An Introduction on Croquet

Croquet is a sport that pits individuals against each other. Each player tries to hit wooden balls through wire arches, to hit a post in the ground, and to hit his opponent’s ball. Surpassed by tennis in Great Britain in the 19^th century, it is today more of a recreational activity than competitive sport, although intense competition has not disappeared entirely, neither on back lawns nor on the smooth lawns of croquet clubs.

History

Croquet probably evolved from a game called palle mall in which players hit a ball (palla) with a mallet (maglio) through a series of iron rings. The modern form of croquet originated in France in the early years of the 19^th century and was immediately recognizable by its unique mallet. This mallet, in its French peasant form, had a broomstick as a handle. The word “croquet” derives from the French word croc, meaning something shaped like a hook or a crook. The sport of croquet was transplanted from France to Ireland, where there are records of its being played regularly after 1852. Once introduced to England, it flourished.Walter James Whitmore promoted and publicized the sport in England. The game’s stellar figure both as player and tactician,Whitmore became the unofficial world champion with his 1867 victory in the Moreton-on-Marsh, England, Croquet Open Championship. In 1868, the All England Croquet Club was formed.

Croquet might have come to rival cricket as a major outdoor English sport had another new sport not arrived that quickly became a public passion. Tennis was so popular that players took up all available grass space. By 1875, the All England Croquet Club had to add the words “and Lawn Tennis Club” to its title. Five years later the demise of croquet was apparent out when the croquet club changed its name to the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Croquet’s international expansion was led by the American National Croquet League, founded in 1880, and the first Australian croquet club, founded at Kyneton, Victoria, in 1866. The Australian Croquet Council was founded in 1950. (Australia now leads the world with over 6,000 registered players.) In 1896 the Croquet Association was founded.

In the 19^th century croquet provided an important vehicle for women to move beyond the traditional boundaries of home, church, and school and to seek a role in some quasi-athletic pursuit. Sociologist Jennifer Hargreaves, however, says that although croquet was “a highly sociable and fashionable pastime,” women’s entrance into athletics saw them stereotyped as the weaker sex capable of “doing” only gentle and respectable games. In other words, it was only acceptable for women to perform “the smallest and meanest of movements.”Even with croquet, it was felt that it might be more appropriate for women to play croquet’s indoor variations—Parlor Croquet, Table Croquet, and Carpet Croquet—instead of the outdoor variety. During the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s conservative groups in Britain and the United States feared the downfall of women who let themselves be carried away by the excesses of such sports as bicycling and croquet. An article in the American Christian Review in 1878 described the consequences of such involvement:

1. A social party.
2. Social and play party.
3. Croquet party.
4. Picnic and croquet party.
5. Picnic, croquet, and dance.
6. Absence from church.
7. Imprudent or immoral conduct.
8. Exclusion from the church
9. A runaway match.
10. Poverty and discontent.
11. Shame and disgrace.
12. Ruin.

Despite such gloomy pronouncements, croquet flourished as a women’s sport. In America, long before women took part in competitive tennis or basketball tournaments, their first venture into competition sport was with croquet in the 1860s.

Rules and Play

Croquet is unusual in that it is not a team sport.Almost without exception, croquet consists of one individual challenging another. Although many of the descriptions make it seem as complex and cerebral as chess, the essence of the game is its simplicity. The object of the sport is to score points by striking the ball through each of the hoops in the proper order and hitting the stake. Each player, in turn, tries to make a point or to roquet. This means to hit an opponent’s ball with one’s own. If a competitor scores a point he or she is entitled to another stroke. If not, the next player takes a turn. In virtually every individual sport, the structure of the competition allows a degree of involvement by even an outplayed player. Not so in croquet. During a Washington, D.C., challenge tournament in the late 1980s a competition took place in which a competitor started and continued playing at such a level of excellence that he completed the whole course without yielding his turn. It was a dazzling, bravura performance in which his competitor’s only physical action was to doff his hat and shake the winner’s hand.

The MacRobertson International Shield is croquet’s top honor. The Croquet Association,with its headquarters at the Hurlingham Club, organizes all of the major championship events. In the United States croquet has been organized since 1976 by the United States Croquet Association.Croquet has caught on in the British Commonwealth and is played today in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Croquet was and is an elitist activity. In the early days of the sport, croquet hoops on a lawn showed the house owner to be on the cutting edge of fashion. Today, club memberships still tend to be expensive and exclusive.