Re-scheduling of WCF Events from 2021 to 2023
Over the coming months, the World Croquet Federation (WCF) Management Committee (MC) will be seeking to agree to new dates for each WCF Event due to be held from 2021 to 2023 with the respective event hosts and will announce these dates when available.
Women's Events
In recent years, both the Women’s AC and GC World Championships have “slipped” by a year so that the Women's ACWC, which was last held in 2015, was due to be held next in 2020, which was also the same year as the ACWC. Similarly, the Women's GCWC, which had previously been held in 2014, was most recently held in 2019 which was also the same year as the last GCWC. This is not ideal because it makes it more difficult for the top women players to compete in both events in each code. It also means that women players have experienced a five-year gap between their recent world championships in both codes instead of the four-year gap that was intended.
To counteract both aspects of this slippage, it has been agreed that the one-year postponement will not apply to the women’s events other than for the postponement of the 2020 Women’s ACWC to 2021. The next Women’s GCWC will, therefore, be held in 2023 and the next Women’s ACWC will be held in 2024. The WCF MC will now actively seek an event host and dates for the 2023 Women’s GCWC so that all WCF Events due to be held from now to the end of 2023 will be fully allocated.
2022 U21 GC World Championship (“U21 GCWC”)
The WCF MC has considered the impact of the postponement of the 2021 U21 GCWC to 2022 on the eligibility of players whose 21st birthdays fall in 2021. Such players would have been eligible to play in the 2021 U21 GCWC but, applying the normal age limit, would not be eligible to play in a 2022 U21 GCWC. Given the exceptional circumstances that have led to the postponement, the WCF MC has decided to recommend to Council that WCF Sports Regulations paragraph 5.1.5 be temporarily amended so that players whose 21st birthdays fall in 2021 will still be eligible to play in a 2022 U21 GCWC. Council has received the recommendation and its decision will be announced on July 17, 2020.
Allowing any player who would have been eligible for a 2021 U21 GCWC to remain eligible for the same event in 2022 is consistent with treating the 2021 GCWC as postponed rather canceled. The WCF MC feels that this inclusive approach is in the best interests of fostering the next generation of croquet players.
For the avoidance of doubt, this treatment will not apply if the U21 GCWC cannot be held in 2022 after all. If that is the case, the 2021 U21 GCWC will be regarded as canceled and the next holding of the U21 GCWC, perhaps in 2023, will be a new event and subject to the normal age limit.
2023 Over 50 GCWC
This event will continue to be open to players who reach the age of 50 by the first day of the event.
2024 and Beyond
In January 2020, the WCF MC began consulting with Members about the events that make up the 10-year championship schedule (“the Schedule”) concerning their frequency and formats. However, the coronavirus outbreak led to the urgent need to address the effect on the Schedule as far as 2023. Now that the schedule has been fixed until the end of 2023, we are now able to further consult members about frequency and formats before finalizing the schedule for 2024 and beyond. It is intended that the later part of the schedule will include a Centenary MacRobertson Shield in 2025. The WCF MC hopes to be able to publish a full schedule for 2021 to 2030 by the end of this year.