2022 Croquet News Volume 4: Essick Interview

CroquetNews

The Official Magazine of the United States Croquet Association

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court side Successful On and Off the Court

Welcome to all the new members and greetings to the USCA croquet community.

For some members and clubs, your 2022 croquet season is winding down after many enjoyable games and fellowship around our favorite mallet sport. For others in the southern regions, the 2022-2023 season is opening and brimming with anticipation of many great events to come in the winter season and forward into the 2023 calendar.

To date, this year has been successful in many ways. Let me share a few items of personal interest.

On the International level, USCA member Matthew Essick was successful in winning the 2022 GC World Championship, which gave the United States back-to-back world champions as Ben Rothman was the prior winner in 2019. This followed Essick’s second place in the 2020 AC World Championship. One of the less-known facts is that Matthew is the third generation of croquet players in the Essick family from Lexington, N.C. This is worth noting as it underlines the inter-generational nature of our game.

With the generous support from donors to the Lee Olsen Fund, the USCA fielded arguably its strongest MacRobertson Shield team in November in Australia, and without doubt its youngest ever. Except for the mature and sage Jeff Soo, the US team was filled with 20- and 30-somethings. Their preparation was more complete than in prior years thanks to the support from donors to the High Performance and Talent Development Program. I would like to thank, on behalf of all USCA members, those that contributed and allowed these initiatives to become the success that they have been. I invite your interest to see these continue. I do believe a little unbridled nationalism in this area is acceptable.

On an organizational level, we have continued to stabilize operations post pandemic and added support resources in the USCA office. Tournament participation is strong, and we are seeing an increase in regional participation levels. In 2022, our National Championship venues span the country (N.C./ Va./Calif./Fla.). Through significant volunteer assistance, in coordination with member services, we are growing the USCA membership. Recent monthly trends have been promising with 20 to 30 new members per month. Also, if you are reading this from the printed version of the magazine, you will note we are now producing all four issues of the Croquet News in print and digital formats for USCA members to enjoy. As a USCA member, you are our greatest recruiter for new members. Let the secret out. Invite your friends and acquaintances to join our croquet community.

The USCA Education Committee (Carla Rueck, Loretta Cooper, Kyle Maloof, Arthur Olsen and Suzanne Spradling with assistance from Bob Kroeger) are working busily and planning ahead to improve and facilitate our USCA instruction across our association. The essential goal is to help the teachers teach, with

structuring of the resources available, and providing visibility to our members that will make it easier to reach USCA-certified instructors. Suggested outlines and materials will be available to USCA instructors for the benefit of members wishing to learn new skills in a tested, cohesive and complete program.

The USCA has embarked on a collaboration with Russ Dilley (Midwest RVP) and his “rdilley YouTube team” to merge this as the USCA YouTube Channel. This online platform is an outreach vehicle for new members and an educational platform for existing members. During the year, we have funded diverse and interesting content across the US. Please register as a subscriber (free) on the channel and enjoy the expanded content. Increasing our subscriber count enhances our abilities on this platform.

I do have one last item to share: as an organization, we value your support through membership. Thank you. You may also be aware that these progressive USCA initiatives do not happen without a team of volunteers and dedicated staff. Thank you. I also do realize around this time of year many minds are drifting from mallet-carrying women and men in white to images of mature jolly figures in red tights. Also, I know that some have a hard time deciding on the exact right gift. Many of the progressive initiatives are made possible through donations. (Ideas are just folly unless converted into practice.) So, if you happen to be perplexed about how to maximize your positive support, you may be interested to know that in 2022, the USCA established an investment account that can receive donations of appreciated assets (stocks, securities, mutual funds and other similar interests). This process can maximize the benefit to the recipient at full value and provide the donor full tax deductibility without capital gains treatment. Clearly, there is fine print, and some limitations, so consult your tax professional and, if interested in learning more details, please reach out to the USCA office, USCA Treasurer David Isaacs or USCA Secretary Rob Byrd. Please consider the USCA in your annual charitable giving.

I hope you enjoy the news and information in this issue, and continue to support this fun game through membership in the USCA.

Let’s keep the ball rolling!

Damon Bidencope

Proud USCA Member / USCA President President@croquetamerica.com / www.croquetamerica.com

Books

Croquet the Sport - By Jack Osborn (Hard Cover) $24.95

Croquet the Sport - By Jack Osborn (Paperback) $15.95

Croquet - By J.W. Solomon $25.00

It’s a Wicket Kitchen Cookbook $12.00

Monograph Series On Club Building

Vol.1, 2 or 3 @$9.95 or all three for $25.00 $25.00

USCA Croquet Shot-Making Manual $15.95

USCA Rulebook (revised 2013 edition) $ 7.00

International Rules -The Laws of Association Croquet $12.00

A Guide to Croquet Court Planning, Building & Maintenance $39.95

CD’s

Bob & Ted’s Strategy

CD & Bound Books (Beg/Interm/Adv) $124.95

Bob & Ted’s Strategy CD & Unbound Books (Beg/Interm/Adv) $72.95

Bob & Ted’s Strategy CD (Advanced) $29.95

Bob & Ted’s Strategy CD (Beg/Interm) $29.95

Bob & Ted’s Strategy CD (Beg/Interm/Advanced) $39.95

Bob & Ted’s “Know the Rules” CD Understanding the USCA Rules $24.95

Clothing

USCA Logo Hats - Brim: S/M L/XL Baseball: One Size $20.00

USCA Jacket with Logo on front $80.00

USCA Shirts (USCA Logo or Croquet Week) $40.00

DVD’s

2004 USCA National Singles Final DVD $10.00

Bob & Ted’s “Mastering Croquet Shots” DVD $29.95

Bob & Ted’s “Excellent Croquet” DVD $49.95

Bob & Ted’s “Most Wanted Croquet Strategy” 2 Disc DVD $64.95

Bob & Ted’s “Break Play - What You Need to Know” DVD $29.95

Bob & Ted’s “Staying Alive” DVDWinning Croquet Tactics $39.95

Bob & Ted’s “You Make the Call” DVD $29.95

Bob & Ted’s “Excellent” & “Most Wanted” DVD set $99.95

Bob & Ted’s “Staying Alive” and “You Make the Call” DVD set $64.90

Bob & Ted’s “Excellent”, “Most Wanted”,“Staying Alive” 3 DVD set...................................................................................$140.95

Bob & Ted’s Four DVD set $170.00

Bob & Ted’s Five DVD set $185.00

Kamal vs Rothman - GC Pasadena Playoff $19.95 USCA Historical Video DVD $15.95

CDs & DVDs are not returnable. Defective disks may be replaced within 2 weeks of purchase.

Misc.

Small

Photo by Sarah Patton

TheClubhouse

Annual Awards Nominations

US Players Ready for U21 GC World Championship

The 2023 WCF Under 21 Golf Croquet World Championship will be held February 8-12, 2023, at two clubs in Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand. The host clubs are Croquet Mount Maunganui and Tauranga Croquet Club, and the event will feature 32 players. As of October 26, 2022, three USCA players are set to play in the event: Alix Worley (Membership Place), Stanley Fisher (Membership Place) and Blake Fields (Ranking Place).

If you would like to nominate a USCA member for a 2022 award in one of the categories listed below, please email their name and supporting reason to admin@uscroquet.com. The deadline to send in your nomination is December 31, 2022.

• Certificate of Appreciation

• Club of the Year

• Club President of the Year

• Collegiate Club of the Year

• Employee of the Year

• Family of the Year

• Financial Support

• International Support

• Jr. Player of the Year

• Jr. Rookie of the Year

• Michael Strauss Award for Journalism

• Most Improved Jr. Player

• Most Improved Player

• New Club of the Year

• Outstanding Individual Contributors

• Outstanding Support of Croquet

• Player of the Year

• Recognition Award

• Regional District President

• Regional Vice President

• Rookie of the Year

• Spectator of the Year

• Sr. Player of the Year

• Sr. Rookie of the Year

• Volunteer of the Year

• Female Player of the Year

WHO AM I?

I got my start in croquet as a young Jersey girl.

I skidded my way through college and then socialized my way through graduate school.

After starting in a career helping people, I transitioned to a career helping companies.

I also was a performer and found my way off-Broadway.

I got my start in American Six Wicket croquet at a cocktail party in Sag Harbor in 1990. I got really good quickly, and I scored several tournament titles.

My favorite win of all time was the 1994 Club Teams doubles championship. Whenever I needed my partner, I’d say “Wheeeeeeeeere’s Johnny?!?”

I made significant contributions to three major croquet clubs.

The USCA kindly presented me with many plaques and certificates over the years for my work off the courts.

One club has named a special tournament award after me. I am a general of red coats, though I own one too. Can you guess, Who am I?

2023 Association Croquet World Championship

The 2023 Association Croquet World Championship will be held July 15-23, 2023, at clubs in South West London. The main host club will be the Hurlingham Club, but significant parts of the championship will also be held at Dulwich Croquet Club, Ealing Croquet Club, Roehampton Club, Surbiton Croquet Club and Woking Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

The main event capacity is 80 players, but a qualifying event will be held July 10-13, 2023, at the Sussex County Croquet Club in Sussex. It will be open to 32 players who have not been able to secure a

place through their rankings, their national associations or via a WCF wildcard. If the qualifying event is oversubscribed on the allocation date of May 8, 2023, places will be allocated via the WCF Qualifier Ranking List.

The Hurlingham Club will be the center for the Championship and the venue for the finals with at least eight lawns available to the competition. In addition, up to 17 lawns have been offered by the Dulwich, Ealing, Roehampton, Surbiton and Woking Clubs.

USCA Management Committee

President Damon Bidencope president@uscroquet.com

First Vice President Michael Albert firstvp@uscroquet.com

Second Vice President Carla Rueck secondvp@uscroquet.com

Treasurer David Isaacs treasurer@uscroquet.com Secretary Rob Byrd secretary@uscroquet.com

REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS

Florida Bill Simmons floridarvp@uscroquet.com Mid-Atlantic Beverley Cardo midatlanticrvp@uscroquet.com Midwest Russell S. Dilley midwestrvp@uscroquet.com Northeast Preston Stuart northeastrvp@uscroquet.com Southeast Linda Trifone southeastrvp@uscroquet.com Western Patrick Sweeney westernrvp@uscroquet.com

USCA STAFF Office Manager Ursula Peck membership@uscroquet.com

Tournament & Schools Johnny Mitchell tournament@uscroquet.com New Membership Coordinator Stephanie Lutge croquetoffice@uscroquet.com

United States Croquet Association (USCA)

700 Florida Mango Road West Palm Beach, FL 33406

Tel. (561) 478-0760 Fax (561) 686-5507 www.CroquetAmerica.com

“WHO AM I?” ANSWER

I am . . . Ruth Summers.

Summers played nine wicket backyard croquet as a young girl growing up in New Jersey. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Skidmore College, and a Master of Social Work from New York University.

Summers worked for a while as a social worker. Then she spent the next 20 years in business development and marketing for major companies headquartered in New York City.

As a hobby, Summers donated her business expertise to several Off-Off-Broadway Theatres. She also performed for the 13th Street Repertory Company in New York City.

Summers got her start in American six wicket croquet in 1990 while attending a swanky pre-tournament cocktail party in Sag Harbor, New York. One of the championship flight players put a mallet in her hand while telling her, “Hey lady, you look like you ought to be playing croquet.” He was right!

By the mid-1990s, Summers was one of the best female players in the country. She won several major tournament titles. Examples are the first flight singles and doubles (with partner Paul Bennett) in the 1995 Arizona Open; championship flight singles in the first ever Women’s Invitational at Pinehurst in 2006; and first flight singles in the Palm Beach Croquet Club Invitational in 2008. However, her favorite tournament win was the championship doubles of the 1994 Club Teams Tournament with partner Johnny Osborn. Summers hit two crucial shots to help win the final match: a 60-foot hit-in which stymied her opponents’ late match comeback attempt; and a nearly impossible take-off from corner four for position perfectly in front of penultimate, which allowed her to score the winning wicket in last turns. Summers

was so ecstatic with the doubles win that she personalized her automobile license plate to read CLUBS 94.

She has dedicated as much time off the court as on. The USCA has recognized Summers for her outstanding contributions with various honors, including the 2001 Volunteer of the Year Award.

She has served as officers on the governing boards of the Westhampton Mallet Club, Palm Beach Croquet Club, and the National Croquet Club. In fact, the Palm Beach Croquet Club awards a perpetual trophy, “The Ruthie,” to the player demonstrating the best sportsmanship during the Palm Beach Croquet Club Invitational. The photo above is Summers with The Ruthie

In 2012, Summers was inducted into the US Croquet Hall of Fame. As she is chair of the CFA’s Hall of Fame Validation Committee, which decides who will be inducted, Summers continues to have a lasting influence on croquet in this country.

—Submitted by Eric Sawyer

Jupin and Sudderberg to Represent the USA in New Zealand

Top women players, from at least eight countries, will compete in the 2023 Women’s AC World Championship. The event takes place in Christchurch, New Zealand, from January 7-14, 2023.

