Croquet Australia:8th World Golf Croquet Championships

The 8th World Golf Croquet Championships were held in Cape Town, South Africa from 8th-16th March 2008. Full details of the event can be found on the World Croquet Federation web site (http://www.wcfcroquet.org/Tournaments/gcwc2008.html).

The 5 Australian representatives were Owen Edwards (Vic), Tony Hall (NSW), Kevin Beard (Vic), John Levick (NSW) and Ron Johnstone (NSW). Gavin Bow and his wife (SA) played in a preliminary event in Cape Town but were unable to qualify to enter the main event.

The previous world championships have all been won by Egyptians, but several top association croquet players [e.g., Chris Clarke and Stephen Mulliner (England) and Reg Bamford (South Africa)], felt they were a chance at taking the crown from the Egyptians.

Settling in

Tony Hall, Owen Edwards, John Levick and Kevin Beard had three days of practice to hone our skills at the superb facilities at The Country Club Johannesburg. The venue is very much like Hurlingham in London. On the final day there was a 'South Africa versus Australia Test Match' (Australia defeated South Africa 9 games to 3 games), followed by a couple of hours play under lights with members from local croquet clubs and then dinner.

Owen Edwards conducted several training sessions on the laws of Golf and Association Croquet with local and visiting players. The sessions were highly successful.

World Championship

The world championship was held in Cape Town and surrounds with the headquarters at the Kelvin Grove Country Club, next to the Newlands Rugby and Cricket Stadiums. Cape Town is a beautiful city with lovely beaches and the spectacular Table Mountain as a back drop.

There were 64 competitors representing 17 countries. The players were seeded and divided into 8 blocks of 8 players. The block rounds were best of three 13-point games. The top 4 players from each block, based on number of matches won, qualified for the Knockout Rounds. Ties were decided by playoffs. The remaining players went into the Plate.

Block Rounds

It was pleasing to see that all five Australians performed better than their seeding in the Blocks.

In Block A, Owen Edwards, seeded 5^th, finished in equal 3^rd place, which led to a 3-way playoff for 2 places with both Owen and Jenny Clarke (Williams) qualifying for the Knockout round of 32 players.

In Block B, Kevin Beard, seeded 4^th, qualified in 3^rd place. The best match was against Duncan Dixon, the 18 year old New Zealand Open Champion. Kevin won the match 7-6, 7-4.

In Block C, John Levick was seeded 6^th and won 3 games to get into a 3-way playoff for 4^th place, but lost to Pierre Beaudry (Belgium).

In Block F, Ron Johnstone was seeded 8^th and won 2 games to finish in 6^th place. Ron's most exciting game was against top seed Reg Bamford (South Africa). Reg eventually won the match 7-4, 7-5 with some impressive jump shots.

In Block H, Tony Hall was seeded 6^th and won 3 games to finish equal 4^th with Victor Dladla (South Africa). Tony beat Victor in the playoff to reach the Knockout.

Knockout Rounds

The early knockout round matches were best of three 13-point games and the final was best of 5. All 10 Egyptians reached the knockout stage.

Owen Edwards was able to take a game off Chris Clarke (England) but eventually went down in a tough match 5-7, 7-5, 3-7. Similarly Tony Hall lost 7-4, 2-7, 6-7 to Yasser Esmat (Egypt). Kevin Beard beat two-time World Champion and two-time runner-up Salah Hassan (Egypt) 7-3, 4-7, 7-3. Salah was not hitting his clearing shots as accurately as he expected, so Kevin was left with opportunities to run hoops.

Eight Egyptians reached the knockout round of 16. Kevin Beard was the only Australian to get this far in the tournament. Chris Clarke had better touch than Kevin and cleared more accurately to win the first game easily. In the second game Kevin's accurate running of long hoops counteracted Chris' better touch play. However, in the end Kevin's inexperience let him down, with the final score 2-7, 6-7.

Chris Clarke and Reg Bamford were the only non-Egyptian players to get to the Quarter-final stage. Chris reached the Semis and Reg reached the Final.

The Semi-final results were: Ahmed Nasr defeated Chris Clarke 7-5, 3-7, 7-6; Reg Bamford defeated Mohamed Nasr 7-5, 7-4. Both matches were exciting and entertaining. The court at Kelvin Grove was running at 12 plummers, which was almost as fast at the courts at the United Croquet Club in Christchurch for the final of the Association Croquet world Championships in February. The wind was gusty and reminiscent of some of the worst days at Cairnlea in Melbourne. The Nasr brothers played very hard-hitting games with strong accurate clearing and violent hoop running. Clarke and Bamford also cleared strongly, but in contrast to Ahmed and Mohamed, their hoop running was gentle and controlled.

