Last updated: 30.01.2016
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PENNANT TEAM CAPTAINS
2016 Melbourne University Squash Club Committee
President:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Men’s Pennant Chair:
Women’s Pennant Chair:
Felicia Eng
Sylvia Tiet
Lucas Bediaga
Stephen Frankenberg
Liza Gendo
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Squash Victoria Fees and Contact Information
Squash Victoria Pennant Organiser: Bryan Bird
[email protected]
Squash Victoria: $80 annually ($75 if paid before March), $40 for half a year.
Away Matches: $18 per player.
Pennant Training Times
Monday: 10:00AM – 12:00PM
Monday: 5:00PM - 7:30PM
Monday: 10:00AM – 12:00PM
Thursday: 5:00PM - 7:30PM
Friday: 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Friday: 5:00PM - 9:00PM
Saturday: 9:00AM - 1:00PM
Sunday: 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Sunday: 2:00PM - 5:00PM
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Dear Team Captains,
Welcome to Melbourne University Squash Club and congratulations on being selected to captain a
pennant team. The purpose of this document is to outline the duties of team captains before and during
the season.
A. Prior to the start of the season.
A few weeks before the start of the season, the Squash Victoria Pennant Organiser (listed above) will alert
all captains via email that draws have been released on Squash Matrix (http://squashmatrix.com).
Prior to the start of the season, it is the responsibility of team captains to:
1. Get in touch with your team members.
Introduce yourself to any new team member. If you do not have contact details for any of your
team members, please contact the relevant pennant chair (listed above) for their details.
2. Pick up the match balls for the season.
Match balls can be picked up at training sessions from your relevant pennant chair.
3. Create a roster for the season.
This can be done or updated as you go throughout the season, but it is recommended to plan at
least a few rounds ahead and to find out your players’ availability for the season ahead of time.
We recommend sharing the roster with your entire team using document sharing services such as
Google Sheets.
4. Ensure that your team members have paid for all fees.
These fees include:
a. club membership, and
b. Squash Victoria pennant registration.
Instructions for paying these fees and their costs will be announced on our website
(http://www.musquashclub.com.au), our Facebook page
(https://www.facebook.com/musquashclub), and via our mailing list (which you can also sign up
to via our Facebook page) once payment facilities become available at the start of each year.
B. During the season.
General:
1. Ensure four players are available for each match and are aware of the time and location.
a. Some venues have 7:00pm starts and others have a 7:30pm start time.
b. Generally rubbers are played in the order of 4, 3, 2 and 1, but can be switched around
by mutual agreement between the two teams.
c. Organise car-pooling as required.
2. If you can’t get enough players from your team list for the night.
a. You may need to reach out to players from other Melbourne University teams in
your grade or below. Players from higher graded teams are not allowed to fill in for
lower grades. If in doubt, contact a committee member for guidance.
b. The player playing across can't play lower than their regular position (e.g. a #1 from
another team cannot play at #2 for your team, even if the matrix ratings line up).
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c. If you still cannot get enough players, any player from your team listed in the lowest
rubber position or below (#4 for Open, #3 for Women’s) may play twice for the
bottom two rubbers (i.e. #3 and #4 for Open and #2 and #3 for Women’s).
i. Note the away match fee (see top of this document) will need to be paid for
both the player who forfeited and for the opponent who did not play for
clubs that charge their own players as well.
d. If you cannot field at least a team of three (for Open) or two (for Women’s), your
team forfeits the round and the club will be fined by Squash Victoria. This cost will
be passed on to the offending team and is in the order of one night’s match fees.
3. If a player can't make the match start time.
The player should communicate and arrange this with their captain. The captain will then need to
alert the opposing team’s captain.
a. Officially, if a player is more than 15 minutes late from their designated start time; the
opposing team can claim a walkover.
b. In practice, if a number 4 player is late, for example, then the number 3's, 2's or 1's
might play first instead. Obviously there will be occasions when players need to leave
early or arrive late, but this should be the exception rather than the norm. Changes in
order of play to accommodate this should be discussed with the opposing team captain
via phone/email beforehand.
