by James Hawkins

The editor of The Croquet Gazette has written in the January 2002 issue the best coherent overview to date of the phenomenal wicket game created in Asia and now spreading to the West. Gateball has already accomplished what some organizers in the biggest croquet nations hope to achieve through Golf Croquet. Because it is vastly more space-efficient than Association Croquet and can be played on indifferent surfaces, the game would seem to be a sensible strategy to introduce wicket sports more widely to the public. Sceptics say that “Backyard Croquet” or “Garden Croquet” already does that; they worry that the oh-so-plebeian game of Gateball will surpass and eclipse their favourite – and decidedly more elegant – sport. But like it or not, Gateball is already a huge success. If it hasn’t already arrived, it will come soon to a park in your town. This is the story of how Gateball has attracted the popular following croquet organizers have only dreamed of.

Read the full story in Croquet World Online.