2022 Croquet News Volume 2: Annual Awards

CroquetNews The Official Magazine

of the United States Croquet Association

2022 VOLUME 2 | SUMMER ISSUE

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CroquetNews 2022 Volume 2

Features 10 | USCA High Performance Program 14 | 2021 USCA Annual Awards 18 | 2022 American Six Wicket Club Teams 24 | 2022 USCA SE GC Regional 30 | 2022 USCA Western GC Regional 27 | 2022 USCA Club Directory 32 | Member Profile: Helen Covington

Departments 03 | Courtside with Damon Bidencope 04 | The Clubhouse 13 | Inbox 34 | Let’s Talk Tactics 36 | GC America 38 | 9W Roundup 40 | Event Results 43 | New Membership 44 | Grand Prix Update 46 | Events Calendar

On The Cover

Court 1 at Dataw Island during the USCA Southeast Regional Golf Croquet tournament. The tidal marsh provides an ever changing backdrop.

Publisher

Dylan Goodwin | croquetnetwork@gmail.com

Managing Editor

Julie Jantzer-Ward | uscacroquetnews@yahoo.com

Art Director

Brandy Ferguson | www.wildfirecreativeco.com

Inquiries

Please submit all inquiries and stories to uscacroquetnews@yahoo.com.

Submissions

Text should be submitted as a Microsoft Word file and photos need to be FULL resolution (300 dpi). All content may be edited for length and photos will be adjusted appropriately.

Croquet News is produced four times per year and is distributed as a benefit to USCA membership. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the publisher. Views expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USCA. © 2022 United States Croquet Association

courtside

Building On Membership Growth The USCA experienced substantial membership growth above 20 percent over the prior year. Welcome to all the new members enjoying this fabulous game and the croquet community that is the USCA. We are pleased you are here. Invite your croquet-playing friends to support, through their memberships, the development and promotion of this wonderful game. We are working to make our organization inclusive, diverse and a celebration of all croquet from backyards to manicured perfection, from fun to fanaticism, croquet is a lifelong and healthy lifestyle.

“The mission of the USCA is to promote the awareness, development and enjoyment of Croquet in America, providing resources and governance for the sport at all levels.”

I am writing this after just returning from the USCA Southeast Regional GC event staged at Dataw Island, Spring Island and Sun City in the low country of coastal South Carolina. The event combined newcomers to the tournament segment, experienced veteran campaigners, novice spectators and local croquet club players. At this event I was again reminded of the broad enjoyment and many reasons why people play and the good comradeship between players in our croquet community.

In contrast, when you read this, we will be in the midst of the USCA GC Nationals being contested in the Western North Carolina Mountains at the four magnificent croquet venues of High Hampton (USCA New Club of the Year), Chattooga Club, Country Club of Sapphire Valley and Highlands Falls Country Club. While there may be hundreds of miles and 4,000 feet of elevation difference with the top players in the country present, I am sure the spirit of good competition and friendship will again be on display.

This year to date, the USCA High Performance and Talent Development Program has had two successful events. A GC-focused event at Mountain Lake Croquet Club in Lake Wales, Fla., and an Association Croquet test match (as will be played in the MacRobertson Shield – November 2022) at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Upcoming events for this program will be in late June at Highlands Falls Country Club, Highlands, N.C., and High Hampton, Cashiers, N.C., and then Labor Day weekend at Peachtree Hill Place in Buckhead, Atlanta.

The USCA recently distributed primers: entry-level, simple guides to all the USCA clubs for GC and American Six Wicket Croquet. We hope your club finds these useful for introducing new members to the sport and the USCA. Also in the fun department is Croquet Day on June 4. This is everyone’s excuse for a croquet party. Details are on the USCA website. Whether zany or zealous, anything with a ball and mallet is fair game.

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 www.croquetamerica.com | 3

TheClubhouse CROQUE T DAY IS

COMING Each year, the USCA celebrates the sport of croquet with National Croquet Day. This year’s event is scheduled for June 4, 2022, and is an opportunity for players, clubs and supporters across the country to share the long-term benefits of playing with fellow club members, friends, relatives and neighbors — outside and having a healthy good time.

The goal of the USCA is to have every one of its hundreds of clubs nationwide hold an event celebrating the day. A prospective croquet lover is just waiting to visit a local club and enjoy the games that challenge and reward croquet enthusiasts over and over.

JUST PLAY CROQUET CHALLENGE FOR 2022 • Create an event at your club. The USCA will be sharing ideas regularly until June 4.

• Invite prospects, fellow club members or the general public.

• Go big and spread the word about your club’s event.

Email, newspaper and social media work well.

• The USCA will make posters and signage available; see the www.croquetamerica.com website for details.

• Provide USCA pamphlets to interested participants.

We can personalize to your club.

4 | www.croquetamerica.com

JUNE 4, 2022

PRIZES FOR THE MOST CREATIVE EVENTS To be eligible to win an award, email a photo with a description within two weeks after Croquet Day to: marketing@uscroquet.com.

CONSIDERING SHOWING OFF TO THE CROQUET UNIVERSE • Join the USCroquet Facebook group and post a photo or video of your event.

• Post your photo or video on Instagram and tag @USCroquet using the hashtag: #croquet.

The USCA would like to support your efforts in any way possible. We are offering our #JustPlayCroquet logo as a PDF to create custom promotional materials. Grants are available to clubs and individuals for efforts that promote the sport. Contact Tom Cooper, marketing co-chair, at marketing@uscroquet.com for help.

USCA ANNOUNCES 2022 MACROB ROSTER The 2022 Association Croquet World Team Championship Tier 1, which is more commonly known as the MacRobertson Shield, will be held at Cairnlea, Australia, from November 12-29, 2022.

The USCA Association Croquet Selection Committee has announced the following Team USA roster for the 2022 event.

US Team (in alphabetical order):

Thomas Balding Matthew Essick Stephen Morgan Ben Rothman Jeff Soo Zack Watson Alternates: 1. Sherif Abdelwahab 2. Stuart Lawrence 3. Doug Grimsley

Errata: Ocean Reef Croquet Club Due to a technical issue in production, we regret that the photo of the Ocean Reef Croquet Club was obscured by a mailing label rectangle on the cover of the Spring 2022, Volume 1 issue. Ocean Reef Croquet Club earned their spot on the cover with a Division II win in the December 2021 GC Club Teams event held in West Palm Beach, Fla., at the National Croquet and we are sorry to have deprived them of their moment on the cover. To create an error of this magnitude, it takes multiple fail points and after analyzing how the issue occurred, we have made both technical adjustments and proofing process changes that will ideally avoid a future repeat of such an issue. I personally apologize to Ocean Reef Croquet Club, GC Club Teams organizers and the USCA membership for not mitigating these issues in advance.

—Dylan Goodwin, Publisher

WCF UPDATES JANUARY NEW MC MEMBERS: On January 1, 2022, the WCF Management Committee welcomed three new team members — Peter Payne as Treasurer and Begoña Elzaburu and Graeme Roberts as general committee members.

NEW GC RANKING OFFICER: Richard Bilton has taken over from Stephen Mulliner as Golf Croquet Ranking Officer. Our thanks go to Stephen Mulliner for his many years of hard work. Bilton is currently on the English CA Tournament Committee and GC Rules Committee. In 2020, he became the GC Assistant Ranking Officer (ARO)

for England and spent the latter half of 2021 shadowing Stephen Mulliner in the role of WCF GC Ranking Officer.

In his role as RO and continuing role of ARO England, he will be supported by the full team of ARO’s: Peter Freer (ARO Australia), John Christie (ARO New Zealand), Felipe Mestanza (ARO Spain) and Jeff Soo (ARO United States).

RASLAN ELECTED TO MC: Mohamed Raslan is now a member of the WCF Management Committee (MC) after successfully winning the election that closed on March 10, 2022. Raslan will serve until December 31, 2025.

Raslan’s croquet journey started

in 1982 in Alexandria, Egypt, as a player for Somouha and Alexandria sporting clubs. After moving to Cairo, he joined the Maadi club and within a few years became involved with the team management. As the head of the team’s management committee, he led the efforts to organize a successful annual national tournament. He also facilitated corporate sponsorship allowing the team to gain financial independence. In December 2021, he was elected president of the Egyptian Croquet Federation.

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USCA Management Committee

theclubhouse

________________________

AM E R I C AN S I X W I C K E T

T R AC K ING P OIN T S C H ANGE S The USCA Handicap Committee has made minor changes to the handicap tracking point system. After a review of the current system, it was discovered that half handicaps have not been counted as full handicap steps. This primarily affects handicaps below five and the changes are mostly in losing points rather than gaining points. For example, the difference between a 0 and -2 has been considered a two-handicap difference when it should be a four-handicap difference (-0.5, -1, -1.5, -2). To correct this, half handicaps will be considered full steps so that now a two-handicap difference would be -0.5, -1. The logic behind this is that it takes the same +28 points to change handicaps to half points as whole points so they should both be treated the same.

The changes are very subtle and are described in the Handicap Tracking Points chart.

Please note the difference between 0 and 0.5 is now considered one handicap difference and the same as the difference between 7 and 6. The Taylor workbooks have been updated to reflect the latest changes and are available for download from the USCA website. All tournament directors should download the current workbooks.

These changes will have minimal impact on the tracking point system and will make half handicaps as meaningful as whole handicaps.

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 United States Croquet Association (USCA) 700 Florida Mango Road West Palm Beach, FL 33406 Tel. (561) 478-0760 Fax (561) 686-5507

Handicap Tracking Points – Effective 2/10/2022

Email: usca@msn.com Website: www.croquetamerica.com ________________________

LEVEL PLAY – PLUS POINTS (HANDICAP LOWERED) A. Higher handicap player defeats lower handicap player: • 2 or more whole handicaps lower (6 defeats 4) • 1 ½ handicaps lower (5 defeats 3.5) • 1 whole handicap lower (6 defeats 5) • ½ handicap lower (0.5 defeats 0) B. Defeat player of equal handicap (6 defeats 6)

LEVEL PLAY – MINUS POINTS (HANDICAP INCREASE) H. Lose to a player of equal handicap (6 loses to 6)

REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS

C. Defeat player of higher handicap: • ½ handicap higher (0 defeats 0.5) • 1 whole handicap higher (5 defeats 6) • 1 ½ to 2 whole handicaps higher (5 defeats 7) • More than 2 whole handicaps higher (0 defeats 2.5)

K. Handicap difference is 5 or more (6 defeats 0)

LEVEL PLAY – MINUS POINTS (HANDICAP INCREASE) Note: Half handicaps count as a full handicap

M. Handicap difference is 5 or more (6 loses 0)

D. Lose to a player greater than 2 handicaps lower (7 loses to 4.5) (6 loses to 4) (5 loses to 3.5) E. Lose to a player 1 to 2 handicaps lower (7 loses to 5) (6 loses to 4.5) (5 loses to 4)

I. Lose to player of higher handicap (6 loses to 7) HANDICAP (BISQUE) PLAY-PLUS-POINTS J. Handicap difference is less than 5 (4 defeats 0)

HANDICAP (BISQUE) PLAY-MINUS-POINTS L. Handicap difference is less than 5 (4 loses to 0)

Florida Bill Simmons floridarvp@uscroquet.com Mid-Atlantic midatlanticrvp@uscroquet.com Midwest Russell S. Dilley midwestrvp@uscroquet.com Northeast Preston Stuart northeastrvp@uscroquet.com Southeast southeastrvp@uscroquet.com Western Patrick Sweeney westernrvp@uscroquet.com ________________________ USCA STAFF Membership Coordinator Ursula Peck membership@uscroquet.com Tournament & Schools Johnny Mitchell tournament@uscroquet.com www.CroquetAmerica.com www.croquetamerica.com | 7

theclubhouse

Bob Alman

1939-2022

Founder and editor of the Croquet World Online website, Bob Alman passed away on March 17, 2022, after a short illness. He was a dedicated organizer and promoter for the sport of croquet and was inducted into the World Croquet Federation Hall of Fame in 2020.

Originally based in the San Francisco area, he worked to build the San Francisco Croquet Club and also the Oakland Croquet Club as the sport developed in California. He was also a cocreator of the San Francisco Open. Later, he migrated to Florida and became the first manager of the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Photo Courtesy of Johnny Mitchell

PASSAGES

Alman founded the Croquet World Online website in 1996 and he considered the website to be his legacy and a lasting contribution to world croquet. He molded the website into a unique online news and feature croquet news service accessible to everyone in the world. Over the years, the site has covered world croquet in all its variety. It maintains an archive of hundreds of croquetrelated stories. At times controversial, Croquet World Online strived to include all viewpoints. He continued to work on the website almost single-handedly until shortly before his death.

Bob Alman, National Croquet Club, WCF HOF Member

Henry Kraft, The Hillsboro Club

Betsey Cooper, At large member

Michael H. Kline, Belleair Country Club Croquet, Sarasota

Carol Mayo, Meadow Club of Southampton

County Croquet Club

Muriel Ryder, Pinehurst Croquet Club

Bill Stempfle, Carolina Meadows Croquet Club

Visit www.croquetamerica.com for more news.

8 | www.croquetamerica.com

Muriel Ryder Many of you knew Muriel Ryder, a beautiful, classy woman who was a founding member of the Pinehurst Croquet Club.

Ryder slipped away peacefully at her home in Pinehurst, N.C., on March 18, 2022, at the age of 103. The Ryder name will live on within our club with the General William T. Ryder Memorial Trophy. For the past 30 years at our annual Invitational, the winner of the championship flight has been presented with this trophy and has their name engraved on the plaque, which goes with the trophy.

Born Muriel Elizabeth O’Connor, on May 29, 1918, in Manhattan, N.Y., to Catherine Grace Hill and John Joseph O’Connor, of New York, the family later moved to a small farm in New Windsor, N.Y., near the Hudson River. By her early teens, she was an expert horse rider, becoming an instructor at age 17, and was competing in equestrian events through her early 20s. She graduated high school at Newburgh Free Academy, in Newburgh, N.Y., then completed two years at New Paltz College, in New Paltz,

1918-2022 N.Y. She then left college to work in Manhattan and pursue her goal to be an Olympic equestrian.