Representing the USA will be Dawn Jupin, the teaching pro at the Chattooga Club, and Lynda Sudderberg, National Croquet Club veteran. Other players competing for selection were Donna Dixon, Jodie Rugart, Sandy Knuth, Loretta Cooper and Mary Rodeberg. With only two spots available for the American team, the selection committee had to consider the grade or handicap of the players and playing experience. Sudderberg and Jupin were members of “Danny’s Dames” — a group of U.S. women who traveled to Ireland in 2019 to compete in a friendly competition against the women of Ireland. The U.S. team prevailed, and learned a great deal from the aggressive play of the Irish women. Danny is, of course, Danny Huneycutt, the coach of the ladies team.

TheInbox

Harleysville Croquet Club

Many readers know how enjoyable and sometimes frustrating playing croquet can be. It is a social game but also can be very competitive. It integrates strategy and skill into an entertaining game. It’s still difficult to convince folks to give it a try. They either played when they were kids and think it’s just a kid’s game or think it’s just a game played in England.

On August 10 of this year, a Pennsylvania group of friends that have played croquet regularly in their backyards decided to join the USCA as the “Harleysville Croquet Club.”

In conjunction with the Harleysville Rotary Club, a tournament was organized that would also be a fundraiser for a charitable organization. We named the tournament “Wicket Good Times,” a team name used by a good croquet friend, Brad Anderson, who passed in 2021.

The weather was perfect on September 17 when the First Annual “Wicket Good Times” 9W Tournament was launched. Two divisions with 36 novices and 24 experienced participants played on 10 manicured courts. The results and comments were amazing. Novices asked, “Where do I purchase equipment?” and “When can we play again?” Best of all, over $11,000 was raised for a good cause.

All the equipment was custom-made by a committee member, Brad Smith, who owns Bradford Woodworking in Pennsylvania. The effect of this successful event has increased excitement for the game and the growth of the Harleysville Croquet Club.

Many thanks to co-chair Lisa Reiss and her husband Duane, committee members Gary and Sandy Phifer, Brad and Sandy Smith, Marsha Poust, Chuck Heckenberger and my wife Janet.

—Gary Volpe

Bronze Buffalo

After four years in one player’s hands, the “Bronze Buffalo” has a new champion. Chris Patmore (center) won the 2022 Buffalo Croquet Club Sixth Annual 6-Wicket Invitational this past August, unseating Tim Rapuano (right), who has held the title since 2018. John Young III (left) and Johnny Osborn (not pictured) are the other two past champions of Buffalo. In addition to receiving a free entry into the following year’s tournament, the Championship Flight winner is also awarded a cash prize.

—Photo by Ryan Thompson

Special Olympics Unified Sports® Croquet Tournament

On August 20, 2022, Special Olympics Connecticut held its annual state Unified Sports® Croquet Tournament. Fifty-four teams, who had been practicing for weeks, competed in three flights on six double-banked courts at Elizabeth Park, Hartford, Conn. The Thistle Lawn Bowling Club donated its greens and clubhouse for the event. Sarah Persons, USCA District President for Connecticut, and George Claffey, Lenox Croquet Club Vice President, were among the volunteer scorekeepers/referees. Despite the brutal heat, the participants and their families had a wonderful day and left looking forward to the interstate competition with Rhode Island.

—Bobbi Shorthouse, Tournament Director

The Beach Club Tournament Renamed to Honor Stewart Jackson

The Beach Club will be renaming its annual Croquet Invitational Tournament to The Stewart Jackson Beach Club Invitational to honor and recognize the numerous achievements of Stewart Jackson at our club and in the world of croquet.

Jackson exhibited extraordinary prowess throughout his years of play beginning in 2007 when he won the American Six Wicket singles at The Palm Beach Invitational followed by winning both singles and doubles at The Beach Club Invitational. He also won the Association Rules National Doubles Championship with Archie Peck and completed a rare “double” by winning the American Rules National Doubles Championship with Brian Cumming later that fall.

That same year, Jackson had an outstanding performance in the USCA Grand Prix with a record-breaking total of 30,792 points.

In addition, Jackson was a USCA Class 1 National instructor, a USCA Club Referee and an International Referee. He was a member of the Westhampton Mallet Club, the Palm Beach Croquet Club, the New York Croquet Club and the National Croquet Club (NCC).

Jackson was on the Board of Directors of the Croquet Foundation of America from 2007-2009 and served as the General Manager of NCC. In that position, he oversaw the daily operation of the center and focused on increasing membership while assuming the role of President of Croquet Enterprises.

The Beach Club in Palm Beach, Fla., was honored to have Jackson serve on its Board of Directors in 2012 and for an additional term, 2019-2021. He also was a member of the Croquet Social Committee, Chairperson of the Croquet Invitational Tournament, Chair of the Croquet Committee and Co-Chair for more than a decade.

Under his leadership, The Beach Club Invitational Tournament became one of the most prestigious tournaments in the United States. A highlight of that event was the opening cocktail reception hosted by Stewart and Josie Jackson at their lovely home in West Palm Beach.

During his early years, Jackson enjoyed a passion for water sports and competed as a rower in the Royal Henley Regatta. In the last few years, he celebrated his Monmouth school team’s 50th anniversary of rowing at Henley. He also was a competitive racer of cigarette powerboats throughout the Americas.

Upon graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, Stewart joined the Jackson Newspapers, collaborating with his father and became the Publisher of the New Haven, Conn., newspapers: The New Haven Register and Journal Courier.

In 1991, Jackson and Josie began their journey of more than 10 years through the Panama Canal, Galapagos, New Zealand and Australia eventually stopping in Malaysia and sailing more than 27,000 nautical miles. Their love of croquet started on their sailing journey and brought them to the croquet world.

Settling at East Hampton, N.Y., and Palm Beach, Fla., Jackson and Josie enjoyed many years in the world of croquet. The Beach Club is honoring his dedication to the sport by renaming one of The Beach Club’s most prestigious tournaments. The Stewart Jackson Beach Club Invitational will next be held February 1-5, 2023.

Josie and Stewart Jackson

TheInbox

Ode to Harold

Hello Croquet Friends,

Some of you have most likely heard of the recent passing of one of our beloved Croquet Friends, Harold Menzel, a long time member of the Dallas Croquet Association and the United States Croquet Association.

Harold was one of the kindest fellas anyone could ever meet. He was mild-mannered and low-key most of the time. He had a great love for our sport of croquet. He was a referee, a tournament director, a player and a stickler for the RULES. If he thought you needed to be reminded, he would quote you the rule in question and point to it in the book. He was sincere but would challenge something if he felt there might be a fault. Harold and his late wife Randi began playing with the Dallas Croquet Association (DCA) more than 20 years ago. Randi Menzel was a gentle soul as well. She enjoyed playing the game but mostly in the form of doubles. We lost Randi many years back. Harold played croquet around the country. While he was a regular participant in Texas and Oklahoma Tournaments, he had many friends/opponents in Tyler, Houston, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. He played in regional and national tournaments in American Rules Six Wicket Croquet. He was seen participating from coast to coast. Harold had been the treasurer for our club, the DCA, for countless years now. He was readily available for practice and/or croquet demonstration events whenever they might happen. Numerous trophies from his croquet exploits graced his trophy case in his home. He surprised folks with his come-from-behind actions. He sometimes barely made it out of block play and then proceeded to dominate the playoff rounds of first flight. He even had surgery recently and then played a tournament two weeks after discharge and WON another trophy. Harold was more than just another croquet competitor. He was a true FRIEND to many.

I first met Harold while he still worked for J.C. Penny Corporation. When that job ended, he found other employment even if it was temporary. Harold was also a good tax consultant. For at least the last 20 years, he had assisted many people with their income tax returns. He never talked about this being a great source of personal income for himself because he primarily

donated his time and efforts toward assisting with tax returns, notably with his fellow parishioners and those with fixed incomes. Again, Harold was extremely qualified for this task and enjoyed his service to the community.

There is no doubt in my mind that we will remember and miss our interactions with Harold Menzel for many years to come. He was a Christian man who expressed his faith dutifully and respected the folks he associated with. In this life he was a SON to his parents, a BROTHER to his siblings. He was also known as COUSIN, GRANDSON, UNCLE, TEACHER, MENTOR and, most especially, as a FRIEND!

Harold, you are missed already. We appreciate how you treated your fellow man and woman. We know you are reuniting now with Randi and many family and friends in that heavenly environment. Thanks for the memories. Prayers to the surviving family. RIP, Harold, from John C. Dill, III and all your croquet fellowship!

—John C. Dill, III

PASSAGES

Daley Craig At Large Member

Jarilyn Daigle Pinehurst Croquet Club

George Fulmer Bombay Mallet & Wicket Croquet Club

Hildegard H. Jones The Beach Club

Johnson Kiehner New Albany Country Club and Gasparilla Inn Mallet Club

Harold Menzel Dallas Croquet Association

William G. Nettles At Large Member

Nina Bugg Highlands Strikers Croquet Club and Peachtree Hills Place Croquet Club

Clint Price At Large Member

Robert Prosser John's Island Croquet Club and Ocean House Mallet Club

Marie Trankina Chicago Croquet Club

Cheers to you Hildegard!

Love from your croquet girls!

Anne, Bev, Jane, Jeanne, Jodie, Karen, Missy, Sandy, Vickie

ESSICK DELIVERS GC WORLD TITLE AMERICAN REPEAT

American Matthew Essick rolled through the 2022 WCF Golf Croquet World Championship with both perseverance and strong form to claim his first world croquet championship with a 7-3, 6-7, 7-3, 7-3 finals victory over England’s Robert Fulford on August 7, 2022, at Sussex County Croquet Club in Brighton, U.K. Paired with Ben Rothman’s win in 2019, Essick’s title delivered a repeat GC World Championship win for the U.S.

PHOTOS BY SARAH PATTON

The event played out over nine days and Essick marched through the five-round knockout without having to face a deciding game. In fact, he was 7-0 through the quarterfinals and stretched that to an eight-game winning streak before dropping the second game in the semifinals to Australia’s Robert Fletcher, but still prevailed 7-4, 2-7, 7-4, 7-3 and overall was 13-2 in the knockout.

That semifinal was a tremendous display of excellent form from both players, but Essick looked like a man on a mission and he concluded that match with an epic double-hoop score through H9 and H10 from an angled south boundary shot.

The other semifinal featured a legendary matchup of long-time world championship title rivals as Reg Bamford squared off against Robert Fulford. From an AC perspective, they both hold five AC World titles while Bamford had two wins in their headto-head World AC finals matchups in 2001 and 2005. Bamford’s resume also includes GC World Titles in 2013 and 2017.

While the Essick/Fletcher four-game semifinal wrapped up in relatively rapid fashion, Bamford and Fulford went at it for more than nine hours. The match contrasted Bamford’s shot precision with Fulford’s tactical approach that effectively extended each hoop battle. It lived up to the billing as Bamford took Game One 7-5, and Fulford followed with a 7-6 victory to even the score.

Bamford bounced back with another 7-5 win in Game Three and with just one win to advance, the usual script called for Bamford to elevate his game and quickly dominate in Game Four. After all, he had won 15 straight games prior to the Game Two loss and was still +99 on hoops for the entire event.

But, Fulford battled in Game Four and hit and extended battles, and we started to see a few misses by Bamford. Fulford got the 7-6 victory, and we were headed to a fifth game. Here it seemed that Fulford finally wore Bamford down and the misses became more frequent. Just like that, the game was out of hand for Bamford and Fulford prevailed overall 5-7, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 7-2. That set the stage for a similar but even wider contrast of styles in the final as Essick’s quicker pace and spectacular shooting skills would go up against Fulford’s years of experience and masterful tactics.

Not surprisingly, Essick came out with a 7-3 win based on his strong clearing skills. And to the script in Game Two, Fulford found a way to extract more out of each hoop, taking a 7-6 victory in a game that seemed like Essick’s to win. Essick stormed back to win Game Three 7-3, but we started to see more failed clearances and hoop shots by both players. The Sussex County court appeared to be deadly fast and the hoops were absolutely unforgiving. Game Four certainly looked to balance on how the players would be able to handle the court conditions. Essick was able to get the early lead, but despite a fair amount of missed shots by both, Fulford’s form seemed to be fading.

Still, as they headed for Hoop 10, it was 6-3. All GC players know things can rapidly change if it gets to 6-4. Essick was faced with an option to jump Black with a straight-on shot for the title win. If he missed, Black would score and get that 6-4 result. Essick calmly stepped up and nailed the jumper for the win and a brief, but well-merited court celebration as only the second U.S. player to claim a WCF World Championship.

USCA Players Make Their Mark

The USCA had seven members from four countries vying for the WCF GC World Title. Here’s a rundown on all of the performances.

