9wroundup
Active Year for 9W Committee By Paul Bennett Annual report to USCA President Sara Low covering the 9W Committee activities for 2019. Website I “got elected as committee chair” after I took over the responsibility of editing and overseeing the 9-wicket website for the USCA. Jeff Soo made these pages separate and distinct from the USCA main website. This allows us complete freedom to introduce our own set of articles, rules and tactics sections. We can post pictures, articles and announcements. I received several good ideas from Michael Rumbin and Dylan Goodwin. I have included a couple of historical articles about croquet from the middle 19th century.
Last year, we held one regional in Virginia on the border of the SE and Mid-Atlantic regions. This regional held a clinic to introduce players to the sport of 9-wicket croquet using advanced options, like the 6-wicket USCA version of the game: rotation, deadness and out-game. The players in this year’s National came from a mixture of existing players and those that started in the regionals earlier in the year. The turnout this year was twice as good as last year. The lesson learned here is to offer more regional events to introduce players to our sport of croquet and to schedule tournaments well enough in advance to allow players to plan their schedules.
Rules One of these articles mentions the development of “scientific In the 1987-1988 USCA rulebook, the laws of American Six Wicket, croquet” where folks began showing up at cocktail parties with American Nine Wicket and Golf Croquet were all combined into the “custom-made mallets.” The game had evolved into two orthogonal same bound book (50 pages total). Shortly after, these were separated paths: one being based upon its social aspects of enjoying and into individual rule books. Once the WCF formed, it took ownership meeting folks with an excuse to interact in a game of croquet and of Golf Croquet and Association Laws, leaving another being seriously based upon the sport American and 9-wicket to the USCA’s of croquet, its tactics, rules and “scientific” The lesson learned here 6-wicket exclusive domain. refinements. is to offer more regional Under Michael Rumbin’s leadership, the latest set events to introduce play- of 9-wicket rules were adopted in 2016. This set Events As committee chair, I listen to, observe and ers to our sport of croquet of rules encompass a diverse set of options that describe a variety of playing rules from basic to sometimes stir up my own ideas as to why and to schedule tourvery advanced expertise. and what our committee exists to do. One of naments well enough in the largest croquet events in America is the There has been some criticism of the rules as they St. John’s Naval Academy annual 9-wicket advance to allow players stand, but most on the committee believe that Annapolis Cup. It is filled with ceremony, they work well and allow tournament directors to plan their schedules. pomp and tradition. The St. John’s team appropriate options that depend upon the court captain is referred to as the Imperial Wicket. surface and expected player abilities. A few years This tradition has been held for more than 38 ago, some ideas as to how to reword and clarify some rules were years. Their rules, as stated on the website, are handed down from beginning to take hold under committee emails, but nothing the Imperial Wicket to the Wicket in Holding on an informal basis. happened at that time. Another organization holds corporate events for a group in the Northeast, drawing well over 100 participants. The format was developed with Teddy Prentis to end up with a winner after only a few rounds of play. Many corporate events are held for team building development; others are aimed at raising money for a worthy charity.
A motion to visit a set of rule options that would be mandated by the committee during the play at the Nationals (and possibly regionals) was not seconded and the motion failed to gain any support.
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