OVERVIEW: VENUE, OFFICIALS, & GENERAL SCHEDULE

The sole venue for the tournament is the National Croquet Center (NCC).

See https://uscroquet.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?pageid=4091&clubid=962311&item_id=2470511 for travel information.

Officials

• The Tournament Manager (TM): Jeff Soo
• The Assistant Manager (AM): Elaine Smith
• The Tournament Referee (TR): Eileen Soo

13 OCTOBER: PRE-TOURNAMENT CHECK-IN, PRACTICE, & PLAYERS’ MEETING

Player check-in and practice courts will be available from 1:00 to 4:00 on Monday 13 October. There will be a Players’ Meeting at 4:00 PM, which all players are encouraged to attend.

MANAGEMENT NOTES

The tournament will be conducted in accordance with the Laws of Association Croquet, Seventh Edition (“the Laws”), with all games played as 26-point Advanced Play. Note that a qualifying tournament for a WCF World Championship is held under the regulations of the host (i.e., the USCA). The USCA uses the current WCF Refereeing Regulations, so those will be in effect.

DAILY SCHEDULE; LATENESS POLICY

The first round each day is scheduled for 8:45 and the warm-up period for that round will begin around 8:30. (These times are subject to change based on conditions and possible extra time required to prepare lawns.) A player who is not present when called upon to play is liable to be penalised under the lateness policy in WCF Sports Regulations (SR) 6.7.

INTERFERENCE BY FEATURES OF THE COURT AND ITS SURROUNDINGS (LAW 37)

In general at NCC there are no immovable obstacles or changes of level outside the court boundaries, or unavoidable special damage (e.g. irrigation heads) within the boundaries, that are likely to interfere with the playing of a stroke.

TIME LIMITS; DOUBLE-BANKING

Games will be played to a time limit of 2:30. Most games will be double-banked. See Law 61.4 as to when the game clock may be stopped. For this tournament, Law 61.4.5 is taken to include the following cases:
* Both players on the court are making breaks, one just behind the other, and the player just behind wishes to wait until the other break is two or three hoops ahead.
* As above, but the player just ahead is playing at a significantly slower pace and wishes to let the faster player, who agrees to do so, play through.
* One game has one or more balls in critical positions, and the striker from the other game, per Law 59.3.2, wishes to wait to avoid the risk of interfering with such a ball.
* The striker needs to take a comfort break. (Players are, however, encouraged to take such breaks when the opponent is in play.)
Players whose games have finished early are encouraged to assist other games by managing game clocks, especially in a game’s final minutes of timed play.

ADJOURNING MATCHES; LIGHTED COURTS

Three courts at NCC are equipped with floodlights, however artificial lighting will not be used except in an emergency and only with the agreement of both players.
A match may be pegged down or otherwise adjourned only at the discretion of the TM.

BREAKS

Every match at this event consists of one game. Players are entitled to take toilet breaks as needed, but longer breaks (such as meal breaks) should not ordinarily be taken during a game. However, if a game in the second playing round of the day started before 11:30 AM and has been in progress for at least an hour, the players may break for lunch if both agree to do so, after consulting with the TM.

BAD WEATHER

The TM will suspend all play if lightning is known to be in the area. Until the TM has indicated that it is safe to resume play, all players, officials, and spectators must take appropriate shelter (on the veranda or in the clubhouse).

Absent lightning, play will ordinarily continue in light or moderate rain, except where the TM has declared a court unplayable. Players may pause their games in heavier rain.

WARM-UP & PRACTICE

Players who arrive on time are entitled to a ten-minute warm-up before their first match of the day. When both players in a match are playing their first match of the day, they will warm up on the court on which they are about to play, using the balls assigned to that court. When only one of the players is playing his or her first match of the day, that player will, if feasible, warm up on a different court to the one they are about to play.

No warm-up will be allowed for subsequent matches.

Players must not disturb the setting of the hoops during warm-up. Hoop-running strokes during warm-up must be played no more forcefully than would send the ball seven yards beyond the hoop if the ball does not touch it, and hoops and the peg must not be used for target practice. Players who violate this Regulation may be subject to restrictions on warm-up privileges, at the discretion of the TM.

Practice on the courts is not otherwise permitted except by permission of the TM.

MOBILE PHONES

Players who keep phones on them or at court-side must ensure that the phones are in silent mode or powered down, and, per NCC policy, must not make voice calls in the immediate vicinity of the courts. Any use of phones or other electronic devices must be in accord with the Laws, especially Laws 57.2 and 57.9, and must not delay play.

ADJUSTING OR RESETTING HOOPS

Players must not attempt to firm or otherwise adjust hoop settings, but should instead call a referee to make the adjustment.

THE COMPETITION

The purpose of this tournament is to fill Qualifier Places in the main World Championship. While there are initially four Qualifier Places reserved in the main event, any Ranking or Wild Card Places returned after the Cut-Off Date of 2 September, or any Membership Places returned after the Qualifying Tournament Closing Date of 29 September, are filled by creating additional Qualifier Places. Because the final number of Qualifier Places is not known for certain until after the end of the Qualifying Tournament, it is important to arrive at a complete order of finish with no ties, as far as practicable, beyond the top four places. A knockout is not really suitable for this, which is why this event will be contested as a Swiss, following the guidelines in the Croquet England Regulations For Tournaments (Regulation F3).

Six full rounds will be played (three rounds each Tuesday and Wednesday). At the end of this sixth round, any player whose number of wins is clearly high enough to earn one of the Qualifier Places then known to be available (i.e., not involved in a tie straddling the current “cut line”) will be awarded a Qualifier Place and removed from the Swiss.

This process will continue round by round (e.g., after the seventh round any player whose number of wins is clearly high enough to earn one of the remaining Qualifier Places will earn that place and be removed from the Swiss) until all Qualifier Places have been awarded and, to the extent practicable, the highest reserve positions have been determined.

DETERMINATION OF PAIRINGS DURING THE SIX FULL ROUNDS

Positions in the draw for the first round will be determined by lot. This draw will be performed during the Players’ Meeting on Monday.

For subsequent rounds, no player will play the same opponent more than once (or, if there is an odd number of players, have the bye more than once). After each round, the players are grouped by the number of wins (a player paired with the bye is credited with a win for that round). Within each group, the order of the initial draw is retained. As far as possible, pairings will then be made by pairing the top two players, then the bottom two players, then the top two unpaired players, etc. until all players are paired. Pairings will be adjusted as needed to avoid rematches.

DETERMINATION OF PAIRINGS DURING THE FINAL ROUNDS

Pairings from the seventh round onward will generally follow the procedure above, but rematches of prior games will be used as needed to break ties.

QUALIFIERS AND RESERVES FOR THE MAIN CHAMPIONSHIP

Players who qualify for a place in the main championship will be asked to fill out the Qualifier Form, to arrange to pay the entry fee as soon as possible, and to provide a headshot photo and brief biography.

Other players will be asked to confirm their availability as reserves for the main championship, in case of last-minute withdrawals. This could happen as late as Saturday 18th (the first day of the main championship). The Block Stage Draw will be published the morning of Friday 17th. If a withdrawal happens after the draw has been made but before it has been published, the draw will be re-made (SR Appendix 4 §1.3). If a withdrawal happens after the draw has been published but before that player has played or started any matches in the event, the player will be replaced at the discretion of the TM (SR Appendix 4 §8.1.2; note that Jeff Soo is the TM for both events).