2015 Kansas City Invitational Results

KANSAS CITY, MO -- MCA member Matt Griffith won the 42nd Annual Kansas City Invitational on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri. The event is six-ball (cutthroat) and is likely the longest active running croquet tournament in the US. In 2013, the Palm Beach Invitational celebrated its 45th year, but there is no report of the event running again since that year.

PHOTO GALLERY

The MCA had 11 members participate in the 30-player event with Griffith, Ellie Kemp, Dylan Goodwin, Greg Adams, Jodi Adams, Billy Bob Breeden, Debbie Breeden, Ron Millican, Deborah Millican, Greg Clouse and Jason Johnson all on hand.

The event was held at Fast Eddie Mondt's private residence on two courts. The southern court featured a steep downhill at the turn wickets that provided a challenge all day for players -- funneling most balls that approached directly out of bounds behind the turn stake. Players got two games and the top 12 by place points advanced to two six-player semifinals. From there the top three advanced from each game to the final.

The MCA supports all competitive croquet events in the midwest and all of the players that participated enjoyed the event. 

FINALS LINE-UP
Matt Griffith (W)
Billy Bob Breeden
Greg Clouse
Art Hatchey
Deborah Millican
Ron Millican

2015 Missouri Open - Bronze Line Up

BELTON, MO -- The 2015 Missouri Open at Eagles' Landing will have five players in the six-ball Bronze Division. The Bronze Division will play two games and places will be determined by total points in both games.

Game 1 -- 12:15 p.m.

Game 2 -- 2:30 p.m.

Players:
Gwyneth Bowen
Elizabeth Goodwin
Renee Potter
Gabe Andrews
Donald Dawes

ENTRY FEE: $10, Registration for Bronze will be courtside.

ADDRESS: 4200 Bong Ave, Belton, MO 64012

LUNCH: Available for purchase on site in the Eagles' Landing Clubhouse.

DRESS CODE: The MCA does not have a dress code, but we do honor the code of host venues. In this case, Eagles' Landing requires that men wear shirts with sleeves. Cut-off shorts are not allowed and frayed jeans are also not permitted. 

NO COOLERS: Eagles's Landing Golf Course does not allow coolers on the course. This is to prohibit the use of alcohol and also to encourage usage of the on-site clubhouse.

SIX-BALL RULES:
Six ball follows the same set of rules as the MCA Silver Division, but each player only plays one ball. The order of play is Blue, Red, Black, Yellow, Green, Orange. The first player to run all of the wickets and peg out is the winner. There is a time-limit of 50 minutes. If time runs out before a peg out, each ball gets one last turn. A player earns one point for each wicket run and peg scored. The player with the most points in a non-pegout game is the winner.

A player may not earn bonus shots off of another ball prior to running the first wicket. A player also may not earn bonus shots off of any other ball that has not previously scored the first wicket. If a player that has run the first wicket (in the game), hits his or her ball into a ball that has not scored the first wicket (out of the game), the balls reset and the turn is over.

One bonus shot is earned for running a wicket or scoring the stake. Wickets must be run from the proper side. If a player scores two wickets in one stroke, then two bonus shots are earned. If a player scores a wicket and a stake in the same stroke two bonus strokes are earned. However, a third bonus shot can never be earned (two wickets and a stake, still only results in two bonus shots).

If a player hits another ball, that earns two bonus shots. However, a player may only hit a ball once before scoring a wicket. 

Each player gets one, one-minute time out during the game. 

If a player withdrawals from a game, that player's ball is removed from the court.

2015 Missouri Open Draws Top Talent

BELTON, MO -- As the MCA Nine Wicket Series prepares to take a historic step by partnering with a golf course for an event, it appears as though top players are paying attention. The 2015 Missouri Open at Eagles' Landing Golf Course in Belton, MO., on Saturday, June 6, 2015 now boasts the best Pro field that the Series has fielded. For starters, 2014 USCA Nine Wicket National champion Paul Miller is on the roster as well as runner-up Matt Griffith.Paul Miller

In addition, former two-time USCA Nine Wicket National champion Matt Smith (2009, 2011) has also joined the fray. Smith took some time off from nine wicket croquet and is now ranked #29 on the US list for Association players. And also from the Association world, Billy Bob Breeden will be on hand for the Missouri Open and he is currently #47 in the US Association rankings.

And of course, MCA 9WS mainstays Dylan Goodwin and Greg Clouse will also be looking to breakthrough the talented field as they join Miller and Griffith as the only other players to have won a Pro Series event.

