Connecticut eXtreme Croquet Society News

Featuring eXtreme croquet and eXtreme croquet mallets.

Dedicated to enjoying eXtreme croquet, nature, and the near-death experience!™

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Discovery Science Channel^® (USA) Film Clip - February 2005

The Discovery Science Channel (USA) did the same film clip on us as the Discovery Channel - Canada in their February 11th edition of Discoveries This Week Science Magazine show.

The feature was a 6 minute and 30 second clip that was broadcast all across U.S. national cable on Prime Time television. It's an amusing clip, and pretty informative too. We think you'll enjoy it !!!

Discovery Channel^® (Canada) Film Clip - January 2005

The Discovery Channel (Canada) did a film clip on us in their January 12th edition of Daily Planet Science Magazine show.

The feature was a 6 minute and 30 second clip that was broadcast all across Canada on Prime Time television. It's an amusing clip, and pretty informative too. We think you'll enjoy it !!!

WikiPedia - The Free Encyclopedia

WikiPedia - The Free Encyclopedia recently put an entry about eXtreme croquet in their Encyclopedia. It covers what eXtreme croquet is, how it is played, its origins, some rules, and a goodly bit of information about us as an example. Read it here.

North Stonington Lions Club eXtreme Croquet Challenge - Oct 2004

The Connecticut eXtreme Croquet Society™ and The North Stonington Lion's Club had their first First Annual eXtreme Croquet Challenge on Sunday, October 3, 2004 on the beautiful eXtreme terrain of the North Stonington Grange on Wyassup Road, North Stonington, CT.

The Lions Club raised approximately $2,000 at the event to build a walkway which will connect the town's recreation facilities. Read about it.

Mystic River Press - Oct 2004

The Mystic River Press recently ran an article on us based on our participation in the fund raiser for the North Stonington Lions Club. Written by Greg Benoit, it tells of the the game, the Society, and our fun with the Lions Club. It's well written, and we had a great time working with Greg. Read it here.

Hartford Advocate - Oct 2004

The Hartford Advocate also ran an article on us in their October issue. It was written by Joe Miksch, and gets down to the nitty-gritty of eXtreme croquet. It's a well-written, fun article and gives a hint of the madness that drives us all.

National Public Radio - 7 September

National Public Radio did a short on us in September. It is a really cool article written by reporter
Pippin Ross. It aired on over 140 NPR stations across the U.S. She caught some really hilarious exchanges amongst us eXtreme-ists and our "entourage". It will make you chuckle.

Bumblebee Park Challenge

In April of this year, we met with members of the Mangled Mallets from Vermont, and the Massacheusetts eXtreme Croquet Society in Bumblebee Park in Littleton MA.

We finally got the pictures put in our Bumblebee Park Challenge Gallery.

Check it out.

Quantum Physics - 28 June 2004

We just added three articles about quantum physics in our 'Articles' section. They are a riot !!! They take physics and put it in croquet terms !!! Definately tongue in cheek.

Connecticut Magazine - 28 May 2004

Connecticut Magazine recently ran a short on us in their June edition. It is a really cute article written by
Liz Acas, with a terrific illustration by artist Michael Witte. It will make you chuckle.

XCXC: cross Country eXtreme Croquet - 25 May 2004

We've been contacted by a new - well, newly contacted new - eXtreme Club, XCXC: cross Country eXtreme Croquet. They've been playing since 1999, all up and down the east coast, from Virginia, through up-state New York, and all the way to Nova Scotia. They might well be the "Johnny Appleseed" of eXtreme Croquet !!!

Check out their site to see some great pictures of some very nice eXtreme courses.

It's Only a Game - 21 May 2004

Back in April, WBUR - Boston University Radio did a radio article about us, and eXtreme Croquet.

We bought and finally received a copy of the recording. Listen to it on our "It's Only a Game" page.

Letters to the Society - 25 April 2004

We are always getting letters from fellow eXtremists, be they established & died in the wool players, folks that were unknowingly playing eXtreme in the past, others who were independently inventing the game, and novitiates.

We decided to share some of these terrific letters.

Croquet Science Copenhagen - 5 January 2004

We were recently contacted by one of the first eXtreme clubs in Denmark ... Croquet Science Copenhagen. They have a website with pictures of some really eXtreme terrain !! Plus, they are a kindered group that also plays in winter !! The club has been very active since 2000.

Check out their site.

The Xdream Croquettes - 4 December 2003

We've been in contact with a new club in Maine ... the Xdream Croquettes.

These ladies made their own Wedge-Face™ mallets, their own wickets, and their own brand of ferocity. They may seem demure, but they show more determination and blood spatters in their game than any we've ever seen.

