Version 1.1, Jan 2026

Purpose

To provide the details on the selection process to ensure that events subject to selection are open to all eligible players, and that a free, fair and rational process of selection is carried out, in compliance with Croquet England's Selection Policy.

1 General

1.1 Croquet England selection events are open to all eligible players, as specified in the Selection Policy.

1.2 A Selection Committee may delegate some selection decisions to other bodies or individuals, possibly specifying selection criteria. This will normally only occur in relation to Croquet England representative matches against other croquet associations where the object is to field matched teams rather than to field a full-strength team, and to seeding taking place at tournaments.

1.3 Selection Committees must respect any special selection criteria properly associated with an event and published in the Fixtures Calendar.

1.4 Definition of terms

1.4.1 A player will be considered as having significant development potential if the relevant Selection Committee considers they have shown a likelihood to be significantly better than their past results.

1.4.2 The Invitation Events are the AC Eights, the GC Eights, and the AC Women's Sixes, each individually an Invitation Event.

1.4.3 A Close Connection is as defined in the Conflict of Interest policy and in broad terms means family, relatives or business partners of an individual, as well as businesses in which they have an interest through ownership or influence. The term includes a spouse or unmarried or civil partner, children, siblings, grandchildren and grandparents, and anyone with whom the individual is cohabiting, as well as businesses where a trustee or family member holds at least one-fifth of the shareholding or voting rights.

2 Events Subject to the Selection Procedures

The events shown in Table 1 in Section 2 of the Selection Policy are subject to these Selection Procedures.

It should be noted that the English National Golf Croquet Singles Championship is not a true selection event, as places are awarded by qualification from results in nominated events. However, players are required to register their availability for this event even if they have gained automatic entry by reaching the final of a nominated event or are otherwise eligible to play by virtue of their performance in nominated events.

3 Eligibility

Eligibility for the selection events is shown in Table 1 in Section 2 of the Selection Policy.

4 Availability

4.1 Players are encouraged to make themselves available for selection events even if they believe their playing strength may not yet be sufficient. They will not be criticised for making known their availability for events for which they might not expect to be strong enough to be considered.

4.2 For the Open Singles and Doubles Championships and other Croquet England Doubles fixtures, players must enter the event on or before the event's Allocation Deadline to be considered for selection. For doubles, both players in the pair must enter

4.3 An Availability Closing Date will be stated for every other selection event. Players must notify their availability on or before the Availability Closing Date to guarantee consideration for selection (although see potential exceptions in 4.4.3b and 12.1.3).

4.4 Notification of Availability

4.4.1 Players are required to notify Croquet England of their availability for selection events on or before the advertised Availability Closing Date (although see 12.1.3 for WCF and ERC Singles Event exception). They may do this:

(a) by completing the Selection Availability page in the Members' Area of the Croquet England website (preferred);

(b) by email to the Croquet England Office;

(c) by post to the Croquet England Office; or

(d) in the case of team events only, by direct contact with the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee.

4.4.2 The Selection Availability page is accessible to all subscribers of Croquet England but not to the general public. The Croquet England Office will keep it up to date in response to email and postal notifications and thus it will provide:

(a) formal acknowledgement of availability notifications; and

(b) up-to-date status of availability for all current selection events.

Availability notifications will not be usually acknowledged by any other means to Croquet England subscribers.

4.4.3 Failure to notify availability on or before the Availability Closing Date will disqualify a player from selection (although see 12.1.3 for WCF and ERC Singles Event exception). Exceptions may be made by the relevant Selection Committee only:

(a) in the event of a failure of the Croquet England website or of Croquet England Office procedures; or

(b) if the relevant Selection Committee for a team event wishes to select a player whose availability was not notified by the Availability Closing Date.