She joined the International Red Cross in late 1942. By early 1943, she was serving in combat zones in New Guinea with American and Australian forces. In mid-1944, she was sent to the Philippines, where she again served in combat zones and met her future husband, Col. William Thomas Ryder, West Point Class of 1936.

William was America’s first paratroop commander and was Airborne advisor to General Douglas MacArthur at the time.

After the war, William continued to serve under MacArthur during the occupation of Japan. Muriel and William were married in Tokyo in January of 1946.

Their only son, Guy, was born in Tokyo on August 14, 1946 (the first anniversary of the end of WWII).

After the occupation, William was the 1st U.S. Army Attaché to post-war Japan and the couple remained in Japan until June 1955. He retired from the Army

Photo taken at the 2015 Solomon Trophy tournament in Pinehurst

as a Brigadier General in June 1966 and then became an international business consultant and the couple lived all over the world. Muriel came to Pinehurst in 1984 and became a vibrant member and contributor to the Pinehurst community.

She was a founding member and keen competitor at the Pinehurst Croquet Club and competed in tournaments in many states.

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theclubhouse

USCA

High-Performance PROGRAM

L AUNCH

In January, the USCA announced a new High-Performance and Talent Development (HPTD) Program to improve the performance of US representatives in international team and individual competitions. The program is focused on developing younger players but also includes players who have demonstrated the talent and drive to succeed and further improve at the international level.

10 | www.croquetamerica.com

Reigning GC World Champion Ben Rothman expands on that international team perspective saying, “Our goals are to progress past fourth place and make a real attempt at being a world championship team in AC and GC. I think we have proven that we can compete at the highest level individually and this developmental program is helping us to get better at doubles and bring up the level of play for the whole team.”

The program implementation is moving quickly as two program events have already taken place with the first being held at Mountain Lake in Lake Wales, Fla., February 11-13, 2022, with a GC focus and the most recent Paul Neubecker watches as Matthew Essick gets some air on the blue ball having taken place at the Mission Hills Country Club (MHCC) in Rancho Mirage, Calif., April 8-10, 2022, with AC as the theme.

Shifting to the more recent AC event hosted by the Mission HIlls Croquet, MHCC President Neil Burton says, “It was a terrific Both events featured three days of competition and games that opportunity for our local club members to meet the players they were sanctioned to count as ranked games in the world ranking normally only read about and experience the excitement, energy and systems. Players that participated in at least one of the events commitment of all the participants that bring a tremendous level of included Michael Albert, Damon Bidencope, Matthew Essick, high-caliber play and professionalism to the sport. The tournament Blake Fields, David Maloof, Kyle Maloof, Stephen Morgan, Paul also provided us an opportunity to meet with the Mission Hills GM Neubecker, Eileen Soo, Jeff Soo and Ben Rothman. and his team to discuss the scope and importance of the event, and gave us the credibility that croquet is a national and international sport and provides Mission Hills a ’high profile’ and well-deserved sHOWCASING THE VENUES reputation as one of the best croquet facilities in the USA.” For the venues, it represented an opportunity to showcase world-class lawns and facilities. Tony Nysse, Director of Golf Course and Grounds at Mountain Lake says, “We went to ON THE COURT great lengths to construct and maintain our new facility to the The player feedback from the event was positive. “These first highest of standards. Daily monitoring, mowing, rolling and two events have already helped me grow in my understanding proper IPM practices have ensured that it was ready for the of the game and how to compete at the highest level,” says Kyle best players in the world.”

Maloof. “One of the greatest benefits of the High-Performance Talent Development program is the ability to compete with topMountain Lake General Manager Eric Dietz says, “Over the level players all of whom have their own unique playing style. course of the weekend, our members were able to play with the Some of the players hit the ball extremely hard, while others participants in the opening pro-am and then watch multiple are very precise with great touch. We also have some of the top national champions compete with the top young prospects minds in the game mentoring and teaching us how to use our in the country. While everyone was excited before the event, skills better to beat a variety of opponents. My experience in we could not have imagined how well it was received by the competitive tennis has already given me an understanding of members.” He also says the players were all kind and engaging how to do this, in theory, but having this program gives me the with the spectators and formed personal relationships with the opportunity to put it into practice.” club’s members. “The excitement around Mountain Lake from the event has helped the croquet program continue its upwards When asked about how the program can benefit women that trajectory,” Dietz says. are interested in international competition, Eileen Soo says

www.croquetamerica.com | 11

theclubhouse that the women who have played in the Women’s World Championships have come back excited by new ideas and by the friendships made. Their enthusiasm spreads to other women when they talk about it. “This program helps by giving our women the level of competition and coaching they need to compete at the world level, plus it is a way to bring more women into highlevel play. Women can get hung up in the transition from being a very good club player to becoming a national or international level player, especially if their club is a small one. Some are lucky enough to find mentors to help them over the gap, others may not be.

This program is a chance to get expert advice on games played with top-level players – the best way to make the transition,” she says.

YOUTH PERSPECTIVE

Blake Fields in play at the Mission Hills event

As one of the USCA’s young rising stars, Blake Fields says, “Being able to represent myself and a team at the same time is something every person dreams of, so going out there and playing the best I possibly can is all that I can ask for. The Golf Croquet U21 World Championship is currently by far my favorite tournament. Being able to compete and be surrounded by the future of each country’s best youth players is something that I rarely get to do. The future of croquet is very promising.

Everyone is continuing to see an increase in young players all over the world.”

For Paul Neubecker, it was his first sanctioned GC event and he notes that initially, it was intimidating to mix it up with some of the country’s top players. But after participating, he says, “I gained a lot of confidence from that event and realized the gap between myself and our top players was not as wide as I would’ve guessed going into it. It’s definitely encouraged me to stick with playing GC and participate in GC tournaments more—I have signed up for our GC Nationals this year and am excited to see the Cashiers/Highlands region of North Carolina for the first time in May. I don’t think I would have made that commitment of time and resources without my experience in the program, so it seems to be successful in that regard already.”

He also notes the value of the training environment, saying, “I also really valued being in an environment where more experienced players than you are open to sharing tips or strategy on how to handle different situations. My only exposure previously was in tournaments where you are

12 | www.croquetamerica.com

naturally competitive/adversarial and players may not want to share that knowledge with a competitor until after the event when there isn’t really an opportunity to or the situation has faded from memory. That aspect of the program I also find to be invaluable to a developing player.”

LOOKING AHEAD As the program moves forward, Rothman gave some perspective as the most accomplished US player on the international scene, saying, “Since I was chosen for the US team in 2008, we have been talking about trying to get together for team practice outside of the usual tournament schedule. Thanks to Michael Albert and Damon Bidencope and our many donors, this team development has finally come to fruition. Having realized one vision, hopefully we can make our other goals a reality in the near future.”

Next up for the program, Albert says a GC event will be held in Highlands/Cashiers, N.C., over the weekend of June 25-26, 2022, at Highlands Falls Country Club (Saturday) and High Hampton (Sunday). Going into the fall, he says the next event is also GC and will be at Peachtree Hills Place in Buckhead, Ga., over Labor Day weekend. The final event scheduled for 2022 is scheduled for four days at Sarasota County Croquet Club, October 7-10. “That one will be a final prep test match (AC) similar to what we just held in California before Team USA goes to Melbourne, Australia for the MacRobertson Shield in November,” Albert says.

TheInbox

2022 HURRICANE WOMEN’S GOLF CROQUET OPEN Right: Cheryl Bromley won Championship Flight with Debbie Davidoff coming in second. (L to R) Davidoff, Bromley and Macey White.

Below: Cami Russack won First Flight and Vicky Naranjo came in second. L-R Flowers, Naranjo, White and Russack.

The inaugural Women’s Hurricane Golf Croquet Open tournament was held at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., on January 20-23, 2022.

The tournament was hosted by the women of the National Croquet Club and managed by Priscilla Flowers and Cami Russack.

Macey White was the tournament director. Fifty-six players signed up and represented all levels of GC play, from beginners to the best, including six of the top 10 active female players in America: Helen Covington, Cheryl Bromley, Debbie Davidoff, Eileen Soo, Lynda Sudderberg and Vicky Naranjo.

See the full results on Page 42. www.croquetamerica.com | 13

2021 USCA

ANNUAL AWARDS PRESIDENT’S AWARD:

Hans Peterson NEW CLUB OF THE YEAR:

High Hampton CLUB OF THE YEAR:

Houston Croquet Association COLLEGIATE CLUB OF THE YEAR:

Bentley University Croquet Team FAMILY OF THE YEAR:

Lassiter — Rodney, Randy, Josh, John, Adam CLUB PRESIDENT OF THE YEAR:

Rodney Calver JACKIE JONES AWARD:

Hans Peterson

High Hampton

Jodie Rugart GRAND PRIX WINNER:

Randy Cardo GC GRAND PRIX FEMALE WINNER:

Helen Covington GC GRAND PRIX WINNER:

Macey White AC GRAND PRIX FEMALE WINNER:

Jodie Rugart Houston Croquet Association

14 | www.croquetamerica.com

Randy Cardo

2021 USCA

ANNUAL AWARDS

AC GRAND PRIX WINNER:

Matthew Essick FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

Beverley Cardo MOST IMPROVED PLAYER:

Brett Stovall ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:

Ken Kniceley SENIOR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:

Stuart Price Rodney Calver

OUTSTANDING COMEBACK AWARD:

Jodie Rugart

Kyle Maloof

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ANNUAL AWARDS

2021 USCA

TEDDY PRENTIS AWARD:

David Maloof PEYTON BALLENGER AWARD

Beverley Cardo OUTSTANDING SUPPORT OF CROQUET:

Loretta Cooper OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR:

Freear Pollard

Ellie and Matt Griffith

Helen Covington

David Maloof

Beverley Cardo

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:

Karen Connery and Michael Albert CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT:

George Claffey III CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

Highlands Falls Croquet Association CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

Lake Toxaway Mallet Club CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

Sarasota County Croquet Club CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

The Chattooga Club CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

Rob Byrd CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

Martie Ekstrom CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

Rita Ginsky CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

Amr Hamdy 16 | www.croquetamerica.com

Macey White (left)

Sara Low

2021 USCA

ANNUAL AWARDS

CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

Stuart Lawrence CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

David Maloof CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION:

Linda and Denys Shorthouse RECOGNITION AWARD:

Brett Stovall

Loretta Cooper

Alan Bensch RECOGNITION AWARD:

Tom Cooper RECOGNITION AWARD:

Priscilla Flowers RECOGNITION AWARD:

Ellie and Matt Griffith RECOGNITION AWARD:

Scott Kennedy 3rd

Freear Pollard

Highlands Falls Gene Young and Jason Macaulay

RECOGNITION AWARD:

Sara Low

Tom Cooper

Alan Bensch

Rita Ginsky

Amr Hamdy

www.croquetamerica.com | 17

USCA Club Teams 2022 National Croquet Center | West Palm Beach, Florida March 17-20, 2022

By Loretta Cooper

If you’ve never been to the Club Teams, you may be surprised to find an ambience somewhat different than your average croquet tournament.

Comrades from all over the United States congregate in groups on the National Croquet Center (NCC) porch, staking out their turf and checking out the competition, not unlike game night in a pub. The first day of this year’s competition was Saint Patrick’s Day, where everyone (except this first timer) got the memo to “Go for It.” Sandy Knuth did not disappoint but was camouflaged by the cornucopia of green striped socks, hats, beanies, ears, masks, sunglasses and even plus-fours.

18 | www.croquetamerica.com

2022 USCA Club Teams group photo. Photo by Matthew Donohue.

The tournament was graced by perfect Florida weather, and the sumptuous meals provided by SandyJames hit the spot. Social chairs Karen Heckman, Jeanne Branthover and Jodie Rugart made sure the participants were busy off the court with the fun opening cocktail party that included entertaining games and tiny liquor bottles as well as the Saturday evening pasta dinner, which fueled players to dance the night away to the live band.

Do you remember the opening to ABC’s “Wide World of Sports?” The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat? There was a lot of that. The wickets were unforgiving, and the courts were fast. Tightlyseeded flights resulted in very few high-scoring games, but enough triple overtimes and on-point games to give a tournament director agita. The deadness boards were colorful and players were groaning everywhere. Very exciting!

The competition and high level of play was not limited to Championship Flight. John Watson reported on the Fourth Flight Finals: “After jousting for much of the match, the Red and Yellow team of Carol and John Bannister took a fivewicket lead going into last turn, Red for 4 back and Yellow for 3 back. With both Blue and Black for 1 Back, and Carl Detering’s Blue ball in the jaws of 1 back, Nora Watson, on mid-court between one and two back, fearlessly shot and tapped Blue. She proceeded to peel both balls through and rolled them both to 2 back and took position, leaving

Black in front of the wicket. Blue, in turn, tapped Black and peeled both, scoring the wicket, but with a hampered shot. The final score was 17-16—talk about drama!”

In the second flight, John Craddock told this story of the finals: “The contenders for the Second Flight Championship had not played each other in block play. This would be their first showdown! Karen Heckman and Larry Lynch entered at the top of the bracket while John Craddock and Kit Detering began at the bottom of the bracket and yet managed to win their way to the championship match. It was going to be a classic David and Goliath battle.

Interestingly, Heckman and Lynch had only met each other on the first day of the tournament while Craddock and Detering have played with and against each other for several years.”

The Second Flight Championship Match began with the usual standoff on the sidelines for the second wicket until Black took his partner’s rush and easily scored the second wicket but had to leave his partner’s ball at the wicket. This gave Yellow the opportunity to rush Red to the second wicket and score the wicket before setting up at three and sending Blue to the far end of the court.

