Lee's Summit New Date: June 8

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The Lee's Summit T-Bone Croquet Tournament in Lee's Summit, MO has been rescheduled for Saturday, June 8. The event will be held at Howard Park (3498 NE Independence Ave) and starts at 9:00 a.m.

This re-opens the registration period for anyone that could not make the May 4 date. For players that cannot make the new date the Lee's Summit Parks department will provide refunds.

The event will feature a singles nine-wicket division and also offer a six-ball cutthroat division. The singles division will be played according to official USCA nine-wicket rules with options 1, 1a*, 2, 3, 7, 9 and 10. Awards will be given to the top finishers in each division.

The event is sponsored by the Lee's Summit Parks & Recreation and you can register at lsparks.net or call 816-969-1500. Fee is $17 and the deadline is April 24.

*We will disregard the game score relative to the 1a. Clearing option. We have petitioned the USCA to change this rule.

Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament Postponed

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Due to the inability to get a good cut on the grass with the snow and a forecast for wet and cold weather tomorrow, the Lee's Summit Tournament will be postponed. We are exploring new dates and will send notice once we have something set (new date is Saturday, June 8).

If a registered player cannot make the new date June 8 date, Lee's Summit Parks and Rec will offer a refund.
2013 MCA SCHEDULE
05/25 — Stilwell Open (9W) / Stilwell, KS
06/07 — Sunflower Wickets Benefit (GC) / Olathe, KS
06/08 — Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament (9W) / Lee's Summit, MO
09/14 — MCA Championship (9W) / TBD

Smith and Breeden at AC Nationals

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MCA members Matt Smith and Billy Bob Breeden are playing at this week's USCA Association National Championship. Smith tied for second in the yellow block with a 6-3 record, while Breeden went 1-7 in the blue block (which looks like an incredibly tough block). You can follow the event here:

http://www.croquetscores.com/2013/ac/usca-nationals

Troy White: 1963-2013

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White at 9W Nationals in 2010Troy White of Rockville, Missouri, passed away April 23, 2013. He was 49 years old. Troy lived in Rockville, Missouri most of his life. During his life, he worked for JLS Coal Company and also Wilson Plumbing. Troy loved the small town life and especially enjoyed being outdoors. Some of his favorite outdoor passions were deer hunting and mushroom hunting, but his favorite passion was playing croquet. Troy started playing nine-wicket cutthroat croquet in the early 1980’s and started playing in tournaments around this same time.

In the mid-1990’s, Troy won several tournaments over a four-year period and became known as the man to beat in Kansas City. Around 2009, Troy joined the USCA and played in the annual Nine-Wicket USCA National Championship tournament held in Kansas City. Most of all, Troy enjoyed playing nine-wicket cutthroat in someone’s backyard where there were small hills and valleys to present an extra challenge.

Lee's Summit T-Bone Croquet Tournament

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The 2013 MCA Nine-Wicket Series will kick off on May 4 with the Lee's Summit T-Bone Croquet Tournament in Lee's Summit, MO. The event will be held at Howard Park (3498 NE Independence Ave) and starts at 9:00 a.m.

There will be a singles nine-wicket division and a six-ball cutthroat division. The singles division will be played according to official USCA nine-wicket rules with options 1, 1a, 2, 3, 7, 9 and 10. Awards will be given to the top finishers in each division.

The event is sponsored by the Lee's Summit Parks & Recreation and you can register at lsparks.net or call 816-969-1500. Fee is $17 and the deadline is April 24.

Flyer available here:
http://missouricroquet.squarespace.com/storage/flyers/2013%20Lee%27s%20Summit%20Flyer.pdf

MCA Name Change: Midwest Croquet Association

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LEAWOOD, KS -- The MCA held it's Annual General Meeting February 9 in Leawood, KS and announced several new changes and initiatives. The most significant change is a new name -- the Midwest Croquet Association (changed from Missouri Croquet Association). The change is intended to better represent the organization's activities on both sides of the border and allow for expansion. New president Dylan Goodwin will work with the MCA Board to get a new logo approved that reflects the new direction of the association.

The big ticket item though was the announcement of a season-long nine-wicket points race for singles play. Details will be announced later, but the concept is that players will accumulate points at events hosted throughout the region. Top points players will then qualify for the MCA Nine-Wicket Championship event in September.

