Croquet Etiquette ?

Croquet Etiquette

The following is extracted from advice given by the CA.

If you need more detail, you will find it on the CA website.

(1) General Points:

Dress properly. Always wear flat soled shoes. Wear white or light coloured clothing for tournaments and club competitions, weather permitting.
Before the game. By convention, the player with the lowest handicap tosses a coin, and is also responsible for setting up any bisques.
In play. Wait until your opponent's turn has ended before moving onto the court in AC. In GC games particularly try to avoid the hoop area to minimise wear unless you are taking a shot.
Play as quickly as possible. Try to decide before your opponent/s have finished their 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 is your side's turn to play.
Call a Referee by raising your mallet vertically (with the head uppermost) if you are about to make a stroke where there is a possibility that a fault may be committed. If no independent Referee is available, then 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 that contact is made.
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 opponents by walking about, talking loudly, catching their eye, etc. Do not stand directly behind them watching them shoot, or directly in front of them 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, do not talk to any other out-players, unless they clearly welcome a chat.
While out of play and off the court, be aware of other games taking place. Stand still if you are in the line of play on another court, or near a player about to make a shot.
After play. The winner normally clears the balls from the court, removes the clips from the hoops, and carries the bisques back to the club house.
Club competitions. When booking lawns for competition play, you should not play on the same lawn for consecutive games as this would give you an unfair advantage over your opponent.

When Double-Banking

Do not walk across the line of aim of the other game.
Carry ball markers so balls can be marked and lifted to allow the other game to pass through quickly.
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 nothing is more annoying to the other game than having to try to guess where a critical ball was.
Always let the other game through if a break is being played.
Always keep an eye out to ensure that you do not impede the other game.
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 their out-player has started a new turn.
Do not leave your mallet lying on the court while you retrieve a ball that has gone off it.