Golf Croquet
The GC World Team Championship is the Golf Croquet version of the MacRobertson Shield, the prestigious Association Croquet international team championship that was first contested in 1925 between England and Australia.
It is named after David Openshaw, a former President of the World Croquet Federation (2004 to 2009) when Golf Croquet was becoming more popular. At the time Egypt was by far the strongest team and twice matches between Egypt and the Rest of the World were organized. But the gap was narrowing and there was a demand for more international Golf Croquet. As a result, The World Team Championship was introduced by David Openshaw's successor, President Charles Jones.
David offered to present a trophy for this event. This offer was based on the many great memories of playing in the Association Croquet team event, the MacRobertson Shield, which was first played between England and Australia in 1925.
David Openshaw thought it would be good to have a similar trophy for this new competition Chris Clarke recommended Ray Atkins, of Christchurch, who would do a great job making the shield. So the shield is quite international and was conceived in Britain, based on the trophy donated in 1925 by the Australian MacPherson Robertson and designed and made in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Event website:
https://gcworldteamstasmania2025.com.au/
Also note that the US team is funded by the donations made to the Lee Olsen Fund. This is a restricted fund and dedicated to supporting USCA representative teams.
2025 US Team Members
Ben Rothman (Captain)
Matthew Essick
Blake Fields
Tom Balding
Stephen Morgan
Sherif Abdelwahab (Reserve)