Alberta Long-Grass Croquet Rules
The Gale Force Malt & Hops Croquet Club
-------- in association with --------
The Royal Canadian Society of Fauns and Satyrs
-------- presents --------
A Set of Rules©
-------- for --------
CROQUET
The Lawn Game
-------- by --------
Vitruvius
Version 3.1, May 15, 1989
© Copyright Vitruvius, 1988, 1989. The rules herein described shall be used solely for the personal enjoyment of those who agree to play the Game of Croquet under these rules. This document may be freely distributed provided that it is distributed in its entirety, including this copyright notice, and provided that no charge is made for any distribution thereof.
These rules are distributed without warranty express or implied, including, by not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
All those who agree to play Croquet under these rules hereby agree that they shall make no claim of liability against Vitruvius arising from any use to which these rules may be put and further all such players agree to indemnify Vitruvius from any action by third parties against any use to which these rules may be put.
[ The bytes in this document were transcribed on 2003-06-06 by Vitruvius from original printed copy, with mistakes reproduced for the record, except for this paragraph and other annotation paragraphs formatted in blue italics like this. ]
Part 1: Definitions §1.1: Parts of the Course
[1.1.1] Field
The Game of Croquet is played on the Field.
[1.1.2] Boundary
The Boundary is composed of a (possibly disjoint) set of curves demarked on or about the Field.
[1.1.3] Wicket
A Wicket is a rectangular wire frame fixed into the ground for the express purpose of being a Goal in the Game of Croquet.
(a) A Wicket should be set as close as possible to as high as it is wide, and should be set square.
(b) The rectangular plane of the Wicket should be normal to the ground-surface tangent plane at the point it is fixed.
(c) The compass orientation fo the Wicket is determed by the Course designers, except as required for Wickets adjacent to Stakes. [1.1.4] Stake
A Stake is a peg fixed into the ground for the express purpose of being a Goal in the Game of Croquet.
(a) The starting Stake must have each of the colors of the Balls marked on it, once, in some top-to-bottom order.
(b) Every Stake must be placed one Mallet Length away from some Wicket, which is knows as the Stake's Adjacent Wicket.
(c) Every Stake must be placed on a line normal to the plane of its Adjacent Wicket, such line to intersect the Wicket equidistant from its legs. [1.1.5] Course
The Course is a directed path containing each Goal on the Field. A Course may contain any Goal more than once (and from different directions).
(a) The Course passes through the frame of a Wicket from one side to the other side.
(b) Whenever the Course includes a Stake Goal, the Course must first pass through a Stake's Adjacent Wicket in the direction towards the Stake. This does not apply at the starting Stake because the starting Stake is not a Goal.
(c) After every Stake Goal except the last, the Course must pass through the Stake's Adjacent Wicket in the direction away from the Stake. §1.2: Parts of Play
[1.2.1] Invitor
The Invitor is the person who is responsible for the Tournament.
[1.2.2] Team
A Team consists of one or more players.
[1.2.3] Mallet
A Mallet is the club used to drive a Ball around the Course.
[1.2.4] Mallet Head
The Mallet Head is the cylindrical block at the end of the Mallet shaft. When used to refer to a dimension, one Mallet Head is the distance between the flat striking surfaces at the ends of the Mallet Head.
[1.2.5] Mallet Length
A Mallet Length is the distance from the grip end of the Mallet to the opposing side of the Mallet Head where the shaft would project through.
[1.2.6] Ball
The Balls are the objects which are driven around the Course according to the rules set forth herein.
[1.2.7] Objective
The objective is the intended target for the current Shot, which may include, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, a Wicket, Stake, or Ball.
[1.2.8] Tee
A Tee is a beverage container of not more than 500ml rated capacity.
§1.3: Actions of the Play
[1.3.1] Turn
A player's Turn is the time from the end of the previous player's last accumulated Shot until the player disposes of all his accumulated shots.
[1.3.2] Shot
A Shot is the play from a Stroke until all Balls set in motion by the Stroke come to rest.
[1.3.3] Stroke
A Stroke is the action of hitting the Ball with the Mallet.
[1.3.4] Roquet
A Roquet occurs when the current player's Ball strikes another player's ball and the player declares the collision to be a Roquet.
[1.3.5] Croquet
A Croquet is the action of stabilizing the Ball in play with one's foot and striking the Ball with the Mallet. A Croquet is otherwise considered no different than any other Shot.
[1.3.6] Goal
(a) A Goal is achieved by driving a Ball through a Wicket or into a Stake, providing that such Wicket or Stake is the next Goal for the player, according to Course order.
(b) In the case of a Wicket, the goal is not achieved unless the Ball enters and leaves the plane of the Wicket in the correct direction according to course order. Part 2: Preparation §2.1: Invitational Rule
All tournaments played under these rules are considered invitational and all changes to the rules must be approved by the invitor. The invitor may choose to assign responsibilities to a rules committee (of one or more officials or players), but the invitor remains the final arbitrator in the case of disputes.
