Please read carefully for your safety and that of other members. If these rules and guidance are not followed the club may have to be closed again.
From Monday 18th May all paid up croquet members will be able to play croquet following the guidelines below. At the present time, the club will consider new membership applications from personal introductions of existing members only.
For the latest advice from the Croquet Association click here
General Rules for ECC
Only paid up members for 2020-2021 are eligible to play.
Unfortunately members may not bring visitors at this time, apart from within their own household. Visitors fees should be paid into the club account referencing ‘Visitors Fee – Croquet.’ Non-member partners/parents/siblings/children from the same household are asked to pay a visitor fee.
Do not play if self isolating or feeling ill in any way.
Observe the 2 metre social distancing rules at all times, including entering and leaving the premises. Beware of bottlenecks along The Drive entrance and along the path by tennis courts 6 and 7.
Please wash hands before leaving home, on arriving at the lawns and on leaving the lawns and when you arrive home. You are advised to bring your own hand sanitiser/wipes or soap & hotwater and gloves.
You are permitted to play Singles with a person outside your household as long as both players are members.
Doubles is permitted as long as all players are from the same household.
No double banking on lawns is permitted.
The clubhouse is closed so there are no toilet facilities available.
Please inform the chairman if a person becomes ill within 14 days of visiting the club.
Lawn Bookings
To play you must first book a lawn via ESC website Croquet members area, preferably the day before. You may make a booking without having an opponent. This could be either for solo practice or as a way of making a general invitation to members of the booker’s availability to play.
If you are a paid up member and do not have booking access please contact Steve Edney
Lawns are bookable in 30 minute units, up to three hours in total, every day from 9am – 8pm.
Play should end 30 minutes before the end of your booked time to allow you time for cleaning and putting away equipment and leaving before the next booked time.
Please keep a record of your bookings together with a list of people who played, for tracking purposes.
At the Lawn
Players must use their own mallet and not touch their opponent’s. A designated club mallet may be allocated to you upon application to the club secretary.
Please do not enter the pavilion or any other building except for shed 2.
Wash/sanitise your hands before opening shed 2, with the soap or sanitiser you have brought with you. (Endeavours will be made to maintain a supply of antisceptic wipes or spray in the shed if you have forgotten to bring your own but this cannot be guaranteed). Use the water tap next to the pavilion as necessary.
Players must agree which of them is to enter shed 2 to collect and return the hoops, peg, ball sets, clips and bisques and wash/sanitise them on collection and on return. For timed matches use a timer on a watch or phone – and players should referee their own matches appropriately.
Wear gloves for the contact touch-points above.
Seating: it is suggested you bring your own lightweight folding chair. Alternatively, use one of the white plastic chair stored outside: make sure you clean with antisceptic wipe or spray both before and at the end of the game. If you sit on a bench, avoid touching it with your hand.
Wearing gloves during play is advisable. Consider wearing a face covering if there is a moderate easterly breeze and tennis courts are in use.
Use your feet to retrieve and manoeuvre balls. Avoid touching any ball with an ungloved hand.
Take special care when placing or removing a clip from a hoop. If you or your opponent feel using clips causes one of you anxiety, then try golf croquet instead, or other croquet formats, e.g. two ball match-play.
When the game is complete remember not to shake hands and remember that the player who put all the equipment out is the player to wash/sanitise again and return all to shed 2. Wipe clean the padlock when you have closed the door.
Coaching
One to One coaching may be available on request to Roger Dollimore.
And Finally…
These rules apply currently and may be amended as time goes on, so please look again at the website or on the pavilion door each time you play.
Enjoy your game but please remember there is still a risk of contracting COVID 19. So Stay Alert, obey the social distancing rules and wash/sanitise your hands before arrival and before leaving.
Note: wearing of gloves and/or face mask, during play, is a matter of personal choice.
Remember to bring with you next time you play: sanitiser or soap and hotwater, cloth or paper towels, glove(s), mallet, lightweight folding garden chair, and a drink