This gave Red the opportunity to score the second wicket while Blue and Black reconnected in the northwest corner. Yellow was able to score the third wicket while Black gave Blue a rush for the second wicket. Then the tables turned after Yellow gave www.croquetamerica.com | 19

2022 Division I Team Winner: Houston Croquet Association. Photo by Matthew Donohue.

Red a rush for wicket three, but Red undershot her rush and overshot her takeoff. She got off the court but had to leave Yellow at three. Black seized the opportunity to use Yellow as a pioneer at three, scored the third wicket and never looked back as his three-ball break led to a lead that Red and Yellow could never overcome. Blue and Black were relentless in their attacks while methodically moving their balls around the court. In the end, Yellow managed to reach 2-back, but Red never got past wicket 3. Heckman and Lynch emerged victoriously with an impressive 18-9 victory over Craddock and Detering and took the title of Second Flight Doubles Champions.

The porch on Sunday was crowded with brilliantly attired spectators enjoying the elegant champagne brunch and whispering about the finals taking place on the sunlit lawns in front of them, punctuated with “oohs” and “aahs” as some spectacular shots were executed and others failed. A tournament not to miss, with smart, nuanced play in all flights and Florida fun in the evenings. Many old friendships were reacquainted, and new friendships were found.

RESULTS: The Les Kelley Award The Les Kelley Award is a sportsmanship award. This year’s Les Kelley trophy goes to Jane Pflug, who is always smiling, always happy, win or lose, no partner or new partner.

Division 1 01. Houston Croquet Club 02. National Croquet Club 03. The Beach Club

Division 2 01. Bombay Mallet & Wicket Club 02. Lenox Croquet Club 03. Westhampton Mallet Club

As always, it takes a village, and many hands go into making a good tournament. Thanks to the generosity of Beverley and Randy Cardo and David McCoy for supplementing the food. We are especially grateful to the staff of the USCA, the NCC and SandyJames.

Division 3

Although this is a competition of doubles teams, there is also the “Lyons Trophy,” which goes to the best performance by a club.

Tournament Team

FULL PHOTO GALLERY by Matthew Donohue: https://donohuestudios.pixieset.com/croquet_palmbeach_2022/

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01. Bellair Country Club 02. Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club 03. PGA National Danny Huneycutt Carla Rueck Tom Cooper Loretta Cooper

2022 Division II Team Winner: Bombay Mallet & Wicket Club.

Photo by Matthew Donohue.

Jane Pflug wins the Les Kelly Award, pictured with Brand Shank and Lori Matway. Photo by Matthew Donohue.

Championship Flight winners Bob Van Tassell and Richard Sullivan.

Photo by Matthew Donohue.

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First Flight winners Lori Matway and Brand Shank.

Photo by Matthew Donohue.

Green on St. Patrick's Day. Photo by Matthew Donohue.

CLUB TEAMS FINAL RESULTS Championship Flight

Second Flight

Fourth Flight

01. Richard Sullivan/Bob Van Tassell 02. Danny Huneycutt/Jodie Rugart 03. Calvert Chaney/Sherif Abdelwahab 03. Macey White/Nancy Crouch 05. David Isaacs/Templeton Peck 05. John Brown/Bob Pulitzer 05. Mary Rodeberg/Steve Thurston 05. Randy Cardo/Beverley Cardo 09. Arthur Olsen/Preston Stuart 09. Johnny Mitchell/Anne Coco 09. David Ekstrom/Ron Eccles 09. Derek Wassink/Sandy Knuth

01. Karen Heckman/Larry Lynch 02. John Craddock/Kit Detering 03. Penny Pressler/Charlotte Pulitzer 03. Rita McNamara/Anne Licursi 05. Lovejoy Duryea/Danna Huneycutt 05. Geraldine McCauley/Sonia Alexandra 05. Anne Carr/Linda Grady 05. John Joseph/Jennifer Joseph

01. John Bannister/Carol Bannister 02. Nora Watson/Carl Detering 03. Richard Corey/Connie Walsh 03. Rita Ginsky/Carol Stuart 05. Linda Guthrie/Peter Guthrie 05. John Welch/Jean Lynch 05. David Beccia/Jessica Beccia 05. Tom Hadlock/Yolanda Hadlock 09. Mary Jo Chapoton/Mathilda Hoefer 09. Jane Pflug/Jeff Cohen

First Flight 01. Brand Shank/Lori Matway 02. Dick Boger/Jeff Morrison 03. Richard Carlson/David Kepner 03. Vicki Johnston/Craig Coats 05. John Watson/Stuart Coco 05. Charles Alexander/Tim McCormick 05. John Grabow/Liddy Chaney

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Third Flight 01. Joseph Leary/Boyd Parker 02. Bob Duryea/Tony Sessa 03. Sheila McCauley/Freear Pollard 03. Don Chapoton/Mary Craddock 05. Franklin Perrell/Pam Walker 05. Lynn LeBlanc/Flavia Logie 05. Eugenia Wilkie/Hilary Michaels

USCA CROQUET SCHOOL The best way to learn the game

USCA Croquet Schools are the best way to learn the game. Our schools are taught by USCA certified instructors and are geared towards beginner and intermediate players. We focus on teaching proper shotmking techniques and strategy. Schools offer 5 hours of instruction each day with daily continental breakfast and lunches provided. At the conclusion of the school we have a wine and cheese party for the students and they receive a certificate of completion along with other hand-outs.

UPCOMING DATES

October 4 - 6, 2022 - American 6W Croquet School October 12 - 13, 2022 - Golf Croquet School November 1 - 3, 2022 - American 6W School November 30 - December 1, 2022 - Golf Croquet School REGISTRATION

You can register online at www.croquetamerica.com or Contact the office at 561-478-0760 - email tournament@uscroquet.com Group rates are availables for groups of 6 or more with the same skill level

USCA Southeast Regional Golf Croquet Tournament Dataw Island, Sun City and Spring Island, South Carolina April 21-24, 2022

THREE

CLUBS

HOST

SOUTHEAST GC REGIONALS

T

he 2022 USCA GC Southeast Regional was contested in the South Carolina Lowcountry at Dataw Island, Sun City and Spring Island during the four glorious spring days of April 21-24, 2022. The event featured singles and doubles competition play on the five tournament croquet lawns. The tournament was formatted in Championship and First Flight and was played using the latest golf croquet rules. A full field of players traveled from North Carolina, Georgia and Florida to join the South Carolinabased competitors in this regional event, including two players from Dataw Island: Ray Barrett and Jack Howard.

The USCA has six regions that contest regional championships in the sport of croquet. Regionals serve as prequalification events for national championships that follow and serve as opportunities for local players to observe higher levels of play.

The players assembled on Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of the matches ahead with a short players’ meeting held at the Dataw Island Club where the tournament regulations were discussed.

Following the meeting, many of the participants rekindled their croquet friendships with the other competitors enjoying a meal at the Tide’s Edge Grille at Dataw. This is a common characteristic of the croquet community, and it provided an opportunity to meet our host members.

Championship Singles

The singles competition was split with two blocks of eight in the two flights.

Results of the Championship Flight block

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play qualified Kent Lovvorn, Roy Gee, Hammond Rauers and Geoff Hargadon from the Blue Block into the playoffs.

From the Red Block, Damon Bidencope (Tega Cay), Jochen Lucke, James Podraza and William Stenack progressed into the best-of-three playoffs for Sunday. Lovvorn and Gee represented the Blue block well advancing to the title match where Lovvorn claimed the Southeast Region singles title with a 5-4, 4-7, 5-3 victory.

First Flight Singles

In the First Flight, Dallas Denny, Jonathan Watkins, Thomas McGilly, Lou Hethington advanced from the sevenplayer Black Block. Jack Howard, Ray Barrett, Scott Brown and George Enochs advanced from the full eight-player Yellow Block to set and eight-player best-of-three playoff bracket. The Black Block proved to be stronger as Denny and Watkins advanced to the title game with Denny taking a 7-6, 7-4 win to claim the First Flight Singles title.

Championship Doubles

The Championship Flight Doubles best-of-three matches commenced at both Sun City and Spring Island on Thursday morning. The matches were played on a 60/50/40 allowable time split.

Macey White and Steve Thurston from Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club, Hartfield, Va., overcame the challenge from Hammond Rauers (Highlands, N.C.) and Jack Howard (Dataw Island) on the Sun City lawns and moved into the semifinals against Dick Boger (Peachtree Hills Place, Atlanta) and Dallas Denny (Highlands Strikers Croquet Club). Again, they

prevailed in the semifinal White to face the winners from the other side of the draw.

On that side, Roy Gee and Kent Lovvorn, (Carrolton, Ga.) managed two singlepoint wins against the local Spring Island team of Geoff Hargadon and William Stenack. Billy Harper (The Country Club of Sapphire Valley) and Jim Jamison (Trillium CC) were successful 6-4 and 4-2 against Jochen Lucke (Chattooga Club) and Mark Kucharski (Sapphire Valley).

Unfortunately for Harper and Jamison, the Carrolton duo of Lovvorn and Gee were building a good head of steam and moved into the final with a convincing 7-2, 6-2 straight game result.

The finals were set with a Virginia/ Georgia matchup at Spring Island.

White and Thurston experienced the continuation of the good and steady play of Lovvorn and Gee as they won the final convincingly 6-1 and 7-1.

First Flight Doubles

First Flight Doubles were played at Dataw Island. In the opening game of the first round, Scott and Kathy Brown (Green Boundary Club, Aiken) upset the top seeded team with a 7-1 victory against the experienced team of Debbie Davidoff and Earle Mauldin (Plantation of Pointe Vedra CC/Highlands Strikers). Unfortunately for the Browns, this was a wakeup call with Davidoff/Mauldin succeeding in the next two games to win the best-of-three match. Barbara Jamison (Trillium CC) and Ray Barrett (Dataw Island) prevailed narrowly in three games against Cindy and Thomas Howell (Spring Island) 4-2, 5-6, 4-3. Davidoff and Mauldin narrowly won against Barbara Jamison and Ray

Championship Singles Championship Quarter Finals Kent Lovvorn William Stenack Hammond Rauers Jochen Lucke Damon Bidencope Geoff Hargadon James Podraza Roy Gee

4 5 7 1 5 7 4 6

6 4 7 5 6 5 6 4

6 3

2 7 6 7

5 3 5 2

6 4 4 5

5 4

4 7

5 3

Championship Semifinals Kent Lovvorn Hammond Rauers Damon Bidencope Roy Gee

Championship Final Kent Lovvorn Roy Gee

6 5 3 5

First Flight Singles First Flight Quarter Finals Dallas Denny George Enochs Thomas McGilly Ray Barrett Jack Howard Lou Hethington Scott Brown Jonathan Watkins

Kent Lovvorn and Roy Gee.

Barrett 6-5, 5-6, 6-2 in a hard-fought, three-game match. John Boatwright and Lou Hethington (Charleston, S.C.) managed a good win over locals George Enochs (Spring Island) and James Podraza (Sun City) 5-4, 6-4 before dropping the semifinal match to Cami and Tate Russack (NCC, Fla.) 6-1, 7-4.

The First Flight finals game was closely contested where Davidoff and Mauldin, in their eighth game of the day, won a well-played match 6-4, 4-3 against Tate and Cami Russack to become the Southeast Regional First Flight Doubles Champions.

First Flight Semifinals Dallas Denny Thomas McGilly Jack Howard Jonathan Watkins Jonathan Watkins runner up and Dallas Denny First flight Winner at Spring Island.

First Flight Final Dallas Denny Jonathan Watkins

7 2 7 4 7 3 3 7

7 6 5 3 2 7 1 7

6 7 4 6

6 5 4 5

7 6

7 4

7 3

5 4

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Championship Doubles Quarter Finals

Gee/Lovvorn Stenack/Hargadon Harper/J Jamison Lucke/Kucharski Bye/Bye Boger/Denny White/Thurston Rauers/Howard

6 5 6 4 0 7 7 4

Championship Semifinals Gee/Lovvorn Harper/J Jamison Boger/Denny White/Thurston

Championship Final Kent Lovvorn maintains good balance and follow through in the final while spectators enjoy the close game with Roy Gee.

Gee/Lovvorn White/Thurston

4 3 4 2 0 7 7 2

7 2 6 5

6 2 3 6

6 1

7 1

2 4

First Flight Doubles FF Doubles Quarter Finals Davidoff/Mauldin S Brown/K Brown B Jamison/Barrett T Howell/C Howell Podraza/Enochs Boatwright/Hethington T Russack/C Russack Bye/Bye

FF Doubles Semifinals

Roy Gee, singles finalist and winner in the top doubles team shoots yellow ball at opponent in final.

Event Notes

In total, 173 individual games were contested at the three host venues over the four-day tournament. The event would not have been possible without the support and contributions from each of these host venues and the organizing committees.

The great competitive games and comradeship was made possible by the setting and the host members. Thank you to Doug MacMullin and Jim Podraza at Sun City; Geoff Hargadon, Ryan Good and Jay Gratton at Spring Island; and the Dataw Island team of Janice Sands, Pat Stolte, Miriam Kelley, Ellen Kemp, Jack Howard, Ted Bartlett, Alvin Thurman and many others that made all the participants welcome and the event a great success.

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Davidoff/Mauldin B Jamison/Barrett Boatwright/Hethington T Russack/C Russack

FF Doubles Final

Davidoff/Mauldin T Russack/C Russack

1 7 4 2 4 5 7 0

7 4 5 6 4 6 7 0

6 5 4 3

6 5 1 6

5 6 4 7

6 2

6 4

4 3

2022 USCA CLUB DIRECTORY Croquet News is pleased to present the fourth annual USCA Club Directory with the goal of showcasing the clubs across the association that are key to growing the sport.

Enhanced (bold) listings designate clubs that have participated in at least one of the two USCA Club Teams events and/or supported the Croquet News magazine by advertising since the last Club Directory. Enjoy this guide to croquet clubs across the US and beyond, and hopefully it will provide ideas for new destinations on your next croquet trip. In addition, the USCA offers this directory online with even more details, plus the ability to filter by city, state or country.

