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Short Croquet Handicapping

Players should keep separate cards for Association Croquet (AC) and Short Croquet (SC) and results should be recorded on the relevant card only. A Short Croquet Handicap Card is downloadable.

Initial Short Croquet handicaps should be based upon a player's Association Croquet handicap using the conversion table below. When a player does not have an Association Croquet handicap, the Club Handicapper must decide. In the absence of a Club Handicapper, contact a nearby National Handicapper.

Relationship between Association and Short Croquet Handicaps
Association Short   Association Short
-3 to -1 -3 (3 peels)   8 to 9 3
-0.5 to 0.5 -2 (2 peels)   10 to 11 3.5
1 to 1.5 -1 (1 Peel)   12 to 13 4
2 to 2.5 0   14 to 15 5
3 to 3.5 0.5   16 to 17 6
4 to 4.5 1   18 to 19 7
5 1.5   20 to 21 8
6 2   22 to 23 9
7 2.5   24 10

Automatic Handicapping System for Short Croquet

An automatic system is used to vary Short Croquet handicaps.

Automatic Handicapping Trigger Points for Short Croquet
Handicap Index   Handicap Index
-3 (or 3P) 115   3 70
-2 (or 2P) 110   3.5 65
-1 (or 1P) 105   4 60
0 100   5 55
0.5 95   6 50
1 90   7 45
1.5 85   8 40
2 80   9 35
2.5 75   10 30

All SC games are 14-point full bisque handicap ones.

For all qualifying SC games, a player's index increases by 1 for each win and decreases by 1 for each loss.

Whenever a player's index is on or past a trigger point for an SC handicap change, their SC handicap must change accordingly at the end of that day except that all games within an event should be played off the same handicap.

However, note Regulation H1(a), which states that for tournaments that run over several weeks, such as the Short Croquet Inter-Club, each round counts as a separate tournament for the purpose of triggering a handicap change.

If a tournament (other than at a Croquet England Calendar Fixture) lasts no more than four days then a handicap change can only be triggered at the end of the Tournament.

Croquet England Associates are required to update their handicaps in the Subscribers' Area of the Croquet England website. Players who do not have the means to do this should contact their club secretary.

Note: the nP Short Croquet handicaps are stored in the online Directory as the minus equivalent, i.e. -1 is 1 peel.

Subsequent Changes to AC and SC Handicaps

If a player's AC handicap is reduced then their SC handicap and index should be manually adjusted using the above table. Note that an SC handicap should only be reduced by this method: if the AC handicap change would result in an SC increase then the SC handicap should NOT be adjusted.

If a player's AC handicap is increased, then their SC handicap should NOT be adjusted.

Movement of an SC handicap, either way, has no impact on a player's AC handicap.

Calculation of Handicaps in Short Croquet Doubles

In order to calculate the number of bisques a pair should have in a game of doubles, use the trigger Index in the table above. Add the trigger indices together for the pair and then divide by two. Round down, if necessary, to the nearest trigger index and, using the above table, equate that to the handicap (number of bisques).

Examples

A pair with SC handicaps of 2.5 and 8 would have an index of 75+40=115, halved equals 57.5, rounded down to the nearest index equals 55. So the pair would have 5 bisques

A pair with SC handicaps of 6 and 2P would have an index of 50+110=160, halved equals 80. This means that the pair has 2 bisques

A pair with SC handicaps of 0 and 3P would have an index of 100+115=215, halved equals 107.5, rounded down equals 105. So the pair would be required to do one mandatory peel.