4.5 A player may be asked by a Selector at any time before the Availability Closing Date of an event or, in the case of a team event, before the Selection Announcement Date, to make themselves available for selection in order to strengthen the team or the event, or to widen the experience of that player, or for any other reason the Selector believes will be of benefit. For World Team Championship and International Team events, the Selection Committee is expected to encourage the strongest players to make themselves available for selection.

4.6 Any player who is aware of fitness or health concerns that may affect their ability to play for an entire event must notify the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee accordingly. This is equally important if the player becomes aware of fitness or health concerns after the Availability Closing Date.

5 Selection Timetable and Notification of Selection

5.1 For each of the AC and GC World Team Championships (the MacRobertson Shield and the Openshaw Shield), the arrangements are set out in Section 7 below. For the Open Singles and Doubles Championships and other Croquet England doubles Fixtures, the arrangements are set out in Section 13 below. For all other events, the timetable and notification of selection arrangements are as follows.

5.2 The selection process for the relevant event will normally take place soon after the Availability Closing Date. The selection decision will be announced on or before the Selection Announcement Date on the Croquet England website, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the relevant Selection Committee has contacted anyone whom they wish to inform in advance of the public announcement. Other means of communication of the selection decision, such as email, telephone or letter may also be used at the Selection Committee's discretion.

5.3 Publication of selection timetables

Selection events should appear in the Fixtures Calendar showing the Availability Closing Date and the Selection Announcement Date (if known) and how players can notify their availability.

Selection events not known about or unconfirmed when the Fixtures Calendar is published will be notified to players via the Croquet England website and by any other practical and appropriate means.

The Chair of the relevant Selection Committee is responsible for setting the selection timetable in consultation with the Tournament Director of the event (for events held in England) or the Event Coordinator from the International Committee (for events held outside England). The Tournament Director or Event Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that the Fixtures Calendar and Selection Availability page details are correct, or for otherwise publicising the details to players.

5.4 Availability Closing Date

This is normally set two weeks before the Selection Announcement Date.

5.5 Selection Announcement Date

Selection decisions will not normally be announced shortly before a relevant major tournament. Subject to that, the Selection Announcement Date will be a prescribed minimum number of weeks before the start of a selection event as follows:

(a) Invitation Events and AC Selectors' Weekend: 5 weeks (since most players will know they are playing on those dates, just not in which specific event).

(b) Other events in Great Britain or Ireland: 8 weeks

(c) Events elsewhere in the world: as early as possible taking into account as many results as the Tournament Director of the event, in consultation with the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee, decides is necessary.

5.6 Postponements

The relevant Selection Committee is entitled to:

(a) announce in the Fixtures Calendar that the Selection Announcement Date for a selection event will be later than that indicated in paragraph 5.5 if it is necessary to take into account results from a major tournament;

(b) at any time prior to the Availability Closing Date, announce a postponement of the Availability Closing Date and/or the Selection Announcement Date via the Croquet England website and by any other practical and appropriate means; and

(c) in exceptional circumstances, announce a postponement of a Selection Announcement Date after the Availability Closing Date and notify those who have made themselves available by the Availability Closing Date of the revised Selection Announcement Date.

6 The Selection Process and Conduct of the Selectors

6.1 A Selection Committee does not simply look at a ranking list and pick the highest ranked. The primary information is the records in the ranking databases, namely who played whom and the result. The way in which results are obtained is taken into account because players can obtain a reasonably high grade without playing top players and a low grade by always playing and generally losing to much better players. Except in the case of the Invitation Events and the Selectors' Weekends, results more than a year old may be considered. Particularly where developing players are concerned, personal observations may be a material factor in selection. Players should therefore expect that members of selection committees may watch their play if opportunities arise.

6.2 Selectors may use all relevant information available to them in reaching selection decisions. This may include performances at other codes of croquet than the one for which the player is currently under consideration, although performance in the relevant code will carry the greatest weight.

