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The MacRobertson International Croquet Shield is the premier croquet teams event in the world. It is currently competed for by Australia, England, New Zealand and the United States. It is known affectionately as the ''MacRob'' or just the ''Mac''. The series is now played in rotation between the competing countries every three or four years. The next series will be held in 2017 in the USA. ==History== In the early 1920s, Australian confectionery maker and philanthropist, Sir Macpherson Robertson played croquet as his pastime. He enlisted returned World War I veterans to take up concessions for his products and encouraged them to try croquet also, believing it to be a teaching aid for developing skills in self-discipline and risk management. Eventually, a pool of players were participating in regular tournaments. In 1925, with a growing interest in the sport, he established the MacRobertson Shield, an international tournament of croquet "Tests" between Australia and England. The Victorian Croquet Association sent a team of four players to England to contest the inaugural tournament. England won easily and Robertson presented the Shield personally. In 1927-8 an England team played in Australia and was narrowly defeated. In 1930, New Zealand was invited to participate in a series between themselves and Australia, with Australia winning comfortably and the first triangular series was held in 1935 in Melbourne as part of the Melbourne centenary celebrations. In 1993, a United States team was admitted into the tournament. Between 1974 and 2010 the team representing the Croquet Association was named Great Britain and in two series Great Britain and Ireland, because the teams included players from Scotland, Wales and Ireland. From the 2013-14 series the team will be named England and will only included English qualified players. This is following the introduction of the WCF World Association Croquet Team Championship. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「MacRobertson International Croquet Shield」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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