The News for those few who play real croquet!                                July 30th, 2006

Steve Unfred achieves life-long dream of winning a cheap Orange Shirt

Steve edges Nathan in playoff after the dirty play of Mike Cough

Steve Unfred beat Nathan Cole in an exciting Deck Shot playoff at the 2006 Orange Shirt Classic. However, the day was dubbed "Black Sunday" because of the sabotage and backstabbing that was the norm of the day.

The event started nice enough on the beautiful July day. In normal fashion, Nathan and Mike were able to break from the pack at the difficult eighth wicket, the Ladder Shot wicket. Nathan was able to take first in the round followed closely by Mike Cough. They celebrated with sparkling cider at their Champions table.

Steve Unfred took a critical third place in the first round. Steve Roberts struggled on the difficult uphill end stick and was passed by Brandon for fourth and Ben in fifth. Mr. Roberts struggled so much that he almost finished last to his fiance, Alena Woicicki. He edged her out for sixth as she took last.

However, Alena was not deterred. She hit a miracle hole-in-one off the deck shot to start off second round. She jumped to an early lead but was eventually passed by the power shots of Steve Unfred and Nathan Cole.

Steve Unfred cruised thru the second round with only a slight detour when he landed his ball in a dog water dish. He was able to leave the rest of the field well behind on his way to the round win. Nathan almost caught him for second place. The rest got stuck on the ladder shot except Mike, who got stuck behind a table for multiple turns.

Ben, Brandon, Steve Roberts, and Mike got to the front yard end stick around the same time. Mike missed multiple attempts to hit the end stick and watched Steve Roberts, Ben and Brandon hit it almost back to back. He continued to miss repeatedly allowing Alena to beat him in the round. It was the first time Mike had ever lost to Alena in IMC competition. He was miffed.

As the players broke for lunch, the results showed surprising news. Nathan Cole lead Steve Unfred by one point and only they could win the Orange Shirt Classic. Ben, Brandon, Mike and Steve Roberts were in a four way tie for third place.

The last round started simple enough with Ben and Brandon jumping to an early lead. However, this is when Black Sunday begun. As opposed to going for the opening wicket, Mike decided to sabotage Nathan. He vowed to prevent Nathan from winning.

However, Nathan was able to catch the leaders and was able to pass them leading into the seventh wicket, Chain Link Mess. This is when Mike jumped to a new level of being an jerk. He virtually gave up on the game and keep hitting Nathan forcing him to keep losing turns. It got so bad that Nathan offered any IMC player a dollar and Cinnabon coupon to sabotage Mike. Alena took the offer but was unsuccessful. Nathan gave her the Cinnabon coupon anyways.

While the chaos went on, Ben and Brandon jumped into the lead. After breezing thru the Ladder Shot, Brandon ran away with the round win and third place overall. Ben took second in the round and fourth overall. However, Black Sunday was continuing.

Nathan was able to break free and got thru multiple wickets in one turn. He seemed poised to win the Orange Shirt and had a few attempts to do so, until Mike arrived and continued to be a jerk. His preventive measures allowed Steve Unfred to take third place for the round. Steve Roberts had a chance to beat Nathan but fell inches short. Nathan took fourth in the round and tied Steve Unfred for first overall. A playoff would determine the champion. Steve Roberts took fifth in the round and fifth overall. Mike finished sixth overall and Alena last.

The playoff was a back and forth affair on the deck shot. Steve Unfred was able to get down in two shots but Nathan answered hitting a hard shot. The next round Steve Unfred got close and hit a tough little shot to get down in three. Nathan had a chance to answer but watched as his ball hit the wicket and bounced out.

The league celebrated the first ever Orange Shirt victory for Steve Unfred. However, the championship will always be controversial. The controversy that made this "Black Sunday".

(Kolby, Amber and Morgan) the field of the first ever Orange Shirt Classic Amateur

By Brandon Lasher

The Ironman Croquet League held its first ever Juniors event, the Orange Shirt Classic Amateur, two days before the Orange Shirt Classic. It was the first event ever held for kids as opposed to simply immature adults.

Brandon lead a practice round and supervised the day's events. We will have more info forthcoming in the Special Events section of the Newsletters soon.

Nathan, Mike and Brandon at the fancy set-up of the "Champions Table"

By Brandon Lasher

The field of the 2006 Orange Shirt arrived to see quite a surprise. Mike Cough, following a suggestion by Brandon, proceeded to create an "Orange Shirt Classic Champions" Table. A table reserved only for players who have previously won an Orange Shirt. This excluded four of the seven players at this year's event. The table created immediate outrage by non-winners.

"Those jerks!" screamed Alena, " How dare they exclude their friends from all that food!"

Mike, as the defending champion, went all out in setting up the Champions table. He brought a table cloth and fancy china place settings along with fancy glasses. He additionally brought orange juice, bagels, desert, sparkling cider, fruit and a full chicken lunch. Nathan and Brandon were impressed and enjoyed the comfort of their exclusive table.

Brandon explained the purpose of the table while enjoying a cold glass of cider. "It was set-up in good fun. The Orange Shirt Classic was originally set-up as our Masters. The Masters has a "Champions Dinner" for previous winners each year picked by the defending Champion. This was just adding to our parody of their event." "Besides," Brandon smiled, "it is just too easy to piss Alena off."

However, most didn't enjoy the "joke". The table almost led to violence as Steve Roberts stole the chairs from the table. However, Steve Unfred took the non-violent approach and simply sat at the Champions table. But since he won this year's event, will Steve Unfred's opinion change? He is now an invited member to the wonderful world of Orange Shirt winners. I just hope he brings something good to eat for next year.