Croquet is a sport that involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded in a grass playing court.
The standard court measures 25.6m by 32m. The boundary must be clearly marked, the inner edge of the marking being the actual boundary.
The boundaries are known as the north, south, east and west boundaries regardless of the actual orientation of the court.The corners are depicted by Roman numerals I, II, III and IV.
The perimeter of an inner rectangle whose sides are parallel to and one yard from the boundary is called the yard line. The yard line corners the corner spots. The space between the yard line and the boundary is the yard line area. The yard line is not marked on the court. Certain balls which leave the court or come to rest in the yard line area are placed on the yard line.
The parts of the yard line that extend from the corner spots at corners I and III to a line extended through the centres of hoops 5 and 6 are known as the A and B baulk lines respectively. The ends of the baulk lines may be marked on the boundary but any raised markers used must not intrude or lean into the court. The baulk lines are where a ball may be placed before it is played into the game.
The peg is set in the centre of the court. There are six hoops set parallel to the north and south boundaries. The centres of the two inner hoops are 6.4m to the north and south of the peg. The centres of the four outer hoops are 6.4m from the adjacent boundaries.
The peg is a rigid cylinder with a height and uniform diameter above the ground of 450mm and 38mm respectively. It is vertical, firmly fixed and painted white to a height of at least 150mm.
Eight white corner pegs, measuring about 19mm in diameter and about 75mm in height above the ground, are optional accessories and placed on the boundary 0.09m from each corner, measured to the further side of the corner pegs. The corner pegs touch the boundary but must not intrude or lean into the court.
Flags coloured blue, red, black and yellow are optional accessories and may be placed in corners I, II, III and IV respectively. They are mounted on posts about 300mm high that touch the corner but must not intrude or lean into the court.
Each hoop is made of solid metal and consists of two uprights connected by a crown. A hoop is 300mm high above the ground, measured to the top of the crown and is vertical and firmly fixed. Each hoop on a court has the same dimensions within a tolerance of 92mm.
The Laws of Association Croquet, Sixth Edition (Amended 2008). The Croquet Association on behalf of itself, the Australian Croquet Association, Croquet. https://croquet-australia.com.au/New Zealand and the United States Croquet Association. https://www.croquet.org.uk/association/
The information in this guide is general in nature and cannot be relied upon as professional advice concerning the design of, or marking out for, sporting facilities and playing areas. No assurance is given as to the accuracy of any information contained in this guide and readers should not rely on its accuracy. Readers should obtain their own independent and professional advice in relation to their proposed sporting activity.