VPC: Oklahoma Open Wrap Up, Part 4

The MCA held a Virtual Press Conference (VPC) today with MCA President Dylan Goodwin as a follow-up to last Saturday’s Oklahoma Open. This is Part 4 of 4 of the Q&A which was geared more toward Goodwin's role as a player:

Now that we have your insight on the Oklahoma Open from your point of view as MCA president, tell us about the event from a player's perspective. We had touched on the "true croquet court" playing surface. How did the players fare in the nine-wicket game on the fast turf? What sort of adjustments did players make? Were there trade-offs?

So, this is a really interesting question. I've never really seen much of a standard opening strategy develop in 9W on long grass. Chernobyls are effective because you can make hoop 1 and 2 in one stroke to get two shots. I will say with the faster grass, red and yellow were opting for corner 1 a lot, but people were also rolling past wicket 2 quite bit after scoring #1.

Click to read more ...

VPC: Oklahoma Open Wrap Up, Part 3

The MCA held a Virtual Press Conference (VPC) today with MCA President Dylan Goodwin as a follow-up to last Saturday’s Oklahoma Open. This is Part 3 of 4 of the Q&A:

Oklahoma and Kansas see their share of wind. Surely that lesson will be a valuable in the future. Returning closer to the MCA's home base, what can you tell us about the Sunflower Wickets Fundraiser in Olathe, Kan.?

This is an event that the MCA has worked with since it's inception in 2010. We provide the equipment and referee the games. I think it is good fundraiser for the historic Mahaffie Farmstead there in Olathe, and it's always nice to see our MCA group out there in the red shirts. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to do much for promoting the sport.

Click to read more ...

VPC: OKLAHOMA OPEN WRAP UP, PART 2

The MCA held a Virtual Press Conference (VPC) today with MCA President Dylan Goodwin as a follow-up to last Saturday’s Oklahoma Open. This is Part 2 of 4 of the Q&A:

How did the "true croquet courts" affect nine-wicket play?

At this point, I am very encouraged. We had a little practice on Friday and the set up was a bit undersized and only practice wickets were set up. It was incredibly easy to go around and I was in a state of panic most of Friday night. However, we set standard wickets for pro play and I set them very tight―just a sliver of clearance on about 15 of the 18 pro wickets. That seemed to solve it and I am pleased to report ... we had very inter-active play. The wind may have factored in also, but I really thought the experiment was a success.

Click to read more ...

VPC: Oklahoma Open Wrap Up, Part 1

The MCA held a Virtual Press Conference (VPC) today with MCA President Dylan Goodwin as a follow-up to last Saturday’s Oklahoma Open. This is Part 1 of 4 of the Q&A:

The second event in the 2014 Midwest Croquet Association season was all the way down in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That is, what, a four-hour drive from the Kansas City area for the group formerly known as the Missouri Croquet Association. What drew the MCA to Oklahoma?

Yes, four hours is about right. I made it in 3.5 hours on the way back with no stops.

The concept behind around adding Oklahoma is both basic and then wildly ambitious. From a basic standpoint, once we modified the name from the Missouri Croquet Association to the Midwest Croquet Association to accommodate players (like myself) on the other side of the state line.

Click to read more ...