UNITED STATES ALABAMA

FLORIDA

BIRMINGHAM Mountain Brook Croquet Club

EUFAULA

ECC Croquet Club (Eufaula Country Club)

LOXLEY

Steelwood Croquet Association

ALASKA GIRDWOOD

ORLANDO

WINTER PARK

ATLANTIC BEACH

The Country Club of Orlando Winter Park Croquet Club

BELLEAIR

OSPREY

GEORGIA

The Oaks Club

ATLANTA

Belleair Country Club Croquet

PALM BEACH

Lenbrook

BOCA GRANDE

Everglades Club, Inc.

BOKEELIA

The Beach Club

Fleet Landing Croquet Club

Gasparilla Inn Mallet Club Useppa Island Croquet Club

BONITA SPRINGS

Creaux Crique Croquet Club

Bonita Bay Club

ARIZONA

DELRAY BEACH

SCOTTSDALE

Arizona Croquet Club Mountain Mallets

Mission Hills Croquet Club

ROHNERT PARK

Sonoma Croquet Club

SAN RAFAEL

SKY VALLEY

St. Andrews Club

FLORIDA

PONTE VEDRA BEACH

ILLINOIS

The Little Club

HILLSBORO BEACH The Hillsboro Club

HOBE SOUND

Jupiter Island Club

JACKSONVILLE

The Florida Yacht Club

San Francisco Croquet Club

KEY LARGO

ST. HELENA

Ocean Reef Club

Meadowood Mallet Club

COLORADO DENVER

Denver Country Club

ENGLEWOOD Denver Croquet Club

CONNECTICUT GREENWICH

Greenwich Croquet Club

HAMDEN

Special Olympics Connecticut

MOODUS

Elizabeth Park Croquet Club

JEKYLL ISLAND

Grand Haven Croquet Club Hammock Dunes Croquet Association

OAKLAND

RANCHO MIRAGE

Carroll County Croquet Players

PALM COAST

GULF STREAM

Pasadena Croquet Club

CAROLLTON

Jekyll Island Croquet Club

Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward Cnty Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club

PASADENA

Croquet Club at PGA National

Peachtree Hills Place Croquet Club

Devonshire at PGA National

CALIFORNIA Oakland Croquet Club

PALM BEACH GARDENS

Interlachen Country Club

LAKE WALES Mountain Lake Croquet Club

MELBOURNE

Indian River Colony Club

Sky Valley Club, Inc.

Northeast Florida Croquet Club LLC Ponte Vedra Croquet Club

CHICAGO

The Plantation of Ponte Vedra

GLENCOE

SEWALL'S POINT

LAKE FOREST

Sailfish Point

STUART

Mariner Sands Country Club

THE VILLAGES

Chicago Croquet Club Village of Glencoe Croquet Club Onwentsia Club

MANHATTAN

Prairie Lights Croquet Club

The Villages Croquet Club

INDIANA

VENICE

LOGANSPORT

VERO BEACH

KANSAS

Sarasota County Croquet Club Ekwanok Country Club John's Island Croquet Club Oak Harbor Club Riomar Country Club The Moorings Club The Windsor Club Vero Beach Country Club

Heartland Croquet Club

LEAWOOD

Kansas City Croquet Club

LOUISIANA BATON ROUGE

VILLAGE OF GOLF

Red Stick Croquet Club

Indian Creek Country Club

WELLINGTON

Cajun Croquet Club

NAPLES

Palm Beach Polo Golf & Country Club

MAINE

WEST PALM BEACH

Woodlawn Croquet Program

MIAMI BEACH

Audubon Croquet Association Club at the Strand Naples Croquet Club of Florida The Club Pelican Bay Wilderness Country Club Wyndemere Country Club

The Country Club of Florida

SHREVEPORT

ELLSWORTH

National Croquet Club Special Olympics PB Cty Croquet Club CLUBS that have advertised or participated in a club teams event

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2022 USCA CLUB DIRECTORY MARYLAND

NEW HAMPSHIRE

ANNAPOLIS

RYE

DURHAM

Stoneridge Croquet Club

SOUTH CAROLINA AIKEN

Strawbery Banke Croquet Club

FEARRINGTON

BALTIMORE Pine Valley

NEW JERSEY

HIGHLANDS

GALESVILLE

KENVIL

Cullasaja Club Highlands Falls Croquet Association

Bishop Gadsden Daniel Island Golf Club, LLC Yeamans Hall Club

West River Wickets

MANTOLOKING

Highlands Strikers Croquet Club

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

Ginger Cove Croquet Club

MOUNT AIRY

Dollyhyde Mallets at Milkhouse Brew

TOWSON

Blakehurst Croquet Club

MASSACHUSETTS

Roxbury Croquet Club Mantoloking Yacht Club

Wildcat Cliffs Country Club, Inc

MONROE TOWNSHIP

LAKE TOXAWAY

Rossmoor Croquet Club

RUMSON

Rumson Country Club

SEA GIRT

ACTON

Green Gables Croquet Club

BEDFORD

NEW YORK

Naples Croquet Club Carleton-Willard Village

BREWSTER

Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club

EDGARTOWN

Edgartown Croquet Club

LENOX Lenox Croquet Club

MARION

Marion Mallet Club Inc.

NANTUCKET

The Westmoor Club

SANDWICH Sandwich Croquet Club

Fearrington Swim & Croquet Club

BRIDGEHAMPTON

The Bridgehampton Club

BUFFALO

Buffalo Croquet Club

CAMILLUS

West Hill Golf & Croquet Club

CUTCHOGUE

North Fork Country Club

HILTON

Lake Toxaway Mallet Club

LINVILLE

Grandfather Golf & Country Club Linville Croquet Club

NORTH CAROLINA

Carolina Meadows Croquet Club Linville Ridge Croquet Club The Country Club of Sapphire Valley

PINEHURST

Pinehurst Croquet Club

WINSTON SALEM Arbor Acres Croquet

OHIO BLACKLICK

New Albany Country Club

Rochester Croquet Club @ G&T SportsPark

CINCINNATI

LOCUST VALLEY

OKLAHOMA

Piping Rock Club The Creek Club

NEW YORK

Cincinnati Country Club

NICHOLS HILLS

ScissorTail Croquet Club

Green Boundary Croquet Club

CHARLESTON

Wexford Croquet Club

OKATIE

Spring Island Croquet Club

SAINT HELENA ISLAND

Croquet Club of Dataw Island

SUN CITY

Sun City Croquet Club

TEGA CAY

Tega Cay Croquet Club

TENNESSEE CHATTANOOGA

Lookout Battleground Croquet Club

MEMPHIS

University Club of Memphis

NASHVILLE

Cottonwood Bocce & Croquet Club

TEXAS DALLAS

Dallas Croquet Association

HOUSTON

Bayou Club of Houston Houston Croquet Association

AIM for Saratoga Croquet Club New York Croquet Club

TULSA

Tulsa Croquet Club

River Oaks Country Club

QUOGUE

OREGON

VERMONT

ASHLAND

DORSET

TUXEDO PARK

Classic Croquet Club

Dorset Field Club

PORTLAND

WOODSTOCK

MINNESOTA

WESTHAMPTON

Portland Croquet Club

Croquet Club of Vermont

BRAINERD

Westhampton Mallet Club

PENNSYLVANIA

VIRGINIA

CLARKS GREEN

HARTFIELD

MICHIGAN COMSTOCK PARK

Heatherwood Hills Croquet Club

HARBOR SPRINGS

Wequetonsing Croquet Club

Madden Brother's, Inc.

MISSISSIPPI

Quogue Field Club Pine Court

NORTH CAROLINA

Manataka Mallet Club (9W)

Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club

ASHVILLE

GREENSBURG

Deerfield Croquet Club

Westmoreland Croquet Club

HIGHLAND SPRINGS

BALD HEAD ISLAND

HAVERFORD

The Springs Croquet Club

Bald Head Island Croquet Club

Merion Cricket Club

BELVIDERE

PHILADELPHIA

Albemarle Croquet Club@ Doodle Hill

The Croquet Club at Philadelphia Cricket

MISSOURI

BLACK MOUNTAIN

RHODE ISLAND

PARKVILLE

BLOWING ROCK

DIAMONDHEAD

The Club at Diamondhead

JACKSON

Highlands Mallet Club Pocahontas Mallet Club The Country Club of Jackson

Kactus Creek Croquet Club

ST. LOUIS

Decker Lawn Croquet

WARRENSBURG

University Central Missouri

Black Mountain Croquet Club Blowing Rock Country Club

CASHIERS

Cedar Creek Club High Hampton Mountaintop Golf & Lake Club The Chattooga Club Trillium Links and Lake Club

CLUBS that have advertised or participated in a club teams event

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NEWPORT

Newport Croquet Club

WESTERLY

Ocean House Mallet Club

TIMBERVILLE

North Mountain Croquet & Tennis Club

WASHINGTON SEATTLE

Woodland Park Lawn Bowling Club

WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE

Milwaukee Croquet Club

SCHOOLS

ROCKPORT

CALIFORNIA

Frenchboro School Swan's Island School

RANCHO MIRAGE Palm Valley School

FLORIDA DELAND

Stetson University

LAKE WALES

Edward W. Bok Academy

WEST PALM BEACH

Palm Beach Atlantic University

MAINE ISLE AU HAUT

Isle Au Haut School House

ISLESBORO

Islesboro School

ISLESFORD Islesford

MATINICUS

Matinicus Elementary School

MONHEGAN

Monhegan Island School

NORTH HAVEN

North Haven Community School

The Riley School

SWANS ISLAND VINALHAVEN

Vinalhaven School

MARYLAND ANNAPOLIS

NEW JERSEY SOMERSET

Rutgers Preparatory School

WEST LONG BRANCH Monmouth University

NEW YORK NEW PALTZ

State University of NY at New Paltz

INTERNATIONAL BERMUDA SOMERSET BRIDGE

Croquet Club of Bermuda

CANADA RIQAUD, QUEBEC

Mount Royal Country Club, Inc.

St. Johns College United States Naval Academy

NORTH DAKOTA

SPARKS GLENCOE

FARGO

Sparks Elementary School

Fargo South High School

STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO

MASSACHUSETTS

OKLAHOMA

CAMBRIDGE

TORONTO, ONTARIO

BARTLESVILLE

Harvard College

WALTHAM

Bentley University Club Team

MISSISSIPPI GAUTIER

Mississippi State Croquet Club at Mississippi State University

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

PENNSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY PARK Penn State University

ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO

Royal St. Catharines Croquet Club Northern Lights Croquet Club Kew Beach Croquet Club

WESTMOUNT, QUEBEC Westmount Croquet Club

MEXICO ENSENADA

UTAH

Croquet Mexico

LEHI

US VIRGIN ISLANDS

Lehi High School

VERMONT MARLBORO

Marlboro College

CHRISTIANSTED Bombay Mallet & Wicket Croquet Club Tennis Club of St. Croix

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USCA Western Regional Golf Croquet Tournament Mission Hills Country Club | Rancho Mirage, California February 28-March 3, 2022

Kamal WINS THE WEST WRIT TEN BY PAUL BENNE T T

T

The USCA Western GC Regionals began Monday, February 28, 2022, with seven players competing out of the original 28 entries and closed out on the afternoon of March 3, 2022. The event was held at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

In Championship Singles, the process and draw were knotted up with Brian Lozano having to play both Paul Bennett in the draw and Mohammad Kamal in the process, followed by the Singles final match. The format of all three matches was a best-of-three set of 13-point games.

In the draw match, Lozano took the early lead with a 7-3 victory.

Bennett fought back in the second game to level the match with a 7-4 win. In the last game, Bennett took the match with a 7-3 victory.

In the process match, Kamal and Lozano went through the fishhook twice with Kamal taking the match in two straight games 7-6, 7-6.

In the Singles Final match, Kamal quickly dispatched Bennett with strong takeaways, great hoop running and solid tactics, 7-1 and 7-4.

First Flight Singles In First Flight, Giancarlo Ruiz, Vicki Till, Ken Slaughter and Gail Kern advanced to the “semifinal” of the draw ladder. Till defeated Ruiz 10-4, while Slaughter took a 10-9 nail-biter over Kern. Till then cruised past Slaughter 10-2. Ruiz won on the process side of the event to get to the final for a rematch with Till, this time taking a 10-9 victory to claim the First Flight Singles title. Overall, Ruiz went 8-4 in the event, while Till managed a 7-2 record.

Championship Flight Doubles I know that no one collects or loses D-GRADE points by playing doubles, yet I often wonder why ... perhaps the math is too difficult, perhaps if we had the answer, we could figure out the graviton. And yet, doubles is one of the most fun and pleasing aspects of croquet.

Where better to occupy your afternoon or morning?

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Championship Singles runner-up Paul Bennett on the left with winner Mohammad Kamal on the right.

For this event, players were given the opportunity to play both singles and doubles as well as pick their own partners. At first, few entrants picked their doubles teams, but when it was time to make the draw, about half did. The rest were assigned partners in a way to make the sum of the D-GRADES about equal.

We started in the morning on February 28 with doubles, mixed in some singles in the afternoon and on Tuesday morning. Then, most of the doubles play finished up on Tuesday afternoon. We picked up the last bit of doubles on Thursday, fitting the games into the schedule when players were available was easy.

In Championship Doubles, Brian Lozano and Stephen Jackson won both the draw and process, thus winning the Championship Doubles. However, second place was not yet determined because Phyllis and Jim Butts were runner-up in the draw, and Paul Bennett and Tracey Roche were runner up in the process.

After Bennett’s match with Lozano, the playoff for silver was done and the Butts defeated Bennett and Roche 7-5.

First Flight Doubles First Flight Doubles featured six teams and saw John Shanholt and Gail Kern win the Draw ladder while Rick Zazueta and Giancarlo Ruiz won the Process ladder.

The final playoff between the process and draw could have been played right before lunch after the completion of the First Flight singles playoff (with Ruiz the victor), but instead, Kern and Shanholt preferred to take notes on the play in the Championship Singles matches, enjoy lunch and head back early to Phoenix.

Ruiz and Zazueta won the title by default

First Flight Singles: Neil Burton (club president), Giancarlo Ruiz (First), Paul Bennett (TD), Vicki Till (Second)

Notes I thank both Lozano and Kamal for raising the level of play throughout the tournament as well as assisting me both in directing the tournament and in refereeing the event.

