Kansas Challenge: Saturday, July 12

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Don't miss out on the action as the MCA Nine Wicket Series returns to Leawood, Kansas for the Kansas Challenge on Saturday, July 12 in Leawood, Kansas. 

The deadline for entry is Tuesday, July 8 at 10:00 p.m. You have two easy options for entry:

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VPC: Oklahoma Open Wrap Up, Part 4

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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.

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VPC: Oklahoma Open Wrap Up, Part 3

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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.

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VPC: OKLAHOMA OPEN WRAP UP, PART 2

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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.

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VPC: Oklahoma Open Wrap Up, Part 1

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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.

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Airrington Controls the Gold Race

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Taylor Airrington entered the Oklahoma Open with a narrow four point lead in the Gold Race. But with Debbie Breeden opting out of the race it was up to Jodi Adams and Deborah Millican to close the gap. Airrington posts scores of 24-14, 30-11, 16-29 and 24-17 to keep his distance on the duo. In the end, he added another point to his advantage over Adams and kept the same 35-point lead he had over Millican. It's shaping up as a great race as now Bill Berg has slipped into fourth place in the race with only one event under his belt. It could be a wild one on July 12 when the Kansas Challenge rolls em' out for the next leg of the series.
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Lead Expands in the MCA Pro Race

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With Greg Clouse and Jason Johnson as scratches, it was up to Ron Millican and Greg Adams to try to make up ground on Dylan Goodwin in the MCA Nine Wicket Pro Points race. Unfortunately, Millican had an off day and was unable to collect any wins, but he did keep his spot in second place. Adams had a better day, going 2-1 in the morning to pick up the fourth seed, but #5 Art Parsells knocked him out in the first round of the afternoon.
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Goodwin and Airrington Repeat at Tulsa

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TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- The MCA made a successful trip on Saturday to expand the Nine Wicket Series into Oklahoma as thirteen players across two divisions battled the wickets and wind at LaFortune Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both divisions ended up with repeat winners as Dylan Goodwin defeated Matt Baird 20-9 for the 2014 Oklahoma Open Pro Division title and 16-year-old Taylor Airrington went 3-1 to claim the Gold Division title. Bill Berg also had a 3-1 record in the Gold Division, but the Airrington won the head-to-head match 24-17.

PHOTOS | OFFICIAL SCORESHEET

Both Goodwin and Airrington started the MCA season with wins at the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament in May and now both players will look for a three-peat on July 12 at the Kansas Challenge to be held at Mission Trail Elementary in Leawood, Kansas.

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Oklahoma Open: How The Draw Is Done

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A quick video that shows the Pro Division first round draw for the Oklahoma 9W Open. One item to note is that Bob Baker was a late scratch, while Kevin McQuigg was a late addition. So, McQuigg replaces Baker in that scenario. A full line up text listing should be posted and emailed later this evening.

Rules Recap #3 - Roquet A Ball on the Far Side the Wicket

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In nine wicket croquet, if I have roqueted a ball that is just on the other side of the wicket I am for (0.5 inch of clearance to the other side), can I place my ball within nine inches in good scoring position on the proper side of the wicket and score the wicket? Or, when contact is made with the ball on the other side of the wicket, is it a dead ball fault and the balls reset?

You can make this play, but the key is that you must get your ball through that wicket despite contact with the "dead ball." If this shot is attempted and you make contact with the "dead ball" and do not score the wicket, it is a dead ball fault and the balls are reset to their original positions and the turn ends.

Rules Recap #2 - Wiring

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What defines an open ball for nine wicket wiring?

An open ball must have at least a full ball width of open space on either side relative to a straight line from the striker ball. This confuses some people as the target ball may be completely visible, but a full shot means a ball could just nick the target ball on a roquet. For example, if a stanchion or dead ball is just an inch a way to the right of the ball the striker is open on, then the shot is not fully open.

Rules Recap #1 - Wicket and Stake

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If a ball scores the seventh wicket and hits the turning stake in one stroke, is the player awarded two bonus shots?

Yes. We had this come up at the Lee's Summit event on May 17, 2014 and it was called wrong. However, if a ball scores the sixth and seventh wicket in one turn and also hits the stake, it is not three bonus shots. It would simply be two bonus shots. You are never allowed three bonus shots in nine wicket croquet.

Oklahoma Open Entries To Date

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Tulsa, Oklahoma -- The first edition of the MCA's Oklahoma Nine Wicket Open scheduled for Saturday, June 14, 2014, at LaFortune Park already has a good list of commitments. Most of those commitments are from the KC area, so we are hoping to see more Oklahoma players commit before the deadline next Tuesday (June 10). (Registration info here)
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Oklahoma Nine-Wicket Open Entry and Deadline

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Join in on the fast-paced nine-wicket action as the MCA Nine Wicket Series visits Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday, June 14 (event flyer). Six-wicket players will find the game is great for developing confidence in running breaks and hoops. Most of the rules follow the USCA Six-Wicket game, with just a few exceptions: 
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Keith Berg Leads the Silver Division

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RankFirstLastGPWinsLossesTotal WicketsWicket Average
1KeithBerg4319022.50
2BillBerg4407218.00
3NateBenz4226215.50
4DianeBerg4044711.75
5JustinMarciniak4134210.50

Airrington Leads the Gold Race

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RankFirstLastGPWinsLossesTotal WicketsWicket Average
1TaylorAirrington2205628.00
2DebbieBreeden2115226.00
3JodiAdams1012929.00
4DeborahMillican1012121.00

2014 MCA Pro Division Standings Lee's Summit Update

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RankFirstLastGPWinsLossesTotal WicketsWicket Average
1DylanGoodwin54111923.80
2RonMillican53210721.40
3GregAdams5329919.80
4GregClouse5419018.00
5JasonJohnson4138120.25
6BradClouse4227518.75
7DebbieBreeden3036521.67
8JodiAdams3124816.00
9TaylorAirrington3124615.33
10DeborahMillican3124314.33

Fourth Time's A Charm

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LEE'S SUMMIT, MO -- After three runner-up finishes in 2013, Dylan Goodwin finally broke through with a 24-15 win over Greg Clouse at the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament held in Howard Park in Lee's Summit, Missouri on Saturday. The final played out in front the MCA's largest gallery to date and featured a couple of good breaks by both players.
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2014 Lee's Summit Matchups Are Set

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LEE'S SUMMIT, MO -- The 2014 Lee's Summit T-Bone Croquet Tournament will have three divisions--Pro, Gold and Silver. To reduce repeated matchups, the Pro and Gold Divisions will be run together as an open random draw for three rounds. The first round matchups are listed below and feature high vs low players (matchups made via a random number generator - random.org). The concept is that you will play your way to the appropriate bracket. Weaker players will encounter a tough first matchup, but should filter to their appropriate level of play after round one.
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