Croquet - Association Croquet

Association Croquet

Association croquet is the name of an advanced game of croquet, played at international level. It involves four balls teamed in pairs, with both balls going through every hoop for one pair to win. The game's distinguishing feature is the "croquet" shot: when certain balls hit other balls, extra shots are allowed. The six hoops are arranged three at each end of the court, with a centre peg.

In association croquet one side takes the black and blue balls, the other takes red and yellow. At each turn, the player can choose to play with either of his balls for that turn. At the start of a turn, the player plays a stroke. If the player either hits the ball through the correct hoop ("runs" the hoop), or hits another ball (a "roquet"), the turn continues. Following a roquet, the player picks up his or her own ball and puts it down next to the ball that it hit. The next shot is played with the two balls touching: this is the "croquet stroke" from which the game takes its name. After the croquet stroke, the player plays a "continuation" stroke, during which the player may again attempt to make a roquet or run a hoop. Each of the other three balls may be roqueted once in a turn before a hoop is run, after which they become available to be roqueted again. The winner of the game is the team who completes the set circuit of six hoops (and then back again the other way), with both balls, and then strikes the centre peg (making a total of 13 points per ball = 26).

Good players may make "breaks" of several hoops in a single turn. The best players may take a ball round a full circuit in one turn. "Advanced play" (a variant of association play for expert players) gives penalties to a player who runs certain hoops in a turn, to allow the opponent a chance of getting back into the game; feats of skill such as triple peels or better, in which the partner ball (or occasionally an opponent ball) is caused to run a number of hoops in a turn by the striker's ball help avoid these penalties.

A handicap system ('bisques') provides less experienced players a chance of winning against more formidable opponents. Players of all ages and both sexes compete on level terms.

As of 2012, the Association Croquet World Champion is Reg Bamford of South Africa and the Women's Association Croquet World Champion is Jenny Clarke of New Zealand. The World Championships are organised by the World Croquet Federation (WCF) and usually take place every 2 or 3 years. The next World Championship is to take place in August 2013 in London. The Great Britain team won the last MacRobertson International Croquet Shield tournament, which is the major international test tour trophy in association croquet. It is contested every 3 to 4 years between Australia, Great Britain, the United States and New Zealand. Historically the British have been the dominant force, winning 14 times out of the 20 times the event has been held. In individual competition, the UK is often divided by subnational country (England, Scotland, Wales and so on.)

The world's top 10 association croquet players as of May 2012 are Reg Bamford (South Africa), Robert Fulford (England), Robert Fletcher (Australia), David Maugham (England), Toby Garrison (New Zealand), Aaron Westerby (New Zealand), Paddy Chapman (New Zealand), Jamie Burch (England), Greg Bryant (New Zealand) and Ben Rothman (USA).

Unlike most sports, men and women compete and are ranked together. Three women have won the British Open Championship: Lily Gower in 1905, Dorothy Steel in 1925, 1933, 1935 and 1936, and Hope Rotherham in 1960. While male players are in the majority at club level in the UK, the opposite is the case in Australia and New Zealand. The highest-ranked female player in the world as of May 2012 is Jenny Clarke of New Zealand.

The governing body in England is The Croquet Association, which has been the driving force of the development of the game. The rules and tournament regulations are now maintained by the International Laws Committee, established by the croquet associations of England and Wales (CA), Australia (ACA), New Zealand (CNZ) and the United States (USCA).