Saturday |
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| Laws 1 | 10:00 - 11:00 | Laws 1 to 15 (general laws of play 1) |
| Coffee break | ||
| Practical 1 | 11:15 - 12:00 | Static positions and wiring tests |
| Laws 2 | 12:00 - 1:00 | Laws 16 to 25 (general laws of play 2) |
| Lunch | ||
| Laws 3 | 2:00 - 3:00 | Laws 26 to 35 (errors) |
| Practical 2 | 3:00 - 3:30 | Dynamic positions: single ball 1 |
| Tea break | ||
| Practical 3 | 3:45 - 4:15 | Dynamic positions: single ball 2 |
| Laws 4 | 4:15 - 5:00 | Laws 36 to 43 (other forms of play) |
Sunday |
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| Laws 5 | 10:00 - 11:00 | Laws 44 to 51 (customs of the game) Regulation 13 (time limits) |
| Coffee break | ||
| Practical 4 | 11:15 - 12:00 | Dynamic positions: croquet strokes |
| Laws 6 | 12:00 - 1:00 | Regulations 4 to 9 (Referees) |
| Lunch | ||
| Practical 5 | 2:00 - 2:45 | Practical revision and questions |
| Laws 7 | 2:45 - 3:30 | Laws revision and questions |
| Tea break | ||
| Round up | 3:45 - 4:30 | ... and how to become a referee |
1 - The standard court
2 - Equipment
Check students know the correct position of the corner pegs (many do not). Point out that a ball can hit a corner peg and yet not be a corner ball (in fact, it can clip the outside of it at an angle of slightly less than 60 degrees to the side boundary and not even be in contact with a corner ball!).
4 - An outline of the game
This is a key Law, but is all too often overlooked. It contains many important definitions, including that of striker's ball and partner ball (see also 40c, which modifies these definitions for doubles play). Remind students that continuation strokes are not cumulative.
Note that double banking balls, clips, players and mallets are outside agencies.
Question 36 can be dealt with here.
5 - The toss before the start of the game
Note that the right of choice in best of three alternates. If pegging down a game in a match of this kind, remember to record who won the toss - it is easy for the players to forget.
6 -The start of the game
The rights of contact conferred by 36(d) and 38(c) override the provision that balls must be played into the game from baulk: it is possible to play a ball into the game by taking contact anywhere on the court.
Question 39 can be dealt with here.
7 - Ball in play
8 - Option of striker to play either ball
'Election' is most easily explained by
9 - Ball in hand
Straightforward, but often misunderstood: note especially that a ball still on the court does not become in hand until the stroke ends.
(a)(5) means that, if a ball is partly through its hoop in order and also in contact with another ball (for example, after a failed Irish peel), it cannot be played 'as it lies' and the hoop running completed - it must start to run the hoop afresh.
10 - Ball off the court
Demonstrate how to test this in the first practical session.
11 - Ball in the yard line area
Question 3 can be dealt with here
12 - Replacement of a ball ...
(b)(c)(d) need to be demonstrated on the board. This is an example - other will follow - of the Laws suspending pure logic in order to avoid the difficulty of requiring you to judge a dynamic situation (in this case, precisely where a ball crossed the line). Note also that the order of replacement is at the striker's option.
13 - Wiring lift
Note that 'deeming' and faults make the player concerned responsible for the position of the ball even though it has not in fact moved (a player should therefore always be explicit about which of his balls he is deeming). The procedures for testing are demonstrated in the first practical session (they are also covered - with diagrams - in the notes which should be circulated before the course).
Demonstrate on the model hoop. This should be obvious to potential referees, but (d) in particular is worth demonstrating in order to show that the croqueted ball can be in the jaws but it can nevertheless be impossible to position the striker's ball so that it has not started to run the hoop. It is also worthwhile demonstrating how to check that a ball has/has not run/started to run its hoop in order.
Law 14b2 is another example of the Laws preferring practicality over strict logic: although a ball may pass completely through the hoop during the stroke, it only completes the running if it comes to rest in a position in which it is completely through it, to avoid the necessity of judging a dynamic situation.
Question 11 can be dealt with here.
15 - Peg point
Note that the peg point cannot be scored by a rover which has made a roquet in that stroke before it hits the peg.
Draw attention to (d) and the situation in handicap play (Law 39) - where the peg out may not 'count' and hoop points may therefore be scored.
Question 2 can be dealt with here.
(b)(3) and (4) are further suspensions of pure logic, for good practical reasons. Only if the balls come to rest in contact is a roquet made.
(c)(1) allows croquet to be taken from any ball in a 3 or 4 ball group even if the striker's ball is not actually in contact with it; but ...
