MacRobertson International Croquet Shield
Encyclopedia
The MacRobertson International Croquet Shield is the premier croquet
teams event in the world. It is currently competed for by Australia
, Great Britain
, New Zealand
and the United States
. It is known affectionately as the MacRob.
The series is now played in rotation between the competing countries every three or four years.
The next series will be held in February 2014 in New Zealand.
played croquet as his pastime. He enlisted returned World War I
veterans to take up concessions for his products and encouraged them to try croquet also, believing it to be a teaching aid for developing skills in self discipline and risk management. Eventually, a pool of players were participating in regular tournaments. In 1925, with a growing interest in the sport, he established the MacRobertson Shield, an international tournament of croquet "Tests" between Australia and England. The Victorian Croquet Association sent a team of four players to England to contest the inaugural tournament. England won easily and Robertson presented the Shield personally.
In 1927-8 an England team played in Australia and was narrowly defeated. In 1930, New Zealand was invited to participate in a series between themselves and Australia, with Australia winning comfortably and the first triangular series was held in 1935 in Melbourne as part of the Melbourne centenary celebrations. In 1993, a United States
team was admitted into the tournament.
Fri 6 – Tue 10 August: Great Britain v USA at Bowdon, Greater Manchester and Australia v New Zealand at Heaton Park, Manchester
Results: Great Britain 12 - 9 USA
Australia 8 - 13 New Zealand
Thu 12 – Mon 16 August: Great Britain v New Zealand at Nottingham and Australia v USA at Roehampton
Results: Great Britain 11 - 10 New Zealand
Australia 7 - 14 USA
Wed 18 – Sun 22 August: Great Britain v Australia and New Zealand v USA both at Surbiton
Results: Great Britain 14 - 7 Australia
USA 5 - 16 New Zealand
Each team is represented by 6 players and each test is the best of 21 matches comprising 12 singles and 9 doubles.
Also in 2010, for the first time, the 4 MacRobertson Shield countries were joined by 13 other countries in an inaugural WCF World Association Croquet Team Championship. The MacRobertson Shield was Tier 1 and the other 13 entries were split into three further tiers based on playing strength.
Mon 16 - Sat 21 August: Tier 2 Division 1: The next four countries played at the Hurlingham Club, London.
•Tier 2.1 winner Wales
Mon 16 -Sat 21 August: Tier 2 Division 2: The next four countries played at the Compton Croquet Club, Eastbourne, East Sussex.
•Tier 2.2 winner Scotland
Wed 18 - Sat 21 August: Tier 3: The remaining five countries played at the Sussex County Croquet Club.
•Tier 3 winner Czech Republic
Croquet
Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...
teams event in the world. It is currently competed for by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is known affectionately as the MacRob.
The series is now played in rotation between the competing countries every three or four years.
The next series will be held in February 2014 in New Zealand.
History
In the early 1920s, Australian confectionery maker and philanthropist, Sir Macpherson RobertsonMacpherson Robertson
Sir Macpherson Robertson KBE was an Australian philanthropist, entrepreneur and founder of confectionery company MacRobertson's.-Early life:...
played croquet as his pastime. He enlisted returned World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veterans to take up concessions for his products and encouraged them to try croquet also, believing it to be a teaching aid for developing skills in self discipline and risk management. Eventually, a pool of players were participating in regular tournaments. In 1925, with a growing interest in the sport, he established the MacRobertson Shield, an international tournament of croquet "Tests" between Australia and England. The Victorian Croquet Association sent a team of four players to England to contest the inaugural tournament. England won easily and Robertson presented the Shield personally.
In 1927-8 an England team played in Australia and was narrowly defeated. In 1930, New Zealand was invited to participate in a series between themselves and Australia, with Australia winning comfortably and the first triangular series was held in 1935 in Melbourne as part of the Melbourne centenary celebrations. In 1993, a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
team was admitted into the tournament.
The 2010 Series
The 2010 Shield was contested in Great Britain, across 5 different venues.Fri 6 – Tue 10 August: Great Britain v USA at Bowdon, Greater Manchester and Australia v New Zealand at Heaton Park, Manchester
Results: Great Britain 12 - 9 USA
Australia 8 - 13 New Zealand
Thu 12 – Mon 16 August: Great Britain v New Zealand at Nottingham and Australia v USA at Roehampton
Results: Great Britain 11 - 10 New Zealand
Australia 7 - 14 USA
Wed 18 – Sun 22 August: Great Britain v Australia and New Zealand v USA both at Surbiton
Results: Great Britain 14 - 7 Australia
USA 5 - 16 New Zealand
Each team is represented by 6 players and each test is the best of 21 matches comprising 12 singles and 9 doubles.
Also in 2010, for the first time, the 4 MacRobertson Shield countries were joined by 13 other countries in an inaugural WCF World Association Croquet Team Championship. The MacRobertson Shield was Tier 1 and the other 13 entries were split into three further tiers based on playing strength.
Mon 16 - Sat 21 August: Tier 2 Division 1: The next four countries played at the Hurlingham Club, London.
•Tier 2.1 winner Wales
Mon 16 -Sat 21 August: Tier 2 Division 2: The next four countries played at the Compton Croquet Club, Eastbourne, East Sussex.
•Tier 2.2 winner Scotland
Wed 18 - Sat 21 August: Tier 3: The remaining five countries played at the Sussex County Croquet Club.
•Tier 3 winner Czech Republic
Past Results
| Year | Host | Countries | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | England | England, Australia | England |
| 1927–28 | Australia | England, Australia | Australia |
| 1930 | Australia | New Zealand, Australia | Australia |
| 1935 | New Zealand | England, Australia, New Zealand | Australia |
| 1937 | England | England, Australia | England |
| 1950–51 | New Zealand | England, New Zealand | New Zealand |
| 1956 | England | England, New Zealand | England |
| 1963 | New Zealand | England, Australia, New Zealand | England |
| 1969 | Australia | England, Australia, New Zealand | England |
| 1974 | England | England, Australia, New Zealand | Great Britain |
| 1979 | New Zealand | Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand | New Zealand |
| 1982 | Australia | Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand | Great Britain |
| 1986 | Great Britain | Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand | New Zealand |
| 1990 | New Zealand | Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain & Ireland | Great Britain & Ireland |
| 1993 | Australia | Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain & Ireland, USA | Great Britain & Ireland |
| 1996 | Great Britain | Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, USA | Great Britain |
| 2000 | New Zealand | Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, USA | Great Britain |
| 2003 | United States | Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, USA | Great Britain |
| 2006 | Australia | Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, USA | Great Britain |
| 2010 | Great Britain | Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, USA | Great Britain |