Playing Croquet in Extreme Heat

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In some locations around England the Met Office have issued Extreme Heat weather warnings. Although Croquet England doesn't yet have a policy with relation to this, we would like to highlight some practical help which we hope will help enable everyone to continue enjoying their sport as safely as possible.

The government have issued their Beat the Heat: staying safe in hot weather guidance on 20^th May 2026, which we would recommend all players and officials to familiarise themselves with. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beat-the-heat-hot-weather-advice/beat-the-heat-staying-safe-in-hot-weather

We recommend that in extreme heat conditions, tournament managers and directors shall use their common sense and a spirit of fair play to decide on the appropriate course of action should Croquet Tournaments be affected. This relates to both the monitoring of the weather situation and for decisions required to complete match and tournament results. If you have concerns about playing in the heat, you will be able to withdraw from the tournament using the tournament entry system in the usual way.

Hydration

Good hydration is advised at all time in warm weather conditions. Consider setting a timer to remind players to drink water throughout matches. It would be wise to avoid dehydrating beverages such as alcohol and caffeinated drinks.

Shade and suncream

Wearing hats to give your head cover from the sun would be beneficial and using sun cream which should be regularly re-applied will help protect your skin. A wet cloth such as a towel or microfibre cloth could be used to cool a persons temperature, and placed on the neck will also help to protect the neck from direct sun.

Know the signs

From the government guidance linked above, common symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

• Tiredness
• Weakness
• feeling faint
• headache
• muscle cramps
• feeling or being sick
• heavy sweating
• intense thirst

If a person is suffering from these symptoms they may not recognise them within themselves, so it's important to check in with each other. Please help each other by asking a person how they are if you notice any changes in behaviour or appearance.

Tournament regulations

If weather conditions effect the state of a tournament this is currently dealt with in the tournament regulations (https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=tournament/regulations).

We will be aiming to publish official guidance and policy for extreme weather conditions ready for the 2027 playing season, however, if you are unsure and would like to ask any questions, please send your enquiry to communications#croquetengland.org.uk.