Australia to host Golf Croquet World Championships for the first time in history

Come along and see the game of croquet played at its absolute finest when the World Croquet Federation’s Golf Croquet World Championships come to Australia for the first time at the end of February.

Around 80 players from 14 countries will converge in Melbourne from Feb 25 to March 5 for the 12^th annual World Championships, which are held every two years in a nominated country and attract the best names in the sport.

The current number one ranked player in the world and the only player to ever hold both the Golf Croquet and Association Croquet World Championship titles at the same time, Reg Bamford from South Africa, will take part along with a long list of notable players including the highest ranked woman in the world, Jenny Clarke from New Zealand (ranked 23) and the highest ranked young player, Hamish McIntosh from New Zealand (aged 26 and ranked 28 in the world).

Think croquet is a niche, old-fashioned sport? Think again says the President of Croquet Victoria Jim Clement.

“Croquet is growing in popularity with 89 clubs and more than 2800 members in Victoria alone – 265 clubs and 9000+ players nationally,” says Jim.

History of croquet and Croquet Victoria

Croquet is understood to have been introduced to England from Ireland in the early 1850s and was probably played in Victoria shortly after, with a reference to a Croquet Club in Kyneton in 1866. Other early records are Lilydale (1894), Ballarat (1902), and Bendigo with Bright, Ballarat Western and Melbourne clubs following in 1904. The Victorian Croquet Association (now Croquet Victoria) came into being on 18th June 1914, following a meeting of players interested in forming an association called on 17th February of that year.