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CROQUET has its origins in Ireland in the 1830s and was taken to England as a pastime of the aristocracy in the 1850s.
It may have evolved from the earlier mallet and ball game called pall mall and while never hugely popular has maintained a substantial following as a recreational game and, latterly, a competitive sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing arena.
There are several variations of croquet currently played, differing in the scoring systems, order of shots, and layout (particularly in social games where play must be adapted to smaller-than-standard playing courts).
Two forms of the game, Association Croquet and Golf Croquet, have rules that are agreed internationally and are played in many countries around the world.
As well as club-level games, there are regular world championships and international matches between croquet-playing countries. The sport has particularly strong followings in the UK, USA, New Zealand and Australia.
This year’s Welsh Championships take place from 4-6 August.
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