Brian Wasylyk was the first president of the Vancouver Croquet Club.  When he moved to Campbell River on Vancouver Island, he took his enthusiasm with him and built himself a full-sized, tournament-quality croquet court.  For several years thereafter, he celebrated his birthday with a tournament for eight top players from the Pacific Northwest.  Every day they played as many games as they could squeeze into the long, summer hours.  Every evening they dined in splendor on Brian's patio, enjoying fresh-caught salmon or well-grilled steaks and wonderful side dishes prepared by Brian's wife Lesley.
And then came the day when Brian had to downsize.  The croquet court had to go.  But Brian's still here, and his tournament was too good to lose.  So we're playing it in Victoria, BC, at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, on three fine courts where croquet is regularly played.  The trick is that the lawns are shared with lawn bowlers, and we'll have to work around their schedules as well as around any rentals that may come up.  We'll make it work.  We'll jump from lawn to lawn.  We'll double bank.  We'll take a nap between games while the bowlers bowl, and then come back with a vengeance.  But despite the chaos, the games will be by the book and will be sanctioned.  The tournament will be fun, but it will be real.
And one evening we'll pull together a meal that would make Brian proud.
To be able to do all this and still accommodate the bowlers, we have to limit our entries to ten players.  So sign up quick.  Then come to Victoria and win the right to hold the lovely Crow trophy for the next year.