Croquet is a lawn game - a form of light physical exercise combined with mental stretching – which is played as an entertaining hobby or a competitive sport. It is popular in the United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand and Australia. There are various formats of the game. Association Croquet is an advanced level of the game, played at the international tournaments. Garden croquet and Golf Croquet are simplified forms of Association Croquet. Golf croquet, though easier to learn and play, is a faster game that requires technical skills and precise play. The American version of the croquet game is the six-wicket croquet, widely played in US as well as Canada.

The national governing body for croquet in UK is the Croquet Association (CA), which sanctions croquet tournaments in the whole of UK. They oversee individual competitions, inter-club and inter-county championship events as well as the international events. Awards given for croquet at club level in the UK are for the Inter-Club Championship, the Inter-Club Golf Croquet Championship, the Mary Rose Inter-Club Trophy, the Longman Club Team Cup and the Secretary's Shield. Awards given for croquet at county level include the Association Croquet Inter-County Championship, the Golf Croquet Inter-County Championship and the English National Golf Croquet Championship (Ascot Cup). Most of the inter-club and inter-county games are open to the tournament members of the Croquet Association only. Besides these, the Croquet Association has awards given for croquet clubs in recognition of their progress. The winner is presented with a plaque and a cash award. The awards given for croquet club advancement are the Townsend Club Award, Apps Heley Award and the Millenium Club Award. This is in line with the association’s strategies to develop and enhance the skills of the croquet clubs in the UK.

The governing body for croquet in the US is the USCA (United States Croquet Association). There are about 200 croquet clubs in the United States. Many of the American colleges have their croquet clubs and compete in annual collegiate croquet competitions.

The WCF (World Croquet Federation) is the official sanctioning body for international team and individual championships, and oversees the qualifications of players and official rules in international events. Their members comprise of the national croquet associations around the world. The World Championships are organized every two to three years. Awards given for croquet at international level include the championship titles and trophies for tournaments, such as the WCF World Association Croquet Championship for the Wimbledon Cup, WCF World Golf Croquet Championship for the WCF Trophy, WCF Women's World Golf Croquet Championship, WCF European Team Croquet Championship, the Murray-Jones Trophy, WCF World 14 Point Association Croquet Team Championship, the Croquet World Series for the MacRobertson Shield and the World Association Croquet Team Championship. Surprisingly, croquet has only been played once in Olympics in the 1900s.

The most coveted award given for croquet is the MacRobertson International Croquet Shield. It has strong contenders among Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the United States. The other prestigious award given for croquet is the Solomon Trophy, inaugurated by John Solomon, the President of the Croquet Association of UK.