Edinburgh Croquet Club

Competitions and Tournamnts

ECC 2024 Calendar of events.pdf

The Edinburgh Croquet Club holds several tournaments each season.

Competitions are season-long and generally played as knock-outs. In croquet it is common practice to play knock-out competitions as "double-life" events, known as the Draw and the Process. The Draw is like any other sport, with players drawn against each other at random. The Process transposes the Draw by fixed rules to create an alternative draw with players meeting in the first round of the Draw only meeting (if at all) in the later rounds of the Process. It is therefore possible for a player to end up "playing themselves" in the Final, should they manage to win both the Draw and the Process.

Tournaments are generally played over a short, fixed time-frame, e.g. one day, and are generally played as round-robins (known as an American Block). Depending on numbers it may be necessary to have two blocks with the block winners playing a final game to determine the winner. Alternatively, rules such as most wins, points difference or hoops scored may be used. The ultimate method of separating tied players is the shoot-out to the peg, similar to the penalty shoot-out in football.

A complete list of past winners can be found on the Club History page.


Open Singles (Lauriston Cup)

Association Croquet (Advanced Laws). Singles. Level Play (i.e. without handicap). Knock-out, with Draw and Process. Games played in this competition against opponents with handicap of 20 or less count towards SCA Index. Suitable for good to expert players.

 

Handicap Singles (Handicap Singles Trophy)

Association Croquet (Advanced Laws). Singles. Handicap Play. Knock-out, with Draw and Process. Games played in this competition against opponents with handicap of 20 or less count towards SCA Index. Suitable for moderate to expert players.



Veterans' Handicap (C. J. Tait Cup)

Association Croquet. Singles. Handicap Play. Knock-out, with Draw and Process. Games played in this competition against opponents with handicap of 20 or less count towards SCA Index. Suitable for players of all abilities. Entry restricted to members aged 60 and over on the first day of the season.

Full Bisques Handicap (18+) (Basil Townsend Trophy)

Association Croquet. Singles. Full-Bisque Handicap (i.e. both players allocated their full complement of bisques). Knock-out, with Draw and Process. Entry restricted to players whose handicap is 18 or more at the start of the season. Games played in this competition against opponents with handicap of 20 or less count towards SCA Index. Suitable for those with a high handicap who wish to develop their break building and tactics.

Champion of Champions (Golden Jubilee Trophy)

Association Croquet. Singles. Handicap Play. American Block (i.e. round-robin). Games played in this competition against opponents with handicap of 20 or less count towards SCA Index. Suitable for players of all abilities. Entry restricted to the winners of the singles competitions in the previous year (i.e. Open Singles, Handicap Singles, Full Bisque Singles, Veterans’ Singles and Handicap League).


Handicap Doubles (Lamont and Eliot Cups)

Association Croquet. Doubles. Handicap Play. Knock-out, with Draw and Process. Suitable for players of all abilities but particularly good for novices and improvers who wish to learn about competition play by partnering a better player.



Handicap League (Pat McCann Trophy)

Association Croquet. Singles. Handicap Play. Egyptian Format. 18-point games. Games played in this competition against opponents with handicap of 20 or less count towards SCA Index. Suitable for players of all abilities.




 


Singles Golf Croquet (C. J. Tait Salver)

Golf Croquet. Singles. Handicap. Depending on numbers this may be played as a single American block (i.e. round-robin) or as two American blocks. The final is played between either the two people heading the single block or between the winners of the two blocks.


 


Doubles Golf Croquet

Golf Croquet. Doubles. Handicap. Depending on numbers this may be played as a single American block (i.e. round-robin) or as two American blocks. The final is played between either the two pairs heading the single block or between the winners of the two blocks.

 


Lauriston Ells (Association)

This Association Croquet tournament is played early each season by new members who have just learned the game. It is played to Handicap rules. Depending on numbers it may be played as singles or doubles and is normally played as one or more American blocks.

 



Lauriston Ells (Golf)

This Golf Croquet tournament is played early each season by new members who have just learned the game. Depending on numbers it may be played as singles or doubles and is normally played as one or more American blocks.

 
Edinburgh Croquet Club