6.3 If a meeting of the Selection Committee is inquorate, the Chair must co-opt individuals from the top of the Executive's pre-approved list of reserve selectors to restore quorum. If a meeting has fewer than five members, the Chair may co-opt individuals from the top of the same list to bring the number up to five. Any co-opted individuals act solely as temporary replacements for the absent committee members and do not alter the quorum requirement.

6.4 If any disciplinary sanctions have been imposed on a player, they must be followed.

6.5 Avoiding Conflict of Interest

6.5.1 All members of Selection Committees must adhere to Croquet England's Conflict of Interest Policy. In particular:

6.5.2 A member of any Selection Committee who is the subject of a selection decision for a team event must not take part in selection discussions until the decision is taken and they are either selected or not. For any other selection or seeding decisions, a member of any Selection Committee must not take any part in discussions during which they may be under consideration. However, in either case they may be canvassed individually as set out in 6.4 below. A member of any Selection Committee must not take part in selection discussions relating to a team event if they are eligible to play for a team that might play England (or Great Britain where relevant) in the event.

6.5.3 A member of any Selection Committee must not take part in selection discussions relating to a decision involving a Close Connection (see paragraph 1.4.3). However, for selection discussions relating to a team event, a Close Connection to a player in a team that might play England (or Great Britain where relevant) is not considered a conflict of interest.

6.5.4 A member of any Selection Committee must declare all potential conflicts of interest, and the Chair of the Selection Committee will decide whether that member may take part in the discussions. If the Chair has a conflict of interest then the rest of the Selection Committee will decide whether the Chair may take part in the discussions.

6.6 The Chair of the Selection Committee may obtain views of individual selectors outside of committee discussion, including those of selectors who have a conflict of interest, but the fact of these discussions should be recorded in the minutes of the relevant committee meeting.

6.7 Selection decisions will ideally be unanimous, but may be by majority, with the Chair holding the casting vote.

7 Selection Timetable and Process for World Team Championship (WTC) Events

7.1 Special Selection Committee (SSC)

a) Special Selection Committees are appointed for selecting the England teams for AC and GC World Team Championship events. This is because these selectors need to be familiar with the performance of the top 12 or so eligible players and, ideally, to have had experience of playing in such events.

b) A Standing MacRobertson Shield Special Selection Committee (the "ACSSC") and Openshaw Shield Special Selection Committee ("the GCSSC") will be appointed by the Executive.

c) The SSC may consist of all, some or none of the members of the relevant AC or GC Selection Committee and should have no fewer than five members.

7.2 SSC Responsibilities

The SSC will:

a) decide the start and end of a World Team Championship (WTC) Squad Activity Period;

b) decide the activities and events in which members of the WTC Squad will be expected to participate during the WTC Squad Activity Period;

c) set the Availability Closing Date and the Selection Announcement Date for membership of the WTC Squad, and then select players for membership;

d) set the Availability Closing Date and Selection Announcement Date for the England team; and

e) select the England team.

7.3 Publication of Timetable

Squad and team selection opportunities will appear in the Fixtures Calendar (or, in the case of the Squad, elsewhere on the Croquet England website) showing the Availability Closing Date and the Selection Announcement Date and how players can notify their availability.

Dates not confirmed when the Fixtures Calendar is published will be notified to players via the Croquet England website and by any other practical and appropriate means.

The Tournament Director of each WTC (for WTCs held in England) or the Event Coordinator from the International Committee (for WTCs held outside England) is responsible for ensuring that the Fixtures Calendar and Selection Availability page entries are correct or publicising the details to players.

7.4 Availability Closing Dates

The Availability Closing Date for the WTC Squad is normally set two weeks before the Selection Announcement Date for the WTC Squad. The Availability Closing Date for the team will be before the Review Date (see 7.7.3) but is otherwise at the discretion of the SSC.

7.5 Selection Announcement Dates

The Selection Announcement Date for the WTC Squad is at the discretion of the SSC. The Selection Announcement Date for the team will be at least three months before the event. A Selection Announcement Date will not normally be shortly before a relevant major tournament.