Most of the dates and venues are still to be determined, but Ron Millican announced May 4 as the official date for the Lee's Summit edition of the series (more details to come). The event will kick off the nine-wicket MCA season and Millican plans to have both partner ball flights and a cut-throat (six ball) flight as well. The MCA hopes to have at least one event per month over the summer with Warrensburg, MO and Overland Park, KS being likely hosts. August is being left open as many MCA players would like the opportunity to play in the 40th edition of the Kansas City Invitational in Parkville, MO.

The MCA also announced a $5.00 bump in membership fees for both singles and couples/families. Single memberships are now $20.00 and couples/family memberships are now set at $30.00.

Former MCA president Matt Smith asked to leave the MCA Board and Ron Millican has taken his place on the five member board. The board consists of Dylan Goodwin (President), Jodi Adams (Treasurer), Debbie Breeden (Secretary), Greg Clouse and Ron Millican.

MCA Leadership Change

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After roughly 18 months as President of the Missouri Croquet Association, Matt Smith turned the reigns over to Dylan Goodwin of Leawood, Kansas in November. Goodwin has served on the MCA board since 2011 and is also the Communications Committee chairman for the USCA. In addition, he is the publisher and editor for the USCA's Croquet News magazine and manages the Croquet Network news website.

"I've proposed to the core members of the MCA that we take on a more active singles nine-wicket approach to get the organization playing more competitive croquet in the KC area," said Goodwin. "And, the second priority is getting established events in the other three codes of croquet as well."

Goodwin noted that an association rules event started in 2011 and the 2012 event is in progress.

"Clearly, there are challenges for playing GC, Association and American rules events here as we only have the one court at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville," said Goodwin "However, the association event shows that we just need to get creative with being flexible and potentially playing over multiple weekends. I'd like to see the AC event be sponsored by the MCA in 2013 and expand out to more players and possibly two flights."

"The main thing is, I just want to get a strong circuit of competitive play going here in KC."

The MCA will hold an All General Meeting (AGM) on February 9 in Leawood, Kansas to get started on planning events for 2013.

Breeden Second in Fourth Eight

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WEST PALM BEACH, FLA -- The MCA's Billy Bob Breeden of Cameron, Missouri tied for second in the fourth eight at the USCA's Selection Eights association event. Breeden had an 8-6 record in his group. Thirteen-year-old Matthew Essick won the group with a 10-4 record. Harper Peterson also posted an 8-6 records. Full event results are available here and you can see Breeden's full 2012 AC record here:

http://butedock.demon.co.uk/cgs/player.php?year=2012&pfn=Billy%20Bob&psn=Breeden

Smith Wins Indian Territory Open

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TULSA, OK -- Matt Smith of Warrensburg, Missouri took the championship flight of the Indian Territory Open held in Tulsa, Oklahoma this past weekend. Smith defeated Matt Baird of Tulsa in the final after beating Dan Bennett in round one and Jeff Caldwell in the semi-finals. Matt Griffith of Parkville, Missouri
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Breeden is Kansas City's AC Champion

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Parkville, MO -- Billy Bob Breeden came into the final day of the Kansas City Association Championship with a perfect 6-0 record and a three game lead. He finished the event with a 2-2 record on the final day and claimed the first annual KC AC title with an 8-2 record. Matt Smith and Dylan Goodwin finished with 6-4 records and Smith took second place by virtue of a 2-1 head-to-head advantage. Special thanks to Debbie Breeden who provided lunches to the four players for the second and third rounds. Also, thanks to Matt Griffith and the Kactus Creek Croquet Club for providing the venue and court. All indications are that the event will return for 2012.

FINAL STANDINGS
1. Billy Bob Breeden
2. Matt Smith
3. Dylan Goodwin
4. Matt Griffith

RESULTS

August 13

Matt Smith                  beat     Matt Griffith               +24
Billy Bob Breeden      beat     Dylan Goodwin          +9
Dylan  Goodwin         beat     Matt Griffith               +11
Billy Bob Breeden      beat     Matt Smith                  +17
Billy Bob Breeden      beat     Matt Griffith               +7
Dylan Goodwin          beat     Matt Smith                  +7

October 23

 Matt Smith                 beat     Matt Griffith               +5
 Billy Bob Breeden     beat     Dylan Goodwin          +6
 Billy Bob Breeden     beat     Matt Smith                  +3
 Dylan Goodwin         beat     Matt Griffith               +1
 Matt Smith                 beat     Dylan Goodwin          +7
 Billy Bob Breeden     beat     Matt Griffith               +3