Matthew Essick (US)

Current Career Record: 71-24 Event Record: 26-6

Essick held a 6-1 match record in the B Block with a +44 in net hoops to advance to the knockout. His game record in the block was 13-4 and his only match loss was to Mohamed Karem (Egypt). But the strong block performance was just a warm-up for the knockout, where he went on an eight-game win streak and didn’t suffer a game loss until the semifinal with Fletcher. He ended up 13-2 in the knockout.

Reg Bamford (South Africa)

Current Career Record: 869-177 Event Record: 23-3

Bamford destroyed the A Block with a perfect 14-0 game record to go 7-0 in matches and a +64 net on hoops. That carried on in the knockout where his game-win streak stretched out to 22 victories before long-time rival Robert Fulford (England) caught up to him in the semifinal. The streak ended in the second game of their five-game epic match with Fulford ultimately prevailing 5-7, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 7-2.

Blake Fields (US)

Current Career Record: 106-62 Event Record: 13-11

Fields made his way through C Block with a solid 5-2 match record to claim second place in the block behind Mohamed Naser (Egypt). He was 11-7 in block games for a +11 on hoops. In the main event knockout, he squared off against Australia’s Robert Fletcher and jumped out with a 7-1 win. Fletcher returned the favor 7-2 and ultimately prevailed in the decider. In round one of the Bowl, Fields took on another big name as he matched up against England’s Stephen Mulliner and again got a fast start by claiming game one 7-4. Mulliner fought back with 7-4, 7-5 wins and ultimately won the Bowl event.

PHOTO BY SARAH PATTON

Brian Lozano (Mexico)

Current Career Record: 97-49

Event Record: 8-10

Lozano worked in the D Block and built a 3-4 match record and an 8-8 game record to claim fourth place and a spot in the Championship Knockout. His key victory in block play probably came in the very first match against fellow USCA member Sherif Abdelwahab where Lozano took a 7-5, 7-5 win. In round one of the knockout, he drew Ahmed Nasr (Egypt) and fell 2-7, 5-7. Nasr went on to make the last four of the Knockout.

Ben Rothman (US)

Current Career Record: 203-75

Event Record: 24-15 (including qualifier)

The reigning GC World Champion took on the qualifier and went 15-5 to claim a spot in the main event. Rothman battled in G Block and posted a 3-4 match record, which was good enough to earn a playoff. There he defeated Ian Burridge (England) 7-1 to advance to the knockout. That got him a matchup with Reg Bamford (South Africa) in round one and the run ended as he fell 7-3, 7-2 to the extremely dialed-in Bamford who came into the opening round on a 14-game win streak.

Sherif Abdelwahab (US)

Current Career Record: 484-315

Event Record: 14-13

Abdelwahab fought in the D Block to go 2-5 in matches and 8-11 in games. He had a battle with finalist Robert Fulford and took the first game 7-6, but fell in game two 5-7 and then dropped the decider 0-7. He also had two additional deciding games where he came up short at the final hoop. So, he was literally just one or two hoops short of making the knockout or at least a playoff. He cruised through the R Block in the plate with a 5-0 record and in round one of the Plate Knockout he took on Ian Lines (England). Again, he battled to the 13th hoop in the decider, but ultimately came up short 7-3, 5-7, 6-7.

Hesham Elzoghby (Canada)

Current Career Record: 77-116

Event Record: 3-18

Elzoghby played in the H Block and was unable to find a match or game win, but gave Simon Carter (England) a tough battle despite falling 5-7, 6-7. In the Plate S Block, he found his game and went 3-2 to get a spot in the 16-player Plate Knockout. There he faced Dusan Turcer (Portugal) in round one and fell 5-7, 3-7. Turcer made it to the semifinals of the Plate Knockout.

USCA PARTICIPANTS: Hesham Elzoghby, Blake Fields, Matthew Essick, Reg Bamford, Sherif Abdelwahab, Brian Lozano and Ben Rothman (L to R). Photo provided by Ben Rothman.

On Top of the World

Interview with Matthew Essick

Since claiming his first World Championship title in August, Matthew Essick has kept a full schedule, battling for the USCA AC National title in September, then claiming the top spot in the First of Eight of Selection Eights all while preparing to captain the U.S. team at the MacRobertson Shield in November in Australia. Even with that schedule, he took the time to answer a few questions for Croquet News on his spectacular GC title win back in August.

PHOTOS BY SARAH PATTON

You’ve had some time to absorb being the World Champion of Golf Croquet. Can you tell us what the title means to you and what you have been doing since returning?

It’s still surreal. It means not only a lot to me, my friends and family, but also to USA Croquet as a whole. Since returning, I’ve played a lot of golf and tried to see as many friends and family as I can before heading to Australia for the Mac.

In retrospect, is there a moment or memory from the event that stands out to you?

The shot to win the semifinal match against Robert Fletcher stands out a little bit more than anything else. Just a crazy finish to a match of very high-quality play. Even I can admit there’s a good amount of luck behind that one.

While the play was certainly high-level and provided a lot of dramatic moments, it seemed you always had each of your knockout matches in relative control. Was there ever a time when you thought you might be in a bit of trouble?

That’s a tough question to answer. I can attribute a lot of my success to confidence in myself and my abilities, so at no point in a match do I feel like I’m in trouble or in a bad position. I just believe that if I play my game and play it well, I can beat anyone.

From the live stream, it looked like a proper sporting event with an engaged crowd. How was the atmosphere from your perspective for the final rounds of the event?

A good amount of people were coming in and out of the club on a daily basis, from my perspective. I heard someone say there were fewer people attending the final this year than in 2019, but I think we can credit that to the quality of the live stream crew and commentators.

Speaking of the live stream, you stood out as one of the top commentators for the event. Is that just natural ability or have you worked on the skill?

I’ve never worked on the particular skill at all, but I’m an avid American sports fan so I’ve listened to many commentators over the years watching games, so I think that helps know how to approach it a little bit better.

Going back to Ben Rothman’s win in 2019, that makes back-to-back titles for U.S. players in GC. Is there a new level of respect for U.S. players internationally?

I think there will be moving forward. There are a lot of good players in the states, but it’s harder to have rapid progression for your Grade in the U.S. due to the difficulty of travel distances. That leads to a lack of representation for us in major events, which is truly unfortunate with the quality of players we have here.

In general, the U.S. should be strong in croquet based on population. However, courts and a lack of density are deficit areas relative to the other “Big 4” countries. How do you explain the upward trend for U.S. players in performing against players from England, Australia and New Zealand?

I think in the U.S. we are getting younger and younger as a group. The younger players are starting to reach their potential, and it’s starting to show in some of the results.

We asked these questions to Ben Rothman after his title in 2019. Based on your previous run to the AC World Final and now your GC World Title, which title is harder to win? And semi-related, in-game are you more comfortable playing golf croquet or association?

Since I haven’t actually won the AC title, I don’t think I can answer this fully, but having played in both events and understanding both codes, I think it’s harder to win the AC. GC is more about getting hot at the right time, whereas AC is all about being consistent and finishing turns for 10 days. As far as comfortability, I feel the most comfortable playing AC just because I’ve played it longer.

What does your preparation for a GC event look like compared to an AC event?

My routine for GC tournaments is two weeks of focused swing practice. I take 100 total shots at the center peg every day for the two weeks: 50 seven-yarders, 25 10-yarders and 25 14-yarders. AC is more about practicing break play and croquet shots for me with much less swing practice.

The Croquet Wish List for Year-End Giving.

My Christmas Wish List

We have an amazing lineup of projects, and we need your help to make them happen!

Lee Olsen Fund

Consider the USCA in your year-end giving plans. Call the USCA office 561.478.0760 or email treasurer@uscroquet.com for details.

The USCA is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization. Funds and tax deductible donations received are used in programs across the United States to further the mission of the association. We invite your support.

What are your future plans in the sport?

Internationally, I want to be a top player in the sport for years to come. I have goals to achieve in both codes that I’ve yet to accomplish and until I do, I plan to be in the picture at major events moving forward. Within the states, I want to try to introduce as many people to croquet as I can through my play and instruction and grow the sport as a whole.

For growth overall for croquet, you mentioned a need for more courts in the U.S. in a recent television local TV interview. Do you see a path to a more comprehensive public court-building program in the U.S.?

I think we are still a few years away from that, but it’s something I would like to see. I think the possibilities for more courts are there, but the demand has to increase first. That just goes back to the previous question and how we grow the game within the country over the next few years and increase the demand.

Is there anything I haven’t asked that you would like to cover?

Yes! I want to share how much of a pleasure it was to play against one of the all-time greats in Robert Fulford in the final. I’ve had the opportunity to play in two World Championship finals against the two greatest croquet players ever. Just such a privilege and an experience I’ll never forget.

Expanded Reach

CroquetNews

Four Issues to Deliver Maximum Impact

The USCA’s full-color Croquet News magazine is now quarterly with all four issues released in print + the interactive digital edition. Since the Croquet News digital magazine was launched, it continues to set new standards for reader engagement and advertiser click-throughs. Plus, the digital edition goes beyond the USCA membership and offers a global reach of more than 4,000 total readers per issue for the print + digital editions.

Each issue of the magazine includes tactics columns, tournament dates, news, results, national event coverage and features full of the best croquet photography. The print version of the Croquet News is a core attraction for USCA members and still boasts a print circulation of roughly 2,000 copies per issue and reaches over 3,000 croquet players and fans.

Essick National Title Streak Extends to Four

By Jeff Soo

Matthew Essick took top honors at the 36th USCA Association Croquet National Championship, reclaiming the singles title he first won in 2020. Over the past 12 months, Essick has won four straight U.S. national singles titles, equaling Ben Rothman’s record set in 2012–2013. Since 2020, six USCA national championships have been played with Essick winning five of those singles titles and three of the doubles, each with a different partner. In the same span he has also won two WCF medals: silver at the 2020 AC World Championship, gold at the 2022 GC World Championship. While he has some way to go to match Rothman’s overall record, he’s left no doubt about who is currently USA’s top player.

Sherif Abdelwahab and Stephen Morgan won the doubles, their second AC doubles title together. It is Abdelwahab’s 18th US national title and Morgan’s ninth.

Flat courts with firmly set hoops in hard ground provided a tough but fair test for the players. When newly set, the hoops seemed to have no give at all and rejected outright many shots that would have wriggled through on softer lawns. Triple peels were few and far between. In First Flight, with two-and-a-half-hour time limits, even the winning side usually failed to reach double digits.

The doubles championships were played first, allowing a shorter event for those choosing singles or doubles only. As usual, Championship Flight jumped straight into the best-of-threegames knockout. By the end of day one, the field had been narrowed from nine pairs to four. On the second day, the five pairs knocked out of the main event continued in a two-life (Draw & Process format) Plate knockout, while the Championship semifinals got underway. Michael Albert and Shane Hettler (#6 seeds) took the first game +18 against Abdelwahab and Morgan (#2 seeds), but Abdelwahab/Morgan won +25 and +11 to advance to the final. David and Kyle Maloof (#5 seeds) — grossly underranked due to Kyle’s small number of AC ranking games — took down top seeds Matthew Essick and Zack Watson, with David tripling in games 1 and 3 for the +4tp, -4, +12tp victory. Having won the GC doubles title earlier this year, the Maloofs were hoping to become the first father-son pair to win US national doubles titles in multiple disciplines. But it was not to be. In the final on day three, after Kyle tripled to take the first game +21tp, Abdelwahab countered with a triple for +19tp in game two, and Abdelwahab/Morgan won the deciding game +25.

Brian Cumming and Doug Grimsley won the Doubles Plate.

First Flight, with four pairs entered, started with block play. All four pairs then advanced to a two-life (Draw & Process format) knockout. Rick Darnell and Arthur Olsen earned top seeding by

winning all their block games. They lost their first knockout match to Loretta Cooper and Steve Thurston (#3 seeds). Cooper/Thurston went on to win the Draw side of the knockout, while Darnell/Olsen recovered form to win the Process. This set up the overall final between the two pairs, Darnell/Olsen winning 7-6.

Singles block play began the afternoon of day three and finished the morning of day five. Essick attempted sextuple peels in most of his games until the strategy backfired with a surprise loss to Rick Sheely. He then switched to conventional tactics, winning his block with three triple peels. Watson and Jeff Soo likewise notched three triples in winning their respective blocks. Morgan tripled in all four of his victories, his only loss to a Soo triple, to earn the final bye to the quarterfinals.

Hettler had a mediocre block record but raised his game in the play-in round to advance past Abdelwahab: +25, -22, +26. Cumming survived being pegged out in game one against Macey White, hitting in and building a three-ball break for +7, then closed out the match +16tp. Kyle Maloof had a nominal upset over Albert: +12, +11. Stuart Lawrence and Randy Cardo played on until evening, Lawrence winning +22, -26, +5.

