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| USA with Canada's John Richardson |
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| Sherif Abdelwahab, Cheryl Bromley, Mohamad Kamal, Matt Griffith |
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| How sweet it is! 2-Time World Champion Reg Bamford |
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| Ahmed Nasr - Finalist 2017, Champion 2008 & 2004 |
Friday, March 10, 2017
Photos continued...
Photo Gallery
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| 2017 World Champion Reg Bamford of South Africa |
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| Semi-final match Ahmed Nasr and Felix Webby of NZ |
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| 2-Time World Champ Ahmed Nasr of Egypt |
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| Angus Coulter of NZ, Age 16 |
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| Nihal of Eqypt, her hat says "no problem" |
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| Khalid Younis - 3-time World Champion and now head coach for Egypt |
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| Williamstown volunteers |
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| Reunited with NZ friends, Phyllis Young, daughter Dallas Cooke, and Geoff Young |
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| Check out this follow through! |
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| WCF President Amir Ramsis and Dallas Cooke, NZ |
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Final Day
What an incredible day it was!
(I am planning to update all of my photos once I get back home as I'm still having technical difficulties with loading them unfortunately).
Bill and I had the morning to do a little bit of exploring and took a drive down to the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park on the Mornington Peninsula about 45 minutes southeast of Melbourne. This would be our last chance to hopefully feed kangaroos and wallabies and pet a koala. This place was absolutely wonderful! After paying an entry fee and purchasing some food we were able to walk around anywhere we liked to see many different types of birds and creatures both behind secure fencing and in the open.
One of the most extraordinary things was to be able to walk up to wallabies (small kangaroos) and larger kangaroos and have them eat food right out of our hands! Incredible. Koalas were next on the list and with the assistance of the park ranger, we were able to pet a koala while it munched on its treat of eucalyptus leaves and have our picture taken with them. I know this is very cliche, but it was amazing and we have many memorable photos from our outing. The animals are well looked after and the young staff was fantastic.
Next we headed over to the Victorian Croquet Center to watch the Finals between South Africa's Reg Bamford and Egypt's Ahmed Nasr. These fellows have battled each other twice previously and today's match was highly anticipated. It went the full 5 games lasting close to 6-hours and did not disappoint. The incredible shotmaking was amazing to watch and in the end Reg Bamford was crowned the 2017 champion. It has been a truly incredible experience and trip overall. Time to get packed and head home in the morning.
(I am planning to update all of my photos once I get back home as I'm still having technical difficulties with loading them unfortunately).
Bill and I had the morning to do a little bit of exploring and took a drive down to the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park on the Mornington Peninsula about 45 minutes southeast of Melbourne. This would be our last chance to hopefully feed kangaroos and wallabies and pet a koala. This place was absolutely wonderful! After paying an entry fee and purchasing some food we were able to walk around anywhere we liked to see many different types of birds and creatures both behind secure fencing and in the open.
One of the most extraordinary things was to be able to walk up to wallabies (small kangaroos) and larger kangaroos and have them eat food right out of our hands! Incredible. Koalas were next on the list and with the assistance of the park ranger, we were able to pet a koala while it munched on its treat of eucalyptus leaves and have our picture taken with them. I know this is very cliche, but it was amazing and we have many memorable photos from our outing. The animals are well looked after and the young staff was fantastic.
Next we headed over to the Victorian Croquet Center to watch the Finals between South Africa's Reg Bamford and Egypt's Ahmed Nasr. These fellows have battled each other twice previously and today's match was highly anticipated. It went the full 5 games lasting close to 6-hours and did not disappoint. The incredible shotmaking was amazing to watch and in the end Reg Bamford was crowned the 2017 champion. It has been a truly incredible experience and trip overall. Time to get packed and head home in the morning.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Winding Down
It was another beautiful sunny day in Melbourne. I started the morning with a nice win over Australia's John Arney in a playoff match and earned a spot in the Quarterfinals of the Plate. In that match I faced another Australian, Geoffrey Jamieson. Although I played well, I ended up losing 7-5, 7-3. However, I am feeling quite good as my final placing out of 80 players should be 39 or 40! Over the course of the tournament I played a total of 22 matches (32 games) and won 7 matches.
It felt good to sit back and watch the main draw semi-finals after having played 10 solid days of croquet. Tomorrow's final will be South Africa's Reg Bamford vs. Egypt's Ahmed Nasr. This will be the third time these two players have faced off in a World Championship Final. Bamford is currently ranked #1 in the world and Nasr is #4.
This evening we enjoyed a special Event dinner at the Deer Park Club near the Victorian Croquet Center.
It felt good to sit back and watch the main draw semi-finals after having played 10 solid days of croquet. Tomorrow's final will be South Africa's Reg Bamford vs. Egypt's Ahmed Nasr. This will be the third time these two players have faced off in a World Championship Final. Bamford is currently ranked #1 in the world and Nasr is #4.
This evening we enjoyed a special Event dinner at the Deer Park Club near the Victorian Croquet Center.
Friday, March 3, 2017
Kangaroo Sighting
It's been a long 15-hour day of traveling and competing and I'm whipped. The good news is I won 4 of my 6 matches today and will be in a 3-way playoff to secure one of two spots remaining for the Plate Quarterfinal Knockout!
Our venue today was in Ballarat which was a long but beautiful drive through the countryside. The facility was part of a very nice sports complex (including tennis and field hockey) and the people were just wonderful from the volunteers managing the courts, to the referees, and the ladies in the kitchen preparing all of our snacks and lunch.
