T H E   N E W S

17TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CLUB TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS TO BE CROQUET'S BIGGEST BASH OF THE SEASON
•	Five flights of doubles will get plenty of play both on and off the courts in this week-long April celebration.

DAVID LEWIS ELECTED PRESIDENT OF CROQUET CANADA
•	David Lewis of St. Catherines, Ontario, has been elected President of Croquet Canada, the official national governing body for the sport in Canada.

OSBORN RE-DEFINES CROQUET GRAVITY AT "MINUS ONE" HANDICAP
•	The USCA's four-year-old handicap tracking system has proven its worth as a ranking mechanism as well, with Osborn, Fulford, Rodoni, Taves, Mehas, and Berne at the top.

USCA FOUNDER JACK OSBORN DIES IN PALM BEACH GARDENS
•	The man who created the sport of 6-wicket croquet in America as we know it today died at home in Palm Beach Gardens on Sunday, May 12, at the age of 67 following a long battle with cancer.

SHADES OF GREY IN CONTINUING DEBATE ON "CROQUET WHITES"
•	Following publication of our "Issues Forum #1" on croquet whites, the discussion has continued with some heat and occasional light in many quarters around the world.

INTERNATIONAL NEWSLINE UPDATE
•	KUSHIDA AND HASAGAWA LAST-MINUTE VICTORS IN JAPAN OPEN DOUBLES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
•	OXFORD THRASHES CAMBRIDGE IN VARSITY ANNUAL
•	U.S. PANEL OF FEDERAL JUDGES STRIKES DOWN LAW REGULATING DECENCY ON THE INTERNET
•	KIWI WESTERBY STORMS PAST THREE AMERICANS TO WIN SONOMA CUTRER WORLD CROQUET CHAMPIONSHIP; OVER $400,000 RAISED FOR CHARITY
•	FEARLESS AUSSIE CHALLENGES AMERICAN CHAMP IN MAY 11 FINALS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO OPEN

LETTERS, OPINION, AND COMMENTARY (7/3/96)
•	THE PATMOR DRAW AT SONOMA QUESTIONED
•	A CHAMPION REPLIES, 'DON'T MUCK AROUND WITH THE FORMAT"
•	IT'S ABOUT TIME: THE CHESS CLOCK AND OTHER EXPERIMENTS
•	CLOCK-BURNING AND SORE LOSERS
•	SOLOMON'S METHOD OF MARKING ON THE PEG SHOULD BE NEW WORLD STANDARD
•	CULTURE CLASH IN CALIFORNIA
•	THE LAST WORD ON CLOCK-BURNING?

AFTER THE MACROB - NEW LETTERS AND COMMENTARY
•	BRITS HAVE A NATURAL ADVANTAGE IN A SMALL COUNTRY
•	THE LAST WORD ON 1996 MACROB STATISTICS
•	"EVERY DAY WAS LIKE STARTING A NEW TOURNAMENT," SAYS RODONI
•	TEAM SELECTION AND TRAINING KEY FACTORS FOR TAVES
•	WHAT ABOUT THE "CALZONA"?
•	A BRITISH SELECTOR ON THE SELECTION PROCESS
•	BRIAN STOREY'S PERSONAL "CANNING" AWARDS
•	"POP" (PEEL ON OPPONENT) TACTICS EXPLAINED BY HILDITCH

MACROB COUNTRIES AND W.C.F. DISPUTE FUTURE OF WORLD TEAMS
•	Aligning the separate agendas of the MacRobertson Shield countries and the World Croquet Federation is likely to be a difficult task, as the MacRobertson representatives' proposals draw a pointed retort from WCF president Fred Rogerson.

AFTER IT'S OVER: THE BIRTH OF A MILLENIAL VISION FOR MACROB 2000
•	The U.S. could put a man and woman on Mars by the year 2000, and America could displace Britain as masters of the sport of croquet within the next four years. It's just a matter of priorities.

MORE NEW LETTERS, AND COMMENTARY (8/23/96)
•	MACROBERTSON MANAGER HILDITCH PUTS SOME SPIN ON THE ANALYSIS
•	A MISSING GAME NAILS DOWN THE POINT
•	PATRONIZING TO WOMEN? WHO, ME?
•	DENVER CROQUET CLUB RELAXES WHITE CLOTHING STANDARD
•	LOOKING FOR A TEACHER IN TENNESSEE
•	HOW TO USE CROQUET TO PUNISH YOUR CHILDREN

INTERNATIONAL NEWSLINE UPDATE
•	AUSTRALIAN CROQUET GAZETTE REVIVED AFTER LONG HIATUS
•	WILY ARCHIE BURCHFIELD TAKES BIG FIRESTONE PURSE

Io Campionato del Mondo di Golf Croquet
•	Competitors in the first World Championship in Golf Croquet represented many countries, including Egypt, England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Switzerland, Wales, and the United States. Organized by the World Croquet Federation and hosted by "Le Robinie" Golf Club at Solbiante Olana, near Milan, the event, as characterized by our reporter, featured hard hitting by the Egyptians and serious indulgence in food and wine after the games.

1996 NEW AMERICAN GRAND PRIX FINAL RANKINGS
•	MCBRIDE WINS GRAND PRIX IN RAW POINTS, OSBORN IS "PLAYER OF THE YEAR" IN ADJUSTED SCORE.

1996 U.S.C.A. NATIONALS
•	POWERFUL FIELD OF PLAYERS CONVERGE IN PALM BEACH FOR 1996 U.S.C.A. NATIONALS
•	DEFENDING CHAMPS DOWNED BY THOMAS / MAYER IN DOUBLES; OSBORN / GRIMSLEY SHINE IN BRAVURA TRIPLE-PEEL DISPLAY
•	FOUR TEAMS STILL UNDEFEATED IN DOUBLES PLAYOFFS, WHILE FORMER CHAMPS ARE THROWN INTO LOSERS BRACKET
•	LEADING IN SINGLES AT HALF-WAY MARK ARE OSBORN, SHAFFER, BURCHFIELD, MABEE, POWELL, MEHAS, BERNE, NAJARIAN, GRIMSLEY
•	BURCHFIELD AND GRIMSLEY ROLL TO TOP OF PLAYOFF LADDER, WHILE CHAMPS OSBORN, MABEE, AND RODONI SETTLE FOR LOWER RUNGS
•	POWELL/BECKSTEAD FALTER JUST ONCE AND LOSE IT ALL, AS 1994 DOUBLES CHAMPS MABEE/PHANEUF RECLAIM CROWN
•	BERNE, MEHAS, POWELL AND SHEELY RULE WINNERS BRACKET AS LAST-CHANCE SURVIVERS BATTLE THROUGH LOSERS LADDER
•	VETERAN JIM HUGHES BECOMES AMERICA'S OLDEST NATIONAL CHAMP, BESTING RELATIVELY NEWCOMER RICHARD POWELL IN DRAMATIC FINAL
•	HIGHLIGHTS, SCORES, AND COMPLETE FINAL PLAYER STANDINGS IN ALL FLIGHTS OF THE 1996 U.S.C.A. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

THE AMERICA REPORT:
•	THE USCA CROQUET BULLETIN HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ISSUE PUBLISHED MARCH, 1996