Kamal (tournament referee) would also like to thank certified referees Tate Russack, Stephen Jackson and John Shanholt for their service and willingness to help referee the event. And to all other players, please consider learning the rules and stepping up to become a certified referee.

Championship Singles

First Flight Singles

Championship Doubles

01. Mohammad Kamal 02. Paul Bennett 03. Brian Lozano 04. John Shanholt 04. Jim Butts 06. James Creasey 06. Tate Russack 06. Neil Burton 09. Cameron Evans 09. Cami Russack 09. Rick Zazueta 09. Stephen Jackson 13. Donna Dixon

01. Giancarlo Ruiz 02. Vicki Till 03. Ken Slaughter 03. Spencer Hood 05. Gail Kern 05. Bill Sullivan 05. Betty Teoman 08. Gerry West 08. Tracey Roche 10. Kory Teoman 10. Pat Dugan 10. Linda Merk 13. Gary Steiner 13. James Doyle

01. Brian Lozano/Stephen Jackson 02. Jim Butts/Phyllis Butts 03. Tracey Roche/Paul Bennett 04. Donna Dixon/Bill Sullivan 04. Ned Sperry/Tate Russack 06. Neil Burton/Ken Slaughter 06. James Creasey/Kory Teoman First Flight Doubles 01. Giancarlo Ruiz/Rick Zazueta 02. John Shanholt/Gail Kern 03. Cami Russack/Linda Merk 04. Pat Dugan/Gary Steiner 05. Spencer Hood/Gary West 05. Betty Teoman/James Doyle www.croquetamerica.com | 31

memberprofile

Helen Covington Age: 67 Home base: Jacksonville, Fla. Home club: The Florida Yacht Club Grip: Solomon

Croquet highlights: • Won First Flight Singles at 2019 Western Regional Golf Croquet at Sonoma-Cutrer Winery, came in second in Doubles • Placed Second in both First Flight Doubles and Singles at Golf Croquet Nationals in 2019

Mallet: PFC, 10-inch, 3.14 pounds, 36-inch shaft

• Champion NFLCC Spring 2020 Ponte Vedra Invitational Golf Croquet

Years playing croquet: Seven

• Runner-up NEFLCC Spring Golf Croquet Open 2021

Favorite croquet venue: I will have to say the Sonoma-Cutrer Winery because it was my very first tournament and I won my division. But you can’t beat the river view from my home course, the Florida Yacht Club (FYC).

Favorite tournament: The Woman’s Golf Croquet Open in October 2021 because I had the best roommates (shout out to Cami Russack, Courtenay Rodonets and Sandy Knuth), met many more wonderful people and played some of my best croquet in a tournament.

How did you get into the game? We built two full-size courts on the river where I had played tennis for years at the Florida Yacht Club. Hall of Fame member, John Curington, came to our club and gave free lessons every Saturday for at least month.

I was playing one Saturday and right as Curington came out with a new group, I hit from inside #1 through #2 and everyone cheered. I was hooked!

We started a league in the area and play one social and one competitive match a month. At the end of the year, we have a playoff for the league trophy. The group consists of the FYC, the Plantation at Ponte Vedra, Ponte Vedra Croquet Club, Jekyll Island, Grand Haven and Hammock Dunes. This is a great way to play competitive croquet on a regular basis and make new croquet friends. Last year, my partner and I won on a crazy, accidental trick shot I made to seal the match in the finals. It was one of those hampered by the wicket, jump shot out, ricochet off partner’s ball 50+ feet away and through the hoop shots.

Do you play other sports? I was an avid tennis player until my knees started getting bad. I played on working women’s and USTA teams for 30 years. I tried pickleball, fell on the court and realized why I prefer croquet!

Favorite sports teams: Florida State University, University of Florida Gators (except when playing each other) and avid tennis fan.

Pop culture favorites: I love “Star Trek,” “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” (filmed where I lived in Tunisia when I was in the Peace Corps), the Harry Potter books, Jane Austen, anything historical, classic rock and classical music.

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• Champion NFLCC Fall Cup Golf Croquet 2021 • Winner Championship Singles at the Women’s Golf Croquet Open 2021 • 2021 Female Golf Croquet Grand Prix Winner of the Year • Runner-Up Florida Regionals Golf Championship Doubles 2022 What is the best thing the USCA has done for croquet? Having a centralized governing body that sets rules and best practices as well as works to bring in members and build the sport is its greatest accomplishment. Publishing tournaments and articles for all the member clubs is also a great asset because it lets members know where they can find croquet courts all over the country.

What is the USCA’s greatest weakness? Tournaments are long and costly. It would be great to develop smaller sanctioned tournaments that are only two days, so players have fewer hotel and expense nights. Also, lower-cost tournaments; look into having off-season tournaments in places that have high-season prices and limited availability.

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

I would love to see more women in the top levels of play. It is difficult to get women to play in tournaments because the men have dominated the top spots. It would be nice to have development plans that include all ages to train for competitions.

I would also love to see more public courts, allowing more people to be able to play the game. In many places, you can only play in private communities and clubs. The Sarasota County Croquet Club is a wonderful example of public/member partnership.

What have you learned from croquet? You can always improve your game and are never too old to start playing croquet. I call it my silver sport!

Quick croquet tip: Just like in many other ball sports, you have to keep your eye on the point of contact. In other words, watch your mallet hit the ball and keep your head down! But most of all, just get outside and have fun!

www.croquetamerica.com | 33

let’stalktactics

Keep Your Guard Up

By Jeff Soo Note: For ball colors, I use the abbreviations popularized by Keith Wylie’s Expert Croquet Tactics. The four balls are U, R, K and Y; the two sides are UK and RY. In last issue’s article, I mentioned a defensive move known as guarding the shot. Let’s look at this in more detail.

In Figure 1 it is U to play. R had failed 2, giving K a chance for a 4-ball break. But K ran into trouble after 2, left R behind and then over-rolled position at 3. K finished by taking position, three-ball dead. Y, also for 3, shot from near 4 and missed to the boundary. U has no deadness and is for 4.

What shot would you take? Think through some options and make a choice before reading on.

As we did last time, let’s start with the big picture: does UK have a problem or an opportunity? That is, are we on defense or offense? Opportunity-wise, not much is there for U: while U could easily roquet K, there isn’t an easy way to score. K is in position to run the wicket and clear deadness, if nothing else, and that looks like UK’s best opportunity. Herein the problem: R plays after U and has a fair chance to roquet K and keep it threeball dead. For UK, problem and opportunity are in sync, and U’s job is to protect K. One way U could protect K is to move R farther away from it, either by hitting R directly or after hitting K and taking off to it.

These aren’t attractive options as there is a fair chance of missing the shot at R and more than a fair chance of ruining K’s position by hitting it and taking off (not to mention the ensuing deadness on U). Another play is to tap K gently and then try to peel it, trading K’s three-ball deadness for U’s partner deadness. Or, ideally, jaws K and then play down to 4. It is fine if it works, but with K three feet from the wicket and U eight feet from K, this is not an easy play and could easily go disastrously wrong.

One surefire way to prevent R from hitting K is to convince R not to take the shot in the first place. As it stands, R has a free shot at K. That is, if R shoots and misses to the east boundary, R will not be useful to UK and RY will have paid no price for taking the shot. Guarding the shot—playing to the boundary to “catch” R— changes that equation.

Extend an imaginary line from R through K. U should shoot out a foot or two north of where this line meets the east boundary.

If R misses K, K runs the wicket and then plays down to 4. This leaves next to nothing for Y, and a three-ball break for U. R no longer has a free shot and will probably choose a different play, especially since R has a couple of other attractive options. (What are they? My answers come at the end of the article.)

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Figure 1, U to play after K broke down and Y missed

Guarding is an excellent play in the right circumstances. The guarding ball must credibly threaten to make a three-ball break if the shot is missed. Obviously, that ball must be alive on the ball that is about to shoot and, in most cases, must also be alive on its partner. The threat is reduced if the guarding ball only has one or two wickets left to score and guarding with a rover ball is no threat at all.

The position of the spent ball (i.e., the other opponent ball) matters as does the ease of starting a three-ball break from the guard position. Figure 2 shows the scenario from last issue’s article: It is U to play; U is for 2 and is clear on all balls. Each of the other three balls is dead on its partner. R and K are for 3 and Y is for 2.

In that article I argued that U should go on offense and try to roquet, but a defensive-minded player might make a different choice. Is guarding R’s shot at K a good option?

In some ways this position is like Figure 1: K has deadness and is positioned at 3; R is partner dead and threatening to shoot K. But some important differences exist, especially R’s clip, U’s clip and Y’s position. Let’s say U guards and R misses, leaving U and R together on the east boundary. Now what? Y prevents K from playing to U’s wicket, unless K can get to a wired position and that is a low-percentage shot.

Even if K does wire from Y, U, at best, will have an awkward start to its 3-ball-break. Also, K’s wicket shot is not easy.

And R, with its clip on 3, has a lot to gain by hitting. R may decide to shoot anyway and will have some excellent options if it hits. In short, Figure 2 is much less suitable for guarding than Figure 1.

(That said, advanced players do have an alternative play to make guarding pay off here. If U guards and R misses, K could run the wicket and then play toward U and R, stopping about two yards from the boundary. Now U has a short stop-shot and a long rush to begin a break.)

Back to my earlier question, if U guards the shot in Figure 1, what are R’s other options?

For most players, the obvious choice is best: take position at 2.

R is close enough to get good position easily and 2 is behind both opponent clips, making it expensive for UK to come and remove R from position. As a bonus, if K fails its shot at 3, Y can play to the back side of 2 to set R for a 3-ball-break.

Championship players should consider joining Y. If R takes position at 2, K will run 3 and join U. From here, U has a chance to line-rush to 4 and make a two-ball break through 4 and 5; after 5, U can rush K either to 6 or to R to convert this to a three-ball break. Not an easy play, but a strong player will often pull it off. If instead, R joins Y, Y threatens an immediate 4-ball-break pickup if K then joins U. Also, in the relatively unlikely event that K fails 3, Y’s 4-ball pickup will be trivial.

Figure 2, not a suitable position for guarding the shot

www.croquetamerica.com | 35

gcamerica

The WCF Rules of Golf Croquet

A quick guide to the most important changes in the 6th Edition rules

By Cheryl Bromley The WCF has approved a new edition of the Golf Croquet rules, and the new rules took effect in the USCA on April 1, 2022.

Most of the changes are stylistic in nature, but a few changes all players need to know.

Two-game match This match format, with the possibility of a tie, is now recognized. Tournament organizers choosing this format may also have the side that lost the coin toss choose whether to play first or second in the second game.

Start of game The side winning the coin toss is now allowed to choose whether to play first (with blue) or second.

Borderline position in a hoop If a ball is determined to be on the borderline between having run a hoop or not, the ball has run the hoop. (Likewise, for a ball playing back through a hoop to scoring position: if the ball ends in a borderline position, it can score the hoop on the next turn.)

That is, in a borderline case, the decision favors the ball’s owner.

Hoop contested or run out of order

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If both sides have contested a hoop out of order (i.e., played at least one stroke to that hoop in the belief it is the correct hoop), the side noticing the error must forestall and announce the error before playing its next stroke. The balls are played from where they are, even if hoops have been run out of order (as always, the wrong hoops don’t count). However, if both sides contest a wrong hoop and the error is discovered by a referee, the referee intervenes and applies the penalty area continuation (even if the error is discovered before a wrong hoop is run).

Wrong ball Some of the special situations have been removed or simplified and, as a whole the, rule is simpler. The first four turns of the game are no longer given special treatment, except for exchange of colors (all balls played into the game in sequence, but with the sides switched).

If the same side plays twice in a row this is no longer penalized; the second stroke is annulled (balls replaced and stroke treated as though it did not happen). Essentially this is the same as Replace and Replay.

Advantage Play CLOTHES THAT WORK WHILE YOU PLAY!

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36 | www.croquetamerica.com

This is a new version of handicap play in which the side with the higher handicap or lower ranking is given an advantageous starting score. The game is otherwise played normally, without extra turns.

Approved by the USCA Golf Croquet Committee USCA Website: www.croquetamerica.com Email: membership@uscroquet.com Phone: 561-478-0760

Six Common Wrong Ball Errors and Remedies Rule 10.2.2 If a wrong ball has been played in the last stroke, play is to continue by applying the first of rules 10.3 – 10.5 that apply.

Rule 10.3 Playing when not entitled Previous Shot

Rule 10.5 Wrong Ball Played by Striker’s Side Previous Shot

Last Shot

Play is stopped.

Last Shot

Play is stopped.

Issue: Black is not entitled to play, i.e., it was the other team’s turn to play.

Rule: 10.3 Remedy: Black’s shot is annulled, i.e., treated as though it didn’t occur. It is replaced and it is Red to play. (Black’s shot doesn’t count even if a fault was committed).

Rule 10.4 Previous Stroke Played with Opponent Ball

Issue: The striker’s side played the partner ball. (Red should be the striker).

Rule: 10.5.2 Remedy: Replace & Replay or Ball Swap. Red to play if Replace & Replay or Black to play if Ball Swap. Ball Swap counts as the turn for that side.* Points scored count if Ball Swap is chosen. *Rule 10.7.3 If a fault was committed in the Last Stroke, the wrong ball is ignored, and play continues with the non-offending side playing the next ball in sequence after the ball that should have played.

Rule 10.5 Wrong Ball Played by Striker’s Side

Previous Shot

Previous Shot

Last Shot

Play is stopped.

Issue: The previous stroke was played with the opponent’s ball and the last stroke was played by the other side. In this example, Blue played the opponent’s Yellow ball followed by Red playing the Red ball.

Rule: 10.4 Remedy: Penalty Area Continuation. A fault in the last stroke is ignored.

Rule 10.5 Wrong Ball Played by Striker’s Side Previous Shot

Play is stopped.

Issue: The striker played the opponent’s ball.

Rule: 10.5.3 Remedy: Replace & Replay the proper ball. Red to play.

Rule 10.5 Wrong Ball Played by Striker’s Side

Last Shot

Play is stopped.