"It's been a long term to goal to partner with a golf course here in the Kansas City area," said Dylan Goodwin, MCA President. "So, it's been great to see the top players here support the event."

With Monday as the entry deadline, 21 players have already committed and there are only two slots left for Pro/Gold. The tentative plan is to start Pro/Gold at 8:30 a.m. with the championship game slated for roughly 4:00 p.m. The Bronze and Silver Divisions will start at noon and should finish by 6:00 p.m.

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2015 Sunflower Wickets Mahaffie Croquet Tournament

Teams are forming now for the Sixth Annual Mahaffie Sunflower Wickets croquet tournament.  This unique event is hosted by the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm Foundation in support of the preservation, programming and promotion of the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm Historic Site located at 1200 E. Kansas City Road in Olathe. 

Sunflower Wickets will be held Friday, June 5 at the Olathe Community Center, located across the street from the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Historic Site. Event registration begins at 1 p.m with croquet play from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wicked Wickets Happy Hour runs from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to the top four finishing teams at 4 p.m. in the Olathe Community Center.

Croquet was a popular, inexpensive sport throughout the country in the mid-19th century. Tables of eight are available and two-person teams are now forming.  For more information about forming a team or tournament sponsorship opportunities, visit Mahaffie.org, contact Mahaffie at (913) 971-5111 or email Mahaffie@olatheks.org.

VIDEO: http://bcove.me/38v2aov1

Griffith Claims Third Straight With LSTB Win

LEE'S SUMMIT, MO -- Matt Griffith continued his dominance in the MCA Nine Wicket Series with his third straight Pro Division win yesterday in Lee's Summit, Missouri at the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament. Griffith took down Greg Clouse in the final with a decisive 32-13 win and extended his game-winning streak to 14 games. That is one-shy of Paul Miller's record 15-game streak. Griffith has never lost an MCA Nine-Wicket Series game and now has a 14-0 record.

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2015 Lee's Summit T-Bone Line-ups

LEE'S SUMMIT, MO -- Line-ups are now set for a record-braking 28 players to take to the courts at Howard Park on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Wanda Jackson and Darin Watson will have early round byes in the Silver Division, but we do ask that they come in advance to help our our new players that will be learning the game in the Bronze Division.

Registration and fee payment begins at 8:00 a.m. and we ask that players arrive at 8:00 am or later in order to allow our set up crew to work without interruptions. The courts should be ready for practice at 8:15 a.m.

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Follow MCA on Twitter and Instagram

The Midwest Croquet Association has set up accounts on Instagram and Twitter.

The MCA will post photos under midwestcroquetassociation on Instagram. On Twitter, the MCA's handle is MidwestCroquet.

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Lee's Summit Kickoff Rapidly Approaching

LEE'S SUMMIT, MO -- The MCA is getting ready to kickoff the 2015 MCA Nine Wicket Series with the 2014 Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament next Saturday, May 2, 2015 at Howard Park in Lee's Summit, MO.

Pre-register by April 28, 2015 at lsparks.net or call 969-1500.

$17 for MCA Members* | $27 for non-members

This is the same location the event was held in 2014. The event is part of the MCA Tour Nine-Wicket Series and is hosted by Ron and Deborah Millican and Greg and Jodi Adams. 

*2015 MCA Membership: 

http://missouricroquet.squarespace.com/membership/

2015 MCA Membership Drive

The Midwest Croquet Association is pleased to announce a new premium tier for 2015 MCA Membership that includes a custom MCA jersey. The MCA Premium membership is $70 and covers both single and family memberships. In addition, a custom MCA jersey with number based on the 2014 points race is included for the primary member account holder. Additional jerseys can be purchased at $35 each.

2015 MCA PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP FORM
(Deadline is MARCH 29, 2015)

• $70 - Includes the Couples/Family Membership
  plus custom MCA Jersey
• Sizes Available: S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL and sizing chart

BASIC MEMBERSHIPS
The order form for basic single ($25) and family/couple memberships ($35) is also available now. For more information on Basic MCA Membership pages, visit the MCA Membership page.

2015 MCA AGM: Focus on KC Development

The 2015 Midwest Croquet Association Annual General Meeting was hosted at the home of Ron and Deborah Millican in Lee's Summit, MO on February 7, 2015. The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. with a look at financials and membership. The MCA set records in both revenue ($1815) and members in 2014. The MCA had 32 members in 2014, which was up from the record of 22 in 2013 (2012 had nine members).

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