(d) requires that at least one of the balls be a yard line ball, so cannons cannot be 'arranged' if the group is - as occasionally happens - out in the lawn.
Question 38 can be dealt with here.
17 - Hoop and roquet
Another suspension of logic for practical reasons.
Note that a double hit caused by the roquet does not count as a fault if the hoop is run (32(a)(9)), but a crush or double tap off the wire is still possible. If the other ball is in the hoop, of course, 16(b)4 applies: the striker is then not absolved from any fault he may commit.
18 - Consequences of a roquet
(a)(3) arises because if a rover roquets another rover onto the peg, the latter is immediately removed from the game and the striker's turn therefore ends - croquet cannot be taken. The striker's ball is therefore not in hand and is left where it comes to rest. This is why, when rushing a rover towards the peg, the striker should not pick up his ball until he is confident that the roqueted ball will not be pegged out in the rush.
19 - Placing balls for a croquet stroke
The roqueted ball must not be moved or realigned in any way.
20 - Croquet stroke
Note that the turn ends if a peelee is sent off the lawn ...
21 - Continuation stroke
... but the turn does not end if a ball other than the croqueted ball is cannoned off the lawn in the croquet stroke.
22 - Ball moving between strokes
This Law deals with balls which move through the action of agents outside the game such as the weather (it is Law 33 deals with 'active' interventions which disturb a ball). (b) is intended to (but in my view does not satisfactorily) define the end of stroke and should therefore be read in conjunction with 31(c). Explain the 'ten second' rule in relation to (b)(3).
23 - Imperfections on the surface of the court
This is best demonstrated on the lawn (practical session 2). Give examples of (c), especially of damage near a hoop which may require the movement to be 'mirror' movements relative to the line of the hoop rather than movement away from it (because that would leave the damage still on the line of the intended shot).
24 - Interference with a stroke
25 - Local laws
These definitions need to be mastered - particularly (f) on compound errors.
Limits of claim are summarised on page 61
Question 28 can be dealt with here.
27 - Playing when not entitled to do so
Questions 17, 32 and 40 illustrate this well.
28 - Playing a wrong ball
This needs to be read carefully. The only real trap is that balls are replaced 'in their lawful positions' - which, for the wrongly played ball, is not necessarily where it was played from. In the case of a ball wrongly played in a lift stroke (by the wrong player of a doubles partnership, for example), this means that it can be replaced anywhere on either baulk.
Questions 5, 31 and 33 provide illustrations of various standard situations.
29 - Playing when a ball is misplaced - general rule
The key point to note here is the very short limit of claims: once the stroke has been played, it is too late to remedy the error. Note also that the adversary - and by extension a referee on call - must forestall if he observes that a ball is misplaced (eg not in contact before a croquet stroke is played).
Question 1 illustrates the harsh implications of this Law.
30 - Playing when a ball is misplaced - exceptions
The essential point to grasp is how the limit of claims is worked out: count the strokes as (1) the stroke in error; (2) the next stroke; (3) the next stroke but one. The various references to 'validly played' mean no more than that the striker was entitled to play them (in the sense of Law 27): they do not legitimise other errors such as wrong ball.
Note that (d) is one of the few occasions on which a spectator referee can intervene to ensure that play continues correctly.
31 - Definition of a stroke and the striking period
Explain the distinction between the end of the striking period (when the striker quits his stance under control) and the stroke (when all the balls have come to rest or left the court).
Note the exception for timed games, in Reg 13.
Discuss casting over the ball and what happens if a ball is disturbed. The stroke is by convention deemed (unless a fault has already been committed) to start as the mallet passes backwards over the ball at the bottom of the final backswing, so hitting a ball during preparatory swings is not a stroke - nor is swinging over it a miss.
32 - Faults
Demonstrated on the lawn. Points to note, though, are:
33 - Interference with a ball between strokes
34 - Interference with a ball during a stroke
An interesting point here is 'materially affects the outcome'. This should be fairly obvious. Note the (common) case of double-banked games, where a 'certain' hit cannot be claimed - the stroke must be replayed (Appendix 2(5)(b)).
35 - Playing when misled
Not easy to master. Note that only a misplaced clip and false information about the state of the game provided by the adversary are grounds for complaint.
The limit of claims is quite short, but it begins only from the point at which the player actually embarked on the line of play he would otherwise not have adopted. Taking bisques (38(g)) and deciding which of a doubles pair should start the turn (40(e)) are covered by 'line of play'.
Question 34 can be dealt with here.
Emphasise (c): once a player has pegged out a ball of either side, he is no longer entitled to a lift or contact under this Law - but is still entitled to a Law 13 lift.
37 - Semi-advanced play - optional lift or contact
This is not used in the UK.