On day six, Watson and Essick both advanced in straight games. The two highest-ranked players then met in the semifinals. Watson won the first +9 and had the first break in game two. Essick hit and triple-peeled Watson’s forward ball out the game, winning +13tp, then won the game 3 +26tp. Morgan and Kyle Maloof played three games, each of which could have gone either way, Maloof winning +3, -5tp, +2. Soo and Lawrence took even longer to finish, Soo winning -3tp, +25, +10. This only left time for one game of the Maloof versus Soo semifinal, Soo taking the better part of two hours to win +26.

The First Flight knockout turned into a three-way race between Cooper, Olsen and Thurston. Thurston beat both to win the Process half of the Draw & Process Ladder. Olsen beat Thurston, then Cooper beat Olsen, to win the Draw half, setting up the overall final between Cooper and Thurston. Cooper won 9-7 to win the title.

FINAL ORDER

CHAMPIONSHIP

SINGLES

Matthew Essick

Jeff Soo

Zack Watson

Kyle Maloof

Brian Cumming

Stephen Morgan

Stuart Lawrence

Shane Hettler

Sherif Abdelwahab

Randy Cardo

Michael Albert

Macey White

Doug Grimsley

FIRST

FLIGHT SINGLES

01. Loretta Cooper 02. Arthur Olsen 03. Steve Thurston 04. Jon Spaulding 05. Rick Darnell DNF Bo Prillaman

CHAMPIONSHIP

DOUBLES

01. Sherif Abdelwahab/Stephen Morgan 02. David Maloof/Kyle Maloof 03. Matthew Essick/Zack Watson 04. Michael Albert/Shane Hettler 05. Brian Cumming/Doug Grimsley 06. Stuart Lawrence/Jeff Soo 07. Tom Cooper/Jay Hughes 08. Randy Cardo/Macey White 09. Gene Raymond/Jodie Rugart

FIRST FLIGHT DOUBLES

01. Arthur Olsen/Rick Darnell 02. Loretta Cooper/Steve Thurston 03. Dennis Leddy/Bo Prillaman 04. Gil Rocha/Jon Spaulding

As both player and TD, Soo was relieved to finish his adjourned semifinal match quickly on the morning of day seven, winning the second game +20tp. After a short pause, he and Essick started the final. Essick won the toss and chose to play first. He laid a supershot ball and Soo replied to just north of max distance on the east boundary. Essick hit dead center (rushing Soo’s ball straight down the yard-line to corner IV) and made a break of nine, finishing with his usual “three ducks in a row” leave along the max-distance line between 1 and 2. Soo hit from b-baulk, then made nine hoops and a spread. Essick shot from b-baulk and hit. With one peel done and the break under tight control, he failed a routine hoop 6, again showing the challenge of properly set hoops in hard ground. Soo finished +10tp. Soo chose a conventional east boundary opening for game 2, and Essick laid a standard tice on the west boundary, shorter than usual at about 11 yards. Soo joked that Essick’s plan was for Soo to hit the tice and make a leave so that Essick could hit and go round, and that is exactly what happened, Essick again hitting in from b-baulk. Soo missed Essick’s New Standard Leave and Essick finished +26tp.

Essick joked that since each of the first two games finished in six turns, perhaps he should choose to play second in the deciding game. But he chose first and played his usual supershot opening. Soo shot gently from corner 1, missing. Essick shot gently and

hit but failed 1. Soo hit and got going but failed 7. Essick went round and again made a New Standard Leave. Soo lifted his backward ball and shot from a-baulk, missing. Hoop 3/10 proved particularly unforgiving, rejecting Essick’s first two attempts to peel his partner ball. He finally peeled it straight, then pressed on with the straight triple attempt despite angled position at 11. His partner ball went through but the striker’s ball bounced out, and Essick finished his turn by scattering both balls to the boundary. Soo played his forward ball and made three hoops and a spread. For the first time all match, Essick missed a shot from b-baulk. But Soo failed 1, luckily ending in position and wired from Essick’s ball. Essick missed a shot at his partner ball in corner IV. Soo ran 1 up to his ball near 2, then rolled that ball to 3 while approaching Essick’s balls in corner IV. Despite a poor approach to 2 he ran the hoop, but hoop 3 again showed its teeth and rejected his hoop shot. Essick finished with one peel for a final score of -10tp, +26tp, +15.

Cumming won the singles Plate. The tournament was managed by Lyle Browning and directed by Jeff Soo.

2022 USCA Florida Regional Nine Wicket Tournament West Palm Beach, Florida | October 14-16, 2022

TROWER CLAIMS FLORIDA NINE WICKET REGIONAL

By John warlick

The USCA 2022 Florida Regional Nine Wicket Tournament was held October 14-16 on the “Palm Courts” with long grass in the back of the National Croquet Center. The event was hosted again this year by the National Croquet Club with both championship and first flights. The turnout was larger than last year but still light. However, all games in the two flights were competitive with a challenging atmosphere in both the singles and doubles competitions.

Thursday afternoon was practice with a cocktail reception/meeting for players and guests in the NCC Clubhouse Bar. A great shoutout to Michael Gibbons for sponsoring the reception.

The tournament was delighted to have nine wicket representation from the Harleysville Croquet Club. Participants Gary Volpe and Brad Smith came down from Pennsylvania with their wives Janet and Sandy.

Friday was doubles play all day ending at the early evening participants’ dinner with cocktails on the outside terrace at the Raindancer Steakhouse in West Palm Beach. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day.

Saturday was all singles play with competitive battles on the four “Palm Courts.” A heavy mid-morning rain caused a three-hour delay in both flights of the round-robin. The Florida sun came back out and the tournament got back on schedule to establish the playoffs for Sunday.

The Sunday morning semifinals were exciting, as were the finals. First Flight doubles competition was extremely tight with Smith and Volpe outlasting Nancy Sansalone and Gail Warlick. Championship doubles was a fight, but a long roquet from Bill Trower settled things down and allowed Trower and John Warlick to shut down Morrison and Tribby for the win. In singles, Volpe won First Flight with a payback win over Gail Warlick while Jim and Nancy Sansalone sorted out third place. Trower put a serious stop to Warlick’s undefeated round-robin play by soundly beating him in the championship final. As always, the steadfast support from USCA representatives Ursula Peck and Johnny Mitchell is greatly appreciated.

Friday and Saturday lunches at the NCC were provided by the superb SandyJames catering team. Useable trophies from Tervis Tumbler were well received by all players. Congrats to all participants and guests!

DOUBLES CHAMPIONS: William Trower and John Warlick

FIRST FLIGHT

Brad Smith and Gary Volpe John Warlick and Nancy Sansalone

Brian Lozano

Age: 34

Home base: San Diego, Calif.

Home club: Cullasaja Club and Mission Hills Country Club

Grip: Standard for touch and medium-pace shots; Solomon for power

Mallet: Trimmer mallet; 37” handle and 11” head

Years playing croquet: I first picked up a mallet in 2011, however, the croquet journey began in 2017.

Current title and role: I’m the Croquet Director of Cullasaja Club in Highlands, N.C., in the summer and Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in the winter.

Favorite croquet venue: Several venues and clubs come to mind as favorites for different reasons. The Sussex County Croquet Club, where I made my World Championship debut, or the lightning-fast, golden brown lawns of the Guildford and Godalming Croquet Club where three teammates and I won gold for Croquet Mexico in the Tier 3 GC Teams World Championship. I owe a great deal to the lawns at Mission Hills. Thanks to the late Steve Mossbrook for giving me the opportunity to share the lawns with such fun and enthusiastic members. Two successful seasons in the winter desert led me to find my summer home in the mountains of North Carolina. The Cullasaja Club brought me on board to further develop the croquet program while supporting my competitive opportunities both domestically and abroad, therefore the clear favorites.

Favorite tournament:

The Mexico Open is definitely one of my favorites; it’s a special tournament. This is a young event — headed for only its third edition in 2023 — and it has already attracted top players from countries like Spain, Wales and England, including national and world champions.

How did you get into the game:

Fun story: A massive power outage in Southern California in 2011 led our group of friends to take a bocce set out to a nearby park. About 45 seconds later, we got tired of bocce and one of our friends mentioned croquet. We got hooked right away. We played almost every day all over San Diego in public parks. We made up our own rules, which we later learned were very similar to American Rules (we called it Parklay). Six years later and about 10 broken Eddie Bauer croquet sets, we found the Pasadena Croquet Club. There, we were introduced to golf croquet by Dr. Mohammad Kamal and Eric Sawyer. This was in 2017, and shortly after, some of us became more involved and dug deeper to begin our journey into competitive croquet and club building.

Croquet highlights/notable tournament wins:

The clear highlight for me has to be our victory for Mexico in the Tier 3 GC Teams World Championship. We had been looking forward to and preparing for this tournament for almost three years. Originally postponed in 2020, we finally got our chance to make our international debut in July 2022 against teams from Czech Republic, Iran and Portugal. Competing in an international event alongside three close friends as a team was one of those unique croquet experiences. Claiming gold in this event has earned Croquet Mexico a promotion to the 2nd Tier of world golf croquet.

Do you play other sports?

I play a little tennis and piccolo.

Favorite sports teams? Croquet Mexico

Pop culture favorites:

My favorite TV series is easily “The Sopranos,” (“whatta ya’ gonna do?”). For movies, I have many, but the first one to come to mind is always Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed.” The book I keep going back to and I’ve enjoyed reading multiple times is “The Inner Game of Tennis.” (It’s not a tennis book.)

What would you like to see happen in the sport over the next 10 years?

I would like to see more associations and federations dedicate resources to further develop croquet into a mainstream sport. Countries like New Zealand, Australia, England and Spain are leading the way by investing in U21 Championships, getting younger players involved and partnering with media outlets like live video streaming organizations to broadcast important tournaments and expose the sport internationally. In the United States, if ESPN is willing to bet on broadcasting excel spreadsheet competitions and cornhole national tournaments, an opportunity definitely exists to showcase golf croquet.

The Rewards of Risk

By Jeff Soo

Abbreviations used: blUe, Red, blacK, Yellow

Your rush to the wicket was poor, leaving you a decision: split or take off? The question implies a trade-off: one option must be better in one way but worse in another and vice versa. Otherwise, we shouldn’t even be asking the question.

That tradeoff is, of course, one of risk and reward. Takeoffs are simple to understand and play, and generally give the most control over the striker ball. Split shots involve more variables, making it harder to control the shot. A takeoff reduces the immediate risk of failing to run the wicket. But the split shot may offer the greater potential reward: easier ways to continue the turn and score more points.

In Figure 1 , U is for 2 and is ball-in-hand on K, which it has just rushed to a position three yards wide of the wicket, somewhat to the non-playing side. This is not an easy position from which to get good wicket-running position (shown as point A), even with a takeoff. Why would you even consider the extra risk of a split shot (sending K to point B)? This is a trick question because I’ve left out some vital information: the other clips, the deadness, the state of the game clock, the players’ skill level, the difficulty of the lawn and wickets. Before reading on, try to come up with at least two scenarios where you would play a split shot, and at least two more where you would prefer a takeoff.

In doubles games I often hear a partner advising, “play the shot you’re most comfortable with.” But that advice only accounts for one side of the risk-reward equation: most players will naturally choose the “safe” shot, the one with the lowest up-front risk. While that will often be the correct choice, it may mean a missed opportunity. In some endgame situations, that missed opportunity may have been the only realistic chance to win the game.

If U takes off and scores 2, then roquets K again, U has three options: take off to R; split K to 4 while U goes to R; take off to Y. Taking off to R (preferably to point E) is the easiest of these options but leaves no reliable way to continue after scoring 3. Taking off to Y, even on an easy (i.e., flat- and medium-paced) court, is a low-percentage play. The big split shot sending K to 4 and U to R is the likeliest way to score more than two points on this turn.

But that split shot is a mammoth stroke, made more difficult by R’s position “outside the box” (i.e., outside the rectangle bounded by the four corner wickets). Playing that shot, U would do well to get as far as point D. From there, three or four yards away, U will do well to rush R no further than point E. Once again, U will be faced with a difficult approach to the wicket and the dilemma of whether to split or take off. If the goal is a three-ball break, taking off to score 2 only trades one difficulty for another that is even worse.

Back to wicket 2, if U succeeds with the split-shot approach, all the options become easier. If U can rush K to point C, taking off to point E is trivially easy; splitting K to wicket 4 and U to point E is a very manageable drive shot. From

FIGURE 1: U is for 2 and is ball-in-hand on K

point C the takeoff to Y is no longer so desperate, and if U can rush a bit further (to within 30 feet of the corner), that play starts to look reasonable, as long as the boundaries don’t slope outward in that corner. From the corner, it is an easy stop- or drive-shot to send Y to wicket 4 and U to point E, and now U has a four-ball break.

In short, the split shot approach to 2 offers greater potential reward, but at the cost of higher short-term risk. How to choose?

Most non-championship players will not be confident about the split-shot approach to 2 and should nearly always play the takeoff. But exceptions exist. If R and Y are dead on each other and on U, little risk exists either way. Trying the split shot is good practice. If it doesn’t work out, U can safely take position. Conversely, if U is the last ball in last turns and needs to score more than 2 points to tie the game, the

takeoff is a nearly certain game-loser and the split shot is the right choice.

