Buffalo Croquet Tournament Returns Next Week

You know it’s August in Buffalo when the white-attired women and men adorn the croquet lawns of Delaware Park for their annual tournament and tradition. The 6th Annual Buffalo Croquet Club 6-Wicket Invitational brings some of the top American croquet players to the city every year to compete for cash and a chance to have their name inscribed on the legendary “bronze buffalo.”

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Competitive Croquet Returns to Buffalo

Competitive croquet returns to Buffalo this week for the 3rd Annual Buffalo Croquet Club 6-Wicket Invitational. Over 30 players, coming from New York City, Boston, California, Florida and Canada will arrive in Delaware Park for one of the sport’s most popular tournaments.

Some of the country’s top players will be in the Queen City, including returning champion John H. Young III, of Bermuda, whose grandfather helped invent this American version of croquet; Chris Patmore, who originally rose through the croquet ranks of Britain; and Rich Curtis, the former president of the U.S. Croquet Association.

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2016 US Open: Elimination Blocks (Day 4)

PLAYER JOURNAL BY LEO NIKORA:
For the first time in its 29-year history, the United States Open did not have a single-elimination playoff. Instead, each flight of ten players was reduced to two round-robins of four players each, seeded according to the block results.  The winners will advance to the finals.  There was some trepidation in the players, but I thought it worked well.
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2016 United States Open: Opening Party

The 2016 United States Open is being held at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, CA, on December 6-10.  It is hosted by the Mission Hills Croquet Club. 

The opening party was held at the 55th Hole bar at the Country Club.  Twenty players and nine guest attended the gala.  Tournament Director Rory Kelley, demurred, and Assistant Tournament Director Doug Grimsley presided.  

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2016 USCA Croquet News Volume 1, Web Edition

The 2016 Volume 1 issue of the USCA's Croquet News magazine mailed in April and should be arriving in member's mailboxes soon. Today, the web edition PDF is also now available to USCA members on the magazine page of the USCA website. A few of the highlights include:

USCA PRESIDENT'S ROUNDTABLE
In this feature, I held an email roundtable discussion with current USCA President Johnny Mitchell and recent presidents Eugene Young and Rich Curtis. The discussion touched on a range of topics around current USCA challenges and the future vision. Excerpt:

"Promoting the sport is an entirely different issue. I know that all those who are involved in croquet truly have a passion for it and have a hard time understanding why more don’t play. Yes, we have seen pockets of expansion. North Carolina is a good example of this, but I feel it is not as easy as just trying to follow that model. Each area of the country is unique. What works in one may not be effective in another. Development is dependent on having local support. No matter where or who you may sell the idea of croquet to, unless some local support or the drive to keep it going is there, it just won’t work."
--Johnny Mitchell

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Morning Coffee: Get Paid to Write About Croquet

The University of British Columbia has announced an annual prize of $1000 to the the best research paper on a subject featured in the Tremaine Arkley Croquet Collection held at the UBC Library. The Tremaine Arkley Croquet Collection was donated to UBC in 2011 by Tremaine and Gail Arkley and it includes fine art from the 1850s to present. The collection includes oil paintings, watercolours, etchings, illustrations and other pieces of original fine art as well as photographs, prints, books, advertisements, comics and other materials related to croquet.
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