By Joe Yoder / Photo Gallery by Scott Kennedy

DALLAS, TX -- This year’s Texas fall tournament was another classic. Twenty-two players from Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas joined in three days of often down-to-the-last shot singles. Not only was the competition heated but the torrential storm that blew in Saturday afternoon made things even tougher. As much as four inches of rain fell on the court in Heath, TX and totally swamped it. The court in Quinlan also was rained out. Fortunately, by the time it arrived few key matches remained.

The one game that was affected was an elimination block match between Matt Griffith and Donna Dixon. Fortunately the rain stopped and the match was held after the Saturday night dinner and under the lights at Bob Chilton’s court. Matt took advantage of some early deadness problems that frustrated Donna and he won the match and advanced to the playoffs.

It’s also interesting that the first use of Instant Replay (photographic evidence) happened during the tournament. Scott Kennedy is an avid player and photographer and was shooting Frank Vuitch’s jump shot just for its photographic interest. After the shot, there was a question if Frank shot with Blue had completely cleared Yellow, which was in the hoop and against the wicket. It was a concern because during the shot Yellow moved slightly. After examining Scott’s photo it was determined that Yellow had moved but only because Blue struck the cross bar and this induced Yellow’s movement. Everybody involved examined the photo and unanimously agreed it was a great shot!

Another innovation was using alternate starting positions. We put red and blue tape up the outside of the legs of #1 and Rover and always started the Championship players from this position. It worked well, avoided the log-jam that frequently slows the start of the second game and helped keep the games on schedule.

This year was also the most challenging to organize because of constantly changing court conditions. North Texas had over 60 days of below freezing temperatures during the winter and when that combined with the summer’s unusually hot and humid weather the biggest challenge was saving the courts. Depending upon the constantly changing conditions, we considered holding the event on one, two and even three courts at various time--with the third being 80 miles away in Tyler. Harold Menzel did over 20 different bracket arrangements plotting the ramifications of travel time and the number of players.

Fortunately, Bill and Suzan Copeland’s court in Quinlan, TX. recovered (we thought) and we settled on two courts. Alas, just before the tournament the virus that had been lying dormant reared its ugly head and killed 60% of the grass but, even though it looked pretty bad, it still played surprisingly well. Bob Chilton’s court recovered due to the Herculean work of his green’s keeper, Antonio Flores, who hand watered the bent grass court at least three times a day all through the 100º+ days of summer to save it.

Words cannot express our appreciation to Harold Menzel, bracket manager. He never once complained about the constantly moving target of the number of players, courts and travel times. The result of all his great work was a smooth running, enjoyable tournament. Carrie Shapiro’s work with the food arrangements also was appreciated. A Texas-sized “Hip Hip Hooray” shout-out to Bill and Suzan Copeland and Bob Chilton whose relentless work on their courts made it possible.

One of the tournament’s highlights was the play of Ted Schweitzer. Not only had Ted never played in a tournament, he had never even played a game. He worked two weeks before the tournament and took numerous lessons trying to become competitive. To quote Ted, “I learned more in this tournament than I could have in a dozen weekends.” Despite not winning a game, Ted accomplished his goals, had a great time, and is going to make a great addition to the game.

Everybody left with smiles on their faces and claiming they’d be back next year. If you are looking for a great fall tournament with great competition, food and camaraderie, consider the Texas Croquet Classic.

FINAL STANDINGS

Championship Flight

1. Jeff Caldwell
2. Joe Yoder
3. Britt Ruby
3. Matt Griffith
5. Bill Hixon
5. Matt Smith
7. Donna Dixon
8. Dale Poszgai
9. Billy Bob Breeden
10. John Dill
11. Bob Chilton
12. Bill Copeland

First Flight

1. Bob Knowlton
2. Harold Menzel
3. Frank Vuitch
3. Suzan Copeland
5. Roni Brazell
5. Rob Franks
7. Pat Garner
8. Scott Kennedy
9. George Blackburn
10. Ted Schweitzer