Robert Fulford (croquet player) facts for kids
Robert Ian Fulford (born 1969) is a super talented English croquet player. He has been one of the best players in the sport since the 1990s!
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Robert Fulford's Life and Croquet Journey
Robert Fulford was born in Colchester, England. He went to school at Colchester Royal Grammar School and then studied at Durham University and the University of Essex.
Besides playing, Robert also teaches croquet. He has coached players in places like Australia and the Chattooga Club in North Carolina. Robert has even made videos with another croquet expert, Kevin Brereton. In these videos, Robert teaches how to play croquet, from basic moves to advanced tricks.
He has won the biggest croquet competition, the Association Croquet World Championship, an amazing 6 times!
- 1990 at The Hurlingham Club, England
- 1992 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, USA
- 1994 at Carden Park, England
- 1997 at the Moorabinda Croquet Club, Bunbury, Australia
- 2002 in Wellington, New Zealand
- 2023 at The Hurlingham Club, England
Robert has also won many other important championships. He won the President's Cup twelve times (1989, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2018). He won the Open Championship eleven times (1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, and 2015). Plus, he won the Men's Championship four times (1990, 1998, 2006, and 2011).
Robert's Amazing Wins
Robert Fulford has played in 41 major championship finals. He has won 26 of these titles and was the runner-up 15 times. This shows how consistently good he is at croquet!
Some of his big wins include:
- 1990: Men's Championship and World Championship
- 1991: Open Championship
- 1992: World Championship and Open Championship
- 1993: NZ Championship
- 1994: Australian Championship and World Championship
- 1996: Open Championship
- 1997: World Championship
- 1998: Men's Championship and Open Championship
- 2000: NZ Championship
- 2002: World Championship
- 2003: Open Championship
- 2004: Open Championship
- 2005: NZ Championship
- 2006: NZ Championship, Men's Championship, and Open Championship
- 2007: Open Championship
- 2008: Open Championship
- 2011: Men's Championship
- 2014: Open Championship
- 2015: Open Championship
- 2023: World Championship
Robert's Unique Playing Style
Robert Fulford has a very special way of playing croquet. He can hit many different kinds of shots. One of his clever tactics is to "peel" an opponent's ball through the first hoop. This makes it super hard for the opponent to complete a "triple peel" (a special move where you send your ball through three hoops in a row).
Robert is also known for doing "sextuple peels" more often than any other player. This is an even harder move where you send your ball through six hoops!
He uses an "Irish grip" when holding his mallet, which is a bit like how you hold a golf club. Before each shot, he often "casts" his mallet, which means swinging it over the ball a few times. Robert has strong wrists, which helps his Irish grip work well for him. Even though many coaching books say not to use your wrists too much, Robert admits his technique uses his wrists quite a bit!
World Championship Journey
Here's how Robert Fulford has done in the AC World Championships over the years:
- 1989: Reached Round 4
- 1990: Won the championship!
- 1991: Made it to the Semi-Finals
- 1992: Won the championship again!
- 1994: Won the championship for the third time!
- 1995: Was the runner-up
- 1997: Won the championship for the fourth time!
- 2001: Was the runner-up
- 2002: Won the championship for the fifth time!
- 2005: Was the runner-up
- 2008: Made it to the Semi-Finals
- 2009: Reached Round 3
- 2012: Reached Round 3
- 2013: Reached Round 3
- 2023: Won the championship for the sixth time!
