Golf Croquet National Inter-Club Competitions - Conditions

These Conditions except where indicated are applicable to:

These competitions are open only to clubs affiliated to Croquet England. The players must be Individual Associates of Croquet England and playing members of the clubs they are representing.
An individual may play for the same or different clubs in different competitions during a season, but in any one competition may not play for more than one team.
Clubs may enter a second team in any of the competitions (only in particular circumstances for the Federations Shield - see calendar entry). If two teams are entered they must be designated Team A and Team B, and Condition 2 above will apply.
Teams shall consist of four players and must meet the handicap restrictions stated for each event. Attention is drawn to Croquet England Tournament Regulations H1 and P5 regarding handicaps.
The draw will be published on the date specified in the relevant calendar entry. As far as possible, the draw for each of the GC Inter-Club Championship Tiers will attempt to reduce travelling in the early rounds.
Dates for the completion of each round will be published at the same time as the draw. Matches may not be played after the deadline date without the specific approval of the Director (in advance). Approval will not be given unless the Director is satisfied that this is justified and will not adversely affect the following round. The final will be played on (or by) the date specified in the calendar entry at a neutral venue to be determined by the Director. The Court and Equipment Hire fees for the final will be paid by Croquet England at the rate agreed between the Director and the host club.
The position in the draw will not indicate home or away. Where there is history (in the relevant event), the away team from the previous meeting becomes the home team for the new one; in all other cases, it should be decided by the toss of a coin (if necessary by the Director). A match played on a neutral ground forms no part of the history. Both teams share the responsibility for identifying the home team at an early stage. Further details on the home/away sequence:
1. Should a fixture not be played (and a walkover awarded) due to reasons attributed to the away team (e.g. unable to raise a team), then that away team will be required to travel the next time the two clubs meet.
2. Should a fixture not be played (and a walkover awarded) due to reasons attributed to the home team, then that home team will be required to travel the next time the two clubs meet.
3. A match that is abandoned (e.g. due to flooding) on the day of the match after the away team has departed and has to be determined by the toss of a coin is deemed to have been played and therefore counts in the home/away sequence between the two clubs.
4. A match that is abandoned and has to be determined by the toss of a coin before the away team departs does not count in the home/away sequence between the two clubs.
The home club should quickly identify three dates on which it can host the match. These should be at weekends unless both clubs are content to play midweek. If the away team is able to play on one of these dates then that date should be chosen. If it is not possible to agree on a date, each club identifies one preferred date: this should be a weekend unless both clubs are content to play midweek. The toss of a coin should be used to choose the date. If neither club has courts available on the chosen date, then clubs arrange and pay for a neutral venue (Croquet England will not pay lawn fees; this includes when the expected home team cannot provide courts on the date that has been determined by the above process).
Singles may be double-banked where limited courts are available at the home club. A club must have a minimum of two full-size courts for hosting home matches, though clubs with undersized courts may have them approved for use on application to the Director at the time of entry. Teams may opt to play all games away from their home club if they do not have suitable match facilities, but this should be declared on their entry.
Where possible the host club should provide a referee.
Each team shall consist of four players. Before the start of each match, the captains will exchange team lists, with the players listed as A, B, C and D in handicap order, the lowest handicap first, except for the GC Inter-Club Championship Tier 1 which will be in DGrade order on the morning of the match, with any individual not appearing in the rankings being inserted into the list in order of handicap. Where two or more players have the same handicap the Captain may choose their order, which must then apply for the whole match. The match format and sequence of play will then be as described in the calendar entry for that competition.
Time limits shall be used only with the agreement of the team captains.
The teams shall strive to obtain a result in a single day. The captains may consider shortening the afternoon rubbers if weather intervenes (e.g. only one game in each rubber, or time limits). If the teams abandon play, then only completed rubbers shall count toward the match result. If fewer than three rubbers are complete, or the scores in a curtailed match are level, then one of the following is allowable:
1. the captains toss a coin to decide the result; or
2. the away team agrees to travel again to start the match afresh (without carrying forward the scores of the completed rubbers) at a later date (before the deadline for completion of the round).
A match planned within three days of the due date that has to be cancelled owing to exceptional circumstances outside the control of the teams may be played within seven days of the cancellation, but the Director must be told within 24 hours of the cancellation and give approval.
The winning club is responsible for reporting the results of each match by email to results#croquetengland.org.uk and a report to news#croquetengland.org.uk within 24 hours of the conclusion of the match - this report will then reach the Croquet England Office, the news editor of the website, the editor of the Gazette, and the people who maintain the Grading Systems. The information required is:
1. the competition;
2. the club names;
3. the date played;
4. the venue;
5. the match score;
6. the detailed game scores (the correct format for reporting scores is set out at Reporting Results and News);
7. a short report (if available), which will be put onto the Croquet England website, and may be considered for inclusion in the Gazette.

Jonathan Powe