38 - Handicap singles - bisques
Various points to note, including:
39 - Handicap singles - pegging out
Question 15 can be dealt with here.
40 - Doubles - general
Doubles does not require a partner. The celebrated example (following a ruling in 1969 that a player could place his absent partner's ball on a baulk line and deem it to be played) is of John Solomon winning a best of three match +24 +21 in the 1972 Opens against Terence Read and his mother, when Pat Cotter was absent at a bridge tournament in Paris. He lost the first game of the next round (against Ian Ballieu and Bernie Duthie) by 19 and play stopped for the day during the next game. The following morning, Cotter returned and they proceeded to the final - losing there to William Ormerod and Nigel Aspinall.
(c) means that a fault can be committed if a ball hits one's partner during a stroke, before the striking period has ended ...
41 - Ordinary doubles play
42 - Advanced and semi-advanced doubles play
43 - Handicap doubles play
The only limit on peels is peels on partner ball.
Question 6 can be dealt with here.
Questions about the state of a game are about its variables rather than its parameters. A player is for example under no obligation to respond to questions about which mallet he intends to use, before his opponent makes a leave.
45 - Referees of the game
This is a suitable point to expound on the underlying 'philosophy' of the game: the players are the principal referees of their game and have an absolute right to determine when they should call for assistance from a referee. They are, in addition, not absolved of their various responsibilities under 45(b) even when a referee is in charge or on call.
The role of referees is essentially secondary, supporting the players in their conduct of the game. They should not interefere.
In relation to (f), the meaning of 'positive opinion' should be explained: 'definite' is really what is intended, so 'I think it hit' is less positive than 'I am certain it missed' (and 'I think it hit' more positive than 'I think it missed').
Question 35 can be dealt with here.
46 - Interruption of the striker and presence on court
47 - Replacing yard-line balls
Replacement should be done with one's back to the court.
48 - Expedition in play
Note that (b) does not oblige the striker to take a lift when the claim is allowed.
49 - Advice and aids
50 - Tournaments and match play
It is worth referring forward to Reg 13 at this point, in relation to (c). A time-keeper is not generally or necessarily a referee, and when a referee so acts he is not - in my view - acting as a referee (either in charge or on call). He therefore cannot correct irregularities, though he is of course capable of acting as a spectator referee.
The time-keeper should watch the game, not turn away from it; and should call time distinctly - if possible, standing near the striker - and make sure that both players know precisely when it was called.
Reg 13(c)(2) has the effect of creating a 'dead' period in which the adversary may not be entitled to play, even though the striker has completed his strokes and the adversary's turn will therefore be deemed to have begun (for the purposes of the extension period) if time is called: Law 29 still applies and, if the balls moved as a result of the striker's final stroke have not yet come to rest or need to be replaced on the court, the striker may validly forestall. If time is running short, the adversary cannot for example play (or deem) immediately, in order to ensure that time is called in the striker's next turn.
Reg 13(d) should be gone through carefully here.
Questions 18 and 19 can be dealt with here.
51 - Emergency law
This should be used sparingly, and not simply to correct apparent injustices!
Questions 4 and 30 can be dealt with here.
Describe the practicalities of being a RoT.
Remind students that the RoT should generally avoid acting as a referee on call or on appeal in the first instance, as to do so deprives the players of a second opinion from the RoT.
Reg 5 - Referee in charge
This is a rare situation to be in: on call is more usual. But many of the powers and duties carry across to the following two Regulations, so should be studied. Note in particular:
Reg 6 - Referee on call
Explain the interpretation of 'remains in charge'. Some argue that it allows the referee a fair degree of scope to 'interfere'; I disagree with them.
Reg 7 - Referee on appeal
When you are called as a referee on appeal,
I recommend not carrying your laws book onto the court with you, but have it nearby. This gives you the option of informing the players that you need to go and consult it - allowing you more time for reflection.
Question 26 can be dealt with here.
Reg 8 - Spectator referee
Emphasise again the limited scope for action under this regulation.
Questions 13b, 20 and 27 can be dealt with here.
Reg 9 - Umpire
Many umpires may be unaware of Reg 5(f).
Reg 13 - Time limits
This is covered under Law 50 above.
This session can usefully start with some pre-laid examples of claimed wirings for the students to test for themselves: for example, a (long) standard situation down the middle of the lawn, with the peg and hoops 5/6 as potential obstacles; a hampered forward swing at hoop 3; and a target ball in front of hoop 4. It helps to set the examples up uniformly, for example with Yellow as the claimant, Red as the target and Blue/Black on hand for use as trial balls.
Hoops 1 and 2 can then be used for demonstration/practice of faults.
April 1998
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