Newsletter 42 - 28 Feb 2008
Much Needed: Absent Friends : A club such as ours cannot run by itself and nor can we afford to employ experts to do the running for us. I am, of course, stating the obviou s here. There are many of you who do much, largely unrecognised and without formal job descriptions, e.g. getting teas, washing up, marking and repairing the lawns, mowing and so on. And there are those who serve as committee members and Club officers. And some are still employed and do not have as much time to spare as others. Nevertheless we do still desperately need volunteers. Please look seriously at the following list and give each item your serious consideration.
(a) Publicity Officer. Rosemary has done an extremely effective four years at this and deservedly retires next month. She has prepared the ground, established lists of contacts and made the job pretty straight forward. Successor urgently needed.
(b) Social Secretary. This could well be t a ckled by two people in partnership, one to do the work in the pavilion and one to organise and think of events. Successor(s) badly needed.
(c) Tournament Secretary. Malcolm having resigned, I have offe red to take over but only for one year , thinking that I have earned a rest. The main work, the preparation of the documentation for the competitions has been done for 2008 and is on disc. The rest is relatively simple, a few days organising the league matches and then the sorting of the entry forms and filling in the blanks for each competition. The holder does need to be relatively computer literate but, with most of the tournaments following the same pattern from year to year, does not need to re-invent the wheel. The sooner a volunteer can be found to take an interest in this year’s competitions, the easier it will be for him/her.
(d) Newsletter Editor: this, as you can see, is my 42nd - long after time for a change so this is my last. Some variety badly needed.
Technical Committee: This committee met on 15 Feb and significant items discussed were: -
a. Coaching plans for the coming season are being publicised shortly. The Positive Play Scheme will continue.
b. Handicaps: we have agreed reluctantly to fall in with the SWF and start handicaps at 28. So Beginners will start at 28; on completion of the Transition Course, they will be reset to 26. No index losses are to be recorded below an index of 850. See the separate paragraph on the Handicap Committee (below).
c. Golf Handicaps are being modified to range between 0 and 12.
d. Association Croquet Laws: there are some changes to the Laws of Association Croquet, effective from 15 March. These are summarised below .
e. Lawn Improvement: there were discussions about court improvement and the possibility of obtaining a grant for any such capital work.
Handicap Committee: At a meeting on 25 February, the cards left in the pavilion were checked. The only alterations made were to indices of more that 850 to substitute them to that figure . As already stated, no adjustment should be made resulting from losses, i.e. the index cannot be reduced below 850.
Fixture List 2008: This has been circulated with the AGM papers, admirably prepared and printed by Ian. However two League matches have been omitted:
May 1 Thur s Golf League v Barnstaple (A)
Jun 17 Tues B League v Torbay (A)
Equipment Hut Keys: Tony Jennings has some keys, obtainable for a deposit of £5, of which £2.50 is returnable in exchange for the key. Applications should be made direct to him.
AGM: On 16 March, 3 p.m. in the Polgooth Institute. I know parking is a problem but please make the effort to turn up, bringing an item for the communal tea. Any guests will be welcomed but, of course, they will not be allowed a vote.
The Laws of Association Croquet : The changes effective from 15 March are listed below and, in each case, the relevant law is specified at the start. You should understand that the first batch of changes make a material difference while the second consist only of redrafting the existing Law in order to clarify it and include part of the advice in the Official Rulings on the Laws.
6(h) It is no longer necessary in order to form a cannon for one ball of the group to be on the yard-line .
28(a)(1) Guiding the mallet by sliding the head along the foot becomes a fault.
28(a)(15) On the question of causing damage to the lawn with the mallet, it states that the damage must be such that a subsequent stroke played over the damaged area could be significantly affected and that the stroke causing the damage must be either hampered or an attempt at a jump-shot or where the striker’s ball is part of a group (i.e. a cannon).
33 If there is an outside agency (by which it generally means a ball from the other game when double-banked) in the way of your shot, you must mark it (Law 7(c)) . If you fail to do so and you ball hits it and deviates, you may not take the shot again but must place the balls where you think they should have finished. If the collision is dynamic (i.e. both balls were moving) the shot may be replayed if the outcome is critical. If not, then an estimate of the final position must be made as before.
37(h) In a handicap game, if the striker makes a fault under Law 28 , he may ask his opponent whether he will opt for the balls to be left where they are or to be replaced before he decides whether to take a bisque .
39(a)(3) If the discovery of a fault is made after the striker has taken bisques and scored hoops, the balls are replaced in their positions before the first hoop was run out of order with that ball, only the bisques used after that first hoop was run are restored .
48(d) This alters the emphasis for someone watching a stroke for a fault under Law 28 so that he should declare a fault if he thinks it more likely than not that one has been committed.
There are a number of Laws that have been rewritten for the sake of clarity but without changing their effect. This applies in particular to the definitions in Law 5 and the definition of faults in Laws 28(a)(7) and (8).
The Croquet Association (CA): I do urge those members who enjoy their croquet to join the CA and thereby help to support the administration . The Secretary will have the appropriate forms or you can apply through the CA website .
Tony Backhouse
28 February, 2008.