Championship players will be more comfortable with the split-shot approach, but even so some scenarios arise where the takeoff is the prudent choice. If R is for 2, alive on U only, and UK is responsible for R, failing the wicket and giving R a wiring lift would be a disaster. Likewise, if Y is clean and for 2: if U fails the wicket or takes position, R plays to Y to set up a three-ball break. (UK might survive that if K is alive on U and is also for 2, but it is a big risk.) Or if U is last ball in last turns and needs one point to tie, two to win.

We can’t eliminate risk; we can only manage it. That, in a nutshell, is the point of tactics. Deferring risk until later is not always a good tradeoff. If one moderately difficult shot has a big potential payoff, that is a risk worth considering.

A Simple Practice Concept for Players and Instructors

By Cheryl Bromley

Every time we step on the croquet lawn for a game, the opponent typically will be one of three types of players: One who is more skilled and experienced, one who is less skilled and less experienced or one who may be equally matched with our playing level.

We all have our various ways of practicing to increase our skills as well as methods of teaching to help students improve, and I’d like to add one more option that you may or may not have tried.

Quite simply, play all four balls in a practice match against yourself. Or, if you are teaching, have your student play all four balls rather than competing against you and discuss tactics and shot selection along the way.

Practicing against oneself is beneficial in many ways:

1. You know your “opponent’s” (your) game well and know what goes on in “their” (your) head.

2. Playing all four balls requires you to think ahead and consider what each ball might do when it becomes its turn.

3. Because you are playing against yourself, you are equally matched and, naturally, will push yourself to do well.

After all, you’ll have continuous attempts to execute your shots.

The next time you get on the lawn to practice, I encourage you to give this a try and add it to your regimen. If you also teach croquet, you might recognize what an eye-opener this can be for your students.

What’s Been Happening and What’s Ahead in GC?

As we transition into the fall and winter seasons, I thought I would share some of the things I’ve experienced and take a look forward to the exciting events on the horizon. Golf croquet is firing on all cylinders just like a Matthew Essick jump shot! What an exciting time we find ourselves in.

Player Development Training Program: Thanks to the efforts of Michael Albert, Jeff Soo, David Maloof, Damon Bidencope and others, I may be remiss in mentioning, this new program has really gained traction and is making great strides in developing young talent and generally enhancing players’ abilities with world-class coaching. I had the privilege

Congratulations to MW Regional Championship Singles Winner James Creasey with Tournament Manager, Suzanne Spradling, and Singles Finalist, Cheryl Bromley

First Flight Champion Angela Pittman with finalist Dorothy Silliman

of participating in a training weekend at Peachtree Hills Place in Atlanta, Ga., and found it to be so beneficial to have such great support from the coaching staff. By the way, playing at Peachtree Hills Place is like playing in the courtyard of a castle. What a beautiful place.

First Midwest GC Regional: The Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club played host to the first-ever Midwest GC Regional at its beautiful ScissorTail Croquet Club. Players were treated to first-class hospitality, beautiful weather and fantastic croquet.

Milwaukee Croquet sees record growth: We added 35 new members this year to my home club roster in Milwaukee, Wisc., and expanded our weekly league offerings and other player opportunities. Also, a few more of our members joined the USCA. We are having fun on the shores of Lake Michigan!

Chesapeake Bay Club expands to 24 lawns: It was an absolute thrill to be at the dedication of the new croquet lawns in Hartfield, Va., on October 19, making it the largest croquet facility in the world. On the heels of a successful women’s boot camp, the Big Oyster tournament was held, which drew 40 men and women with a number of players making the trip from Toronto. Brothers Sherif Abdelwahab and Ahab Dincer battled it out in the final with Abdelwahab taking home the Big Oyster Singles Title with his tremendous shot-making.

Without skipping a beat, the Women’s International Friendship Cup was held featuring 38 women from around the country and featured our honored guest, Abeer Mostafa from Egypt.

For all the upcoming croquet schools and tournament happenings, including the USCA GC Club Teams in December at the National Croquet Center, check out the calendar on the USCA website, www.croquetamerica.com.

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2000 PGA Blvd, # 2100 Palm Beach Gardens FL 33408 m 518.524.5658 | o 561.210.7766 kathleen.chace@corcoran.com www.corcoran.com

Dale Jordan and Scott Spradling took home the Championship Doubles title

Big Oyster Champion Sherif Abdelwahab with finalist Ahab Dincer

Women’s International Singles finalist Helen Covington with Champion Abeer Mostafa

What’s in a Name?

By Paul Bennett

Sometimes too much is read into a name and I apologize to the ones that took the renaming of our committee as a denigration of 9-wicket croquet players and 9-wicket croquet in general.

While 9-wicket is commonly played using garden croquet equipment in backyards and public parks, it is also played by serious players with competitive interests who have for years looked to the United States Croquet Association as its governing body to promote a higher version of the game.

Players in the Kansas City area helped relaunch the USCA 9-Wicket Nationals in 2008 and hosted the event annually through 2011 (and again in 2014 and 2017). The local association streamlined a rigid set of rules that offers basic gameplay and a single advanced version as opposed to the buffet of pick-and-choose options that the USCA 9-wicket rule book offers. The game has been played in the area by the most dedicated players using one-pound balls and tournament-level hoops primarily on long grass for decades. It would be tempting to say their game mimics American Six Wicket, but the reality is they are playing something relatively close to the same carry-over deadness, strict order version of 9-wicket that four of the five founding USCA clubs in the New York area would have played prior to the development of the American Six Wicket game (which, in fact, is a meshed version of AC and American 9-wicket rules on a six-wicket court). In one sense, area players are proud to support the legacy American game, but with only one true croquet court in the city, 9-wicket is also the practical option as it offers more places to play.

That group also has successfully experimented with 9-wicket on true, manicured croquet courts. I believe using courts 1 and 2 together at the NCC would make for an interesting 9-wicket layout, expanding the dimensions to 84 feet by 210

feet. The equipment required includes nine wickets (instead of 12 for the two courts) and two pegs: one at the north end and one at the south end.

In Kentucky, clay courts were used for 100 years providing a playing surface that was flat and fast. The court was divided into three zones, and when a ball was knocked off court, it was not allowed to hit a ball in that zone for at least one turn (it was placed on a spot and it had to vacate that spot before hitting another ball in that zone).

In the Kentucky game, perfected by Hall of Famer Archie Burchfield, players could wire balls without impunity and players, once dead, could not be cleared of their deadness without going through their proper hoops. (There was no clearing of deadness at the turning stake.)

The Kentucky game uses what I would refer to as an X setting instead of the double diamond setting. This setting spaces out the first two hoops about 12 feet instead of what is commonly less than a yard or two. Hoops 2, 3 and 12 are all horizontally aligned (as well as 5, 6 and 10).

When I decided to ask the management committee to change the name of our committee from “9-wicket” to “9-wicket and Long Grass,” I was hoping to be more inclusive in terms of picking up players that set up 6-wicket courts on long-grass park settings. The committee could test out how many new players and clubs adopt the 6-wicket long-grass setup for golf croquet, corporate 6-wicket long-grass outings and charity events.

Some have shortened the name of our committee to “Long Grass,” and some believe that our national events must be played on long-grass courts exclusively. This was not my intention, even though some members believe national championships can only be played on long grass.

In fact, the first National Championships were played on clay courts in the Northeastern states back in the mid-1800s. The game of champion players was considered “scientific” since the players used custom-made mallets and played all-around breaks to the peg. Players came from Chicago, New York and Philadelphia to play croquet in Connecticut.

Good players devoted to the game of croquet have always enjoyed trying to improve the sport both in its competitiveness and equipment standards. The best court surface is generally always desired. The most competitive players in the international game have sometimes put down American lawns when they were too green and perfectly smooth, but they have since modified their stance toward perfect lawns with very fast speed. They find them all the more competitive and challenging. The best players will always be the best at adapting to whatever court conditions are provided, but few

players enjoy plodding along on a long-grass court where solid straight strokes are often disappointingly not rewarded with a roquet, but a miss.

We simply, due to economic reasons, must begin playing croquet somewhere and often this is in one’s nearby park where a perfectly manicured putting green surface is not often found. Where possible, let’s welcome these players into our croquet world. We embrace all croquet players into the USCA. We want to help you enjoy the game and provide you with the resources you need to learn it and grow your club into a large enough body to build those fabulous lawns in your community.

Once again, I apologize for seeming to put down our 9-wicket players and clubs. My intent of being inclusive and diverse has been taken as divisive and shameful. Please forgive me.

event results

USCA Selection Eights

October 27-30, 2022

National Croquet Center West Palm Beach, Florida

First Eight

01. Matthew Essick 02. Tom Balding 02. Stephen Morgan 04. Zack Watson 04. Stuart Lawrence 06. Jeff Soo 07. Brian Cumming 08. Sherif Abdelwahab

Second Eight

01. Doug Grimsley 02. Kyle Maloof 03. Shane Hettler 04. Randy Cardo 05. Dan Pailas 06. Chris Barley 07. Steve Scalpone 08. Peter Bach

Third Eight

01. Jim Bast 02. David Ekstrom 03. Gene Raymond 04. Tom Cooper 04. Michael Todorovich 06. David Druitt 07. Ron Eccles DNF Dick Sullivan

Fourth Group 01. Paul Neubecker 02. Jay Hughes 03. Lynda Sudderberg 04. Dawn Jupin 04. Brian Hovis 06. Merle Berkshire 06. Sandra Knuth 06. Jeff Morrison 09. Arlene Parker 10. Randy Reid 11. Loretta Cooper 11. Stuart Price 13. Christine Smith

October 14-16, 2022

Sandwich Croquet Club East Sandwich, Massachusetts Championship Singles

01. Preston Stuart 02. Courtney Green 03. Steve Zoric 03. Denys Shorthouse 05. Ed Gardella 06. Chris Glowacki 06. Bill Blakesley 08. George Claffey

First Flight Singles

01. Bobbi Shorthouse 02. John Welch 03. Kathy Green 03. Cecily Greenaway 05. Carol Stuart 06. Hilary Michaels 06. Jean Lynch 08. Dorothea Endicott

2022 ScissorTail State 6 Wicket Championship October 13-16, 2022

Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club Nichols Hills, Oklahoma

Championship Singles

01. Scott Spradling 02. Matt Baird 03. Kevin McQuigg 04. Britt Ruby 05. Joe Yoder 06. Joe Steiner

First Flight Singles

01. Dale Jordan 02. Carl Archiniaco 03. Suzanne Spradling 04. James Loftis Waterford Doubles 01. Britt Ruby 02. Kevin McQuigg 03. Carl Archiniaco 04. Dale Jordan 05. Joe Yoder 06. James Loftis 07. Joe Steiner 08. Suzanne Spradling 09. Scott Spradling 10. Matt Baird

Croqtoberfest October 7-9, 2022 Huff Court Carrollton, Georgia

Championship Singles

01. Roy Gee 02. Jimmy Huff 03, Dallas Denny 04. Kent Lovvorn 05. Matt Griffith 06. Jim Jamison 07. Gil Flowers 08. Todd Russell 09. Jochen Lucke 10. Matthew Jackson 11. Ben deGaris 12. Steve Jackson

Pinehurst Club Singles Tournament October 6-8, 2022

Pinehurst Croquet Club Pinehurst, North Carolina Championship Singles

01. Jim Spoonhour 02. Mike Taylor 03. Bob Cherry 04. John Knott 05. Steve Errickson

First Flight Singles

01. Teresa Errickson 02. Hank Wallace 03. Mel Eckhart 03. Mary-Stewart Regensburg 05. Maryfaith Cartwright 06. Patti Molloy DNF Carol Wallace

2022 Midwest GC Regional September 30 – October 2, 2022

ScissorTail Croquet Club Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Championship Singles

01. James Creasey 02. Cheryl Bromley 03. Tate Russack 03. Cami Russack 05. Rich Lamm 05. Scott Spradling 05. Conner Helms 05. Carl Archiniaco 09. Steve Jackson 10. Dale Jordan 11. Diana Robinson 11. Jim Loftis 13. Suzanne Spradling 13. Jane Helms

Championship Doubles

01. Scott Spradling/Dale Jordan 02. Tate Russack/Cami Russack 03. Rich Lamm/James Creasey 03. Conner Helms/Steve Jackson 05. Cheryl Bromley/Suzanne Spradling 05. Carl Archiniaco/Jane Helms 05. Diana Robinson/Jim Loftis

Blue Crab 6W

September 29 – October 2, 2022

Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club Hartfield, Virginia

Championship Flight 01. Rodney Lassiter 02. Arthur Olsen 03. Macey White 03. Rich Laging 05. Rick Sheely 05. Gil Rocha 07. Steve Thurston 07. Cameron James

