1993, Croquet.com, and My Early Days of Playing the Game of Croquet

Playing the Game of Croquet

6 Wicket Association Game

9 Wicket Game

It was in the year 1993 that I first was introduced to the Game of Croquet ... at least at the 6 wicket level.

Most have played the game ... the 9 wicket game ... in the backyard.  That is where trash cans, tree trunks, and hillsides come into play.   See the layouts found on the net ... thanks to the sources !

Conversely, the 6 Wicket Game utilizes greater strategy and a requirement to keep and "use" the opponents balls in order to advance and win the game.  This is the game I play and as played at the higher levels.

Bob Imhoff writes up Scores

With First National Properties, as General Manager of Development, I was putting together a large land assembly in Kelowna, BC for residential development and a golf course.  A total of 430 acres were collected and put under contract.  Then, the design began.  To increase demand for the site, various options were reviewed - horses take up too much land, but croquet might work.  I was actually walking through Granville Island Market when I spotted a book on croquet.   The players, all resplendid in their whites, appeared quite civilized and the game might be a good addition to a golf course community.

Brian Wasylyk Preparing to Build his
Own Lawn in Campbell River, BC.

I was introduced to the game by Bob Imhoff in Vancouver.  The Vancouver Croquet Club can be found resident with and at the West Point Grey Lawn Bowling Club.  It was there that I was first introduced to the game.   Bob was the 1999 USCroquet Association's Rookie of the Year ... so I was in good company.   Brian Wasylyk was one of Bob's contemporaries and had attended in Florida with Bob in those earlier years.

Two of my earlier influencers, whom I owe thanks !



San Francisco Open Croquet Tournament - May 1993

As it happened, Bob and Brian were heading down to play in the San Francisco Open Croquet Tournament in mid May 1993.  As a total newbie, I thought that would be great fun and a good introduction to the sport.  I entered the tournament, drove down to San Francisco, and got my butt spanked in every game.   Hmmm ... not as easy as it may seem !  Ha.

One thing that was a fine accomplishment during the tournament was the take down of a thief ... I was one of the initial tacklers, as was Graham Garlick if I remember correctly .....

"A suspected burglar fleeing the scene was brought down by a rough-and-tumble group in Golden Gate Park. The crook made the mistake of breaking up a cham- pionship croquet game when he ran through their playing green as he fled. Police took custody of the man from several white-clad players who were sit- ting on him when officers arrived."   ... noted here in the Police Association's Newsletter and here in the CroquetWorld.com look back at the tournament.  

Steve Dimond - Financial Post Tourney '96

On our return to Vancouver, we stopped in at Sonoma Cutrer Vineyards where the world championships were underway.   The location is amazing, and the lawns immaculate.   These, you could eat off of.  A full complement of invitees for the games and the silent auction that raises some $1Million for charities.  Suitably impressed with the elevation the game could reach !

I would play more in Vancouver, most assuredly...

Sonoma Cutrer Vineyards in the halcyon days of World Championship Croquet Tournaments

Ben Rothman (L) is interviewed by Bob Alman (R)
on the veranda of the National Croquet Centre, 
Florida, November, 2008.

Following this foray south, I got into the game, played a fair bit at the club in Vancouver, and was one of the very early users of the internet - developing a web site for croquet in 1995.   As others started to get on the net, I noticed the San Francisco Croquet Club got an address on the web  ... neat .. and Oh Oh.   That triggered it for me and I quickly went and registered Croquet.com in 1996.   Thanks to the Wayback machine, we can review what the site Croquet.com looked like on October 17, 1997.   Bob Alman, one of the key movers and shakers in San Fran at that time, and developer of Croquetworld.com, laments, tongue in cheek, that he triggered me buying and owning Croquet.com.


I owned and messed with Croquet.com for about 10 years ... selling it in 2005, and for the record : for a price of $40k (including $8k of credits on the purchasers many www sites).

Currently you can buy entry level sets on the site, with less focus on the equipment typically used by those in our tournament circles.  One that seems somewhat inflated is the $940 Jaques Solomon Tuftex Croquet Mallet.  It would also appear that the croquet.com site may have been re-sold or amalgamated since I had it ... they don't even use the domain after initial redirects !

Many tournaments later, after years of playing the game, with various newspaper articles (Seattle Times 1996) and having some level of success - winning Seattle Open '98, and coming 2nd three times in Victoria at the Croquet Classic, and coming 2nd a number of times in Vancouver - I find myself on the east coast, and, in 2016, heading down along the eastern seaboard to find courts and players to share a game.

Bob Alman encouraged me to write about my ventures ... so I will.   A bit of history for the net.   A bit of fun for me.

I have games arranged at Bald Head Island - North Carolina,  at Jekyll Island - Georgia, at Naples - Florida, and hopefully at Key Largo.    There is also a few games of golf in there... :-)

Check the routing here ... on Google Maps ...  check out the "Likely Stops Along the Way"

and Tag along ...

Cheers
sd