[<<] [>>] by Leo Dungan
12 Dec 2007 (International)

The World Croquet Federation has much pleasure in announcing that the Croquet Association of Ireland (CAI) has been awarded the hosting of "The 2nd WCF Women's World Golf Croquet Championship".

The event will be played from Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th September 2007 in Dublin. The main centre will be at Carrickmines Croquet & Lawn Tennis Club with two additional lawns at Herbert Park Croquet Club, by kind permission of both Clubs, giving a total of six lawns for the event.

There will be an expected entry of 40 players from around the world in the main event. A flexible progressive swiss plate event will also be played.

President of the CAI, Robert Barklie, in giving thanks to the WCF for the opportunity to stage the event said, "It is very good news that the 2007 WCF Women's World Golf Croquet Championship is coming to Ireland. For us here it will provide a great opportunity to promote the fascinating and challenging game that is croquet. It will allow us to see the very best women players in the world in action and it will also enable several Irish women players to compete against world class opposition in front of a home crowd and, who knows, maybe one of them will take the crown. It is good news too for the visitors because it will give them the opportunity of coming to Ireland, perhaps for the first time, and playing in lovely surroundings. We believe that, however successful they are on the croquet lawns, they will enjoy their visit; they will certainly receive a warm welcome."

President of the World Croquet Federation, David Openshaw said, "I am extremely pleased that we will be holding the Women's World Championship 2007 in Ireland. I look forward to a very successful tournament. The Croquet Association of Ireland is to be congratulated on its bid to hold this event. Ireland has played an important historical role in the development of croquet and it is a great pleasure that we will be holding a world championship there for the first time."

Further details of the 2nd WCF Women's World Golf Croquet World Championship will be released in due course.

Note to Editors:

• The current World Women's Golf Croquet Champion is Nahed Hassan, Egypt , who beat her compatriot, Iman El Farnsawi at Cairo in November 2005.
• The 2nd Women's World Golf Croquet Championship is the first croquet world championship to be held in Ireland.
• Egypt has dominated all previous WCF Golf Croquet World Championships recording a clean sweep of the seven open events held to date.
• The next WCF World Open Golf Croquet Championship will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 8th to 16th March 2008.

Allocation of Places

Based primarily on the performances in the last World Championship and protected places for Full and Associate member associations, the allocations are as follows:-

General

Nominations and proposals for Wild Cards will only be accepted for players in good standing with his or her member association. This means that the player shall not be under suspension or be disaffiliated by a member association or one of its affiliated members or, have been advised in writing that they are not eligible by a member association or one of its affiliated members.

If any member association is not going to take up their allocation then an early indication of this would be appreciated.

Nominations

Full and Associate member associations of the WCF are now asked to nominate the players of their choice up to the maximum allowed in the table above.

Should a nominated player withdraw prior to the closing date, the relevant member association may nominate another player in their place.

Conditions

Nominations will only be accepted if accompanied by:- Entry Fee of £30 (GBP); A photograph and biography of the relevant player.

Note

The Entry Fee can be paid electronically to the WCF via the WCF Tournament web page.

Wild Cards

At this time a total of 4 wild card places have been identified.

ALL WCF member associations (Full, Associate and Observers) are invited to propose one or more players for wild cards to be allocated at WCF discretion.

Players nominated for a wild card shall NOT be stronger in playing strength than any player originally nominated by the relevant member association.

Conditions

The entry fee will be charged at a later date in the event they are successful.

Closing Date

The closing date for Nominations and Wild Card proposals by member associations is 1st April 2007.

Unallocated Nomination Places

All places not taken up via the nomination process shall be added to the Wild Card total and allocated at WCF discretion.

Increasing the Entry to 48

It is possible that the WCF, in consultation with the hosts, may increase the overall entry to 48 players, dependent upon demand and the quality of players nominated or proposed. In that event the additional places shall be taken from the Wild Card proposals.

Tournament Details

The event will be played from Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th September 2007 in Dublin. The main centre will be at Carrickmines Croquet & Lawn Tennis Club with two additional lawns at Herbert Park Croquet Club, by kind permission of both Clubs, giving a total of six lawns for the event.

There will be an expected entry of 40 players from around the world in the main event. A flexible progressive swiss plate event will also be played.

Further details of the 2nd WCF Women's World Golf Croquet World Championship will be released in due course

Brian Storey
WCF Secretary General

the WCF website