They have taken some of the best photos around also, even compared to ours.

We've given them a bunch of pages in our guest gallery to show you how these "chicks" do it right !!!

Check out their gallery ... it's a real treat !!!

Emmy® Award TV Film Clip

We finally were able to get the VCR tape that WTNH - TV Channel 8 gave us into digital format for viewing on your computer. It came out really nicely, but the mpg file is pretty large (7,097 KB). We tried to keep the resolution reasonable, so view it at 200% size in your media viewer. We hope you like it.

You can see it from our Gallery Page, or from here.

Smithsonian Magazine

It's official ... the article about us in Smithsonian Magazine is in the October 2003 issue !!!

Those of you with subscriptions have already seen it. It's a really great article ... entertaining, educational, and tongue -in-cheek funny. It really captures the bravado, camaraderie, and fun of the game. Truly distinguished and well written. Dick Conniff did a wonderful job. It's every bit of what you'd expect from Smithsonian Magazine.

You can see it from our Articles page.

Mallet Gallery - 10 September 2003

Our WebMaster Stumbled across an old treasure trove in our garage on his last visit ... our old prototypes of the wedged mallets !!!

Check out our new Mallet Gallery. It chronicles the development of the Wedge-Face eXtreme Mallet, and the defining point in eXtreme Croquet.

You can access it from the "GALLERY" section, or from here.

Old Friends - 29 July 2003

Back when we first put up our site, we were looking for eXtreme eXamples of eXtreme croquet. We enlisted the help of the Thrust SSC (Super Sonic Car) team for pictures. They had just broken the unlimited land speed record and broke the sound barrier on land as well. They very graciuosly let us use their images, which we promptly altered the hell out of to simulate super sonic extreme croquet.

We recently got an email from one of the Thrust SSC team members, Martyn Davidson. Evidently, he had seen one of the articles about us and wrote to us. Here's his generous offer of a challenge at one of the Thrust SSC reunions at Black Rock Desert. Thank you, Martyn ... you are on !!!

"Subject: Is a deflection off SSC legal?"

"Hi!"

"Dammit! Had I known we could have fielded our SSC team and played an official international match! Obviously, we would have supplied the cucumber sandwiches! Actually, having tasted your tea, we would probably have had to supply that as well!"

"Good luck with your future matches. Who knows, perhaps we can play a match at one of our reunions at Black Rock and mock the scores in The Miner's Club afterwards."

"Regards"

"Martyn Davidson,"
"Thrust SSC team member"

Modoc XC Croquet Club

We also got an email from 'the kroquet king' (Todd King) from the Modoc XC (Cross Country) Croquet Club in Modoc County, California. They play eXtreme up in the eXtreme north east corner of California, above Sacramento. They have a really unique site with a great slideshow of their escapades. These folks really know how to set up a mean eXtreme course !!

Check out their site !!!

Curios - 28 June 2003

We had a vistor from The Plantsville General Store Antique Center send us a couple pictures of some very cute croquet wickets in the shape of little fantasy figures. They look like they could be from sometime as early as the late 1800s to the turn of the century. Check them out and let us know if you can tell us anything about them.

Rochester Croqueteers

We had the Rochester Croqueteers contact us this week. They have been playing their version of eXtreme in upstate New York for 11 years! They found the article about us in Salon Magazine and contacted us.

We've added a link to them on our 'Links' page. Drop by and visit their site.

Wicket Lights

The guys from Sound Design, LLC contacted us about a new invention of theirs that might be really fun to use in eXtreme croquet ... wicket lights for night play. They fit standard (yard-type wickets) as well as competition (association-type) wickets. Read about it.

Swope's Mansion for Sale

OK ... remember reading about Herbert Swope, first Pulitzer Prize winner and publisher of the New York World, in our Intro Section "A Short History of Croquet"? You ...... didn't read it?

Well, Mr. Swope was the original inventor of eXtreme Croquet back in the 1920's.

Believe it or not, his 13+ acre estate and mansion Land's End on Sands Point, Long Island (now known as the Stanford White Mansion) is for sale !!!

With a cashier's or certified check for a mere 1.5 million, you can BID on the estate in a sealed bid auction. That's BID, not buy.

If you want to see this really lovely and ritzy estate in all its glory and read about its history, click here.

Maybe you can pick it up for 10 or 12 million and become one of the landed gentry. Just make sure that you invite us over to play !!!

Rants & Raves

Ok, that's it ... our computerhead Webmaster has finally gone over the edge!!! He has subsisted waaay too long on Mountain Dew and Twinkies!!! He's opened up a hidden page that in the past was just for club members. The hidden link is still hidden, but you can now access the page from our Site Map or from here !!!