First Flight

01. Denys Shorthouse

02. Fred Beck 03. Jan Fisher 03. John Welch 05. Cynthia Chess 05. Bobbi Shorthouse

First Flight Doubles

01. Jan Fisher/Linda Orff 01. John Welch/Cynthia Chess 03. Fred Beck/Patricia Richmond 04/ Bobbi Shorthouse/Sue Laging 05. Denys Shorthouse/ Diane Fitzsimons

Second Flight

01. Devin Burress 02. Chris Morris 03. George Claffey 04. Stephen Tasker 05. Trula Myers 06. Claudia Parks

event results

2022 Woodlawn Mini Lobster September 8-11, 2022 Woodlawn Croquet Program Ellsworth, Maine

Championship Singles

01. Connor Helms 02. Neil Houghton 03. Don Parker 04. Bob Van Tassell 05. David Ekstrom 06. Mike Gibbons 07. Tom Hughes

First Flight Singles

01. Steve Zoric 02. Lucas Van Alen 03. Anne Carr 04. Oakley Johnson 05. Kat Robinson 06. Missy Chilton 07. Jane Helms

Second Flight Singles

01. Jan Fisher 02. Tim McCormick 03. Tina Hinckley 04. Fred Beck 05. Linda Grady 06. Patricia Duncan 07. Sheryl Phillips

Third Flight Singles

01. Jim Lane 02. Richard Hayes 03. Ellen Fox 04. Les Heilakka 05. Joy Costan 06. Susan Sergeant 07. Nanette Ruppert

2022 Pacific Cup September 8-11, 2022 King City Civic Center Portland, Oregon

Championship Singles

01. Patrick Sweeney 02. Steve Scalpone 03. Pierre Dunn 04. Chris Percival-Smith 05. Gary Anderson 06. Curtis Toops 07. Brian Wasylyk 08. Wally Clark

2022 Midwest 6W Regional September 2-5, 2022 LaFortune Park Tulsa, Oklahoma

Championship Singles

01. Connor Helms 02. Stuart Price 03. Matthew Griffith 03. Scott Spradling 05. Kevin McQuigg 05. Brian Hovis 05. Brian Zindel 05. Deborah Millican 09. Russell Dilley 10. Ron Millican 11. Joe Steiner 12. Art Parsells

First Flight Singles

01. Ellie Griffith 02. Steve Berry 03. Jon Spaulding 03. Carl Archiniaco 05. Joe Schulte 05. Todd Marshall 07. Bob Baker 08. Suzanne Spradling

Championship Doubles

01. Matthew Griffith/Connor Helms 02. Brian Hovis/Brian Zindel 03. Scott Spradling/Matt Baird 03. Kevin McQuigg/Stuart Price 05. Deborah Millican/Ellie Griffith 06. Russell Dilley/Joe Steiner

First Flight Doubles

01. Suzanne Spradling/Jon Spaulding 02. Todd Marshall/Steve Berry 03. Bob Baker/Joe Schulte 04. Carl Archiniaco/Ford Austin

2022 Turkey Trot Double-Digit Handicap September 1-3, 2022 Lenox Croquet Club Lenox, Massachusetts

Final Order

01. Bob Snyder 02. Constance (Kim) Beaty 03. Chris Darton 03. Debbie Martin 05. Ken Heim (Plate Winner) 06. Sarah Persons (Plate Runner-up) 07. Ellen Snyder 08. Dorothea Endicott

2022 The Little Rhody August 25-27, 2022

Ocean House Mallet Club Watch Hill, Rhode Island Championship Flight 01. Loretta Cooper 02. Mark Ski 03. Pat Spratt 04. Sean Hartley 05. Templeton Peck 06. Jeannine Bedard 07. George Claffey 08. Alex Galasso

First Flight

01. Randi Bedard 02. John Welch 03. Linda Shaw 04. Kevin Hoben 05. Andrew Parsons 06. Nick Capobianco 07. Cecily Greenaway 08. Claudia Parks

2022 Western 6W Regional August 19-20, 2022 Mt. Hood Resort Welches, Oregon Championship Singles

01. Patrick Sweeney 02. Steve Scalpone 03. Curtis Toops 04. Nick Gray

2022 Buffalo Invitational August 18-21, 2022 Buffalo Croquet Club Buffalo, New York Championship Singles

01. Chris Patmore 02. Norris Settlemyre 03. Paul Neubecker 04. John Young III 05. Rich Curtis 06. Tim Rapuano 07. Doug Moore 08. Rich Laging 09. Jodie Rugart 10. Jim Erwin

First Flight Singles

01. Deborah Millican 02. Bob Gannon 03. Courtney Green 04. F. Scott Kennedy 05. Jeff Morrison 06. Ron Millican 07. Cameron James 08. Templeton Peck 09. Leo Leither 10. Karen Heckman

www.nationalcroquetcenterproshop.com

Second Flight Singles

2 | croquetamerica.com

01. Peter Bowers 02. Peter Sherer 03. Ron Rapuano 04. Paul Strada 05. Ryan Boniface 06. Kathleen Green 07. John Welch 08. Jane Zhao 09. Bill Vrooman Championship Doubles 01. Chris Patmore/Rich Laging 02. Jodie Rugart/Paul Neubecker 03. Doug Moore/John Young III 04. Tim Rapuano/Jim Erwin 05. Rich Curtis/Norris Settlemyre

First Flight Doubles

01. Jeff Morrison/Courtney Green 02. Leo Leither/Cameron James 03. Ron Millican/Bob Gannon 04. F. Scott Kennedy/Karen Heckman 05. Deborah Millican/Templeton Peck

Second Flight Doubles 01. Ryan Boniface/Peter Sherer 02. Paul Strada/Peter Bowers 03. Kathleen Green/Bill Vrooman 04. John Welch/Jane Zhao 05. Ron Rapuano

2022 Rochester Invitational August 11-14, 2022

Rochester Croquet Club Rochester, New York

Championship Flight Singles

01. Rodney Lassiter 02. Leo Leither 03. Rich Laging 03. Jeff Morrison

First Flight Singles 01. Deborah Millican 02. Ryan Thompson 03. Cameron James 03. Ron Millican

Second Flight Singles

01. Jan Fisher 02. Linda Pike

HI/LO Doubles

2022 North Mountain Shootout August 10-14, 2022 North Mountain Croquet & Tennis Club Timberville, Virginia Championship Singles 01. Matthew Essick 02. Zack Watson 03. Tom Balding 03. Stuart Lawrence 05. Mike Taylor 05. Doug Grimsley 05. Shane Hettler 05. Chris Barley 09. Danny Huneycutt 10. Tom Cooper 11. Jay Hughes

event results

2022 Westhampton Invitational August 4-7, 2022 | Westhampton Mallet Club Westhampton Beach, New York

Championship Singles

01. Mark Fields 02. Beverley Cardo 03. Conner Helms 03. David Ekstrom 05. Randy Cardo 05. Vickie Johnston 05. Calvert Chaney 05. Linda Trifone 09. Sandy Knuth 09. David McCoy

First Flight Singles

01. Larry Lynch

02. Yvette Donato Selby 03. John Grabow 03. Sally McGrath 05. Jeff Morrison 05. Jack Rush 05. Carl Archiniaco 05. David Kepner 09. Danna Huneycutt 09. Missy Chilton

Second

Flight Singles

01. Anne Carr 02. Jane Casey 03. Doug Greeff 03. Sheila McCauley 05. Eileen Cornacchia 05. Jim Tiberg 05. Bill Sadowski 05. John McGrath

Third Flight Singles

01. Richard Corey 02. Tom Hadlock 03. David Beccia 03. Tony Sessa 05. David Platt

Championship

Waterford Doubles

01. Randy Cardo 02. Danna Huneycutt 03. David Ekstrom 04. Carl Archiniaco 05. Beverley Cardo 06. Conner Helms 07. Sandy Knuth 08. Jeff Morrison 09. Mark Fields 10. David McCoy 11. Calvert Chaney 12. Vickie Johnston 13. Linda Trifone 14. Sally McGrath 15. John Grabow 16. Missy Chilton

First Flight Waterford

01. David Kepner 02. Jim Tiberg 03. Anne Carr 04. Sheila McCauley 05. Jane Casey 06. Doug Greeff 07. Bob Duryea 08. John McGrath 09. Liddy Chaney 10. Mary Cassidy 11. Hildegard Jones 12. Eileen Cornacchia 13. Richard Corey

Doubles

2022 Lenox GC Invitational July 22-24, 2022

Lenox Croquet Club Lenox, Massachusetts

Championship Flight

01. Dennis Leddy (Green Gables CC) 02. Cecil Creasey (The Springs CC) 03. Paul Fecteau (Hillsboro Club) 04. Cami Russack (NCC) 05. Tate Russack (NCC)

06. John Wight (Mountain Lake CC) 07. Roger Rowell (Sarsota County CC) 08. Thomas Bown (CC at Philadelphia*) 09. Susan Creasey (The Springs CC) 10. Dorothea Endicott (Lenox CC)

Second Flight Waterford Doubles

01. Pam Walker 02. David Beccia 03. Ursula Lynch 04. Colleen Rogers 05. Freear Pollard 06. Connie Walsh 07. Tom Hadlock 08. Tony Sessa 09. Susan Wagner 10. Jessica Beccia 11. Yolande Hadlock 12. David Platt 13. Donna Sessa 14. Allison Worthington

Tiger Wicket NYCC Club Championship July 31, 2022 New York Croquet Club New York, New York Championship Singles 01. Paul Neubecker 02. Norris Settlemyer 03. Doug Moore 04. Ralph Charles 05. Templeton Peck 05. Peter Timmins

Seattle Open July 28-31, 2022 Woodland Park Seattle, Washington

Order of Finish: 01. Patrick Sweeney 02. Chris Percival-Smith 03. Tim Rapuano 04. Jason Torla 05. Gary Anderson 06. Nick Grey DNF Carl Uhlman DNF Cameron Guernsey DNF Steve Scalpone

First Flight

01. David McQuaid (Marion Cricket Club) 02. George Claffey (Greenwich CC)

03. Stuart Price (Tulsa CC)

04. Kim Beaty (Dorset Field Club 05. Pamela Wilson (Hillsboro Club)

06. Rita Ginsky (New York CC)

07. George Mason (Hillsboro Club)

08. Ann Leddy (Green Gables CC) 09. Bonnie Bown (CC at Philadelphia*) 10. Ken Heim (Lenox CC)

2022 NC Club Teams

July 21-24, 2022

Grandfather Golf & Country Club | Linville Golf Club | Linville Ridge Country Club Linville, North Carolina

Penwell Trophy

01. Linville Ridge (26) 02. Lake Toxaway (19) 03. Grandfather (18) 04. Linville Golf (17) 05. Bald Head Island (15) 06. Highlands Falls (13) 07. Arbor Acres (12) 07. Trillium (12) 09. Sapphire Valley (10) 10. Wildcat Cliffs (9) 11. Highlands (7) 12. Cedar Creek (3)

Championship Flight

01. Eileen Soo/Jeff Soo (Highlands Falls)

02. Pat Cunningham/Billy Harper (Sapphire Valley)

03. Dick Boger/Hammond Rauers (Highlands) 04. Nancy Hart/Gene Raymond (Linville Ridge) 05. Chris Barley/Gail Barley (Grandfather) 06. Faith Schwaibold/Diane Walker (Wildcat Cliffs)

07. Michael Albert/Karen Connery-Albert (Cedar Creek)

07. David Maloof/Roberta Taylor (Linville Ridge) 09. Dick Johnston/Len Miller (Bald Head Island)

10. Rob Byrd/Ted Thelin (Linville Ridge)

10. Gary Gamble/Kathie Gamble (Trillium)

12. Tom Balding/Cathy Thompson (Linville Golf)

First Flight

01. Bob Hamilton/Robb Turner (Lake Toxaway)

02. Steve Hawes/Jill Norman (Grandfather)

03. Jan Spoerl/Scott Spoerl (Trillium)

03. Mary Anne Hamilton/Sybil Turner (Lake Toxaway)

05. John Taylor/Harriet Engle (Linville Ridge)

06. Mike Malpass/Patti Malpass (Bald Head Island)

07. Anne Killilea/Kevin Killilea (Trillium)

08. John Walker/Tom Webster (Wildcat Cliffs) 09. David Moser/Tony Watts (Grandfather)

10. Ballentine Carter/Lillian Carter (Bald Head Island)

11. Craig Sellner/Judy Sellner (Trillium)

11. Bill Hartman/Marie Jones (Linville Ridge)

Second Flight

01. John Dobson/Leigh Green (Linville Golf)

02. Charles Duckett/Angela Pittman (Arbor Acres)

03. Rick Loftin/Wade Mallard (Linville Ridge)

04. Debbi Patten/Keith Patten (Wildcat Cliffs)

05. Adam Azaccara (Bald Head Island)/ Sandy Stasiek (Linville Ridge)

06. Bruce Rinehart/Gregg Wechsler (Linville Golf)

07. John Rundell/Luella Rundell (Arbor Acres)

08. Mary Stuart Hartmann/Lou Ann Lindsay (Grandfather)

09. Cam McIntyre/Betty Robinson (Bald Head Island)

09. Judy Hathaway/Judy Reeder (Arbor Acres)

11. Pinky Hayden/Charlotte Hubbard (Arbor Acres)

2022 New Meadows Club Invitational July 12-16, 2022

Meadow Club Southampton, New York

Championship Singles

01. Tom Cooper 02. Randy Cardo 03. Calvert Chaney 03. Conner Helms 05. Tim Bitting 05. Conrad Rugart 05. Sandy Knuth 05. Jodie Rugart

