The 2017 Croquet Network States Shield northern matchup of the Illinois vs Wisconsin round one golf croquet test will kick off Saturday morning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Illinois team did request a roster change that was approved. Stephen Bertram was added to the roster and Eddie Charleton was dropped. Full game schedule posted below.
Results will be available on Croquet Scores:
croquetscores.com/2017/gc/state-shields-test
After last year’s widely publicized Buffalo Croquet Club Invitational, top croquet players from across the nation and overseas are returning to Delaware Park in August.
The three-day tournament drew widespread acclaim and attention last summer for both its on-court competition and off-court festivities. During the day, players ranging from adolescents to elderly, men and women, competed nonstop from morning to evening. At night, they hosted cocktail parties and galas at local homes and hotels.
“It can sometimes feel like a party-and-play marathon,” said Tournament Manager Ryan Thompson, a 40-year-old attorney who lives in the Elmwood Village. “You wake up at sunrise, play croquet, have lunch at a bar, play more croquet, and then have a different party every night. Sometimes it’s the 80-year-olds who are last to bed.”
Kansas and Missouri have agreed on dates for their first round match in Croquet Network's 2017 States Shield. The first three games of the test will be played on Friday, July 21, 2017, at 5:30 p.m. and will finish the test on Saturday, July 22, 2017, with an 8:30 a.m. start. Full Shield schedule follows:
07/21: Kansas vs Missouri (Kactus Creek Croquet Club)
07/22: Kansas vs Missouri (Kactus Creek Croquet Club)
07/22: Illinois vs Wisconsin (Milwaukee Croquet Club)
08/19: States Shield Championship (Kactus Creek Croquet Club)
Follow the Croquet Network States Shield here:
croquetnetwork.squarespace.com/croquet-network-home/tag/states-shield
The 2017 Volume 1 issue of the USCA's Croquet News magazine is now available as a PDF for USCA members on the magazine page of the USCA website (log in required).
Here's the full run-down of articles you'll find in the 2017V1 issue:
ABOUT THE PDF EDITION: All website and e-mail links should be live in the PDF. If you see an interesting reference, you can click through to dig deeper or reach a contact right away. On computers, the PDF version is best viewed as "two-up" and "show cover page" if you want to see the full spreads (on your Adobe Reader top menu: View/Page Display). The PDF should also be viewable on most tablets.
All four states for the 2017 Croquet Network States Shield have submitted rosters. The teams were allowed to submit up to six players, but only three starters will play in each of the test rounds. Round one starts in July with Illinois taking on Wisconsin in Milwaukee on July 22. Kansas will play Missouri in Kansas City during the same weekend. Official dates are expected to be announced soon. The winners of those two tests will meet on August 19 for the championship to be held at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Kansas City.
From USCA President Sara Low:
It is with deep sadness that I have to report the death of Teddy Prentis. Teddy was in Bermuda playing croquet, doing what he loved most, when a tragic road accident took his life this morning.
A giant in the croquet world, Teddy was inducted in the U.S. Croquet Hall of Fame in 1989. Throughout his life, he held eight USCA National Titles and served as Director of the USCA’s National School in addition to winning or running an uncountable number of club tournaments and teaching positions. We all loved him for his athletic ability in the sport, his knowledge of and position within its history, his commitment to teaching us to improve our play and his great sense of humor.
You will always be a player of distinction, Teddy. We will miss you terribly.
All that history, and now our names too -- Malcolm and Greg Fletcher with the MacRobertson Shield. Click to Zoom.
On the final day of the 2017 MacRobertson Shield, England and Australia extended their leads. Two singles matches were left unplayed, due to the extreme heat (officially 105/40, but probably hotter on the lawns) and the fact that both tests had been decided the day before. The final tally:
1. Australia (3/3 test matches, 40/63 individual matches)
2. England (2/3 test matches, 38/61 individual matches)
3. New Zealand (1/3 test matches, 22/61 individual matches)
4. United States (0/3 test matches, 24/63 individual matches)
Australia's victory is notable in many ways. It is their first series win since 1935, and their first outside Australia. It is the first time since 1935 that the England or Great Britain team has been beaten twice in a row, the first time three siblings have played in the event, and the first time that the defending champions have finished lower than 2nd.
ROUND THREE PHOTO GALLERY
What lessons can the other teams draw from Australia's performance?
It's good to have the world's #1 player on your team. An obvious point, but beyond assuring a healthy number of wins at the top position, this engenders a lot of confidence for the rest of the team.Strength in depth is critical. The top performer for the series on percentage of matches won was Greg Fletcher, playing at #5 and winning 5/6 singles and 7/9 doubles with Simon Hockey. Every team has at least one player ranked in the world top ten; it's at the bottom of the order that the differences are most pronounced. A team that can legitimately put very strong players at #5 and #6 has a huge advantage.
Team unity and discipline play a role. During Great Britain's streak of seven successive MacRobertson Shield championships, their team-of-rivals style worked well enough, because of their overwhelming advantage in playing strength for most of that period. In a more competitive series, Australia (and New Zealand in 2014) have shown the value of a unified approach. This applies to on-court matters such as tactics and doubles compatibility, as well as logistical arrangements for travel, housing, etc. An effective team manager is a big help.