November 4

 Billy Bob Breeden     beat     Matt Smith                  +4
 Dylan Goodwin         beat     Matt Griffith               +9
 Dylan Goodwin         beat     Billy Bob Breeden      +12
 Matt Smith                 beat     Matt Griffith               +2
 Billy Bob Breeden     beat     Matt Griffith               +6
 Matt Smith                 beat     Dylan Goodwin          +15
 Dylan Goodwin         beat     Matt Griffith               +1
 Matt Smith                 beat     Billy Bob Breeden      +25

KC Association Championship Update

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After two rounds, Billy Bob Breeden leads the event with a perfect 6-0 record. The first round took place on August 13 while round two concluded on October 23. The final round will take place with four games for each of the four players this Friday at the Kactus Creek Club in Parkville, Missouri. Results so far:

August 13

  1. Matt Smith                  beat     Matt Griffith               +24
  2. Billy Bob Breeden      beat     Dylan Goodwin          +9
  3. Dylan  Goodwin         beat     Matt Griffith               +11
  4. Billy Bob Breeden      beat     Matt Smith                  +17
  5. Billy Bob Breeden      beat     Matt Griffith               +7
  6. Dylan Goodwin          beat     Matt Smith                  +7

October 23

  1.  Matt Smith                 beat     Matt Griffith               +5
  2.  Billy Bob Breeden     beat     Dylan Goodwin          +6
  3.  Billy Bob Breeden     beat     Matt Smith                  +3
  4.  Dylan Goodwin         beat     Matt Griffith               +1
  5.  Matt Smith                 beat     Dylan Goodwin          +7
  6.  Billy Bob Breeden     beat     Matt Griffith               +3

Records: Breeden (6-0), Smith (3-3), Goodwin (3-3), Griffith (0-6)

MCA's Matt Smith Takes National Title

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PHOTO GALLERY

SHAWNEE, KS -- The final day of playoff action at the Nine Wicket Nationals in Kansas City saw steady rain, but the players battled through. In championship singles, Matt Smith knocked of Billy Bob Breeden to make the final, while Matt Baird took out George Cochran to advance.

In the final match, Baird got the first break but stuffed number five. That let Smith set up his break which he ran all the way out to the penultimate wicket. He then turned it over to his partner and finished with a double peel to claim the 2011 singles national championship.

In doubles championship play, Matt Baird and Jeff Caldwell battled Billy Bob Breeden and Matt Griffith in the final. Baird and Caldwell took a tight match 32-25 to claim the doubles title.

In the first flight singles playoff, #4 seed Jason Cole knocked off #1 Greg Adams in the semifinals. In the other semi-final, #2 Barry Dupuy beat #4 Ron Millican to advance. Cole won the final over Dupuy to claim the first flight national championship.

Video report will be available later today.

2011 USCA Nine-Wicket Nationals (September 16-18)

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This year we will be playing the Nine Wicket Championships at the Mid-America Sports Complex 20000 Johnson Dr, Shawnee, Kansas. Dates for the event are Friday, September 16 through Sunday, September 18. There will be Championship singles, doubles; and First flight doubles.

FRIDAY (one event only):

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5th Annual Lee's Summit Parks Croquet Tournament

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The 5th annual Lee's Summit Parks Croquet Tournament was held June 18th with 18 enthusiastic players coming together for some "HOT" competition of High/Low croquet playing.  Championship flight (High) players were paired with 1st Flight (Low) to battle for points to find the 2011 champions. Coming out on top in the Championship level was  Nick Zink, Warrensburg, 2nd Troy White, Rockville & 3rd Johnny Nichol, Warrensburg. Leading the 1st Flight players were 1st Heather McNeely, Keanery, 2nd Jimmy Hutchinson, Warrensburg & 3rd Jason Johnson of Kansas, City.

Mahaffie StageCoach Croquet Tournament

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There was a happening at the Mahaffie Stagcoach stop, and that happening was FUN! With the help of the Mo Croquet Assoc & the Kactus Creek Croq. Club, the 2nd Annual Sunflower Wicket Benefit got off to a beautiful start with a continental breakfast followed by an energetic Croquet tournament. Competition was on the "FUN" side but still very competitive. Sporting "period dress", Mahaffie employees exhibited their skills to an exciting crowd pleasing win. Rounding out the day for the players, sponsors & croquet pros, was a champagne brunch that was enjoyed by all.