FORMAT
36 players playing initially in four qualifying blocks of 9, followed by a 16-player “X” knockout, with subsidiary “Y”, “W and “Z” knockouts. All block games will be best of 13 points.
Following completion of the round robin games, the top 4 from each block will enter the “X” knockout. The remaining players will play in the Plate. First round losers in the “X” enter the “Y” knockout, and first round losers in the “Y” play the “W” knockout. Second round losers in the “X” knockout enter the “Z” knockout.
The final will be best-of- 13-point games, and All “X”, “Y” and “Z” knockout matches will be the best-of-3 13-point games. “W” knockout matches and all Plate games will be single 13-point games. If both “X” semi-finals are completed in two games, the “X” final may, at the discretion of the manager, be played as a best-of-5 match,
CONDITIONS OF PLAY
All games will be played in accordance with the WCF Golf Croquet Rules, 6th edition 2022.
All qualifying block and Plate games are for 13 points, with a time limit of 70 minutes. First to 7 points wins. Most games will be double banked. At the bell, complete the hoop in play then play 2 full rotations. If the scores are then level, complete that hoop.
Best-of-3 game matches will have cumulative time limits of 75, 70 minutes and 60 minutes. If the final is played as best-of-5 the 4th and 5th games will also have limits of 60 minutes. At the bell, the procedure is the same as for single games.
Dawson International balls will be used. Atkins Quadway Hoops will be used, and will be set at 3 11/16ths inches with a downward tolerance of 1/32nd inch.
Each player is entitled to a 5 minute warm-up before their first game each day, and again after a break of two or more byes. A break of no more than 5 minutes is allowed between sessions.
Games may start on lawns where other games are in progress; players should check the situation in any existing game to ensure there is no interruption at a critical stage.
PLAYER BRIEFING
There will be a player briefing by the Tournament Manager and Tournament Referee at 7.15 am on Friday.
PHONE
The phone number shown above can be used to contact the players or the manager and will be active during the tournament and about 30 minutes before play starts and after play finishes each day.  
STOPPING THE CLOCK
Players may stop their clock if it is apparent that they are going to be held up by the other game for more than 2 minutes.
PLAYING THROUGH
If two games are approaching the same hoop from different directions and it is apparent that one game is going to hold the other game up for a considerable time, the game likely to clear the hoop most quickly should be allowed to play through in preference to stopping the clock.
PRACTICE
Players may practice on any courts before play starts provided that all courts are set up for play. This practice period will cease 15 minutes before the scheduled time for the first game of the day.
Practice will be available from 3.00 pm during the afternoon of Thursday 10 April. Players practising are asked to give way to any ground staff engaged in preparing the lawns (mowing, line-marking etc) for play on Friday.
DETERMINING BLOCK FINISHING POSITIONS
The winner is the player
i) Who has won the most games;
ii) If there is still a tie on games won, rank the equal players on net points:
iii) If there is still a tie, rank the players on points scored;
iv) If there is still a tie, consider only the games between the tied players, and rank these players based on number of wins/net points in these games alone;
v) If there is still a tie, rank the players by lot.
Other placegetters will be determined in the same manner.
After this procedure is followed for each block, if the 5th placed player in any block has the same number of wins as the 4th placed player in that block, one or more tie-break games will be required, the aim being to not exclude a player from the “X” knockout based on net points.
Tie-break games will be between the 4th and 5th placed players, plus any of the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th placed players who have the same number of wins as the 4th placed player. The number of tie-break games will depend upon how many players are involved, as set out in the table on page 4.
TIMES OF PLAY
Play will commence at 7.30 am on Friday and Saturday, because we will need to complete 7 sessions of play each day. Other sessions will commence as players and courts are available. 12 players will have a bye each session, and players will need to be aware of games and matches that can be started. You can sleep in a bit on Sunday and Monday, with games starting at 8.00 am on those days.
REFEREEING
We will have a number of non-playing referees each day. There are also a number of playing referees. Derek Bull, Michael Chang, Chris Cox, Peter Freer, Peter Gordon, Kate McLoughlin, Bill Munns and David Scott are Accredited Referees who are authorised for this event. Whilst they are playing, they are a Referee-on-Request only for the other game on the court where they are playing; whilst not playing, they are designated as Referee-on Request, as are all non-playing referees.
HANDICAPS
Players are responsible for their own AHS handicap card and should bring it on day one and hand it to the Tournament Manager. Players must complete details of each game played at the conclusion of the game. Any change of handicap at the end of each game must be entered on the front of the card and signed off by an appropriate person.
POPULATING THE “X” KNOCKOUT
Players who qualify for the “X” knockout will be placed in position in the knockout using a modified form of the Cohort Randomised Seeding method. For this purpose, block winners and runners-up form Cohorts 1 to 3, with 2 players in each of Cohorts 1 and 2, and 4 players in Cohort 3, all in WR order. The remaining 8 players form Cohort 4.
Cohort 1 (the top 2 players) will be placed in positions 1 and 16, with the next 2 players (Cohort 2) placed at random in positions 8 and 9. The next 4 (Cohort 3) will be placed at random in positions 4, 5, 12 and 13, and Cohort 4 players will be placed at random in the remaining 8 positions. When placing players at random, changes may be made to postpone likely block clashes as late as possible. This allocation to knockout positions will be done immediately after the determination of all places in the qualifying blocks has been completed.