First Flight Singles

01. Linda Trifone 02. Ron Eccles 03. Pat Spratt 03. Alex Muradian 05. Templeton Peck 05. Sally McGrath 05. Stuart Baker 05. John Grabow

Second Flight Singles

01. Kat Robertson 02. David Kepner 03. Jack Rush 03. Yvette Donato Selby 05. Carl Archiniaco 05. Missy Chilton 05. Doug Greeff 05. Karen Heckman

Third Flight Singles

01. Anne Carr 02. Ellen Cornacchia 03. Don Chapoton 03. Jim Tiberg 05. John McGrath 05. Tom Hadlock 05. Maggie Kirkbride 05. Claudia Parks

Championship Waterford Doubles

01. Randy Cardo 02. Beatty Cramer 03. Sally McGrath 04. Templeton Peck 05. Jodie Rugart 06. Linda Trifone 07. Tim Bitting 08. John Grabow 09. Alex Muradian 10. Calvert Chaney 11. Stuart Baker 12. Pat Spratt 13. Conner Helms 14. Vickie Johnston 15. Sandy Knuth 16. Ron Eccles

First Flight Waterford Doubles

01. Carl Archiniaco 02. Jim Tiberg 03. John McGrath 04. David Kepner 05. Jack Rush 06. Hildegard Jones 07. Karen Heckman 08. Missy Chilton 09. Kat Robertson 10. Don Chapoton 11. Lyn Hamer 12. Eileen Cornacchia 13. Doug Greeff 14. Anne Carr 15. Colleen Rogers 16. Liddy Chaney Second Flight Waterford Doubles 01. Randell Roe 02. Tom Hadlock 03. Hunter Cushing 04. Mary Jo Chapoton 05. Yolande Hadlock 06. Susan Cushing 07. Susie Wagner 08. Maggie Kirkbride 09. Claudia Parks 10. David Platt 11. Gerry Geddes 12. Pam Walker

2022 A6W OVERALL GP TOP 60

# Player

Singles

Doubles

Total

01 Randy Cardo 11,492 5,094 16,586

02 David Ekstrom 11,100 3,905 15,005

03 Matthew Griffith 7,220 5,130 12,350

04 Conner L. Helms 8,840 2,620 11,460

05 Jodie Rugart 4,500 6,180 10,680

06 Robert Van Tassell 4,100 5,100 9,200

07 Neil Houghton 6,200 2,210 8,410

08 Mark Fields 5,900 1,625 7,525

09 Paul Neubecker 4,320 3,120 7,440

10 Richard Sullivan 1,700 5,100 6,800

11 Chris Patmore 4,400 2,200 6,600

12 Paul T. Bennett 5,400 665 6,065

13 Mike Taylor 5,000 765 5,765

14 Calvert Chaney 1,700 3,990 5,690

15 Scott Spradling 4,230 1,430 5,660

16 Brian D. Hovis 3,278 2,285 5,563

17 Macey W. White 1,848 3,609 5,457

18 Patrick Sweeney 4,780 480 5,260

19 Shane Hettler 3,000 2,210 5,210

20 Sherif Abdelwahab 2,600 2,550 5,150

21 Norris Settlemyre 3,680 1,400 5,080

22 Beverley Cardo 2,849 2,154 5,003

23 John O. Brown 2,980 2,010 4,990

24 Rodney Lassiter 4,251 568 4,819

25 Webster Bull 4,020 680 4,700

26 Richard Sheely 2,766 1,899 4,665

27 Nancy Crouch 999 3,558 4,557

28 Arthur Olsen 3,320 1,196 4,516

29 Robert Pulitzer 2,420 2,010 4,430

30 Douglas P. Moore 3,160 1,080 4,240

31 Danny Huneycutt 3,900 3,900

32 Timothy Rapuano 3,580 200 3,780

33 Linda Trifone 2,589 1,148 3,737

34 Mary Rodeberg 800 2,745 3,545

35 Cameron James 571 2,923 3,494

36 Kevin McQuigg 1,350 2,130 3,480 37 Richard E. Laging 1,028 2,331 3,359 38 Sally McGrath 1,380 1,947 3,327 39 Stuart Price 2,750 569 3,319 40 Jeff Morrison 1,136 2,120 3,256 41 Joshua Lassiter 245 2,890 3,135 42 Adam Lassiter 2,668 423 3,091 43 Thomas Cooper 3,000 3,000 44 Leon Leither 604 2,373 2,977 45 James M. Spoonhour 2,400 425 2,825 46 Preston Stuart 1,200 1,620 2,820 47 Carl A. Archiniaco 651 2,160 2,811 48 Templeton Peck 561 2,100 2,661 49 Stephen Errickson 445 2,210 2,655 50 Deborah Millican 1,825 595 2,420 51 Ronald L. Eccles 1,428 880 2,308 52 Brian Zindel 1,188 1,042 2,230 53 Russ Cuccia 2,210 2,210 54 Doug Grimsley 2,200 2,200 55 Danna Huneycutt 304 1,890 2,194 56 Matt Baird 1,690 430 2,120 57 Clint Fowlkes 124 1,920 2,044 58 Ed Becker 595 1,445 2,040 59 Richard G. Curtis 1,700 225 1,925 60 Tom Hughes 1,900 1,900

Total players: 421. Updated 10/21/2022.

2022 GC OVERALL GP TOP 30

# Player

Singles Doubles Total

01 Matt Griffith 6304 1414 7718

02 Macey White 3193 2865 6058

03 Billy Harper 4034 1708 5742

04 Matthew Essick 3441 2009 5450

05 Cheryl Bromley 3047 1439 4486

06 Kyle Maloof 1453 3006 4459

07 Kent Lovvorn 2805 1512 4317

08 David Maloof 789 3215 4004

09 Brian Lozano 2332 1666 3998

10 Tom Balding 3060 877 3937

11 Sherif Abdelwahab 3369 513 3882

12 Tamer Hatata 2770 1046 3816

13 James Creasey 3138 614 3752

14 Cami Russack 2165 1504 3669

15 Roy Gee 2028 1512 3540

16 Mark Kucharski 2723 808 3531

17 Jeff Soo 1853 1637 3490

18 Tate Russack 2008 1471 3479

19 Debbie Davidoff 2270 1199 3469

20 Hammond Rauers 2590 833 3423

21 Jim Teel 1341 1873 3214

22 Ellen Nielsen 2023 1160 3183

23 Priscilla Flowers 1738 1429 3167

24 Paul Fecteau 2517 515 3032

25 Jimmy Huff 2135 836 2971

26 Blake Fields 2071 836 2907

27 Stephen Morgan 1715 1104 2819

28 Paul Bennett 2110 691 2801

29 Amr Hamdy 1972 672 2644

30 Richard Boger 1519 1081 2600

Total players: 369. Updated 10/19/2022.

2022 AC OVERALL GP TOP 25

# Player

Singles Doubles Total

01 Matthew Essick 6394 736 7130

02 Stephen Morgan 3204 1539 4743

03 Sherif Abdelwahab 2305 1539 3844

04 Brian Cumming 3332 468 3800

05 Stuart Lawrence 3414 368 3782

06 Zack Watson 2915 736 3651

07 Kyle Maloof 2144 970 3114

08 Shane Hettler 2405 585 2990

09 Jeff Soo 2156 368 2524

10 Tom Balding 2501 2501

11 Doug Grimsley 1997 468 2465

12 Randy Cardo 1161 277 1438

13 Michael Albert 771 585 1356

14 Patrick Sweeney 1236 1236

15 Jay Hughes 805 277 1082

16 Macey White 771 277 1048

17 Peter Bach 1041 1041

18 Mike Taylor 988 988

19 David Maloof 970 970

20 Chris Barley 936 936

21 Jim Bast 896 896

22 Tom Cooper 470 277 747

23 Gene Raymond 470 277 747

24 Danny Huneycutt 738 738

25 Steve Scalpone 726 726

Total players: 90. Updated 11/04/2022.

2022 A6W WOMEN'S GP TOP 60

# Player Singles Doubles Total

01 Jodie Rugart 4500 6180 10680

02 Beverley Cardo 2849 2154 5003

03 Linda Trifone 2589 1148 3737

04 Mary Rodeberg 800 2745 3545

05 Sally McGrath 1380 1947 3327

06 Deborah Millican 1825 595 2420

07 Danna Huneycutt 304 1890 2194

08 Courtney Green 1168 670 1838

09 Beatty Cramer 1500 1500

10 Sandra Knuth 500 1000 1500

11 Patricia Spratt 982 440 1422

12 Ellie Griffith 760 320 1080

13 Vickie Johnston 500 520 1020

14 Lori Matway 840 840

15 Anne Frost Robinson 352 480 832

16 Lynda P. Sudderberg 800 800

17 Avril Rangoni-Machiavelli 680 680

18 Janet K. Fisher 357 301 658

19 Karen Heckman 88 527 615

20 Anne Carr 472 142 614

21 Yvette Donato Selby 601 601

22 Missy Ramey 600 600

23 Suzanne Spradling 210 340 550 24 Kat Robertson 478 54 532

25 Loretta Cooper 480 480

26 Mel Eckhart 225 234 459

27 Missy Chilton 127 252 379

28 Penny P. Pressler 112 261 373 29 Sheila McCauley 153 183 336 30 Christine Smith 194 136 330

31 Kit Detering 36 279 315 32 Pam Johnston 112 200 312 33 Anne Jones Coco 300 300 34 Jeanette Hodgkins 263 36 299 35 Charlotte Pulitzer 36 261 297 36 Ellen C. Goldener 144 142 286 37 Kathleen Green 130 156 286 38 Anne Licursi 50 225 275 39 Jennifer Joseph 100 173 273 40 Rita McNamara 25 235 260 41 Teresa Errickson 162 72 234 42 Jane Casey 159 36 195 43 Linda Pike 54 125 179 44 Marsha Cargill 178 178 45 Linda Grady 126 40 166 46 Jennifer Loving 32 120 152 47 Katie Bull 125 22 147 48 Karin Karel 144 144 49 Val Terry 18 126 144 50 Eileen Cornacchia 84 48 132 51 Martie Ekstrom 120 120 52 Hildegard H. Jones 120 120 53 Mijai Pagano 120 120 54 Lovejoy R. Duryea 6 112 118 55 Linda P. Orff 39 73 112 56 Liddy Chaney 108 108 57 Freear Pollard 6 101 107 58 Rosemarie Maccario 102 102 59 Sandy Janitz 100 100 60 Mary Craddock 18 81 99

Total players: 150. Updated 10/21/2022.

2022 GC WOMEN'S GP TOP 40

# Player Singles Doubles Total

01 Cheryl Bromley 3047 1439 4486

02 Cami Russack 2165 1504 3669

03 Debbie Davidoff 2270 1199 3469

04 Ellen Nielsen 2023 1160 3183

05 Priscilla Flowers 1738 1429 3167

06 Helen Covington 980 1323 2303

07 Barbara Jamison 1434 742 2176

08 Ellie Griffith 1125 833 1958

09 Linda Merk 1042 867 1909

10 Mary Galasso 850 1054 1904

11 Pam Groh 605 883 1488

12 Eileen Soo 382 1036 1418

13 Caryl Firth 513 833 1346

14 Gay Cinque 692 582 1274

15 Lisa Maloney 544 695 1239

16 Sue Emond 963 233 1196

17 Lynda Sudderberg 172 941 1113

18 Gail Kern 853 258 1111

19 Sandra Cornes 1093 1093

20 Kathie Gamble 573 504 1077

21 Laura Hendrick 598 477 1075

22 Lois Clay 540 509 1049

23 Suzanne Turner 430 565 995

24 Nancy Hart 575 414 989

25 Suzanne Spradling 237 678 915

26 Allison Worthington 463 432 895

27 Vicky Naranjo 528 343 871

28 Anne Killilea 384 474 858

29 Trudy Crowetz 350 457 807

30 Geraldine McCauley 237 560 797 31 Lorie Tarver 474 290 764 32 Geri O'Neill 275 481 756 33 Jan Fisher 344 399 743 34 Jan Allison 448 270 718 35 Rita Ginsky 465 229 694 36 Karen Connery Albert 237 444 681 37 Sandy Howard 237 399 636 38 Mary Churchill 443 189 632 39 Marilyn Price 205 427 632 40 Debra Bradley 237 370 607

Total players: 144. Updated 10/19/2022. 2022 AC WOMEN'S GP

Player Singles

Total 01 Loretta Cooper 371 127 498 02 Jodie Rugart 144 277 421

Lynda Sudderberg 357 357 04 Arlene Parker 264 264 05 Dawn Jupin 219 219 06 Sandra Knuth 162 162 07 Christine Smith 146 146 08 Mary Rodeberg 123 123 09 Donna Dixon 92 92 10 Danna Huneycutt 86 86 11 Sandra Cornes 69 69 12 Shirley Ricci 33 33 13 Anne Kukla 33 33 14 Becky Essick 29 29

Total players: 14. Updated 11/04/2022.

