Squash League Rules

1. The League consists of divisions of five players and runs over a calendar month. At the end of each month, two players are promoted and two players are demoted from each division (so only the 3rd place player stays in the same division).

2. Matches are best of five games with PAR (point-a-rally) scoring. Winner of each game is the first to 15 points. At 14-all, play continues until one player is two points clear. If both players agree, they may use ‘traditional’ scoring – that is first to 9 and only scoring on serve. At 8-all, the player reaching 8 first decides whether to play to 9 (Set 1) or 10 (Set 2). Alternatively, if both players agree, they may use PAR scoring to 11 points. At 10-all, play continues until one player is two points clear. Whichever scoring system is used, matches are best of five games.

3. Players score 1 point for playing, 1 point for each game won and 1 point for a victory. So in a match where the final score was 3-2 in games, the winner would score 5 points and the loser would score 3 points.

4. The winner is responsible for updating the SquashLevels website with the match score. The website will automatically calculate the points.

5. Final positions in each division are based on points. In the event of a tie, the winner of the head-to-head match finishes above the other player. After that, games won and then games lost will be taken into account to break any remaining ties. (When taking games into account in a tie-break, a walkover counts as zero games for both ‘winner’ and ‘loser’). If there is still a tie, then Squash Levels will be used to decide positions.

6. All results should be entered by noon on the 1st of the month. The website will be updated with the new divisions shortly thereafter.

7. The winner and second-place player of each division (except division 1) will always be promoted.

8. In general, two players are demoted from each division each month. If new players are joining the league, or old players re-joining, then more than two players may be demoted.

9. Players finishing third in their division, are guaranteed to not be demoted by more than one division IF they have played all their matches. The guarantee will be achieved by temporarily increasing the number of players, if necessary. Protection is NOT guaranteed if a division of more than seven players would be needed.

10.  Any player who plays no matches in the month should confirm to the League Administrator that they wish to remain in the League – they will be demoted at least one division. This may mean more than two players being demoted and more than two players being promoted from the division below. If they do not inform the League Administrator, they may be dropped from the League altogether. If a player drops out of the League part way through the month AND does so before the last week of the month AND has played no matches, then he is considered to have not been in the League that month.

11. Players may opt to drop out of the league for one or more months (for example over the summer, or due to injury). They should notify the League Administrator as soon as possible so he can make an adjustment to the divisions. Re-joining players will normally enter one division below where they last played – except if they finished 1st or 2nd in their last month, in which case they would re-join in the same division.

12. New players will be placed in the division most appropriate to their level of ability at the discretion of the League Administrator.

13. If a match is incomplete at the end of 40 minutes, the options are:
(a) Record the incomplete score if both players agree. In this situation, only completed games would be recorded – any incomplete game would be disregarded.
(b) Play a re-match. The re-match starts afresh at 0-0 in games, but the loser scores the number of games he got in the first match, OR the number of games he got in the re-match – whichever is greater.
(c) If the reason for the incomplete match was one player arriving late, the on-time player can choose between having a re-match, or adding extra games to his incomplete score until he has 3 games. Similarly, if the match is incomplete due to injury, the non-injured player has the choice of a re-match, or making his score up to 3 games.

14. A walkover scores 4 points to the winner (as opposed to 5 points for a normal win) and no points for the loser (as opposed to at least 1 point for a normal loss). Circumstances in which a walkover should be claimed are:
(a) If a match is arranged and then one player has to pull out due to injury or personal circumstances and there is no possibility of re-arranging the match at a time convenient for the player who didn’t pull out.
(b) If one player has tried several times to contact another player, but gets no reply, or if the other player cannot find time to play.
(c) A player plays some of his matches, but then is injured and cannot play for the rest of the month. He should inform his un-played opponents and they should claim walkovers.
The claimer of a walkover is responsible for updating the club website. Refer any dispute to the league administrator.

15. For clarification on rule 11 and rule 14(c): if a player withdraws from the league ‘for the remainder of the month’ due to injury, or for any other reason, then rule 11 applies if they have not yet played any matches and rule 14(c) applies if they have played some matches. In other words, if they have not played any matches when withdrawing, there is no need for the other players to claim walkovers.

16. For clarification on 14(b): if you have tried more than once to contact the other player AND your first attempt to make contact was before the last week of the month – then it is fair to claim a walkover.

17. In divisions 6 and above, players must use a double yellow dot ball for all matches. However, if the temperature on court is below 15 degrees Centigrade, all matches in all divisions shall use a single yellow dot ball unless both players agree otherwise.

18. When generating a new League, if there are 1 to 3 extra players left at the bottom, then divisions are increased in size from the bottom to accommodate them. If there are 4 extra players, a new division is created.

19. Booking and payment of the court must be made by mutual agreement.

20. Duncan Nightingale (email duncan@littlegogs.com, tel 0789 973 1219) is the League Administrator and his word is final.