Scottish Croquet Association

WCF Hall of Fame

The World Croquet Federation was formally incorporated in 1988, with the SCA being one of the founding Associations.  Talks had started some years previously to form a Federation; a preliminary meeting was held in July 1986, at which the SCA was represented, and although several countries supported the idea, the two major croquet countries in the southern hemisphere, Australia and New Zealand, still had reservation about its relevance to them.  These problems were overcome, and in 1988 the WCF was formed.  It then became affiliated to the International World Games Association, the international body responsible for World Games, the Olympics of minor sports.  It was suggested that croquet be a demonstration sport in the 1989 World Games with the aim of it being included in 1993 as a full entry, but this does not appear to have happened; the current website for IWGA does not include croquet.

Andrew Hope was inducted into the World Croquet Federation’s Hall of Fame in 2007.  No more than five persons are inducted each year.  Andrew was the initiator of the process to set up the WCF, being Chairman of the CA Council at the time, and chairing the initial meeting discussing the setting up of the WCF in July 1986.  He has represented Scotland in the Home Internationals and was in the winning team in the inaugural year.  He has also represented Great Britain and Ireland in the “MacRobertson Shield” in Australia in 1982 when he was team manager and again in 1986 in the UK.  He is much traveled, having played competitive croquet in England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, USA, Italy, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.  However his biggest contribution to the sport was assisting in the birth of the World Federation for Croquet.  It had been mooted several times but in 1985 it was Andrew Hope, as Chairman of the Croquet Association (of England) Council, who decided that the time was right for a thorough exploration of the possibilities. He took the initiative in contacting the Australian and New Zealand Croquet Councils suggesting that a meeting between representatives should take place at the end of the 1986 MacRobertson Shield Tour being held in England.  The meeting took place on 17th July 1986 and as Chairman of the Croquet Association (of England) at that time, he took the chair. Representatives from Scotland, Ireland, United States, South Africa, Japan and Switzerland attended by invitation.  Andrew had prepared a draft constitution assisted by Stephen Mulliner. This was discussed in detail and a number of issues were raised, including the stated objectives, eligibility for joining the WCF, voting rights, officers and committees, subscription and frequency of meetings. It was agreed that a steering committee with the responsibility of producing further drafts of the constitution and preparing the way for the formal setting up of the WCF.  The WCF owes much to the vision and foresight of Andrew Hope, whose steadfastness and patience overcame all the difficulties that were encountered.  Andrew continued his work for the WCF by acting as its Treasurer through to 2010.

Ian Howard Wright was inducted into the WCF Hall of Fame in 2012.  Ian Howard Wright was one of Scotland's top players at his peak, and the most influential of the pioneers that helped the formation of the Scottish Croquet Association in 1974. As croquet in Scotland expanded after the CA Centenary in 1967, Ian was one of the prime movers in the setting-up of the Scottish Croquet Committee as part of the Croquet Association. This organised competitive croquet in Scotland, from whose numbers the next three "All-England" winners came, and included setting up the Edinburgh Week Tournament in 1969, which has been run annually during the Edinburgh Festival since 1972. When it became apparent that the Scottish Sports Council (now sportScotland) would support sports only with autonomous National Governing Bodies, Ian used his contacts and influence in the CA to initiate the amicable secession of the Scottish Croquet Committee and its rebirth as the independent Scottish Croquet Association. He was also a key figure in getting the 1974 New Zealand MacRobertson Shield team to play a warm-up match against Scotland, an event which further stimulated Scottish competitive croquet. While Ian did not do all of this alone, he has continued to be involved with Scottish croquet for 45 years and, particularly in the East of Scotland, he has been known as the "Father of Scottish Croquet". Ian was awarded SCA Life Membership in November 2011 as recognition of his contributions to Scottish Croquet. These contributions, in turn, have furthered the WCFs objectives, and therefore the Scottish Croquet Association nominated Ian for the WCF Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame Members are: