National Club Association Croquet Championships - Rules

Conditions applicable to:

• the Inter-Club Championship;
• Mary Rose Inter-Club Trophy;
• Longman Club Team Cup; and
• Secretary's Shield

except where indicated.

1. These competitions are open only to CA Member clubs, the players must be Individual Tournament Associates (except for The Longman Club Team Cup and The Secretary's Shield) and be members of the club for which they are playing.
2. No individual may play for more than one club in one competition in the same season. No club may enter more than one team in The Longman Club Team Cup. In The Inter-Club Championship and The Mary Rose Inter-Club Trophy second teams will be accepted provided that the total number of entries does not exceed 16 in The Inter-Club Championship and 32 in The Mary Rose Inter-Club Trophy. If a second team is entered in these competitions, at least four players must be registered with each team at the time of entry.
3. Teams shall consist of 4 players, and must meet the handicap restrictions given against the event.
4. In each round of the competition the venue of the match between two clubs shall be the reverse of the previous encounter between those clubs in that competition. Where no history is recollected the Director shall, on request, toss a coin to determine the venue. A match played on neutral ground forms no part of the history. If one of the clubs has less than two full-size courts available then that club must play "away" except that clubs with undersize lawns may have them approved for competition use on application to the Director before the start of the competition. Double-banking may be used.
5. If a club wishes to play all of its home matches at another club, it must register this fact at the time of entry.
6. Where possible the host club should provide a referee.
7. Prior to the start of each match the Captains will exchange team lists with their players listed A, B, C and D. The listing will be in handicap order, the lower handicap first, except for The Inter-Club Championship which will be in ranking order. Where two or more players have the same handicap the Captain may choose the order, which will then apply for the whole match. The sequence of play will then be as described in the Match Format for that competition.
8. The match must be completed in one day. Time limits should be imposed if necessary by agreement between the Captains either before or during play, to ensure this. A 3.5 hour maximum is compulsory for The Longman Club Team Cup and The Secretary's Shield.
9. The draw will be on a regional basis, in an attempt to reduce travelling, only for The Mary Rose Inter-Club Trophy and The Longman Club Team Cup. It is up to the Clubs playing each other to arrange mutually convenient dates for the matches. Dates by which rounds must be completed will be put onto the CA website, and circulated to clubs concerned soon after the draw is done. Extensions will be allowed only under exceptional circumstances and with the permission of the Director. The Director will organise the finals weekend for The Inter-Club Championship, The Mary Rose Inter-Club Trophy and The Longman Club Team Cup at the venue and dates listed in the CA Fixtures Book.
10. Entries must reach the CA Office by close of business on Friday 12 March 2010 either by e-mail or using the official entry form available with this book or from the website.
11. The winning club is responsible for reporting the results of each match by e-mail to results#croquet.org.uk. This report will then reach the Director, the CA Office, the news editor of the website, the editor of the Gazette and the people who maintain the Ranking Systems. The information required is:
    • the competition
    • the club names
    • the match score
    • the date played
    • the venue
    • the detailed game scores (compulsory for Inter-Club and Mary Rose, helpful for Longman Cup and Secretary's Shield)
    • a short report (if available), which will be put on to the CA website, and may be considered for inclusion in the Gazette

    Under exceptional circumstances, the Director will take club names, venue and match score only over the telephone, but in these circumstances no entry will be made into the Ranking System and there may be a delay in updating competition results on the website, which in turn may delay arranging later rounds. It should therefore be followed by the full e-mail report as above.

© 2000-2004, 2009 The Croquet Association - www.croquet.org.uk