7.6 Postponements

The SSC is entitled to:

(a) announce in the Fixtures Calendar that the Selection Announcement Date will be later than that indicated in paragraph 7.5 if it is necessary to take into account results from a major tournament;

(b) at any time prior to the Availability Closing Date, announce a postponement of the Availability Closing Date and/or the Selection Announcement Date via the Croquet England website and by any other practical and appropriate means; and

(c) in exceptional circumstances, announce a postponement of the Selection Announcement Date after the Availability Closing Date and notify those who have made themselves available by the Availability Closing Date of the revised Selection Announcement Date.

7.7 Avoiding Conflict of Interest

7.7.1 The following provisions apply to SSCs in addition to section 6.5.

7.7.2 Appointments to the SSC should comprise of players either certain to be selected or highly unlikely to be selected. However, because this will undoubtedly change over time, there will be a review of membership of the SSC after the responsibilities set out in 7.2 a) to d) have been discharged and before selection of the team. The Executive will also be responsible for appointing replacement members should any of the SSC Members become unable to serve.

7.7.3 On a Review Date not less than two months before the Selection Announcement Date, the SSC will review:

(a) whether each of its members who is available for selection is either certain to be selected or certain not to be selected; and

(b) whether any of its members has a conflict of interest under 6.5.2 or 6.5.3.

An SSC member will take no part in the part of the review during which they or any of their Close Connections are under consideration, or have any other conflict of interest.

7.7.4 Following the review, an SSC member must stand down from the SSC if either they or one of their Close Connections wishes to remain available for selection but is not unanimously judged certain to be selected. If, as a consequence, the SSC then contains fewer than five members, the Executive will appoint one or more additional members to ensure that the SSC has a minimum of five members.

7.8 WTC Squads

7.8.1 A WTC Squad of players who are qualified for England will be selected one to two years before the next MacRobertson or Openshaw Shield. Selection is open to any player who expects to be available for the MacRobertson or Openshaw Shield itself and to be able to participate in most of a programme of WTC Squad activities and events during the WTC Squad Activity Period. This will typically be at least one complete calendar year playing season (i.e. March-October) before the next MacRobertson or Openshaw Shield.

7.8.2 Players who become available for the WTC after the relevant WTC Squad has been formed may approach or be approached by the Chair of the relevant SSC to discuss their possible addition to the WTC Squad.

7.8.3 The SSC is entitled to select a player for an England team who is not part of the WTC Squad.

7.8.4 In the intervening years between World Team Championships, Croquet England may also choose to run similar squads for players with a high level of ability as part of the International Performance Development Programmes. These squads may be made open to Croquet England members who are qualified for England, Scotland or Wales.

7.9 Basis for Selection Decisions

7.9.1 The sole aim is to select the team that is most likely to win the event, subject to any financial constraints imposed on the size of the squad.

7.9.2 In addition to the individual and doubles results of the available players, other relevant factors may be considered, such as availability for the entire event, previous success or failure in that event and potential to form successful doubles pairs and create a good team dynamic. Fitness or health may also be considered a relevant factor, in which case the Chair of the SSC should discuss this with the player concerned. The Chair should seek medical evidence, if necessary, rather than rely on their own unqualified judgement. The Chair must respect the player's privacy when advising the Committee of conclusions reached on medical grounds. If the player unreasonably declines to provide medical evidence, the Committee is entitled to draw an adverse inference. Similarly, if a player declines to allow relevant medical facts to be shared with the Committee, the Chair may decide that the player will not be selected.

7.10 Communication of Selection Decisions

7.10.1 The WTC Squad and the England team will each be announced on the Croquet England website on or before the Selection Announcement Date. Available players will, wherever possible, be told in advance of the public announcement if they have or have not been selected.

7.10.2 Any member of the SSC whom the SSC determines certain to be selected for the England team on the Review Date will be informed of their selection then.