There were kangaroo crossing signs along the freeway and yes, on our drive home I spotted a kangaroo feeding on the side of a hill very much like we would see a deer back home. Very cool.
Our venue today was in Ballarat which was a long but beautiful drive through the countryside. The facility was part of a very nice sports complex (including tennis and field hockey) and the people were just wonderful from the volunteers managing the courts, to the referees, and the ladies in the kitchen preparing all of our snacks and lunch.
There were kangaroo crossing signs along the freeway and yes, on our drive home I spotted a kangaroo feeding on the side of a hill very much like we would see a deer back home. Very cool.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Belmont Croquet Club Geelong
We were on the road at 6:30 a.m. for a long drive into the countryside to get to the Belmont Croquet Club. As has been the case at every venue we've been to, we were warmly welcomed and offered homemade goodies and tea before starting our matches.
Those of us who didn't qualify for the top 32 are now competing in the Plate. They've divided us into 3 blocks and today's play consisted of 5, 1-game matches against everyone in our block. I am happy to report that I won 2 of my 5 matches today and came very close in the others. The format is a double round robin which means tomorrow we will again play everyone in our block and a total of 8 players will advance to a Plate Knock Out. That means tomorrow I will need to bring something extra special to elevate my game even another notch!
We will be assigned to another venue for tomorrow, this one in Ballarat will be 2 hours drive away. I have to say the commuting to and from each of the venues has truly been the most difficult and expensive portion of this endeavor. The best outcome for me would be to place in the top two in my block to avoid having to return at the end of the day to the Victorian Croquet Center for a playoff match. Fingers crossed.
Those of us who didn't qualify for the top 32 are now competing in the Plate. They've divided us into 3 blocks and today's play consisted of 5, 1-game matches against everyone in our block. I am happy to report that I won 2 of my 5 matches today and came very close in the others. The format is a double round robin which means tomorrow we will again play everyone in our block and a total of 8 players will advance to a Plate Knock Out. That means tomorrow I will need to bring something extra special to elevate my game even another notch!
We will be assigned to another venue for tomorrow, this one in Ballarat will be 2 hours drive away. I have to say the commuting to and from each of the venues has truly been the most difficult and expensive portion of this endeavor. The best outcome for me would be to place in the top two in my block to avoid having to return at the end of the day to the Victorian Croquet Center for a playoff match. Fingers crossed.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Final Day of Block Play - I won a game!
It was back to Williamstown this morning for my final match of block play. I knew going into it, that this would be another tough match against the top player in my block, John-Paul Moberly of England. He is an incredibly polite and nice young man who attends college in Edinburgh, Scotland and currently holds the #3 ranking in the UK and #7 in the world.
In the first game, every single shot went my way and I was playing the best I have played this entire tournament. Combined with a bit of luck, I found myself up 5-0, then 6-1 and every fiber in me was trying to stay calm and focused to close out this first of 3 games. He steadily made his way back to 6-3 and I had two chances to finish it, but with some great shot-making he inched back to 6-5. Somehow I managed to win the final hoop and the game 7-5 to record my first winning game of the tournament and my second biggest game win of my playing career.
After that, JP was razor focused and turned it on to shut me out 7-0. In the third game my clearing shots weren't hitting the target and I ended up losing 7-2. All in all, I was very pleased.
There was a bit of a breakdown in communication between the various venues at the start of the morning with several players turning up at one spot only to be told they needed to be at another. After my match, and specifically because of this, I went to the site manager to clarify where my next match would be and I was told I needed to report back across town to the VCC for the start of the consolation (aka Plate). After a 25 minute ride, we arrived only to be told that I didn't have a match and there was a handwritten sign on the bulletin board noting that. What they failed to do was notify the satellite venues of this information - needless to say I was not a happy camper and expressed my frustration within the limits of still attempting to be respectful. UGH. Now it was a 45 minute ride in traffic back to where we were staying. The only saving grace was that Bill and I went out and had a tasty dinner at a fun sports pub. Nothing that a pint of beer and a great game of soccer on tv can't solve!
Waiting to find out where and when I am scheduled to play for tomorrow as it was still being determined as I wrote this at 7:00 pm. I don't envy the tournament managers!
In the first game, every single shot went my way and I was playing the best I have played this entire tournament. Combined with a bit of luck, I found myself up 5-0, then 6-1 and every fiber in me was trying to stay calm and focused to close out this first of 3 games. He steadily made his way back to 6-3 and I had two chances to finish it, but with some great shot-making he inched back to 6-5. Somehow I managed to win the final hoop and the game 7-5 to record my first winning game of the tournament and my second biggest game win of my playing career.
After that, JP was razor focused and turned it on to shut me out 7-0. In the third game my clearing shots weren't hitting the target and I ended up losing 7-2. All in all, I was very pleased.
There was a bit of a breakdown in communication between the various venues at the start of the morning with several players turning up at one spot only to be told they needed to be at another. After my match, and specifically because of this, I went to the site manager to clarify where my next match would be and I was told I needed to report back across town to the VCC for the start of the consolation (aka Plate). After a 25 minute ride, we arrived only to be told that I didn't have a match and there was a handwritten sign on the bulletin board noting that. What they failed to do was notify the satellite venues of this information - needless to say I was not a happy camper and expressed my frustration within the limits of still attempting to be respectful. UGH. Now it was a 45 minute ride in traffic back to where we were staying. The only saving grace was that Bill and I went out and had a tasty dinner at a fun sports pub. Nothing that a pint of beer and a great game of soccer on tv can't solve!
Waiting to find out where and when I am scheduled to play for tomorrow as it was still being determined as I wrote this at 7:00 pm. I don't envy the tournament managers!
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