- MacRobertson International Croquet Shield
The MacRobertson International Croquet Shield is the premier
croquet teams event in the world. It is currently competed for byAustralia ,Great Britain ,New Zealand and theUnited States . It is known affectionately as the "MacRob".The series is now played in rotation between the competing countries every three or four years.
History
In the early 1920s,
Australian confectionery maker and philanthropist, SirMacpherson Robertson played croquet as his pastime. He enlisted returnedWorld 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.
The first triangular series was held in 1935 in Melbourne as part of the
Melbourne centenary celebrations. More than a thousand spectators saw Australia retain the Shield. 1937 saw the Australian team go to England where the home team won convincingly.In 1993, a
United States team was admitted into the tournament.The 2006 tournament was held in Australia at the Rich River Golf Club Resort near
Echuca, Victoria -Moama, New South Wales on theMurray River from18 November to3 December 2006 .Results
External links
* [http://www.personal.u-net.com/~storey/macregs.htm MacRobertson Shield regulations]
* [http://www.mindspring.com/~jsoo/macrob2003/history/macstory.html MacRobertson Shield history]
* [http://www.croquet-australia.com.au/International/Macrob_History.html MacRobertson Shield results history]
* [http://www.wcfcroquet.org/Tournaments/macshield2006.htm 2006 MacRobertson Shield croquet event]
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