7.10.3 The SSC may give a guarantee of selection for the England team to a player who is not a member of the SSC on or after the Review Date (see 7.7.3) but before the Selection Announcement Date so that someone certain to be selected, or a Close Connection of theirs, can join the SSC.

8 Selection Process for England Teams

This section applies to the AC and GC Home Internationals, and Test Matches between England and another country or countries. For the Great Britain Test Team for the Solomon Trophy see section 9.

8.1 Basis for Selection Decisions

8.1.1 The primary aim is to select the team that is most likely to win the event.

8.1.2 In accordance with the aim of achieving the best possible performances in world team championships, Selection Committees should take opportunities to select players who are considered by the relevant SSC to be in contention for the next England World Team Championship (WTC) team in the relevant code, since other International Team events are useful for getting potential players familiar with being part of a team and with playing alongside, as opposed to against, their likely teammates. This may include developing players, but Selection Committees should avoid selecting weaker "development" players if doing so is likely to substantially reduce the likelihood of the team winning the event.

8.1.3 In addition to the individual and (for events involving doubles play) doubles results of the available players, other relevant factors may be considered, such as availability for the entire event, previous success or failure in that event and (if relevant) potential to form successful doubles pairs and create a good team dynamic. Fitness or health may also be considered a relevant factor, in which case the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee should discuss this with the player concerned and seek medical evidence, if necessary, rather than rely on their own unqualified judgement. The Chair must respect the player's privacy when advising the Committee of conclusions reached on medical grounds. If the player unreasonably declines to provide medical evidence, the Committee is entitled to draw an adverse inference. Similarly, if a player declines to allow relevant medical facts to be shared with the Committee, the Chair may decide that the player will not be selected.

8.1.4 If a team has been selected for a forthcoming WTC, the selected players may be given priority for any team event in that code held prior to the WTC taking place.

8.1.5 The likely next captain of the WTC team in the relevant code must be consulted if known.

8.2 Communication of Selection Decisions

The team will be announced on the Croquet England website as soon as possible after the Selection Announcement Date. Available players will, wherever possible, be told in advance of the public announcement if they have or have not been selected.

9 Selection Process for the Solomon Trophy

The Solomon Trophy is contested by a Great Britain team, usually in the year before or after a MacRobertson Shield. Selection procedures are in accordance with section 8 with the following modifications.

9.1 Basis for Selection Decisions

9.1.1 The Solomon Trophy is usually contested in the year before or after a MacRobertson Shield.

9.1.2 For the last match before the MacRobertson Shield preference may be given to England players who are considered by the ACSSC to be in contention for a place in the MacRobertson Shield team.

9.1.3 For matches held at any other time the team selected will be the one most likely to win the event.

10 Selection Process for International Representative Team Events

This section applies to events such as Croquet England v The Croquet Association of Ireland and Croquet England v The Scottish Croquet Association.

10.1 Basis for Selection Decisions

10.1.1 Teams are typically selected to match the expected strength of the opposing team.

10.1.2 Team selection is normally delegated to the match organiser who will take care to observe the closing date and to make an appropriate selection in conjunction with the relevant Selection Committee.

10.1.3 Players showing development potential may be prioritised for selection in these events.

10.2 Communication of Selection Decisions

The team will be announced on the Croquet England website as soon as possible after selection. Available players will, wherever possible, be told in advance of the public announcement if they have or have not been selected.

11 Selection Process for Other Team Events

This section currently only applies to Croquet England Women v Inter-Counties Division 2 winners. The AC Selection Committee is responsible for selecting the Croquet England Women's Team.

11.1 Basis for Selection Decisions

The aim is to select a competitive team, with up to three players identified as having development potential.

11.2 Communication of Selection Decisions

The team will be announced on the Croquet England website as soon as possible after selection. Available players will, wherever possible, be told in advance of the public announcement if they have or have not been selected.

12 Selection Process for World Croquet Federation (WCF) Singles Events, Including Events Organised by the European Regional Committee (ERC) of the WCF

From the point of view of players, Croquet England and the relevant Selection Committee, the WCF process is as follows.

