The Australian Croquet Association is pleased to make the following appointments -

Under 21 Coach - Terry Erickson will continue as our U21 coach.

GC High Performance Manager and GC Coaching Coordinator - Ron McBride will undertake both positions. He will work closely with Greg Whymark (AC Coaching Coordinator) to develop the next stages of the coaching program.

Susan has left the ACA after a career spanning over 5 years. The attached tribute is provided by the ACA Board.

Farewell and thank you Susan Linge, Croquet Australia's Administration Officer and Secretary to the Board.

The following words are from Peter Freer and reflect the sentiment of the board current and past, the officers of ACA and all the State Administration and members. Susan, thank you for your service. We wish you all the very best for your future..... “Today is Susan Linge’s last day as ACA Sec/Admin Officer – she has resigned after just over 5 years in the role. I’ve had a fair bit to do with Susan in that time, and I have admired her enthusiasm, drive & people skills. Her knowledge of croquet has grown over this period, but she still occasionally surprises me by not knowing some croquet lore that the rest of us take for granted. This brought a fresh perspective to the position, and made sure Susan was less likely to be seen as partisan or beholden to any State or other group. This is a complex job, and there have been disagreements over what it should involve from the point of view of the various Executives/Boards; from office holders, from players, and of course from Susan. I wish the Board well in sorting out where to go next, but I consider that a clearer set of agreed priorities for this position is essential. Susan’s main fault was trying to do everything, and – while she almost always added value to what she was doing – the price was being a bit slower to do what each of us demanded that she do next.

I consider her main success was remaining cheerful & positive for 5 years, despite the pressure, and issues in her own life. Susan would probably consider getting the ACA finances structured, and providing budgets to each area, as her main achievement. Necessary, and we can now all debate what the respective allocations should be – but at least we have a framework. Susan also arranged (with Tim Murphy) to get on-line entry onto the ACA website, which I consider a major improvement over players sending in paper entry and cheques. I wish Susan the very best in her next stage of life – sorting out some plumbing issues in Townsville seems to be looming large. Thank you, Susan.” ****

The Board wishes to advise that Graeme Thomas a current ACA Director will be taking on the joint roles of Secretary and Administrative Officer from Monday 28 August. Graeme will be contactable via email and by phone 0457 678 380.

You can enter on-line by clicking on Doubles and Singles.

The 2017 national Australian croquet calendar concludes with the AC Open Doubles and Singles being held a little earlier than usual from Saturday 11 to Sunday 19 November, 2017 at the Victorian Croquet Centre.

You can enter on-line via the ACA website by clicking on Doubles and Singles.

Closing date is Thursday 12 October, 2017 (midnight Western Australian time).

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Peter Freer Chair Events Committee

The Golf Croquet Handicap Double and Singles are being held at the Deniliquin Croquet Club from Monday 6 to Friday 10 November, 2017. The Doubles are a two-day event and the Singles three. For a second consecutive year Deniliquin RSL Club is offering prize money - $100 each for the winners of the Doubles and $50 each for the Runners Up. The first four placegetters in the Singles will take home - $400 for the winner, $200 for the runner up, and third and fourth each to receive $50.

You can enter by clicking on Doubles. Singles.

Closing date is Thursday 19 October, 2017 (midnight WA time)

Entries to the Australian Golf Croquet Men’s and Women’s Championships can be made on online. The competitions are being held in Brisbane from Saturday 2 to Tuesday 5 September, 2017. To play in the Men’s Tournament click here and to play in the Women’s click here.

Entries close on Thursday 3 August, 2017 (Midnight WA time).

The President’s AC Eights is being held at the Victorian Croquet Centre from Friday 6 to Monday 9 October, 2017.

Expressions of interest are being sought to play in this event and you can register by clicking here.

Closing date is Monday 24 July (midnight Western Australian time).

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Anne Quinn.

The World Croquet Federation is calling for players wishing to participate in the 2018 Association Croquet World Championship being held at the Kelburn Croquet Club in Wellington, New Zealand from Saturday 3 to Sunday 11 February.

Australian players are asked to register their interest no later than Sunday 9 July (midnight WA time) via the ACA website by clicking here. Names will be forwarded to the AC Selection Committee. Australia is required to send the list of names to the WCF by Sunday 30 July which will also include names of those players wanting to nominate for a Wild Card Place.

The WCF on Sunday 27 August will announce those players who have been awarded Ranking Places and Wild Places.

The ACA wishes to advise that from 1 January 2018, players will no longer receive financial support i.e. contribution and entry fees with the exception of players under the age of 21 commencing. ACA’s focus will be team events such as the MacRobertson Shield, GC Teams and both the AC and GC Trans Trasman.

The format and draw for the Patron’s Trophy has been finalised. The event is being held over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend at the Wynnum Croquet Club in Brisbane.