Jim Bast

Jim Bast began playing competitive croquet in 1981 at the Arizona Croquet Club.  Less than two months later he played in his first USCA National Championship.  Named USCA Rookie of the Year in 1982, he then competed in the USCA International Challenge Cup in 1982 and 1983 against Scotland and South Africa.  Jim became the USCA national singles and doubles champion in 1984, in American Rules. He then turned his sights on a new goal, helping the United States gain entry to the MacRobertson Shield.  In 1985, Jim was a member of the first USCA test team to tour Great Britain, competing against Great Britain, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.  Jim competed in the first six Sonoma-Cutrer world championships.  In 1991, he became the first American to reach the finals at Sonoma-Cutrer, narrowly losing to Dave Maugham.  Also, in 1991, he played for the USCA Solomon Trophy team and played in his first WCF World Championship at Hurlingham.  In 1993, Jim was named to the first United States MacRoberston Shield team, the most meaningful moment in his croquet career to date.  He does, however, remain quite fond of his two Arizona Open titles.

Jim largely “retired” from croquet for nearly ten years to start a family with his wife, Cynthia, an affordable housing attorney in Austin, Texas.  Since his return to the game in 2005, he has reached the finals of the US Association Croquet National Championship and won the Canadian Open in 2009.  He was humbled to once again represent the United States in the 2009 Solomon Trophy and to be a part of that historic first triumph over Great Britain.

Jim and Cynthia reside in Austin, Texas where, sadly, there is no croquet club or lawn.  He practices on a sport court and travels to Houston to play on a regulation lawn.  Jim retired from a career in professional sports to be the stay-at-home parent; the “toughest job I ever had, and I’ve had some doozies.”  Their two daughters, Olivia (10) and Amelia (7) use the Solomon grip.

Doug Grimsley

Doug Grimsley continues to win National Doubles Championships in both Association and American Rules with the dual strategy of playing reasonably competent croquet and picking really good partners.  This, combined with occasional singles success enabled him to qualify for spots on the U.S Solomon and Carter teams.  The retired tuna boat captain now works in real estate, leaving ample time and just enough money to pursue his “croquet career”.  Doug recently celebrated his 20th year in croquet by purchasing a new hat.

Danny Huneycutt

Danny Huneycutt began playing croquet in 2002 and immediately became involved in the North Carolina District administration, club building, teaching and tournament directing.

His most cherished croquet moments are, in chronological order, winning the 2005 National Championship, partnering with Jeff Soo to win two of three doubles matches in the 2005 Solomon Trophy, winning the deciding match to win a test for the USA during the 2006 MacRobertson Shield, winning three of three singles matches during the 2008 Solomon, partnering with the Goat to come within one turn of winning the 2008 British Open doubles championship, and contributing to the 2009 USA victory over Great Britain in the 2009 Solomon Trophy.

Born in 1958, with thirty-one years of service, Danny retired March 31, 2009 from R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, where he spent the last fifteen years as a GIS and IT professional. He has been focusing his efforts on “being the best croquet player I can, developing others and promoting croquet”.  Being married to Danna, the love of his life, for 32 years and raising two children, Brook age 28 and Zachary age 25 has made for a most wonderful life.

Rich Lamm

Denver tax attorney Rich Lamm made his US team debut during the 2004 Solomon Trophy in Bowdon, UK.  He also contributed to the US team victory over Ireland in 2009.  This is his second MacRobertson Shield appearance.  He enjoys both American and Association rules croquet, winning the 2007 National Championship, 2002 and 2003 US Open, 2008 Rocky Mountain Invitational and the American Rules 2006 Osborn Cup.  He looks forward to all that great English cuisine this summer and boldly forecasts there will be no rain the entire month of August.

Ben Rothman

Ben Rothman is a 26 year old alumnus of the University of California, San Diego where he received a B.S. in Psychology in 2006.  Ben has been all over the North American croquet circuit since 2008 and has racked up several tournament wins including the 2009 National Championship singles and doubles with partner Doug Grimsley.  This will be Ben’s first MacRobertson shield appearance though he was a member of two Solomon Trophy teams and one Carter Challenge squad.  Ben is attempting to eat, drink and breathe croquet because he loves it.

Jeff Soo

Jeff Soo started playing croquet when Ben Rothman was ten years old.  He had the good fortune to learn the game from some of America's best players, and soon made it his goal to play for Team USA, thanks to the encouragement of his principal mentor in croquet, Mack Penwell.  Jeff made his Team USA debut at the 1999 Solomon Trophy, and his MacRob debut in 2000 at Christchurch.  The 2010 MacRob is his ninth appearance on the team, and his third as Team Captain.  He has won US national titles in USCA Croquet, Association Croquet, and Golf Croquet.  And he is the current club champion of the Stoneridge Croquet Club, his home club located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Jerry Stark

Jerry Stark, who died in May 2010 aged 55, started playing croquet in 1983 at the Arizona Croquet Club in Phoenix AZ.  He had been a member of all 6 MacRobertson Shield teams that Team USA has competed in.  He represented Team USA in the Solomon Trophy 9 times, the Carter Challenge 2 times and the WCF World Singles Championships 10 times and the Sonoma Cutrer World Singles Championships 7 times.

He was the Director of Croquet at Meadowood Napa Valley for 20 years.  His favourite hobby outside of croquet was cookin’ real American Barbecue.  Married to Donna, with a son Zac and a daughter Jessie.  He will be sadly missed.

Paul Bennett

Paul Bennett began playing croquet as a member of the Arizona Croquet Club, then joined the Kentucky clay court association, the American Croquet Association, the United States Croquet Association, the Mission Hills Croquet Club and the Croquet Association.  Each step has helped advance his play through progressively stiffer competitions and greater variety of techniques.  Play has enjoyed travel within the United States, New Zealand, Jersey, Ireland and Great Britain. Paul is an analogue integrated circuit design engineer within National Semiconductor’s Power Management Division.  Away from croquet, Paul stays active with aviation, amateur radio, billiards, bicycling, hiking and rock climbing. Paul has played in two Solomon Trophy matches and as Team USA captain at the 2006 Carter Challenge.  Paul won the 2004 North American Open, the 2004 and the 2006 US Opens.

Paul Billings

Paul Billings, born 1969, is an electrical engineer specializing in image and signal processing.  He was introduced to Association Croquet in 2000 while living on Maui (Hawaii) but began a more focused pursuit of the game in 2008.  Indeed, it figured largely in his recent relocation to Denver, Colorado.  Memorable croquet moments include back-to-back victories of the Meadowood Classic, a 5th turn quad to win the 2009 US Nationals Plate, and sharing first place in block play after reaching the 2009 World Championships through the Qualifying Tournament.

When not on the lawn, one is likely to find him playing beach volleyball (doubles), making custom furniture in his workshop, or simply enjoying the family life with his wife Tracy and son Jackson (5 yrs old).

Erv Peterson (Manager)

Ervand was a member of US Mac teams in 1993 and 1996.  He has also played on 6 Solomon Trophy teams, in 2 WCF World Championships, and 6 Sonoma-Cutrer World Championships.  Erv learned to play from Neil Spooner at Sonoma-Cutrer in northern California in 1988.  He lives in Petaluma, California - in a strawbale house on 3 acres with his wife, Judie and is an adjunct professor of environmental studies and planning at Sonoma State University.