NELSON BAY CROQUET CLUB

Rules for Golf Croquet Club Competitions - Golf Croquet

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Nelson Bay Croquet Club competitions are open to all ordinary, life and junior members of the Club. They are conducted as set out in the "Australian Laws Book" of the Australian Croquet Association, except in respect to any modifications made under the local rules listed below.

 

Competitions are administered by the Club Captain who is the final arbiter on all matters concerning the competition. The Club Captain may, at their discretion, amend the Conditions of Play where necessary to facilitate the conduct or smooth running of the competition, provided that doing so does not compromise the integrity of the competition or affect its result.

 

Entries close at 12noon on the Friday before each competition, unless otherwise specified.

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Conditions of Play

• Entries will the limited to 16 players (singles) or 16 pairs (doubles).

• The competition will be structured to ensure a fair but challenging competition based on the number of entries.

• Players must be at the club 30 minutes prior to the starting.

• Players to pay 1 token to play in a competition.

• Games will be13 hoop games played on full size courts. 

• Games will be scheduled for between 50 and 65 minutes (level play) or between 60 and 75 minutes (handicap play) each (depending on the number of entries) with a 10-minute break between games.

• Clocks are only paused if:

o    In a double-banked game, one player or pair or is delayed due to both games contesting the same hoop;

o    Very poor weather conditions;

o    Illness during the game;

o    One playing group is called through another game, both of which are contesting the same hoop, with the players or pairs having to      

       wait, stopping their clock.

o    NB: Clocks are not paused due to a Referee being called for whatever reason.​

• Games will normally be self-refereed, though a referee may be appointed if available. In the event of disagreement on an issue, an immediate ruling may be requested by raising a mallet. However, in the case of finals and semi-finals, it would be desirable to have qualified referees available.

• If games are double-banked, games will be self-timed. Timers will be provided for each game. 

• If games are not double-banked, a central timer will be used and play will finish on the bell.

• If games are double-banked, secondary colours will commence from Corner 4 when the primary colours have cleared Hoop 2.

• Scoring clips are to be used.

• Where the number of entries is such that a preliminary round is required, players or pairs will be seeded into blocks.

• For handicap competitions, the Advantage Handicap System will be used.

• Handicap cards are to be completed for Club championships but not normally to be completed in other Club competitions.

• At the end of the allotted time, play stops; only if the players or pairs are then equal on hoops is one more hoop must be played to determine the winner of that game.​

 

Competition Draw

• The draw will be done immediately prior to play by the Tournament Manager (Club Captain).

• The number of rounds and blocks to be played will be determined by the number of competition entries. The number of rounds and blocks should ensure that a minimum of 3 games is played by each player or pair.

• If blocks (A, B, C, D etc) are required, players or pairs will be ranked by handicap to determine the seeding to blocks.

• Once the draw has been completed and competition has commenced, no substitutions can be made.

• Both courts and primary/secondary balls will be allocated for the first round of a competition and, thereafter, available players will play on whatever court is available and with whatever coloured balls are available. 

• Wherever possible, the Tournament Manager will try to ensure a reasonable mix of courts and primary/secondary balls for each player or pair, though this may prove difficult depending on the number of entries.

 

Competition Winner 

• If there is no preliminary group stage, the player or pair who won the most games will be declared the winner of the competition. If there is a tie-on-games, the winner is the player or pair with the most net hoops. If a tie still exists, the winner is the one who won the game between the two players or pairs.

• If two groups are required due to the number of entries, a play-off between the winners of the two groups will determine the winner of the competition.

• If three groups are required due to the number of entries, semi-finals then a final will be played to determine the champion. The semi-finals will consist of the winners of each of the 3 blocks and the player who comes in outright second place (from all blocks) - this is determined firstly by who won the most games, then, if necessary, who has the highest number of hoops won, then who had the lowest number of hoops lost, then who had the lesser Hoop Difference, and finally, who won the (first) game between the two possible second place contenders. If Target Advantage play is used then the Total Percentage of Games won, for each contender, will also be taken into consideration.

• If four groups are required due to the number of entries, semi-finals then a final will be played to determine the champion. Players or pairs will be allocated randomly to the semi-final games.

 

Withdrawals​

• If any player or pair is forced to withdraw from the competition due to illness or some other reason, depending on when the withdrawal occurs within the round robin, either all games or all subsequent games will be forfeited. 

• In the case of a player or pair not being able to compete in the finals phase of the competition after qualifying, the next highest placed player or pair will take their place.

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Date Changes

• Once the draft calendar has been endorsed by the Committee and advertised to the members, the dates of competitions should only be changed in exceptional circumstances e.g. unavailability of courts due to unplanned renovations, repairs and or flooding.