North West Federation of Croquet Clubs
LEAGUE RULES (revised March 2006)

The first section describes General rules for all leagues.
For further rules on specific leagues select from the following:

Advanced and HandicapLeagues

Short League Rules

Golf League Rules

Result and Association Score Sheet

Result and Short Scoresheet
Short League - Order of Play
Short League - Setting Handicap
Short League - Example Bisques at Base 4

Result and Golf Score Sheet

General
1.

Croquet Association Regulations for tournaments shall apply to matches played in all Leagues.
2 (a)



2 (b)

The League Manager shall publish the date and venue for each match at least six weeks before the start of the League season. Team captains shall confirm the date for each match with their opponents and send their fixture lists with precise dates to the League Manager by the date announced by him/her. The League Manager will then publish the confirmed fixture list and announce the final date by which all matches must be played.

Any rearrangements made subsequently shall be reported to the League Manager immediately. If a match is not played by the end of the season a walkover shall be awarded against a team failing to meet a confirmed date published by the League Manager or a subsequently re-arranged date agreed by the two captains and reported to the League Manager.
3

Matches shall be played between teams of four. However, if both captains agree, a match in the Advanced League may be played between teams of three. In this case the match will comprise nine singles games (i.e. all play all).

4 (a)

4 (b)

4 (c)

Modified games as defined in Law 44 shall not be played.

Local Laws as defined in Law 54 may be used.

Smaller lawns as defined in Law 2(b)6 may be used subject to the approval of the League Manager. Lawns which have been approved in previous years do not need to be re-approved unless they have been further reduced in size.
5

A club may be represented only by members of that club. No player may play for more than one team in a League in any one season unless authorised by the League Manager.
6 (a)

6 (b)

If a member of a team fails to play a game or fails to play to the agreed time limit the game shall be conceded.

One player shall not play both balls for a side in a doubles game. If one member of a side fails to arrive by the start of the game his/her ball shall be placed on the first or third corner and deemed to have been played by the absent player. If the defaulter arrives late he/she shall be allowed to join his/her partner and play his/her ball from the position in which he/she finds it.

7 (a)


7 (b)







7 (c)


7 (d)

If weather conditions render the host's ground unfit for play the venue for the match may be changed by mutual agreement in order to meet the agreed date but a record of the original venue shall be kept for the purpose of deciding venues in future years.

If bad weather affects playing conditions during the course of a match team captains may agree whether individual games or the match should be abandoned after considering opportunities for transferring play to other lawns. As far as is reasonable an in-player wishing to persevere in poor conditions should be allowed to do so

If captains fail to reach agreement the following test shall apply: -

A lawn is deemed unplayable if it is impossible to hit a ball the full length of the lawn along a North-South line which is not obstructed by a hoop or the peg. The captain who believes that the lawn is playable shall nominate a member of his/her team to demonstrate this by hitting a ball along a line chosen by the opposing captain.

If a game is abandoned the points score at the time of abandonment shall be taken as the final score provided that both players have played at least three shots. If this is not the case the game shall be declared void.

The match result shall be the score of games completed or decided according to Rule 7(c) provided that the number of games thus counted equals at least half the number of games that should have been played. If fewer than half the games have been accounted for in this way the match shall be declared void and replayed on a date to be agreed between the captains. If it is not possible to replay the match before the end of the season neither club will be awarded a walkover. The host captain shall inform the League Manager the date of the replay.

8 (a)



8 (b)

8 (c)

With the exception of the Advanced League two points shall be awarded for a win on games and one point for a draw. In the event of a walkover the match shall be scored 4 - 0 for a Handicap match, 10 - 0 for a Short League match and 14 - 0 for a Golf match and 4 - 0 earning 40 points for an Advanced match.

The results of matches shall be reported immediately to the League Manager by the host captain.

At the end of the season the total number of points gained by each team shall be calculated and the team with the highest number of points in each League shall be declared the winner. In the event of a tie on match points, the team with the higher or highest number of net game points shall be declared the winner. In the event of a tie on match points and net game points the winning team will the be winner of the match between the teams. If this was drawn the League Manager will arrange a tiebreaker to be played in whatever form he decides.
9

In the event that the captains involved are unable to resolve an issue concerning the interpretation of these rules the following procedure will apply: -

The host captain shall provide the opposing captain with a written statement of the facts within seven days. If this captain agrees with this statement he/she shall forward it to the League Manager with a statement to this effect but add no further comment. If he/she disagrees with the statement of the facts he/she should forward it to the League Manager together with his/her statement with a copy to the host captain.

The League Manager shall decide the issue and send copies of his decision to both captains and the Federation Chairman.

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Advanced and Handicap Leagues
10 Matches shall comprise two doubles games and four singles. Exceptionally where the home team has only one lawn the match may be played between teams of three as two doubles and two singles.
11 In singles games players shall be matched in handicap order. There shall be no restriction on pairings in doubles but the teams shall be matched in order of their combined handicaps.

12 (a)

12 (b)

Time limits shall be 3 hours 30 minutes for doubles and 3 hours for singles with 15 minutes added for games which are double banked.

Time lost for stoppages shall be added to extend the time limit as agreed by the captains.