Knockout Final

Ahmed Nasr (Egypt) defeated Reg Bamford (South Africa) 7-6, 7-4, 2-7, 7-2

This was a hard fought match watched by about 200 spectators in windless sunny conditions. Ahmed always seemed in control, but the win by Reg in the 3^rd game of the best of 5 kept the match alive.

Reg didn't have his technical brilliance of the semi-final. He attempted many 7 yard hoops (commonly from the border at hoops 1, 3, 7 and 9) but had a low percentage. On the other hand when in trouble his jump shots to make hoops were quite special. Both players had superb touch when putting balls in position for the whole of the match.

Plate

The Plate was held as a flexible Swiss event. The 8 players with the highest percentage of wins qualified for the Quarter-finals. Tony Hall, John Levick and Ron Johnstone had 5 wins out of 8 games. They were in an 8-way tie for 6^th place. Tony Hall and John Levick both got through to the knockout stage at the expense of Ron Johnstone. John Levick ran some miraculous hoops to achieve a surprise win over Tim King (England) in their Plate Quarter-final. In quick succession in the 2^nd game John ran hoop 3 from the north boundary, ran hoop 4 from hoop 3 and ran hoop 5 from the south boundary. The match was quickly over 7-6, 7-3.Tony Hall was defeated by Ian Lines 7-4, 6-5 (on time) in their Quarter-final. Ian went on to with the Plate from Peter Batchelor (New Zealand).

Summary

Despite the best efforts of Reg Bamford, Chris Clark and Stephen Mulliner, the Egyptians maintained their superiority at Golf Croquet. Their ability to consistently clear an opponent ball to a border with a 13-yard shot was very impressive. Their hard hoop running is exciting to watch, but both Chris and Reg showed that gentle controlled hoops can be just as effective. There will be a non-Egyptian world champion at Golf Croquet one day, but whether it will be at the Championships in England in 2010, who knows?

Kevin Beard, Brunswick Mallet Sports Club

Photographs:

Ahmed Nasr makes a power shot in final (Photograph: Kevin Beard)

Reg Bamford jumping ball shot in final (Photograph: Kevin Beard)

Reg Bamford receives runner-up prize from Title Patron Lord Irvine Laidlaw, with David Openshaw (WCF President) looking on. (Photographer: Owen Edwards)

Ahmed Nasr with Title Patron, Lord Irvine Laidlaw, at Presentations (photograph: Owen Edwards)