Issue: Striker played the partner’s ball.

Rule: 10.5.2 Remedy: Replace & Replay or Ball Swap. It is Red to play if replace and relay or Black to play if ball swap. Ball swap counts as the turn for that side.* Points that were scored count if ball swap is chosen. *Rule 10.7.3 If a fault was committed in the Last Stroke, the wrong ball is ignored, and play continues with the non-offending side playing the next ball in sequence after the ball that should have played.

–Cheryl Bromley

Last Shot

Previous Shot

Last Shot

Play is stopped.

Issue: The striker’s partner played the Striker ball.

Rule: 10.5.4 Remedy: Replace & Replay. Red to play.

www.croquetamerica.com | 37

9wroundup

A Grassroots Story

By Gary L. Anderson Gary Anderson recently published an article in the “Weekly Croquet Break” newsletter highlighting potential ways to connect with people through croquet. Long-grass croquet is sometimes kept to select members inside a private fiefdom (someone’s backyard or barn).

Other times, it is spread out in the open for all to see and enjoy. I was pleased to read about the charity event for a botanical garden and how it was used to connect people with croquet, the equipment suppliers, the USCA and the pristine greenswards many of us enjoy.

—Paul Bennett, Long-grass and 9-wicket Chair Once a game and now a sport, croquet can certainly stir the multiple facets of passion in many ways, at many levels and in all ages. My involvement with the Puget Sound Croquet Club (PSCC) near Seattle, Wash., between 2008 and 2018, and being a Northwest USCA District volunteer/contact person has helped me do something I love more than playing the game itself: spread the excitement of croquet.

The Magical Golden Croquet Ball is presented to Gary Anderson for service to the Queen of Hearts. The King subsequently knighted Sir Gary: the Queen’s Croquet Captain.

The photo is from the 2nd annual “Mallets in Wonderland,” a past charity event for a botanical garden in Seattle. I led a group of PSCC volunteers as we were asked to set up croquet. We strung up three half-size Class C 6-wicket golf croquet courts and supplied 14 oz balls (Oakley), 7/16” hoops (Croquet Sport/ Oakley) and 36” Jacques’ mallets from my home collection.

We gave lessons and then held a packed doubles tournament.

The event was a huge croquet success as I gave equipment manufacturer contact information to many contestants those

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years. A common statement: “I’ve never SEEN croquet equipment like this!” It was a joy to watch players making their first jump shots. From the photo, you’ll notice the red top, white pant uniform our club members wore. A regal uniform I created for us as we held our mallets high in an arc welcoming the King and Queen of Hearts to the event and spectators every year the event was held.

For me, I love playing on a beautiful green lawn, flat or otherwise, with good friends/family. (I’ve come to also appreciate a great playing “surface” indifferent to imperfections.) It’s a privilege and honor to play on a wonderful court. Out of respect to the master(s) who have worked so hard to have made the lawn so, I wear my whites and on Sundays, I wear my dress whites: the pressed and orderly. This is a carryover from US Navy Submarine duty. Though I have been playing since 2008 on what I like to call “the flat grass” playing Golf, Association and USCA 6-Wicket, it’s the “long-grass,” although we do play on some pretty short home lawns, where the spirit runs deep, in time, in wine, in laughter after a crazy shot and with the many friends who play.Twentynine years ago, I started a croquet tournament in my yard called “Sticky Wicket” in Kitsap County, Wash., about two hours west of Seattle. Twenty-eight years ago I started a Doubles “Wine & Wickets” tournament. Sticky Wicket was a singles 9-wicket timed (45-minute matches) double-elimination event held on the third Saturday of August that included a barbecue. It started many years before I really knew of or set foot onto a “flat-grass” court.

A few years after Sticky Wicket started and through a phone call to Jack Osborn, I discovered Croquet International, Jacques, Croquet Sport, George Wood and Oakley Woods.

Within a couple of years, the equipment quickly became the adult version with 7/16” hoops, 14 oz balls, full 36” mallets and deadness boards that I crafted in my woodshop. People didn’t know this level of croquet equipment existed! They saw it as fast as Osborn could import it. At Sticky Wicket’s peak, and for many years, I needed to turn folks away as the 36 contestant ladder, almost all players wearing white, filled the three posted courts: “The Fabulous South Court,” “Queens Court” and “Upper Greensward.”

Though the courts were hills, corners and odd shapes, my California trimmer kept the grass to a level of a deep lush fairway with some hoops requiring an uphill or downhill arc to pass through. The boundary string, corner flags, colored deadness boards, handsome pegs and equipment turned a yard into a tournament. OH...and there were rules to be followed! A 9-Wicket adaptation and old-school “Poison Rules” made luck a part of your victory. The rules were published with revisions

made through the years. Current Edition? 2001. The yard and expansive deck would see 60-75 people that day. To level the contestant field, I created a unique handicap system of bisques based on how well you ended in your last three tournaments.

If you did too well, you were awarded “The Black Bisque” and you had to give up a turn... or two! Taking a page from “Harry Potter,” Dark Queen and Lord was your given Black Bisque namesake that day. Those who carried a Black Bisque, or three, were asked to step forward at the tournament’s start so the firsttime players knew who to watch out for. As you might guess, that didn’t always help. I still maintain a handicap for 168 different players who have engaged the Sticky Wicket. A couple of the PSCC players eventually came. All to find out that hitting a ball across the hill to roquet takes a bit of untested skill back at the club. With a Croquet Mallet Drill Team, I still have my team shirt, Wicked Wickets (a croquet ball arcade with ramps and jumps where the last hoop moved across the grass, and you had to shoot a ball through it while it was moving), great friends, good wine and good food; it was a summer’s day like no other... and it came every year on the same day. With some 20 players now bringing their own mallets and arriving in all white, to a backyard tournament, this was no longer an ordinary game! Due to COVID-19, and a move to a different home, the third-Saturday-

of-August tournament ended with 27 consecutive years (a year longer than the Seattle Open) of handing down an impressive 16” tall chrome traveling Sticky Wicket Cup for a year, embroidered shirts for the top three finishers and fame as your 11 x 8.5” Champion photo became the battle cry for next year’s victory.

The lure of wine and croquet, dare I say, a partnership many of the readers here enjoy, started the doubles Wine & Wickets again in 2021 at the new house with but a single treacherous court. We now play Golf Croquet instead of 9-Wicket, but the players who came to play insisted Sticky Wicket be brought back.

And so it shall come this third Saturday of August — a treacherous plot of grass suitable for Dark Lords and Queens — a grassroots calling to the undeniable passion of croquet.

Over the years, I have sent premium adult croquet sets along with string, string pegs (landscape mats pegs to hold the string down over hill and dale), rubber mallet, and, of course, the rules of Sticky Wicket to family in New York, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin and Georgia, all of whom I introduced as I pack my traveling croquet set everywhere I go. Well, I don’t have to pack it there anymore, do I? Some have started their own yard tournaments, played on hill and dale, engaging even more, having a wonderful summer, and playing the game we here all love passionately: Croquet. www.croquetamerica.com | 39

eventresults 2022 Grand Haven Croquet Club Championship April 9-10, 2022 Grand Haven Croquet Club Palm Coast, Florida Championship 01. Bill Todd 02. Gary Gamble 03. Nancy Crouch 03. Joe Zilligen 05. Marsha Cargill 06. David Paukovich

2022 Sarasota County Croquet Club AC Open April 7-10, 2022 Sarasota County Croquet Club Venice, Florida Championship Flight 01. Brian Cumming 02. Chris Barley 03. Webster Bull 04. David Druiett 05. Michael Todorovich 05. Lynda Sudderberg First Flight 01. Randy Reid 02. Dennis Leddy 03. Rick Alderson 03. David Cornes 05. Roger Vorraber 05. Christine Smith Second Flight 01. Arlene Parker 02. Dean Ricci 03. Sandra Cornes 03. Christof Weihs 05. Shirley Ricci 05. Anne Kukla

2022 NCC Club Doubles GC April 1-3, 2022 National Croquet Center West Palm Beach, Florida Championship Flight 01. Bob Van Tassell/David McCoy 02. Vernon Pierce/John Warlick 03. Dick Scherf/Brian Mitchell 04. Sandy Knuth/Hal Denton 05. Priscilla Flowers/Alex Galasso 06. Leo McBride/Clint Fowlkes 07. Cami Russack/Tate Russack First Flight 01. Pam Groh/Geri O'Neill 02. Steve Mednick/Nigel Billingham 03. Caryl Firth/Mary Galasso 04. Preston Stuart/Carol Stuart 05. Linda Merk/Lou Tyrrell 06. Vicky Naranjo/Tom Lindley

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Second Flight

Third Flight

First Flight Singles

01. Louis Clay/Suzanne Turner 02. Mary Churchill/Lin Irey 03. Jeff Morrison/Ann Evans 04. Lynn Epstein/Stuart Epstein 05. Bob Harbaugh/Joe Fleming 06. Sheila Peterson/Marie Rittman

01. Roger (J.R.) Rowell 02. Debbie Martin 02. Sally Mills 02. Christopher Darton 05. Shirley Ricci 05. Alexander Feinstein 07. Lynn Pendleton 08. Peter Shone

01. Ron Eccles 02. Curtis Toops 03. John Watson 03. George Peterkin III 05. Cameron Evans 06. Sally McGrath 07. Nick Gray 08. Penny Pressler

Third Flight 01. Betty Fleming/Joyce Harbaugh 02. Phil Robinson/ Ralph Worthington 03. Gay Cinque/June Rochedieu 04. Pam Wilson/Brill Key 05. Courtenay Rodonets/ Whitney Miller 06. Ginny Cole/Jane Casey

2022 SCCC GC Open Shootout February 25-27, 2022 Sarasota County Croquet Club Venice, Florida Championship A Flight 01. Hammond Rauers 02. Matt Griffith 03. David Cornes 04. Russ Cuccia 05. J. Billie Ray 05. Ellie Griffith 05. Rich Dell 08. Roger Vorraber 08. Doug Ledgett Championship B Flight 01. Nancy Hart 02. Chris Weihs 03. Bob Merritt 03. Dean Ricci 05. Jim Watrous 05. Russell (Rusty) Rose 07. Mark Klein 08. Gillian Merritt First Flight 01. Sandra Cornes 02. Rick Alderson 03. Daniel Long 04. Lee Anderson 04. Sandy Janitz 04. Stiles Kellett 04. Christine Smith 08. Anne Kukla Second Flight 01. John Rymer 02. Rita McNamara 03. Sue Williams 03. George (Penn) Pendleton 05. Jon Ayers 06. Katie Bull 07. Nona McGinnis 07. Arlene Stevens

2022 National Croquet Club Singles 6W February 25-27, 2022 National Croquet Center West Palm Beach, Florida Championship Singles 01. David Ekstrom 02. Sherif Abdelwahab 03. Bob Van Tassel 03. Dick Sullivan 05. Randy Cardo 05. Leo McBride 05. Tom Hughes 05. Michael Todorovich 09. Norris Settlemyre 09. David McCoy 11. Bill Trower 12. John Warlick First Flight Singles 01. Lucas Van Alen 02. Missy Ramey 03. Stuart Price 03. Randy Reid 05. Casey Knoll 06. Jeff Morrison 07. Stephen Grassbaugh 08. Clint Fowlkes Second Flight Singles 01. Larry Lynch 02. David Kepner 03. Rosemarie Maccario 03. Linda Grady 05. Yvette Donato 06. Jan Fisher 07. Sonia Alexandra 08. Penny Ferraro 08. Sheila McCauley 08. Anne Carr 08. Jane Helms 12. Jeff Scholtz

2022 Mission Hills Invitational February 22-26, 2022 Mission Hills Country Club Rancho Mirage, California Championship Singles 01. Paul Bennett 02. John Brown 03. Peter Bach 03. Patrick Sweeney 05. Robert Pulitzer 06. Rick Sheely 07. Jim Butts 08. Mary Rodeberg

Second Flight Singles 01. Cecil Creasey 02. John Craddock 03. Kit Detering 03. John McGrath 05. Mary Craddock 06. Pat Dugan 07. Charlotte Pulitzer Third Flight Singles 01. Carl Detering 02. Bill Sullivan 03. Tish Wilde 03. Georgia Carter 05. Susan Creasey 06. Nora Watson Championship Doubles 01. Rich Lamm/Rick Sheely 02. John Brown/Robert Pulitzer 03. Patrick Sweeney/Jim Butts 03. Peter Bach/John Watson 04. Paul Bennett/Bill Sullivan 05. Mary Rodeberg/Ron Eccles 06. John Craddock/ George Peterkin III First Flight Doubles 01. Charlotte Pulitzer/Penny Pressler 02. Patrick Dugan/Curtis Toops 03. Cecil Creasey/Susan Creasey 03. Mary Craddock/Georgia Carter 04. John McGrath/Sally McGrath 05. Tish Wilde/Kit Detering 06. Nora Watson/Carl Detering

2022 Steuber Classic February 16-20, 2022 National Croquet Center West Palm Beach, Florida American 6W Results Championship Singles 01. Randy Cardo 02. Jodie Rugart 03. Doug Grimsley 04. Conner Helms 05. Paul Neubecker 05. David Ekstrom 05. Rich Curtis 05. Conrad Rugart 09. Arthur Olsen 09. Mary Rodeberg 09. Bill Hartman 12. David McCoy 12. Calvert Chaney DNF Michael Gibbons

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First Flight Singles 2 | croquetamerica.com 01. Jeff Morrison 02. Nancy Crouch 03. Sally McGrath 04. Anne Frost Robinson 05. Bo Prillaman 05. Courtney Green 05. Ron Eccles 05. Randy Reid 09. Stuart Price 10. Linda Trifone 10. David Kepner 10. Christine Smith 10. Yvette Donato Selby 10. Clint Fowlkes 15. Carl Archiniaco 16. John Grabow 16. Jane Helms DNF Jennifer Loving DNF Thomas Tribby Second Flight Singles 01. Larry Lynch 02. Kathleen Green 03. Steven Mednick 04. Steven Zoric 05. Sheila McCauley 05. Jane Casey 05. Bob Duryea 05. Kat Robertson 09. Anne Carr 10. John McGrath 10. Jeffery Cohen 12. Claudia Parks 12. David Beccia

