Managing a best-of-N tournament – a case study of the 2008 World Croquet Federation Golf Croquet World Championship Research Completed

Title

Managing a best-of-N tournament – a case study of the 2008 World Croquet Federation Golf Croquet World Championship

Lead Author

Jennifer Clarke

Organisation(s)

Prepared for Sport and Recreation New Zealand by University of Canterbury

Publication Year

2010

Publisher

Sport and Recreation New Zealand

Contacts

Jennifer Clarke

email: jenny.clarke@canterbury.ac.nz

Abstract

To date there has been little published research on the duration of games and matches in sports in which competitions are played in a best-of-N format. There is also no published research on the duration of games or matches in the specific context of golf croquet. Despite this, there are three golf croquet World Championship tournaments which are each held every two to three years (Open, Under 21, Women). We have developed a framework for analysing the time and resource requirements for a tournament where matches are played to a best-of-N format to aid in designing a tournament programme with maximal use of available facilities and a maximal number of competitors. A baseline of average length of games, and number of games played per match is necessary. This analysis is carried out in the context of the sport of Golf Croquet, where the particular case of the 2008 World Croquet Federation Golf Croquet World Championships was analysed. The average game duration was found to be 38min36sec±12min54sec, with a higher duration of 55min03sec±16min55sec when two relatively weak players were competing. The best-of-three matches consisted of 2.38±0.49 games each. Based on these results, golf croquet tournaments should have three best-of-three matches scheduled per lawn per day to optimise playing time while minimising the likelihood of matches needing to be played outside regular playing hours. Our research has provided valuable data for scheduling future golf croquet events, both at club and international level, as well as developing a structured framework in which other best-of-N sports can analyse their time requirements.

Keywords:

Golf croquet; Management; Duration; Best-of-N; Match-play

 

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July 1, 2013