Elite Sponsorship Fund
Eugene's Story
I am an analyst in Department for Education and was selected to compete in the 2020 Association Croquet World Championship in Melbourne, Australia.
Despite the Coronavirus epidemic, I made it to the event and had a great tournament. The CSSC Elite Competitor’s Fund helped with travel costs which was invaluable, as I had to buy a new ticket with 8 days notice, after my original flight routing through Shanghai was cancelled.
About croquet
Croquet is a lawn sport where you need to get your ball through the six hoops before your opponent, using a mallet to strike the ball. Association Croquet involves long turns similar to snooker, where you make multiple hoops in a single turn. It’s a skill-based sport suitable for all ages and backgrounds, despite the age and class stereotypes.
Competition format
80 players, with a block stage and KO. Eight blocks of 10, with top four in each block progressing to KO. There are other consolation events, which are prestigious trophies in their own right. Results here.
How I did
I exceeded my world ranking to finish 5th in my block, beating the world no. 21 and playing the world no. 1 in the process. This was followed by a decent run in the Plate consolation event, and saw me rise to a new high of 92nd in the world. Furthermore, I commentated on the livestream broadcast of the Final with over 600 live viewers following my ‘expert’ commentary!
There was a Fantasy Croquet World Champ competition run by the croquet community, which I extended to my team in DfE. Teams of 6 with a budget of $8,000, players scored points for winning games and completing interesting turns. My colleagues got really into it and I even built a little app to let people view their fantasy league position. I’m very proud to have finished 2nd out of 80 players in the ‘best value for money’ category!
More about croquet – see www.croquet.org.uk or follow @croquetengland on social media.
I’m very happy to show people how to play – you can email me here.
