Croquet Tournaments - US National Championship International Rules

I am new to the sport of croquet , as a professionally competitive sport. I have played backyard croquet and poison croquet with friends and family, but there have never been clubs or professional competitions in my vicinity. I am therefore researching various tournaments, where and when they occur, along with how they are played and how one can enter those tournaments. This is the first of probably several articles which I will write on the subject. This first article will be written on the United States National Croquet Championships. According to the United States Croquet Association website, the tournament occurs from May 31 to June 5. Because the tournament follows international rules, it is also termed the USCA International Rules National Championships, as opposed to the USCA AC National Championships American Rules, which is held annually in November and December. This year (2005) the tournaments were held in Seattle, the same place they were held in 2001, and hosted by the Puget Sound Croquet Club. According to Jeff Soo, who reported on the National Championships in the Croquet World Online Magazine, (May 25, 2005), eleven of the top twenty croquet players, as determined by the World Ranking, competed in the tournament. Because of the small number of lawns available for the tournament, it is limited to only twenty players per one flight. Jeff Soo also said that five of this year