	8th World Golf Croquet Championships
	The 8th World Golf Croquet Championships were held in Cape Town, South Africa from 8th-16th March 2008. Full details of the event can be found on the World Croquet Federation web site (http://www.wcfcroquet.org/Tournaments/gcwc2008.html). The 5 Australian representatives were Owen Edwards (Vic), Tony Hall (NSW), Kevin Beard (Vic), John Levick (NSW) and Ron Johnstone (NSW). Gavin Bow and his wife (SA) played in a preliminary event in Cape Town but were unable to qualify to enter the main event. The previous world championships have all been won by Egyptians, but several top association croquet players [e.g., Chris Clarke and Stephen Mulliner (England) and Reg Bamford (South Africa)], felt they were a chance at taking the crown from the Egyptians. Settling in Tony Hall, Owen Edwards, John Levick and Kevin Beard had three days of practice to hone our skills at the superb facilities at The Country Club Johannesburg. The venue is very much like Hurlingham in London. On the final day there was a 'South Africa versus Australia Test Match' (Australia defeated South Africa 9 games to 3 games), followed by a couple of hours play under lights with members from local croquet clubs and then dinner. Owen Edwards conducted several training sessions on the laws of Golf and Association Croquet with local and visiting players. The sessions were highly successful. World Championship The world championship was held in Cape Town and surrounds with the headquarters at the Kelvin Grove Country Club, next to the Newlands Rugby and Cricket Stadiums. Cape Town is a beautiful city with lovely beaches and the spectacular Table Mountain as a back drop. There were 64 competitors representing 17 countries. The players were seeded and divided into 8 blocks of 8 players. The block rounds were best of three 13-point games. The top 4 players from each block, based on number of matches won, qualified for the Knockout Rounds. Ties were decided by playoffs. The remaining players went into the Plate. Block Rounds It was pleasing to see that all five Australians performed better than their seeding in the Blocks. In Block A, Owen Edwards, seeded 5^th, finished in equal 3^rd place, which led to a 3-way playoff for 2 places with both Owen and Jenny Clarke (Williams) qualifying for the Knockout round of 32 players. In Block B, Kevin Beard, seeded 4^th, qualified in 3^rd place. The best match was against Duncan Dixon, the 18 year old New Zealand Open Champion. Kevin won the match 7-6, 7-4. In Block C, John Levick was seeded 6^th and won 3 games to get into a 3-way playoff for 4^th place, but lost to Pierre Beaudry (Belgium). In Block F, Ron Johnstone was seeded 8^th and won 2 games to finish in 6^th place. Ron's most exciting game was against top seed Reg Bamford (South Africa). Reg eventually won the match 7-4, 7-5 with some impressive jump shots. In Block H, Tony Hall was seeded 6^th and won 3 games to finish equal 4^th with Victor Dladla (South Africa). Tony beat Victor in the playoff to reach the Knockout. Knockout Rounds The early knockout round matches were best of three 13-point games and the final was best of 5. All 10 Egyptians reached the knockout stage. Owen Edwards was able to take a game off Chris Clarke (England) but eventually went down in a tough match 5-7, 7-5, 3-7. Similarly Tony Hall lost 7-4, 2-7, 6-7 to Yasser Esmat (Egypt). Kevin Beard beat two-time World Champion and two-time runner-up Salah Hassan (Egypt) 7-3, 4-7, 7-3. Salah was not hitting his clearing shots as accurately as he expected, so Kevin was left with opportunities to run hoops. Eight Egyptians reached the knockout round of 16. Kevin Beard was the only Australian to get this far in the tournament. Chris Clarke had better touch than Kevin and cleared more accurately to win the first game easily. In the second game Kevin's accurate running of long hoops counteracted Chris' better touch play. However, in the end Kevin's inexperience let him down, with the final score 2-7, 6-7. Chris Clarke and Reg Bamford were the only non-Egyptian players to get to the Quarter-final stage. Chris reached the Semis and Reg reached the Final. The Semi-final results were: Ahmed Nasr defeated Chris Clarke 7-5, 3-7, 7-6; Reg Bamford defeated Mohamed Nasr 7-5, 7-4. Both matches were exciting and entertaining. The court at Kelvin Grove was running at 12 plummers, which was almost as fast at the courts at the United Croquet Club in Christchurch for the final of the Association Croquet world Championships in February. The wind was gusty and reminiscent of some of the worst days at Cairnlea in Melbourne. The Nasr brothers played very hard-hitting games with strong accurate clearing and violent hoop running. Clarke and Bamford also cleared strongly, but in contrast to Ahmed and Mohamed, their hoop running was gentle and controlled. Knockout Final Ahmed Nasr (Egypt) defeated Reg Bamford (South Africa) 7-6, 7-4, 2-7, 7-2 This was a hard fought match watched by about 200 spectators in windless sunny conditions. Ahmed always seemed in control, but the win by Reg in the 3^rd game of the best of 5 kept the match alive. Reg didn't have his technical brilliance of the semi-final. He attempted many 7 yard hoops (commonly from the border at hoops 1, 3, 7 and 9) but had a low percentage. On the other hand when in trouble his jump shots to make hoops were quite special. Both players had superb touch when putting balls in position for the whole of the match. Plate The Plate was held as a flexible Swiss event. The 8 players with the highest percentage of wins qualified for the Quarter-finals. Tony Hall, John Levick and Ron Johnstone had 5 wins out of 8 games. They were in an 8-way tie for 6^th place. Tony Hall and John Levick both got through to the knockout stage at the expense of Ron Johnstone. John Levick ran some miraculous hoops to achieve a surprise win over Tim King (England) in their Plate Quarter-final. In quick succession in the 2^nd game John ran hoop 3 from the north boundary, ran hoop 4 from hoop 3 and ran hoop 5 from the south boundary. The match was quickly over 7-6, 7-3.Tony Hall was defeated by Ian Lines 7-4, 6-5 (on time) in their Quarter-final. Ian went on to with the Plate from Peter Batchelor (New Zealand). Summary Despite the best efforts of Reg Bamford, Chris Clark and Stephen Mulliner, the Egyptians maintained their superiority at Golf Croquet. Their ability to consistently clear an opponent ball to a border with a 13-yard shot was very impressive. Their hard hoop running is exciting to watch, but both Chris and Reg showed that gentle controlled hoops can be just as effective. There will be a non-Egyptian world champion at Golf Croquet one day, but whether it will be at the Championships in England in 2010, who knows? Kevin Beard, Brunswick Mallet Sports Club Photographs: Ahmed Nasr makes a power shot in final (Photograph: Kevin Beard) Reg Bamford jumping ball shot in final (Photograph: Kevin Beard) Reg Bamford receives runner-up prize from Title Patron Lord Irvine Laidlaw, with David Openshaw (WCF President) looking on. (Photographer: Owen Edwards) Ahmed Nasr with Title Patron, Lord Irvine Laidlaw, at Presentations (photograph: Owen Edwards)