mission is not in jeopardy, but it's clear that once I am able to get this issue out, that I'll have to remove myself from the editorial function. I can still punch out the short columns and web-based materials, but the more in-depth pieces are going to be outsourced. In short, thank you for your patience and just know that this thing is still moving forward and the plan is to take it up another notch in 2011. On to the regular news ...

Through Mike Orgill and Genie Hendry, we are able to present a gallery of photos (click any of the thumbnails to move into slideshow mode) from Sarah Adler taken at the dedication of the Meadowood Croquet Lawns in honor of Jerry Stark that occurred on October 27.

In case you missed it, Ben Rothman capped a productive fall season by snagging the USCA Golf Croquet National Championship last weekend at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California. Forty players partcipated in the event and Rothman had to contend with a championship flight that held top GC players Mohammad Kamal and Sheriff Abdelwahab along with hardcore U.S./association players such as Danny Huneycutt and Rich Lamm. Speaking of Huneycutt, Rothman just missed on picking up what would be the triple crown of USCA croquet singles play due to Huneycutt.  Rothman has the U.S. Rules and GC Championships for 2010 but Huneycutt won the U.S. Association title back in April. Can we promote this idea of USCA Triple Crown? Looks like the list of GC champions should be added to the USCA Champions page.

You may have also missed a review of the MacRob Competition posted by Jim Bast in the main CWO forum. The post is a bit unique in that it compares the first U.S. appearance in the Mac versus the most recent. A brief excerpt:

The feeling that accompanied getting the USA accepted, and being selected for the first team, was an odd combination of relief and euphoria.  We knew that we were living history and it was amazing to be a part of it.  But once the Mac was underway it became a true "deer-in-the-headlights" situation.

Moving on to the southern hemisphere and there's been a lot of action in New Zealand. Results from the Gold and Silver Mallet tournament are available with Paul Skinley taking the Gold and Toby Garrison taking the Silver. The GC Gold and Silver Star tournament took place this past weekend at the Richmond Croquet Club. Phillip Drew took the Gold Star and Eleanor Hannay took the Silver. Under way this week is the NZ Scratch to 3 Bisques tournament in Pukehohe. In doubles, Hamish Mcintosh and Sean Foster are early winners.

Meanwhile Australia is getting ready to set the wickets for the 61st Australian Open which will be held November 19-20 in Melbourne. There is a full PDF program available with details on the event and a list of participating players follows:

Robert Fletcher (Vic)
Bruce Fleming (Qld)
Ken Bald (Vic)
Stephen Richards (NSW)
Trevor Bassett (NSW)
Kevin Beard (Vic)
Jim Nicholls (NSW)
Dennis Bulloch (NZ)
Tim Murphy (NSW)
Liz Fleming (Qld)
Alan Walsh (NSW)
Albert Rutten (SA)
Greg Rowberry (SA)
Alan Honey (NSW)
Rosemary Graham (NSW)
Robyn Stock (NSW)
Charlotte Morgan (SA)
Steve Jones (Qld)
Martyn Prins (NSW)
Judy Wembridge (Vic)
Mike Hughes (NSW)
Basil Ladyman (WA)
Ray Vize (NSW)
Stephen Howes (NSW)
Rosemary Newsham (Qld)
Ray Irlam (Vic)
Greg Fletcher (Vic)
Peter Landrebe (NSW)
Jenny Clarke (NZ)
Malcolm Fletcher (Vic)
Ken Edwards (NSW)
John Levick (NSW)
Alison Sharpe (NSW)
Claire Bassett (NSW)
Tom Knight (Qld)
David Wise (SA)
Tricia Devlin (Vic)
Tony Hall (NSW)
Geoff Kingdon (Tas)
Dick Smith (Qld)
Gareth Bushill (NSW)
Judy Evans (Vic)

Croquet Website Rankings (September 2010)

SEPTEMBER / UNIQUE VISITORS (U.S. Domestic)
01. croquet.com - 3786
02. croquetamerica.com - 2352
03. mauicroquetclub.org - 2188
04. croquetnational.com - 1089
05. croquetworld.com - 639
06. oakleywoods.com - 195
07. croquet.org.uk - 43

Source: Compete.com
(please note that compete.com generally seems to under-report traffic, especially for what are considered low-traffic sites)

Ben Rothman Wins USCA GC Nationals

Championship Flight
1. Ben Rothman
2. Danny Huneycutt
3. Rich Lamm
3. Leo Nikora
5. Sherif Abdelwahab
5. Paul Bennett
5. Jacques Fournier
5. Arthur Bagby

Championship Doubles
1. Paul Bennett/Jacques Fournier
2. Danny Huneycutt/Sherif Abdelwahab
3. Ben Rothman/Bob Van Tassell
3. Ron Eccles/Leo Nikora

First Flight Singles
1. Karl-Heinz Kempfer
2. Eric Sawyer
3. Jean Engebretson
4. Bob Riddell
5. Sheri Foroughi
5. Mary Rodeberg

First Flight Doubles
1. Eric Sawyer/Caren Sawyer
2. Bob Riddell/Mary Rodeberg
3. Karl-Heinz Kempfer/Phyllis Butts
3. Bob Morford/Nick Gray

Second Flight Singles
1. Welles Farago
2. Ruth Stotter
3. Betty Teoman
4. Marc Clausen
5. Jerry Phillips
5. Paul Christy

Second Flight Doubles
1. Welles Farago/Marc Clausen
2. Jerry Phillips/Paul Christy
3. Larry Stotter/Ruth Stotter
3. Helen Orgill/Phil Arenson        

Martin French is WCF Secretary General

From WCF President Charles Jones:
 
This is to advise that  Martin French of the Ipswich Club, U.K. has been appointed Secretary General of the WCF. The WCFMC was impressed with the high standard of applicants received.  Martin has many skills both from within croquet and in his working life that he will bring to this position. I thank all members for the interest shown in this position. I look forward to the contribution I know Martin will make to the WCF organization and wish him well.

Morning Coffee: 2011 GC World Championship Allocation, U.S. Tourney Results, GC Exhibition

Ben Rothman won the Pasadena Playoff GC Exhibition match over Mohammad Kamal 10-6. The full summary is available on Croquet World.

Several U.S. Tourneys posted results recently. Standings have been placed in the Croquet Network forum here:

The WCF announced the initial allocation for the 2011 Golf Croquet World Championship. It will include 64 players and be held in London from July 18-24, 2011 at the Hurlingham and Surbiton clubs. WCF member organizations are requested to provide to the WCF a list of nominees by February 28, 2011. There will be a Qualification Event held in England, July 15-16. This event will be open to a maximum of 16 players, with eight places initially reserved for overseas entries. The closing date for entries to this qualifier will be June 1, 2011. Allocations follow:

Ahmed Nasr – Holder
Reg Bamford – Runner-up
Chris Clarke – Semi-Finalist
Mohammed Nasr – Semi-Finalist
 
Australia 6
Canada 1
Egypt 7
England 7
Ireland 2
Italy 2
Japan 1
New Zealand 6
Scotland 1
South Africa 2
United States of America 3
Austria 1
Germany 1
Spain 1
Sweden 3
Switzerland 1
Wales 1
Belgium 1
Czech Republic 1
Finland 1
Norway 1
Denmark 0
Isle of Man 0
France 0
Jersey 0
Palestine 0
Russia 0
 
Qualifiers 4
Wildcards 6

Source: http://www.croquet.org.nz/?id=364&entityType=Event