§2.2: The Course
[2.2.1] Select Field
Before the tournament begins, it is the responsibility of the invitor to select the field. Thare are no a priori restrictions on the characteristics of the field.
[2.2.2] Determine Boundaries
Before the tournament begins, it is the responsibility of the invitor to establish the boundaries. There are no a priori boundaries. Once a tournament begins the boundaries cannot be changed, in particular, boundaries cannot be added where none were previously declared.
[2.2.3] Set Course
Before the tournament begins, it is the responsiblity of the invitor to set the course. There are no a priori restrictions on the course, except as otherwise stipulated herein.
(a) The course must start at a stake and end at a stake.
(b) The course must specify the order of the goals.
(c) The course must specify the direction through which each wicket must be passed. [2.2.4] Equipment Approval
Before the tournament begins, it is the responsibility of the invitor to establish that all proposed equipment be acceptable and in good working order.
§2.3: The Teams
[2.3.1] Determine Teams
The invitor may determine the teams. Alternatively, if stipulated by the invitor, teams may be selected at random. Unless either such selection is stipulated in the tournament invitation, players shall be free to form teams with whoever will agree to play with them.
[2.3.2] Determine Number of Balls
It is the responsibility of the invitor to specify the number of balls to be played.
(a) The game of croquet may be played with one ball per team, in which case the players take turns playing the ball of their color in player order.
(b) The game of croquet may also be played with one ball per player, in which case each player plays their own ball. [2.3.3] Determine Order of Play
(a) All teams must choose colors at the beginning of the game. Colors must be chosen so that the teams alternate play according to the color order on the starting stake. Disagreements over color selection shall be settled by a random process, for example, the toss of a fair coin.
(b) After team colors have been selected, a fair coin is tossed. Heads starts the colors from the top of the starting stake going down, tails from the bottom up. §2.4: The Game
[2.4.1] Select Tournament
Before the tournament begins the invitor must specify the number of games that are needed to win the tournament, and the maximum number of games that will be played in the tournament.
[2.4.2] Determine End of Game
(a) Before the tournament begins the invitor must specify the number of teams that must finish a game in order for the game to be considered completed. If there are less than this many teams at the end of the game then the game will be completed when the last team finishes.
(b) Alternatively, the invitor may set time limits for each game. If no team has won the game before the expiry of the time allotted to the game, then the team with the most points at the end of the game wins the game. One point is counted for each goal achieved by each player. Part 3: The Play §3.1: Objective
[3.1.1] Objective of the Tournament
The object of the tournament is to be the first team to win the number of games required by the tournament.
[3.1.2] Objective of the Game
The object of the game is to be the first team to have all its players finish -- such team wins the game.
(a) A player is finished when he has stroked his ball through the course, achieving each goal in the order they appear in the course.
(b) It is not necessary to follow the course, only to achieve the goals in the order prescribed by the course. §3.2: Start
[3.2.1] Order of Play
(a) At the beginning of each but the first game of the tournament, play is reversed so the team that went first in the last game goes last in this game.
(b) The players in each team must play in a fixed order. The team may choose any order at the beginning of each game. No player is allowed a second or succeeding turn until all the other players on his team have taken their corresponding turn. [3.2.2] Initial Ball Placement
Each player's first shot of the game starts with the player's ball positioned halfway between the starting stake and the first wicket (which is one mallet length away from the starting stake as per the definition of a stake). The first goal is the first wicket.
[3.2.3] Start of Tournament
The tournament begins when the first player of the first team makes the first stroke of the game.
§3.3: The Turn
[3.1.1] The Shot
(a) Each player begins each turn with one shot.
(b) A shot is made by striking the ball with the mallet head. Any stroke which contacts only the head of the mallet is allowed, except a direct push stroke, and in particular, lift shots are explicitly allowed.
(c) A wicket or stake may be hit instead of the ball if the ball is touching or nearly touching the wicket or stake.
(d) If it is clearly the intention of a player not to hit the ball while lining up a shot, and the ball is touched but not moved significantly, then the contact is not considered to be a shot.
(e) No player may, during their turn, allow more that one minute to elapse between the time all balls come to rest and the time they make their next scheduled shot, or the accumulated shot is forfited and the clock is restarted. [3.3.2] Extra Shot for Each Goal
Each time the player achieves a goal, the player receives one additional shot. A stake goal is achieved when it is hit by the ball. A wicket goal is achieved when the sphere of the ball leaves the plane of the wicket in the diection specified by the course.
[3.3.3] Extra Two Shots for Each Roquet
(a) Once per turn, player can receive two extra shots by roqueting another player's ball. When a player's ball collides with more than one other player's ball in a single shot, the player has the option to select any one of the collisions as a roquet.
