Etiquette

Extract from Northern Croquet Academy ‘Become a CA Club Level Coach’

Good etiquette

AT ALL TIMES

  • What to wear – Always wear flat-soled footwear. White or light-coloured clothing is encouraged for tournaments.
  • Before the game – By convention, the player with the lowest handicap tosses up and is also responsible for setting up any bisques.
  • In play – In AC, wait until your opponent’s turn has ended before moving onto the lawn. In GC particularly, try to avoid the hoop area to minimise wear unless you are taking a shot.
  • Play with despatch – Try to decide, before your opponent has finished his/her turn, what you are going to do next to avoid wasting time. In doubles matches, do not carry out unnecessarily long discussions with your partner when it’s your side’s turn to play.
  • If a fault seems possible – call a referee by raising your mallet vertically (with the head uppermost) before you make the stroke. If no independent referee is available, ask your opponent to watch. If you are aiming to hit a ball in the jaws of a hoop, have someone watch it to ensure the stroke is clean.
  • Do not accept advice (or offer it) but query any point of law, if uncertain. The only person allowed to give advice to you during a game is your partner in a doubles match.
  • Do not distract your opponent by walking about, talking loudly, catching his/her eye etc. Do not stand directly behind the striker watching the shot, or directly in front or on the line of aim.
  • Be sensitive to your opponent during matches with respect to conversation. Some players do not welcome remarks during a game. For the same reason, talk to other out-players only if they clearly welcome a chat.
  • While out of play and off the lawn, be aware of other games taking place. Stand still if you are in the line of play on another lawn, or near a player about to make a shot.
  • After play – the winner normally clears the balls from the lawn, removes the clips from the hoops and carries the bisques back to the clubhouse.

WHEN DOUBLE-BANKING

  • Be continuously aware of the other game. Make sure you do not impede it. Avoid walking across then line of aim of the other game.
  • Always let the other game through if a break is being played. AC.
  • Ask the other game if you can mark and lift any of their balls that may be at risk from your play. Always err on the cautious side before you strike your ball, even if you are playing well. It is annoying to the other game to have to guess where a critical ball was.
  • If you do mark and lift a ball, make certain that the player in play in the other game realises that you have done so, particularly if another player is now in play. Let them know when its position is restored.
  • When retrieving a ball that has gone off, keep your mallet off the playing area.

03Aug22