12.1 Submission of Player Availability to Croquet England

12.1.1 Croquet England receives an invitation to facilitate the participation of its players in a singles world championship ("the Event") from the WCF on its specified Invitation Date with a requirement to respond with requests for Ranking Places and nominations for Wild Card Places by its specified Response Date (usually Invitation Date + eight weeks). Croquet England may nominate additional players for Membership Places by the WCF specified Closing Date (usually Invitation Date + sixteen weeks).

12.1.2 The Chair of the relevant Selection Committee will set an Availability Closing Date (notified via the Fixtures Calendar or through other channels) and will arrange with the Croquet England Office for players to be notified of the opportunity to make themselves available for the Event and to be able to submit their availability via Croquet England's online availability system (see 4.3). The Availability Closing Date is the last date by which availability must be declared for players to be eligible for an Initial Ranking Place, a Wild Card Place nomination, or a Membership Place.

12.1.3 Players may declare their availability at any time, including after the Availability Closing Date, by contacting the Croquet England Office, or the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee. Players who declare their availability after the Availability Closing date will be added to the WCF Replacement Ranking List but will not be eligible for nomination for a Wild Card Place or for a Membership Place.

12.2 Interaction between Croquet England and the WCF

12.2.1 No later than 72 hours before the Response Date, the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee will notify the Chair of International Committee of all the players who are qualified and eligible to play for England and are available for the Event, as well as any nominations for Wild Card Places. It is the responsibility of the Chair of International Committee to submit those names to the WCF by the Response Date.

12.2.2 By the WCF specified Announcement Date (no more than four weeks after the Response Date), the WCF will announce which players have been awarded Ranking Places or Wild Card Places.

12.2.3 No later than 72 hours before the WCF specified Closing Date (which is usually one month after the Announcement Date), the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee will notify the Chair of International Committee of the names of players who have been awarded a Croquet England Membership Place, along with any additional Membership Places when Croquet England is the Event Host. It is the responsibility of the Chair of International Committee to submit those names to the WCF by the WCF Closing Date.

12.2.4 By one month after the Closing Date, each player who has been awarded Ranking, Wild Card or Membership Places must pay their entry fee to the WCF using the details provided by the WCF (usually published on the relevant event page under World Championships on the WCF website).

12.3 Basis for Selection Decisions

Membership places (including Host places, which are defined by the WCF as additional Membership Places), and nominations for Wild Card places are allocated or decided by either the AC or the GC Selection Committee, as appropriate.

12.3.1 For WCF events:

a) Membership places will be allocated to the available players who are considered likely to do best in the event.

b) Players may be nominated for Wild Card places provided, in the opinion of the Selection Committee, they satisfy the criteria set out in the relevant WCF Sports Regulations.

12.3.2 For ERC events membership places will be allocated to either:

a) the available player who is considered likely to do best in the event;

b) a player considered to have significant development potential (see paragraph 1.4.1).

12.4 Communication of Selection Decisions

The Selection Announcement Date is considered to be the date of the announcement of the initial Croquet England Membership Places. These will be announced on the Croquet England website as soon as possible after the selection has occurred. Available players will, wherever possible, be told in advance of the public announcement if they have or have not been selected. Ranking and Wild Card Places are announced earlier by the WCF, by the WCF specified Announcement Date, which will then be published on the Croquet England website.

13 Selection Process for Croquet England Championships Where Selection Places are Applicable

This section applies to selection places in any Croquet England Championships or Open Doubles events in which one or more selection places are available.

13.1 Basis for Selection Decisions

The selection place for each event may be allocated by either the AC or GC Selection Committee, as appropriate, to the player or pair the Committee considers is likely to do best. There is no requirement for a player to have played a minimum number, or any, games in the last twelve months. There is no requirement for the Committee to allocate a selection place, and the Committee should only do so if they consider that a player or pair is likely to do better than the player or pair first on the reserve list.