(b) A player may also choose not to declare a collision with another player's ball as a roquet, in which case no extra shots are received.
(c) Once a roquet is declared, no further collisions made by the player may be declared as a roquet until either the player acheives the next goal, or the player's next turn (but such further collisions are not prohibited.) §3.4: Disposing of Shots
[3.4.1] Accumulating Shots
Extra shots are accumulated as they are received, as described in the previous section, and are disposed of as described in this section. A player's turn is over when all his accumulated shots have been disposed of.
[3.4.2] Calling Shots
Each player must call the number of shots he has accumulated after each stroke he makes.
[3.4.3] Play from Lie
At any time a player may dispose of one shot by stroking the ball where it lies.
[3.4.4] Play from Roqueted Ball
After a collision which a player declares as a roquet, the player may choose one of the following options before disposing of his next shot.
(a) The player may move his ball adjacent to the roqueted ball.
(b) The player may move his ball exactly one mallet length from where it lies before taking his shot.
(c) The player may move his ball two mallet lengths and forfeit one shot. The two mallets used to measure the distance do not have be placed in a straight line. [3.4.5] Obstructions
A player may, at any time, move any obstruction which is not growing, permanently fixed to the ground, or part of the grounds (such as buildings, attachments thereto, or walkways and such thereabout).
Part 4: Considerations §4.1: Ball Placement After a Stake Goal
After a stake goal is achieved, the player's next shot starts with the ball where it lies.
§4.2: Roquet Through Wicket
A player may, as the result of a collision, drive some other player's ball through a wicket or into a stake and the other player will be considered to have acheived their goal if it is their next goal.
§4.3: Exceptional Lie
[4.3.1] Crossing Boundary
(a) Play is considered to be out of bounds at the point the trajectory of a ball crosses the boundary, and in particular, if the boundary is not a closed curve then play will not be out of bounds when a trajectory passes through an opening in the boundary.
(b) When a ball crosses a boundary it is placed at the resting point closest to the point where it crossed the boundary. [4.3.2] Tee at Boundary
When a ball is being played from the point it crossed a boundary the ball may be played from a tee.
[4.3.3] Danger to Property
If the lie of a ball presents a danger to property then the ball must be moved the minimum distance away to remove the danger, but no closer to the objective of the player's next shot.
[4.3.4] Impossible Shot
If a shot is impossible, for example if it has fallen down a well, the player may move the ball the minimum necessary distance to bring the ball into play and forfeit one shot.
§4.4: Rover
(a) At any time, a player may declare himself to be a rover.
(b) A rover can only declare himself not to be a rover during one of his turns and before the first stroke thereof. A rover is not considered to have achieved any goals until he declares himself not to be a rover.
(c) A rover's right to declare a collision to be a roquet is restored on passing through any wicket. §4.5: Play Out of Turn
If a player plays out of turn one of the following options must be taken.
(a) If the player, and at least 50% of the other players, agree, then the ball may be left where it lies and the player will miss his scheduled shot. Accumulated shots will, however, be played during the player's next scheduled turn.
(b) Otherwise, all the balls moved since the illegal stroke must be replaced and the stroke retaken at the player's scheduled turn. This latter option must be taken if any conditions which would affect play before the player's scheduled turn have been changed by any illegal stroke or its effects. §4.6: Ball Hitting Player
All players shall make every attempt to avoid inadvertent contact with any ball in play, but in the event that a player is hit, the balls shall be replaced and the shot replayed.
§4.7: True Wicket
At any time that all balls are at rest, any player may request that any wicket be trued, that is, made square and true according to the course layout and the definition of a wicket.
§4.8: Substitute Players
A non-player may be substituted for a player as follows, unless the tournament invitation specified no substitutions.
(a) A non-player may be permanently substituted if a player cannot continue with the tournament.
(b) A non-player may be temporarily substituted if a player is required for other tournament duties and the player agrees to be substituted for. §4.9: Cancellation
[4.9.1] Sprinklers
In the event of the activation of any sprinkler system that prevents further play on a given course, the invitor may cancel the remainder of the tournament or move to an alternate course. In any case, the current game is terminated and considered null and void at the moment the sprinklers start.
[4.9.2] Weather
In case of inclement weather, players may decide to drop out of the tournament but the tournament shall not be cancelled unless there are no players willing to play.
[4.9.3] Force Majeur
The tournament may be cancelled by the invitor for acts of god beyond the invitor's control, including, but not limited to, strikes, lockouts, riots, acts of war, epidemics, governmental regulations superimposed after the fact, fire, earthquakes, or other disasters. Alternatively, the invitor may move the remainder of the tournament to an alternate course. In any ase, the current game is terminated and considered null and void at the initiation of the Force Majeur.
§4.10: Actions Not Prohibited
Any action not prohibited by these rules is allowed provided that is does not reduce the skill required to play the game and that it reflects the spirit of good sportsmanship.
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