16. Barbara Wolf DNF Eileen Cornacchia DNF Freear Pollard DNF Lovejoy Duryea DNF Connie Walsh Championship Waterford Doubles 01. Paul Neubecker 02. Clint Fowlkes 03. Mary Rodeberg 04. Preston Stuart 05. Calvert Chaney 06. David Ekstrom 06. Sally McGrath 08. Arthur Olsen 09. Jodie Rugart 09. Anne Frost Robinson 11. Ron Eccles 12. Conner Helms 13. Randy Cardo 13. Jeff Morrison 15. Jennifer Loving 16. David McCoy 17. Courtney Green 18. Bill Hartman 19. Martie Ekstrom 20. Michael Gibbons First Flight Waterford Doubles 01. Kathleen Green 02. David Beccia 03. Bob Duryea 04. David Kepner 05. Lovejoy Duryea 06. Carl Archiniaco 06. Barbara Wolf

08. Sheila McCauley 09. John McGrath 10. Freear Pollard 11. Anne Licursi 12. Steven Mednick 13. Liddy Chaney 14. Christine Smith 15. Jeffery Cohen 16. Jane Helms 17. Alan Lazarescu 18. Stuart Price 19. Claudia Parks 20. Pat Richmond

Golf Croquet Results Championship Singles 01. Sherif Abdelwahab 02. Mark Kucharski 03. Amr Hamdy 04. Heshem El Zoghby 05. Tamer Hatata 05. Paul Fecteau 07. James Creasey 07. Tate Russack 07. Hal Denton 07. Billy Harper 11. Alex Galasso 12. Ned Sperry First Flight Singles 01. Chris Morris 02. Richard Corey 03. Jan Allison

04. Cami Russack 05. Bruce Hindin 06. Tom Lindley 07. Linda Merk 08. Michael Sexton 08. Gay Cinque 10. Pat Richmond 10. Courtenay Rodonets 10. Holly Sperry Golf Croquet Waterford Doubles 01. Ralph Worthington 02. Hesham El Zoghby 03. Mark Kucharski 04. Linda Merk 04. Tamer Hatata 06. Richard Corey 07. Billy Harper 07. Bruce Hindin 09. Linda Trifone 09. Gay Cinque 09. Alex Galasso 12. Jan Allison 13. Chris Morris 14. Amr Hamdy 15. Jay Carey 16. Michael Sexton 17. Tom Lindley 18. Jodie Payne 19. James Creasey 19. Allison Worthington

www.croquetamerica.com | 41

eventresults 2022 Women’s Golf Academy Open February 11-13, 2022 Ponte Vedra Croquet Club Ponte Vedra, Florida Championship Flight 01. Cheryl Bromley 02. Debbie Davidoff 03. Anita Huber 03. Sue Emond 05. Ellie Griffith 05. Dana Beisheim 05. Judy Carlton 05. Julie Stephenson First Flight 09. Jo Hoffman 10. Lorie Tarver 11. MaryCarol Stearns 11. Sandy Hansford 13. Kat Lichter 13. Shelly Laird 13. Maggie Heyworth 13. Jean Smiley Plate 17. Enid Greenfogel 18. Leslie Thomas 19. Ann Littleton 19. Barbara Maletz

2022 Jones Invitational January 27-30, 2022 Sarasota County Croquet Club Venice, Florida Championship A 01. David Ekstrom 02. Randy Cardo 03. Tim Rapuano 04. Mark Fields 05. Conner Helms 05. Neil Houghton 07. Macey White 07. Webster Bull 09. Matt Griffith 09. Arthur Olsen 09. Brett Stovall 09. Gene Raymond Championship B 01. Brian Hovis 02. Mark Masselink 03. Linda Trifone 04. Dan O’Connell 05. Rick Alderson 05. Mancy Crouch 07. Roger Vorraber 07. Robert Brightman 09. Brian Zindel 09. John Donohue 09. Ron Eccles 09. Mijai Pagano

Whether buying or selling, trust the largest transaction of your life to a proven professional.

Linda Grady, PA 561-512-0852

lindagradyrealtor@gmail.com

42 | www.croquetamerica.com

First Flight 01. Bill Todd 02. Sally McGrath 03. Jim Watrous 04. Stuart Price 05. John Joseph 05. Ellie Griffith 07. Anne Licursi 07. Chris Smith 09. David Kepner 09. Rita McNamara 09. Jon Spaulding Second Flight 01. Marsha Cargill 02. Peter Bowers 03. Rusty Rose 04. Mel Eckhart 05. John McGrath 05. Sheryl Phillips 07. George Quallich 07. James McLaughlin 09. Jeanette Hodgkins 09. Ellen Goldener 09. Linda O’Connell 09. George Claffey III Third Flight 01. Jim Hester 02. Margaret Matuszak 03. Ronald Rapuano 04. Jennifer Joseph 05. Christof Weihs 05. Steven Zoric 07. Katie Bull 07. Jeffery Cohen 09. Barbara Wolf 09. Maria Petrola 09. Karen Weihs 09. Jane Zhao

2022 Women’s Hurricane GC Open January 20-23, 2022 National Croquet Center West Palm Beach, Florida Doubles Final Order 01. Cheryl Bromley/Lynda Sudderberg 02. Debbie Davidoff/Ellen Nielsen 03. Suzanne Spradling/Missy Chilton 03. Mary Galasso/Caryl Firth 03. Mary Hennelly/ Geraldine McCauley 06. Cathy Baillis/Marilyn Price 07. Anne Killilea/Kathy Gamble 07. Jan Fisher/Rosemarie Maccario 07. Allison Worthington/ Sandy Howard 10. Trudy Crowetz/Suzanne Turner 11. Vicky Naranjo/Gay Cinque 12. Helen Covington/Priscilla Flowers 12. Lorie Tarver/Brooklyn Ellenburg 14. Pam Groh/Debra Bradley 15. Eileen Soo/Karen Connery-Albert 16. Lisa Maloney/Cami Russack 17. Geri O'Neill/Barbara Jamison 18. Sheila Peterson/Linda Merk 18. Jane Casey/Pamela Wilson 20. Jan Allison/Joan Corey

21. Sonia Alexandra/Rita Ginsky 21. Courtenay Rodonets/ Lynda Bjorklund 23. Lois Clay/Christine Smith 24. Pamela Myers/Marianne Davidson 25. R. Ellen Avellino/Mary Jacobson 26. Lynn Epstein/Mary Churchill 27. Janet Schwartz/Joan Therien 28. Patricia Richmond/ Whitney Miller Championship Flight 01. Cheryl Bromley 02. Debbie Davidoff 03. Helen Covington 03. Mary Galasso 05. Pam Groh 05. Eileen Soo 05. Brooklyn Ellenburg 05. Priscilla Flowers 09. Kathie Gamble 09. Lynda Sudderberg 09. Geri O'Neill 09. Suzanne Spradling 09. Barbara Jamison 09. Christine Smith 09. Rosemarie Maccario First Flight 01. Cami Russack 02. Vicky Naranjo 03. Lois Clay 03. Linda Merk 05. Ellen Nielsen 05. Mary Churchill 05. Jan Fisher 05. Lisa Maloney 09. Gay Cinque 09. Debra Bradley 09. Caryl Firth 09. Rita Ginsky 09. Anne Killilea 09. Lynn Epstein 09. Sonia Alexandra 09. Suzanne Turner 09. Sandy Howard 09. Geraldine McCauley 09. Trudy Crowetz 09. Karen Connery-Albert Second Flight 01. Allison Worthington 02. Marianne Davidson 03. Janet Schwartz 03. Jane Casey 05. Jan Allison 05. Lynda Bjorklund 05. Joan Therien 05. Marilyn Price 09. Sheila Peterson 09. Mary Hennelly 09. Patricia Richmond 09. Courtenay Rodonets 09. R. Ellen Avellino 09. Pamela Wilson 09. Pamela Myers 09. Mary Jacobson 09. Lorie Tarver 09. Whitney Miller 09. Joan Corey

newmembers CALIFORNIA

NaplesNaples Croquet Club of Florida

Nicolas Denizot

Gail Beard

Rancho MirageMission Hills Croquet Club

Palm Beach-At Large Member

Savannah Carroll Dave Curran Mark Curran Barbara Little Robert Story Myra Wenzel Rick Wenzel Mary Yate

Magda Pappalardo Palm Beach-Everglades Club, Inc.

Onwentsia Club..........................................................................Lake Forest, Illinois

Lynn Homes

Blakehurst Croquet Club...............................................................Towson, Maryland

Los Angeles-At Large Member

Palm CoastGrand Haven Croquet Club

NEW CLUBS Palm Valley School.......................................................... Rancho Mirage, California

Cincinnati Country Club...................................................................Cincinnati, Ohio

COLORADO

James Brogan Ann Kraus Carol McFaul Clarisse Panellino Karen Wolford

Gwendolyn DaSilva

Ponte Vedra BeachPonte Vedra Croquet Club

Bess Gallanis Hayes Richard Hayes

Cindi Callahan Judy Carlton Sandra Hansford Barbara Maletz Leslie Thomas

Lake Forest-Onwentsia Club

Denver-Denver Croquet Club

DELAWARE

Wilmington-At Large Member

Leslie Phillips

FLORIDA

Atlantic BeachFleet Landing Croquet Club

Ponte Vedra BeachThe Plantation of Ponte Vedra

Larry Rose Vickie Rose

Jane Fabritius Coovert Katherine Lichter Mark Lichter Randy Woodrum

Boca GrandeGasparilla Inn Mallet Club

Yvonne Anderson Jim Ardrey Joan Ardrey Laura Besecker Patty Brink Kimberly DeCamp Patterson DeCamp Judy Doerr Don Farrar Joan Farrar Sally Hornig Milagros Murgia Delray Beach-St. Andrews Club

Leslie Heilakka Fort Lauderdale-At Large Member

Anne Jeffers Gulf Stream-At Large Member

Marcy Martin Skip Martin Hillsboro Beach-The Hillsboro Club

Christopher Olsen Lauren Quarton Mike Quarton Key Largo-At Large Member

Cathy Zumkehr Charles Zumkehr Key Largo-Ocean Reef Club

John Hilton Julia Hilton Rose Pelton Jack Pelton Lake WalesMountain Lake Croquet Club

Mark Bostick Lantana-At Large Member

Jay Carey Jodie Payne Naples-At Large Member

VeniceSarasota County Croquet Club

Kathie Hart William Jackson John Swanson Ellen Willner Vero Beach-At Large Member

Fran Mellett Dirk Soutendijk Mary Soutendijk

ILLINOIS

Chicago-Chicago Croquet Club

John Knoch Rodney Workman

MARYLAND

CashiersTrillium Links and Lake Club

Dataw IslandCroquet Club of Dataw Island

Vicki Bell

Richard Brown Virginia Brown Joan Pellaton Robert Pomeroy Sandra Pomeroy Doug Robinson Linda Robinson Janice Sand Luke Sand Marcia Shaughnessy John Shaughnessy

HighlandsHighlands Falls Croquet Association

Sharon Kaltenborn Kristopher Kaltenborn HighlandsHighlands Strikers Croquet Club

Galesville-West River Wickets

Wade Coleman

Doug Eufemia Crystal Sullivan Mary Tod Winchester

HighlandsWildcat Cliffs Country Club, Inc

MASSACHUSETTS

Pinehurst-Pinehurst Croquet Club

Thomas McGilly

Margarita Carmona Kathleen Rathburn

TENNESSEE

Chattanooga-At Large Member

OHIO

Iva Steed

Diane Babcock

Jeff Webb Patricia Webb

Lenox-Lenox Croquet Club

Roger Lourie Robert Rochedieu Marston's Mills-At Large Member

Wes Todoroff

NEW JERSEY

Atlantic Highlands-At Large Member

Susan Blaisdell

NEW YORK

Thomas Webster

Cincinnati-At Large Member

OKLAHOMA

Tulsa-Tulsa Croquet Club

Bill Bennison

PENNSYLVANIA

Okatie-At Large Member

Nashville-At Large Member

TEXAS

HoustonHouston Croquet Association

Blake Liedtke

Vero BeachJohn's Island Croquet Club

New York-New York Croquet Club

Dave Gookin

Port Washington-At Large Member

Katie Haines William Haines

Angela Jaggar

SOUTH CAROLINA

ChristianstedBombay Mallet & Wicket Croquet Club

Bluffton-At Large Member

Peter Gutherie

Black MountainBlack Mountain Croquet Club

Judy Murray

VERMONT

May Cheung Lynn Walker

Mollie Fair

Vero Beach-Oak Harbor Club

Rachel Richard Vero Beach-The Moorings Club

Russell Cappelen Camille Cappelen Vero Beach-The Windsor Club

Janet Hoffman Margaret Segalas West Palm BeachNational Croquet Club

Damon Hagan Kimberly Hagan Whitney Miller Robert Rochedieu Stephen Tasker Winter ParkInterlachen Country Club

Lind Metcalf Douglas Metcalf

GEORGIA

Atlanta-At Large Member

Jake Martyn Bill Mullican Ann Mullican

Megan Dran

NORTH CAROLINA

Cashiers-High Hampton

Ed Cassady Lynn Cassady Dan Duckham Billie Gatewood Jim Gatewood Fred Grace Linda Grace Jerry Greenway Fred Heebe Jennifer Heebe Mimsie Lanier Reese Lanier Crayton Morrow Dey Parks Pick Parks Betsy Nalty Simmons Dick Simmons