13.2 Timetable for Selection Decisions

Selection decisions must be made no later than 7 days after the Allocation Date.

13.3 Communication of Selection Decisions

The Chair of the Selection Committee shall notify the available players and the Tournament Director of the Championship of the selection, and the Tournament Director shall update the Tournament Entry System.

14 Selection Process for the Invitation Events and AC Selectors' Weekend

This section applies to the Invitation Events (as defined in paragraph 1.4.2), and AC Selectors' Weekend (see paragraph 14.4).

14.1 The Invitation Event for which players are selected and, with the exception of the First Eights, their positions within it, are regarded as a measure of their average performance over the period between the Availability Closing Date for the prior year's Invitation Events, and that for the current year's Invitation Events. Accordingly, the relevant Selection Committee will review all published results between these two dates as if they had occurred on the same day and no account is taken of current or previous form. In this context, "results" mean games that form part of the relevant ranking system. Players are responsible for ensuring that their playing record is correct.

14.2 Basis for Selection Decisions

14.2.1 Significant credit is given for multi-game match wins (best of n) against players graded over 2400.

14.2.2 Particular credit is given for being the overall winner of an event, varying with the strength of the event.

14.2.3 Particular credit is given to mid-ranking players for wins against significantly higher-ranked players, especially in multi-game matches.

14.2.4 A negative view is taken of losses against significantly lower-ranked players, especially in multi-game matches.

14.2.5 A negative view is taken if players play only in their local area, or in weak events, or in very few events.

14.2.6 Particular notice will be taken of results against players of the standard of the invitation event under consideration and that of a higher level one.

14.2.7 A negative view will be taken of players with a history of withdrawing from selection events, after selection, without good reason.

14.2.8 Where players cannot be separated by their results, improving players are given precedence over players with broadly similar current ability.

14.3 A player who is not available for the appropriate Invitation Event or is not selected for it due to lack of play will not be selected for a lower event. However, the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee is encouraged to attempt to contact any player likely to be selected for a higher event for which they have not made themselves available to ensure that they are aware of this restriction and are offered the opportunity to change their availability prior to the Availability Closing Date.

14.4 The AC Selectors' Weekend

This is not regarded as the "bottom Invitation Event'. Instead, it is for players who show promise but have not yet established a record sufficient to gain a place in an AC Eight. It provides an opportunity to play amongst themselves and with established players who are not excessively stronger than the non-established players. The basis for selection decisions is:

14.4.1 Priority will be given to improving players without a sufficient established record.

14.4.2 Suitable established players who either failed to gain a place in an AC Eight or have insufficient time to play in an AC Eight may be selected to ensure the event achieves the desired competitive level.

14.4.3 If there is an insufficient entry, then other suitable established players may be selected, in order of merit, to make the entry up to 16 (or whatever number the AC Tournament Committee specifies). The ranking of such players will fall within or just outside the range of players already selected.

14.5 Communication of Selection Decisions

A news item will be placed on the Croquet England website as soon as possible after selection giving the names of those selected and the reserves for each event.

15 Seeding for Major Events

15.1 When required by the regulations for a given tournament, members of the relevant Selection Committee will determine seeding places based on their opinion of the players most likely to win..

15.2 For seeding decisions made during an event, a "Seeding Committee" will be formed. This will consist of all members of the relevant Selection Committee available at the event. It will be chaired by the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee, or a deputy appointed by that Chair if they are not present. The event manager and/or other suitably competent individuals may be co-opted to the Seeding Committee at the discretion of the Chair of the Seeding Committee. There should be a minimum of three people on the seeding committee. Where relevant, the Conflict of Interest procedures set out in 6.5 apply to members of Seeding Committees.