13 (a)


13 (b)

In handicap games players must play off their current CA handicap, or if none, their club handicap, subject to a maximum of 24 in singles and 20 in doubles.

Handicap games shall be played full bisque to base 8. For this purpose the combined handicaps of doubles pairs shall be calculated as half the sum of their individual handicaps rounded up to the nearest half.
14 Paragraph 3(b) of Appendix 3 to the Croquet Association Rules regarding the taking of bisques in handicap doubles games played to a base shall not apply.
15

In Advanced League games points shall be awarded to the winner of a game equal to those earned in the automatic handicap scheme and the team with the higher total points score will be awarded the difference between the totals in compiling the League table.

For this purpose the handicap of a doubles pair shall be calculated as the average of their individual handicaps rounded up to the nearest half.

The points scored in matches between teams of three shall be multiplied by 2/3 when entered in the League table.

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Short Croquet
16

Lawn settings shall be in the same proportion as for a full lawn i.e. a NS length unit of 1/5th of the lawn's length and an EW width unit of ¼ of the lawn's width.
17

Time limits shall be 1 hour 15 minutes plus 15 minutes for double-banked games.
18

Games shall be full bisque handicap games to base 4.
19

Players shall play to their Short handicap subject to a maximum of 10.
20 (a)


20 (b)



20 (c)

Clubs must ensure that Short Croquet players are aware of their responsibility to keep a Short Croquet handicap card which should be carried at all League matches.

A player with a Full Lawn handicap shall play off either his/her Short Croquet handicap or the Short Croquet handicap equivalent of his/her Full Lawn handicap whichever has changed most recently. A player's Short Croquet handicap shall be adjusted whenever his/her Full Lawn handicap changes and thereafter be subject to the Automatic Handicapping System.

A player unable to produce a Short Croquet Handicap card shall play off a Short Croquet handicap of zero or the Short Croquet equivalent of his/her Full Lawn handicap whichever is the lower for the duration of the match. This rule may be waived only by the agreement of the two captains.

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Short Croquet League Match - Order of Play:

 
1st Session
2nd Session
3rd Session
4th Session
Lawn 1
D v b
B v c
C v d
A v a
Lawn 2
C v a
A v d
D v c
B v b
Lawn 3
B v d
D v a
A v b
C v c
Lawn 4
A v c
C v b
B v a
D v d

Short Croquet Handicap System:

If you do not have a Short Croquet Record Card, your Short Handicap is determined as follows:

Full
Handicap
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
-0.5
-1
-2

Short
Handicap

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1
peel
2
peels
3
peels


If Full Handicap changes, the Short Handicap should be adjusted accordingly.
If games cause Short Handicap to change, there is no consequent effect on Full Handicap.

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Short Croquet League Games are played with Bisques calulated to Base 4:

Examples:
Player A
Short Handicap
Player B
Short Handicap
Former Bisque Allocation
New Base 4 Bisque Allocation
10
10
A & B each receive 10 bisques
A & B each receive 6 bisques
9
4
A receives 9, B receives 4
A receives 5, B receives 0
9
2
A receives 9, B receives 2
A receives 7, B receives 0
6
0
A receives 6, B receives 0
A receives 6, B receives 0
3
1
A receives 3, B receives 1
A receives 2, B receives 0
6
2 peels
A receives 6, B does 2 peels
A receives 6, B does 2 peels

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Golf Croquet
21 All matches shall be played according to Croquet Association Laws save that the alternative in Law 15 shall not be used.
22

The time limit shall be 45 minutes with 5 minutes added for games which are double banked.

 

23 (a)

 

23 (b)

Where two full lawns are available matches will comprise 3 rounds of doubles (AbvAB, CDvCD, ACvAC, BDvBD, ADvAD, BCvBC) and 4 rounds of singles, all play all. However, matches may be restricted to 4 rounds of singles at the request of either captain provided that the request is made before the beginning of the season and the League Manager is informed.

The scores of 16-game matches shall be scaled up to equivalent 22-game matches when entered in the League Table using the following table:-
 
16-game score
Equivalent 22-game score
16-0
22-0
15-1
21-1
14-2
19-3
13-3
18-4
12-4
17-5
11-5
15-7
10-6
14-8
9-7
12-10
8-8
11-11
23 (c) Where only one lawn is available the captains shall agree either to divide it into two short lawns and use the format in Rule 21(a) or to play singles only all play all with players taking turns to sit out. Due regard will be taken to the availability of equipment. The format shall be decided before the beginning of the season and the League Manager informed.
24(a)


24 (b)

Initial handicaps shall be set by Club Handicappers using the test in WCF Rule 16 but giving due regard to Appendix 3 of the Croquet Association Laws.

Golf handicap cards are to be kept and used as described in Appendix 3 of the Croquet Association Laws

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Note:- The Croquet Association Laws are available on the internet at http://www.croquet.org

The WCF Rules are available at http://users.ox.ac.uk/~croquet/laws/golf/wcf.htm

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Revised March 2002
Revised March 2003
Revised March 2004
Revised March 2005
Revised March 2006
Revised November 2007

Last modified: 13-mar-08 . Comments on website or further information, please e-mail:tonythomas@croquetnw.co.uk