2019: The WRW Year in Review

The club’s ongoing membership drive, first introduced in 2018, has been a huge success. Spreading the word through personal contact and local media, newcomers are given help in how to hold a mallet and make basic wicket shots. Games of golf croquet follow. 

Many of the players who joined WRW in 2018 and 2019 have already graduated to six-wicket and are successfully competing in tournaments. The Merion Cricket Club in Haverford, Pennsylvania holds two tournaments a year and WRW consistently performs well on its wonderful grass lawns. WRW came up short in the spring InterClub Championship but made its presence felt in the invitational in the fall. Noreen Rice, playing in only her second tournament, won singles (first flight) and the doubles tournament. Calvert Chaney was runner up in doubles and Rodney Calver was a finalist in first flight singles. As a result of their outstanding play at Merion, Noreen’s handicap was reduced to 11 and John Rice became a 12.

Hal Denton and Tom Stoner carried the flag for WRW at the USCA Club Teams Championships in March. They came third in second flight which was enough to put West River on the Lyons trophy in the Small Club category.

Calvert Chaney (handicap 1.5) was runner-up in championship flight at the Country Club of Jackson (Mississippi) tournament. He was also club champion at the St Andrew’s Croquet Club Delray, Florida. Calvert placed second in championship B singles at the Peyton Ballenger Invitational in Florida in February. In January, Cynthia Chess won third flight singles at the Fred Jones Invitational at the Sarasota Croquet Club in Venice Florida. Her handicap was reduced to 10. Eugenia Wilkie placed second in the Peyton Ballenger Invitational (second flight doubles).

Five WRW members attended the Big Oyster Croquet Tournament in Hartfield, Virginia in October. Lee Jorde (Handicap 4) lost in the final to Sean Miller of St. John’s College. Susan Koepp, playing in her first tournament, finished with a three and one record and her handicap was reduced to 12. Lee was runner up to Macey White in the 2019 Southeast Regional Association Rules tournament at Hartfield, Virginia.

In November, WRW hosted the St John’s College croquet team. In freezing conditions, the Johnnies avenged their defeat in 2017 by a handy margin. At Thanksgiving, WRW organized a Black Friday Turkey Trot in-house tournament – again in cold weather. Susan Koepp and John Rice took home turkey hat trophies.

Hal Denton traveled all over the world in pursuit of golf croquet glory. In December, partnered by Sherif Abdelwahab, he won championship doubles at the USCA golf croquet club team championship. In January, he was second to Sherif in the Steuber Classic golf croquet singles.