15.3 The Seeding Committee may prescribe where some or all seeds are placed in the draw or may decide not to distinguish some seeds from others (e.g. 2 & 3 may be equal second). The Seeding Committee is entitled to decide that some or all of the candidates are sufficiently similar that their position is to be decided by lot.

15.4 The Seeding Committee will include consideration of current form, including recent personal observations, grade, and results in other recent major events as part of the decision-making process.

16 Transparency of Selection Decisions

16.1 Selection discussions regarding specific players and individual members of any Selection Committee are confidential.

16.2 Players are entitled to know why they were or were not selected for an event but are not entitled to such information about any other player.

16.3 Minutes will be kept covering items including who was present, times of decisions, discussion relating to policy, data made available to the Committee and any other areas regarded as non-sensitive. The overriding principle is to be as open as possible whilst protecting the individual privacy of both the players being considered and the members of the Selection Committee.

16.4 Should information relating to the selection process be requested by an Appeal Panel, the Appeal Panel must respect the privacy of the players and the Committee members in accordance with the provisions of the Complaints Procedure. A record will be kept of all data made available to an Appeal Panel.

17 Selection Appeals

17.1 Selection decisions are only open to challenge on the grounds that:

(1) a procedural error was made such as a material departure from any part of the Selection Policy or this Selection Procedure or failure to consider all the available candidates; or

(2) the decision was one which no reasonable selection committee could have taken.

Decisions of a Selection Committee are not open to challenge on the basis that the Committee could reasonably have made a different decision. A selection decision will stand until any appeal is resolved.

17.2 A Selection Appeal will be dealt with as a maladministration complaint under Croquet England's Complaints Procedure subject to the following:

17.2.1 Stage 1: before lodging a formal complaint

The complainant should first attempt to resolve the complaint informally by discussing it with the Chair of the relevant Selection Committee. Because other players will be affected, this must be done as soon as practicable and, in any event, no later than 7 days after the announcement of the selection decision. Failure to do so will render the complaint inadmissible.

17.2.2 Stage 2: referral, assessment and adoption of a formal complaint

If the complainant has attempted to resolve their complaint informally but is not satisfied with the outcome, they are entitled to refer the matter to the Complaints Administrator and must comply with the requirements of Stage 2 of the Complaints Procedure. This must be done no later than 14 days after the announcement of the selection decision. Stages 3 and 4 of the Complaints Procedure do not apply to a complaint that is a Selection Appeal and such complaints will be referred directly to an Appeal Panel as per 17.2.3.

17.2.3 Stage 5: referral to an Appeal Panel

An Appeal Panel may only decide whether a procedural error has been made or the decision was one which no reasonable selection committee could have taken.

If neither ground is made out, the appeal will be rejected.

If a procedural error is found, the Appeal Panel will consider whether there is a reasonable prospect that rectification of the error could have a material effect on the selection decision. If there is, then the selection decision will be set aside, otherwise the appeal will be rejected.

If the decision was one which no reasonable selection committee could have taken, then the selection decision will be set aside.

If the selection decision is set aside, it will be referred back to the relevant Selection Committee for re-determination in accordance with the Selection Policy and Procedure and in light of the Appeal Panel's reasoning.

17.3 A Selection Committee is entitled to set aside its own decision if it decides that it has made a procedural error that could have affected the selection decision. In such a case, the complainant will be informed and the Selection Committee will re-determine the matter in accordance with the Selection Policy and Procedure.

References

Selection Policy

Complaints Procedure

Conflict of Interest Policy

Issue Details

Issuing Authority	Executive
Approved by	Executive
Date approved	29th January 2026
Next review date	January 2029
Version	v1.1
Reason for Change	Amendments
Major Change log
6.2 Use of a player's performance in other codes
6.3 Amendments to use of Reserves to make meetings quorate or up to 5 members
7 Conversion of Special Selection Committees to Standing Committees
9 Changes to Solomon Trophy selection criteria
12 Changes to timings of availability and selection dates for WCF events
13 Introduction of Selection places for Open Singles and Doubles