Lancaster-At Large Member

Charleston-At Large Member Charleston-Bishop Gadsden

Nada Arnold Letitia Ray Warner Ray Gloria Smith Norman Smith Deborah Stanitski

US VIRGIN ISLANDS

Dorset-Dorset Field Club

Glenn Firestone Sheryl Firestone Marla Wormser

VIRGINIA

Gainesville-At Large Member

William Matson

Betsy Weiss

www.croquetamerica.com | 43

grandprixstandings 2022 A6W OVERALL GP TOP 60 # Player Singles Doubles 01 David Ekstrom 9700 1260 02 Jodie Rugart 4000 4380 03 Randy Cardo 6900 1290 04 Richard Sullivan 1700 5100 05 Robert Van Tassell 1700 5100 06 Sherif Abdelwahab 2600 2550 07 John Brown 2000 2010 08 Danny Huneycutt 3900 09 Matthew Griffith 3800 10 Calvert Chaney 200 3510 11 Nancy Crouch 780 2550 12 Paul Bennett 3000 240 13 Mary Rodeberg 600 2490 14 Macey White 500 2550 15 Conner Helms 2500 360 16 Paul Neubecker 900 1920 17 Webster Bull 2700 18 Robert Pulitzer 600 2010 19 Arthur Olsen 1200 1020 20 Doug Grimsley 2200 21 Richard Sheely 400 1680 22 Clint Fowlkes 124 1920 23 Timothy Rapuano 2000 24 Ronald Eccles 928 780 25 Rich Lamm 1680 26 Preston Stuart 1620 27 Sally McGrath 796 738 28 Peter Bach 1000 480 29 Patrick Sweeney 1000 480 30 Jeff Morrison 728 720 31 Mark Fields 1400 32 Bob Worrell 1200 33 Neil Houghton 1100 34 Beverley Cardo 1050 35 David Isaacs 1050 36 Templeton Peck 1050 37 Steve Thurston 1050 38 Brian Hovis 1020 39 Richard Curtis 900 40 Conrad Rugart 900 41 Lucus Van Alen 900 42 Lori Matway 840 43 Brand Shank 840 44 Anne Frost Robinson 352 480 45 Lynda Sudderberg 800 46 Mark Masselink 780 47 John Watson 200 540 48 Larry Lynch 318 405 49 Tom Hughes 700 50 Leo McBride 700 51 Michael Todorovich 700 52 Roger Vorraber 692 53 Stephen Grassbaugh 684 54 Jim Butts 200 480 55 Linda Trifone 664 56 David McCoy 500 120 57 Missy Ramey 600 58 Stuart Price 578 9 59 David Kepner 245 339 60 Richard Alderson 524 Total players: 232. Updated 4/12/2022.

44 | www.croquetamerica.com

Total 10960 8380 8190 6800 6800 5150 4010 3900 3800 3710 3330 3240 3090 3050 2860 2820 2700 2610 2220 2200 2080 2044 2000 1708 1680 1620 1534 1480 1480 1448 1400 1200 1100 1050 1050 1050 1050 1020 900 900 900 840 840 832 800 780 740 723 700 700 700 692 684 680 664 620 600 587 584 524

2022 GC OVERALL GP TOP 40 # Player Singles 01 Macey White 5957 02 Sherif Abdelwahab 2940 03 Jeff Soo 5670 04 Jim Teel 3666 05 Matthew Essick 3948 06 Blake Fields 2804 07 Mohammad Kamal 2702 08 Rich Dell 3362 09 Steve Thurston 2654 10 David Maloof 2747 11 Helen Covington 3314 12 James Creasey 2182 13 Kyle Maloof 2841 14 Tate Russack 2177 15 Kent Lovvorn 2529 16 Bill Simmons 2181 17 Cami Russack 1867 18 Alex Galasso 2092 19 Cheryl Bromley 1546 20 Ahab Dincer 1980 21 Hal Denton 106 22 Bo Prillaman 1940 23 Billy Harper 2268 24 Jimmy Huff 2123 25 Danny Huneycutt 1558 26 Thomas Balding 1558 27 Clint Dawkins 1795 28 Amr Hamdy 1980 29 Zack Watson 1980 30 Priscilla M. Flowers 1395 31 Gay Cinque 552 32 Earle Mauldin 563 33 Laura Hendrick 598 34 Pam Groh 405 35 Paul Bennett 769 36 James Creasey 883 37 Alex Galasso 692 38 Suzanne Turner 430 39 Jeff Morrison 887 40 Stephen Jackson 416 Total players: 221. Updated 4/27/2022.

Doubles 2938 3889 854 1698 1128 2052 2052 1273 1572 1442 836 1649 854 1503 1059 1331 1632 1261 1788 1128 2992 1137 731 839 1387 1387 1147 854 854 1424 553 536 477 661 246 127 312 565 97 562

Total 8895 6829 6524 5364 5076 4856 4754 4635 4226 4189 4150 3831 3695 3680 3588 3512 3499 3353 3334 3108 3098 3077 2999 2962 2945 2945 2942 2834 2834 2819 1105 1099 1075 1066 1015 1010 1004 995 984 978

2022 AC OVERALL GP # Player Singles Doubles 01 Brian Cumming 881 02 Ben Rothman 564 03 Stuart Lawrence 434 04 Patrick Sweeney 434 05 Brian Lozano 289 06 Blake Fields 289 07 Martyn Selman 289 08 Peter Bach 289 09 Ron Eccles 281 10 Cameron Evans 170 11 Mary Rodeberg 123 12 Rory Kelley 98 13 Karl-Heinz Kempfer 98 14 Donna Dixon 92 15 Patrick Dugan 68 16 Nick Gray 68 17 Kory Teoman 68 Total players: 17. Updated 1/17/2022.

Total 881 564 434 434 289 289 289 289 281 170 123 98 98 92 68 68 68

Reach Your Target

2022 Per Issue Advertising Rates Inside Front Cover (8.5” W x 11” H)...............................................$850 Inside Back Cover (8.5” W x 11” H)...............................................$850 Full Page (8.5” W x 11” H)............................................................$700 Half Horizontal Island (4.875” H x 7.38” W).........................................$475 Quarter Page (3.62” W x 4.875” H)...............................................$295 One Sixth Page (2.34” W x 4.875” H)............................................$150

Upcoming Ad/Copy Deadlines 2022 August Digital Only Issue (Fall) – 07/15/22 2022 November Issue (Winter) – 10/28/22

For a full 2022 Croquet News media kit, contact Dylan Goodwin at croquetnetwork@gmail.com

USCA Sanctioned Events May

July

5/16/22 - 5/22/22

7/12/22 - 7/16/22

2022 USCA GC National Championship | GC

High Hampton, The Chattooga Club, Country Club of Sapphire Valley, and Highlands Falls Country Club | NC Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

5/21/22 - 5/22/22

Piping Rock Club Singles | US

Piping Rock Croquet Club | NY Jane F Simonds | 516-384-6203 | jfspainter@mac.com

5/27/22 - 5/31/22

American 6W Boot Camp | US

Meadow Club Invitational | US

The Meadow Club | Southampton, NY Vickie Johnston | 561-848-7489 | vejohnston@gmail.com

7/30/22 - 7/31/22

The Tiger Wicket (6W) | US

New York Croquet Club | Central Park | New York, NY Ezra Roth | 612-701-4675 | ezra.a.roth@gmail.com

August

Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club | Hartfield, VA Macey W. White | 804-694-9771 | maceywhite@gmail.com

8/4/22 - 8/7/22

5/27/22 - 5/30/22

Westhampton Mallet Club | Westhampton Beach, NY Randy Cardo | 631-902-5678 | randy.cardo@gmail.com

LaFortune Park | Tulsa, OK Bob Baker | 918-747-0214 | bobbaker688@gmail.com

8/11/22 - 8/14/22

June

Rochester Croquet Club | Rochester, NY Sue Sherer | 585-474-3753 | sue.e.sherer@gmail.com

6/2/22 - 6/5/22

Tanglewood Golf Croquet Tournament | GC

Indian Territory Open | US

USCA SE Regional 6W | US

Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club | Hartfield, VA Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

6/4/22

National Croquet Day 6/9/22 - 6/12/22

Berkshire Invitational (6W) | US

Lenox Croquet Club | Lenox, MA David R Ekstrom | 413-443-4957 | drekstrom@hotmail.com

6/16/22 - 6/19/22

New York State Golf Croquet Championship | GC New York Croquet Club | Central Park | New York, NY Ezra Roth | 612-701-4675 | ezra.a.roth@gmail.com

Westhampton Mallet Club Invitational (6W) | US

9th Annual Rochester Invitational 6W | US 8/11/22 - 8/13/22

Lenox Country Club | Lenox, MA David R Ekstrom | 413-443-4957 | drekstrom@hotmail.com

8/18/22 - 8/21/22

Buffalo 6W Invitational | US

Buffalo Croquet Club | Delaware Park | Buffalo, NY Robert Gannon | 716-432-1500 | thehangmen@msn.com

8/18/22 - 8/21/22

USCA Western 6W Regional | US The Mt. Hood Resort | Welches, OR

September 9/1/22 - 9/3/22

6/16/22 - 6/19/22

Turkey Trot Double Digit Handicap (6W) | US

Woodlawn Croquet Program | Ellsworth, ME Perry A Mattson | 207-667-9335 | newburyneckshore@gmail.com

9/2/22 - 9/5/22

Woodlawn Invitational (6W) | US

Lenox Croquet Club | Lenox, MA David R Ekstrom | 413-443-4957 | drekstrom@hotmail.com

6/23/22 - 6/26/22

USCA Midwest Regional 6W | US

Greenwich Croquet Club | Greenwich, CT Bill Miller | 203-530-6788 | billmiller8@snet.net

9/8/22 - 9/11/22

Greenwich Invitational | US 6/25/22 - 6/26/22

USCA High Performance & Talent Development Program GC | GC

Highlands/Cashiers | Highlands/Cashiers, NC Damon Bidencope | 704-488-7915 | damonbidencope@bidencope.com

46 | www.croquetamerica.com

LaFortune Park | Tulsa, OK Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

Woodlawn Mini Lobster | US

Woodlawn Croquet Program | Ellsworth, ME Perry A Mattson | 207-667-9335 | newburyneckshore@gmail.com

9/11/22 - 9/17/22

October

Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club | Hartfield, VA Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

10/4/22 - 10/6/22

9/17/22 - 9/18/22

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

USCA Association Laws National Championship | AC

2022 Croquet Invitational 6W | US Merion Cricket Club | Haverford, PA

USCA American Rules School | US 10/12/22 - 10/13/22

9/21/22 - 9/25/22

USCA Golf Croquet School | GC

Pinehurst Country Club | Pinehurst, NC Elaine Moody | 910-986-3164 | halliburton_2@msn.com

10/13/22 - 10/16/22

Pinehurst Invitational 6W | US 9/22/22 - 9/25/22

The Osborn Cup (6W) | US

New York Croquet Club | Central Park | New York, NY Ezra Roth | 612-701-4675 | ezra.a.roth@gmail.com

9/29/22 - 10/2/22

Blue Crab 6W | US

Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club | Hartfield, VA Macey W. White | 804-694-9771 | maceywhite@gmail.com

9/30/22 - 10/2/22

USCA Midwest GC Regional | GC

Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club | Nichols Hills, OK Johnny Mitchell | 561-478-0760 | tournament@uscroquet.com

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

ScissorTail Oklahoma State Tournament | US

Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club | Nichols Hills, OK Suzanne Spradling | 405-590-7264 | sshawsprad@cox.net

10/15/22 - 10/18/22

Big Oyster GC | GC

Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club | Hartfield, VA Macey W. White | 804-694-9771 | maceywhite@gmail.com

10/20/22 - 10/23/22

Women’s GC International Friendship Cup | GC

Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club | Hartfield, VA Macey W. White | 804-694-9771 | maceywhite@gmail.com

10/21/22 - 10/23/22

CCJ 6W Invitational | US

Country Club of Jackson | Jackson, MS Mark Fields | 601-918-2704 | mfields5@gmail.com

www.croquetamerica.com | 47

10/21/22 - 10/23/22

SHOP

USCA

Whatever the occasion think USCA for those special gifts Books

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

10/27/22 - 10/30/22

USCA Selection Eights (AC) | AC

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

November

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 Golf Croquet Rulebook.................................................................................................................$7.00 A Guide to Croquet Court Planning, Building & Maintenance.........................................$39.95

11/1/22 - 11/3/22

CD’s

11/9/22 - 11/13/22

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

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” DVD - Winning 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.

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 USCA Logo Long-Sleeve Shirts................................................................................................$50.00 USCA logo Ladies Sweater....................................................................................................... $70.00

Misc.

Large Mallet Cover with USCA Logo..........................................Up to 12” mallet head – $52.95 Small Mallet Cover with USCA Logo...........................................Up to 9” mallet head – $49.95 Note Cards or Croquet Party Invitations (10/pk)..................................................................$5.00 Croquet Paper Placemats (24/pk)...........................................................................................$10.00 USCA Patch Small...........................................................................................................................$5.00 USCA Ballmarkers (dozen)............................................................................................................$1.00 USCA Cufflinks (USCA shield)...................................................................................................$29.95

Prices subject to change

USCA American Rules School | US

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

11/3/22 - 11/6/22

Ponte Vedra GC Invitational | GC

Ponte Vedra Croquet Club | Ponte Vedra, FL Marcus H Stearns | 904-273-2694 | mstearns2@bellsouth.net

USCA Seniors Masters (6W) | US

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

11/12/22 - 11/29/22

MacRobertson Shield | AC Cairnlea, Melbourne, Australia

11/18/22 - 11/20/22

Shark Tooth Open GC | GC

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

December 11/30/22-12/1/22

Golf Croquet Tournament Play School | GC

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

12/2/22 - 12/4/22

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

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 Timothy McCormick | 207-329-5343 | tmccorm1@gmail.com

12/16/22- 12/18/22

Holiday Invitational 6W | US

Contact the USCA at 561-478-0760; fax: 561-686-5507; email usca@msn.com

or mail to

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

48 | www.croquetamerica.com

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

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Gryphon 2-piece travel shaft mallet • easily fits in a suitcase • assembles effortlessly in seconds • no tools needed • alignment pin keeps everything in perfect position

Predator

bent shaft mallet • ergonomic design • reduces hyper-extension of wrist joints • allows for relaxed grip • single or double bend for different grip styles • bigger back swing for greater control

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