2018 Nine Wicket Rules Available

2018 Edition MCA 9W RulebooksThe MCA Rules and Competition Committee has officially released the 2018 Edition of the MCA Official Nine-Wicket Croquet Rulebook: Backyard Croquet Rules. The release comes after an extensive review of the working rulebook that had governed MCA play over the past few years.

All of the rules fall in line with traditional nine-wicket play and only two changes are in place from the 2017 season:

• After a one-year test, the MCA has decided that it will not permanently adopt the corner peg layout used on smaller court spaces and for all events in 2017. The corner peg layout will still be an accepted layout for under-sized courts and is noted in the rulebook as an option in those cases.
• The MCA wiring rule under the advanced segment of the rulebook has been modified to allow the striker in a wired situation to use any corner for a lift, regardless of whether or not another ball is occupying one of the corner locations (partially or fully). If a lifted ball would be in contact with an existing ball in a desired corner, the lifted ball becomes ball in hand with all of the options available to any ball that would be available through a roquet (excluding leaving the ball wear it lies).

The MCA Rulebook presents the rules in basic mode and advanced mode for upper tournament divisions. The advanced rules include carry-over deadness and the resulting component rules, a wiring rule and advanced rover rules. The advanced rules are similar to the rules the USCA normally uses for their "9 Wicket Nationals."

The Rules and Competition Committee will offer a "Clarifications" page in the Rules section of the website that will address any areas that are unclear in the 2018 edition. The committee plans to offer a new edition if merited in 2020.

The Rulebook is available as a PDF download and it is also formatted for a print booklet. The R&CC will be presenting options to the MCA Board to make copies available for purchase.