CROQUET NEWS:  Some 'Wicket' Competition in Kirkland This Weekend

31 May 2005
Purget Sound Croquet Club, Kirkland, Washington, USA
by Brian Calvert in KOMO News, Seattle, Washington, USA

The nation's best croquet players are here for their annual croquet tournament.

Hear the audio report!

It's not just your grandfather's game anymore. You may want to start practicing once again with those old mallets and wickets in your backyard.

As Andy Zinsmore sees it, if he hits it just to the left, he can steer it through the goal.

WHACK!

OK, this is going to take another hit.

WHACK! CLINK!

And just like that, Andy's croquet game moves to the next wicket, the goal posts in croquet.

Here's another term beginners need to know. "I'm taking a bisque," he says, which is an extra shot.

At the Puget Sound Croquet Club in Kirkland, players of all ages practice their shots.

"I didn't want to become a croquet widow," says Susan Fenner, because her husband plays professionally. She took up the game a year ago. "I like it, it's a lot of fun. And the people are great."

Croquet has suffered because of the 'it's only for old folks' stigma, but today, the game is enjoying attention from all ages. As a matter of fact, in 1999, Jacques Fournier of Phoenix became the first American to win the World Croquet Championship.

He was 17 years old.

"When I was starting, I was getting beat by 60 and 70-year-old women," says professional croquet player Carl Uhlman.

This week, he and several others will compete in the 2005 National Croquet Championships, being held at his Kirkland club through this weekend.

The rules are a lot different from the backyard croquet games you remember, but the key to any version of croquet is patience. While most seasoned players have no trouble making it to that center pole, croquet can be much more humbling if your ball can't find that wicked wicket.