ALABAMA

Fairhope - The Lakewood Club

Larkin Harris

Brian Jordan

Isabel Segura

Christian Segura

CONNECTICUT

Greenwich - Greenwich Croquet Club

Lorelei Robertson

DIST. OF COL

Washington - At-Large-Member

James Costan

Gregory Rooney

FLORIDA

Belleair - Belleair Country Club Croquet

Nancy Hunt

Delray Beach - St. Andrews Club

Lawrence Crimmins

Hobe Sound - At-Large-Member

Patricia Warner

Key Largo - At-Large-Member

Adelaide Jared

Key Largo - Ocean Reef Club

Laura Morse Ken Morse

Lake Worth Beach - At-Large-Member

Stephanie Lutge

Miami BeachIndian Creek Country Club

Joyce Harbaugh

Naples - Grey Oaks Country Club

Knute Kurtz

Joyce Kurtz

Naples - The Club Pelican Bay

Judith Dolan

John Green

New Smyrna Beach - At-Large-Member

Susu Day

Orlando - Winter Park Croquet Club

Charles Wright

Lovelle Wright

Palm Beach - At-Large-Member

April Russell

Palm Beach GardensDevonshire at PGA National

Remy Harwood

Palm City - At-Large-Member

William James Forbes

Palm CoastHammock Dunes Croquet Association

Andrea Covell

Bob Covell

Ponte VedraPonte Vedra Croquet Club

Anita Huber

Shelley Laird

The Villages - The Villages Croquet Club

Beth Ferguson

William James Forbes

Robert Smothers

Vero Beach - John's Island Croquet Club

George Howard

Vero Beach - The Windsor Club

Kay Huff

West Palm Beach - Everglades Club Inc.

Becky Myers

West Palm Beach - National Croquet Club

Penny Antonini

Kelly Callahan

Acklen Dunning

John Dunning

Verner Eglit

Ned Fleming

Jill Hinckley-Spaulding

Rudolph Hirsbrunner

Holly Holden

Stuart Holden

Charles Jamieson

Linda Johannsen

Fiona D'Aguilar Kissane

Frank Merschman

Rosemarie Montello

Barbara Prine April Russell

Jim Sansalone

Lavina Seiler

Sandy Spaulding

Diane Waterfall

GEORGIA

AtlantaPeachtree Hills Place Croquet Club

Rebecca McCune

Carrollton -

Carroll County Croquet Players

William Almon

Jekyll IslandJekyll Island Croquet Club

Caroline Andrews Gwen Bailey Wendy Cook

Tom Coury

Anne Coury Tracy Perkins

Jim Stevenson Jane Walters

Bob Walters

ILLINOIS

Chicago - Chicago Croquet Club

William Fox

KENTUCKY

Bowling Green - At-Large-Member

Dalton Major

Howard Major

MARYLAND

Baltimore - At-Large-Member

Henry Lentz

Galesville - West River Wickets

Dave Black Louise Black

Stephen Graham

Susan Sergeant

Pat Wright

Paul Wright

Margrit Zeender

MISSISSIPPI

Jackson - Highlands Mallet Club

Barbara Mallinson

Jackson - Pocahontas Mallet Club

Frank Duke

Susan Duke

Jackson - The Country Club of Jackson

Steven Inzinna

NEW JERSEY

Spring Lake - Green Gables Croquet Club

Thomas Burrus III

Cynthia Coughlin

Sharon Cruz

Donna Filkin

Patricia Gilsenan

Linda Vultaggio Linda Willis

NEW YORK

New York - New York Croquet Club

Jane Andrews

Asher Brawer

Ricky Davis Joseph Douglas Ellen Martin Emily Martin Joseph Mutz Avraham Pariente Agnes Schlenke Jane Shalam Mark Woolley

New York - Quogue Field Club

Laraine Rothenberg Peter Rothenberg

Quogue - Quogue Field Club Betsy Rodgers Nancy Treuhold

Westhampton BeachWesthampton Mallet Club Kathleen Lomas Lynn Lomas

NORTH CAROLINA

Bald Head IslandBald Head Island Croquet Club

Kevin Arata Mary Anne Arata Marianna Fitz-Hugh Heather Johnson David Morgan Pallie Morgan

Andrew Townshend Priscilla Vaughan Carolyn Watson Mike Watson

BelvidereAlbemarle Croquet Club@ Doodle Hill Hillary Lassiter

Cashiers - Cedar Creek Club

Julian Brandt

Cashiers - High Hampton Mike Carroll

Highlands - Cullasaja Club Shelia Davis

Irv Kron

HighlandsHighlands Falls Croquet Association

Missy Reynolds

William Reynolds

HighlandsHighlands Strikers Croquet Club

Mary Collany Glorana Ghegan

HighlandsWildcat Cliffs Country Club Inc Linda Jantschek

NEW CLUBS

The Lakewood Club Fairhope, Alabama

Lake ToxawayLake Toxaway Mallet Club

Mary Berry

Gary Berry

Melba Bishop Susan Bloom

William Bloom Kent Evert

Marilyn Evert Stacy Hamilton Jim Hamilton Becky Myers

Susan Stark

Frank Stark Mark Visk Kristin Visk

LinvilleGrandfather Golf & Country Club

Loraine Lockwood Anthony Watts

Linville - Linville Croquet Club

Gregg Wechsler

Linville - Linville Ridge Croquet Club

Marsha Belson Harvey Belson

Marianne Blair

Brad Blair

Fred Buchsbaum

Lydia Daniel Francesca Johnston

Anne Keesee

Tom Keesee Rick Loftin

David McAllister

Doreen Spidaletto

Sandy Stasiek

Amilia Wikinson

Amelia Wilkinson

Pinehurst - Pinehurst Croquet Club

Frances Lewis Tom Lewis

PittsboroFearrington Swim & Croquet Club

Mariana Fiorentino

Barbara Krouse Heather Williams

Roaring Gap - Roaring Gap Club

Elizabeth Becher

Alice (Kit) Pannill

Catherine Phillips

Southport - The Clubs at St James Henry Livingston

Julie Livingston

Sean Zelinsky

OHIO

Zanesville - At-Large-Member

Tammy Dews

OKLAHOMA

BartlesvilleOklahoma Wesleyan University

Stanley Fisher Alix Worley

Tulsa - Tulsa Croquet Club Steve Fisher

Dalene Fisher

Ronald Hay Giles Penik Randa Warren David Watson

PENNSYLVANIA

Clearville - At-Large-Member Henley Moore

Harleysville - Harleysville Croquet Club Sandra Phifer Gary Phifer Marsha Poust Duane Reiss Lisa Reiss Brad Smith Gary Volpe

RHODE ISLAND

Narragansett - At-Large-Member Nicholas Capobianco South Carolina

Camden - Southeast - At Large Deidre Myers

Hilton Head IslandWexford Croquet Club Brian Nelson Mary-Margaret Verdon

TEXAS

Houston - Houston Croquet Association Rebecque Demark Kathy Hankamer Joni Holder

VERMONT

Dorset - Dorset Field Club Judith McPhail

VIRGINIA

Hartfield - Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club

Russell Brudnicki

Timberville - North Mountain Croquet & Tennis Club

Isabelle Chewning Agnes Sterrett

WISCONSIN

Milwaukee - Milwaukee Croquet Club Mary Hennelly Thomas Hennelly

INTERNATIONAL

CANADA

Toronto - At-Large-Member Brian Brittain

Zamalek West Croquet Club

San Marino, California

Boca Grande Croquet

Boca Grande, Florida

Bennett College

Greensboro, North Carolina

The Clubs at St James

Southport, North Carolina Harleysville Croquet Club Harleysville, Pennsylvania

USCA Sanctioned Events

December

12/02/22 - 12/04/22

USCA GC Club Teams | GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL

Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 12/4/22 - 12/10/22

2022 USCA National Championship (6W) | US

Mission Hills Country Club | Rancho Mirage, CA

Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 12/9/22 - 12/11/22

National Croquet Club 6W Doubles | US

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL

Carla P. Rueck | 516-480-9930 | cprueck@aol.com 12/16/22 - 12/18/22

Holiday Invitational 6W | US

Sarasota County Croquet Club | Venice, FL Nancy Hart | 803-530-2035 | nh13sc@gmail.com

January

01/7/23 - 01/14/23

WCF AC Women’s World Championship | AC Multiple Clubs | Christchurch

Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 01/11/23 - 01/12/23

SCCC Handicap Adjuster 6W | US

Sarasota County Croquet Club | Venice, FL Nancy Hart | 803-530-2035 | nh13sc@gmail.com

01/13/23 - 01/15/23

National Croquet Club 6W Singles | US

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL

Timothy McCormick | 207-329-5343 | tmccorm1@gmail.com 01/17/23 - 01/18/23

USCA GC School | GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL

Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 01/19/23 - 01/22/23

Women’s Golf Croquet Open | GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL

Tom Lindley | 503-784-6747 | telin@comcast.net 01/26/23 - 01/29/23

Jones Invitational 6W | US

Sarasota County Croquet Club | Venice, FL Nancy Hart | 803-530-2035 | nh13sc@gmail.com

02/1/23 - 02/05/23

The Stewart Jackson Beach Club Invitational 6W | US

The Beach Club | Palm Beach, FL

Danny Huneycutt | 336-470-4864 | huney1322@gmail.com

February

02/7/23 - 02/09/23

USCA American 6W School | US

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 02/10/23 - 02/12/23

SCCC Club Doubles 6W | US

Sarasota County Croquet Club | Venice, FL Nancy Hart | 803-530-2035 | nh13sc@gmail.com 02/15/23 - 02/19/23

Steuber Classic 6W-GC | US & GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL Michael Gibbons | 917-873-0311 | mgibbons9577@gmail.com 02/24/23 - 02/26/23

GC Shootout | GC

Sarasota County Croquet Club | Venice, FL Nancy Hart | 803-530-2035 | nh13sc@gmail.com

March

03/2/23 - 03/05/23

Blaine Davis Invitational 6W | US

Gasparilla Mallet Club | Boca Grande, FL Bob Worrell | 402-677-2683 | rgworrell@hotmail.com 03/7/23 - 03/09/23

USCA American 6W School | US

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL

Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 03/8/23 - 03/09/23

USCA GC School | GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 03/10/23 - 03/12/23

USCA Croquet Week Golf Croquet Tournament | GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 03/10/23 - 03/12/23

SCCC Club Singles 6W | US

Sarasota County Croquet Club | Venice, FL Nancy Hart | 803-530-2035 | nh13sc@gmail.com 03/16/23 - 03/19/23

USCA Club Teams (6W) | US

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL

Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 03/23/23 - 03/26/23

USCA Florida GC Regionals | GC

Ponte Vedra Croquet Club | Ponte Vedra, FL

Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com 03/24/23 - 03/26/23

SCCC Club Singles 6W | US

Sarasota County Croquet Club | Venice, FL Nancy Hart | 803-530-2035 | nh13sc@gmail.com

March (continued)

03/30/23 - 04/02/23

Croquet Fools AC | AC

King City Civic Association | Portland, OR

Patrick Sweeney | 503-452-2191 | sweeney@503law.com

03/31/23 - 04/02/23

National Croquet Club GC Doubles Championship | GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL Julia Johnston | 561-852-1413 | medstone100@me.com

03/31/23 - 04/02/23

The Tumbler AC | AC

Sarasota County Croquet Club | Venice, FL Nancy Hart | 803-530-2035 | nh13sc@gmail.com

April

04/12/23 - 04/13/23

USCA GC School | GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL

Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

04/13/23 - 04/16/23

The Sarasota Open AC | AC

Sarasota County Croquet Club | Venice, FL Nancy Hart | 803-530-2035 | nh13sc@gmail.com

July

07/10/23 - 07/13/23

WCF AC World Championship Qualifier | AC

Sussex County Croquet Club | Sussex Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

07/15/23 - 07/23/23

WCF AC World Championship | AC

Hurlingham and multiple clubs | London Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

August

08/24/23 - 08/27/23

Pacific Cup AC | AC

West Point Grey | Vancouver, BC Patrick Sweeney | 503-452-2191 | sweeney@503law.com

October

10/18/23 - 10/19/23

USCA GC School | GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL

Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

10/31/23 - 11/02/23

USCA American 6W School | US

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

December

12/6/23 - 12/07/23

USCA GC School | GC

National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, FL Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com