4. Scoring and refereeing on the night.
For each rubber that is played, one player from a team will referee while another player from the
opposing team will. Which team referees and scores is usually alternated between rubbers.
5. After the match, enter the results on squashmatrix.com.
a. Email the Squash Victoria Pennant Organiser to obtain a login for Squash Matrix if you
do not have one already.
b. Take a picture of the scoresheet in case of disputes.
c. Login using your details.
d. Select your player profile and go to the “Enter Results” tab.
e. Enter and submit results.
Any questions/problems please ask a committee member or another captain.
6. New pennant player additions during the season.
New pennant players can be added to current teams during the season as required and upon the
Squash Victoria Pennant Organiser’s approval.
Please let the committee know if you know anyone that might be interested in playing pennant
squash as the club is always looking to grow the number of pennant teams and players.
7. Eligibility for your grade’s Best and Fairest award.
At the end of the season, each grade is awarded a best and fairest prize determined by the Squash
Victoria Pennant Organiser. A player must have played at least two thirds (rounded up) of the
home and away matches to be eligible for this award.
Home Games Specifics:
1. Provide the match ball.
Ensure that someone in your team has a fresh match ball.
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2. Provide supper.
Please arrange for your team to provide supper for the evening, enough for the people in
attendance. This can include anything from pizza and soft drink to crackers, chips, dips and beer.
It is up to you and your team what you would like to bring and how much to spend. As a guide,
we recommend that players need not spend more than $15 each on supper. The cost of supper
should be evenly split between the four home team players, even if they don't stay.
3. Collect opponents’ away fees.
Melbourne University Sport has requested that each team make one single payment each home
night at the front desk. The means that home team captains (or nominated player on the night)
MUST collect all away players’ fees (current fee is listed at the top of this document) and take
the whole amount to the front desk on the night of the match, prior to 9pm if possible.
Note: If the opponent forfeits a match on the night, they will need to pay for their player(s)
who forfeited.
If there are any problems, or your team forgets to collect and pay on the night, please contact the
relevant pennant chair or committee member ASAP to let us know.
4. Check and observe court allocations.
Your team’s allocated court will be listed on the noticeboard at the squash courts. We rotate
the allocation of courts across our different teams as it is part of our club’s values that all teams
are equal and should have equal opportunity on the show courts. Please respect and observe the
court allocation listing.
If there are any disputes or issues with regards to court allocation, please contact one of the
committee members.
C. Finals.
Finals are played in the weeks immediately after the home and away season. The format for the finals
depends on the number of teams in your grade and you will be sent an email from Squash Victoria
explaining the details closer to the date.
1. Player eligibility for finals.
A player must have played at least one third (rounded up) of the home and away games to be
eligible to play in finals.
2. Order of play for finals.
For finals, the order of play is decided by the toss of a coin if an order cannot be agreed upon by
the two team captains. In this case, the captain who wins the toss chooses which rubber is played
first. For all subsequent rubbers, the choice is alternated between the teams.
3. Teams which do not make finals are required to referee finals matches.
If your team did not qualify for the finals, your team will most likely be required to referee one of
the finals matches. Which match your team is required to referee will depend on where you
finished on the ladder. You will be informed as to which match you will need to referee by
Squash Victoria closer to the date.
It is imperative that at least TWO members of the team attend the assigned match, as the
club will be fined by Squash Victoria if no referees are supplied and this cost will be passed on to
the offending team. This fine is in the order of approximately $90.
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If no member of the team is able to make it or are not confident enough to referee a finals
match, then the team can apply to Squash Victoria ahead of time for a paid referee to act in their
place. It is the team’s responsibility to cover the cost of this referee. The fee is in the order of
approximately $60.
4. Teams which qualify for finals must fulfil referee lecture requirements.
Teams which qualify for finals are required to have at least the same number of people who play
each night (4 members for Open and 3 members for Women’s) qualified for finals by having
attended a referee (RAP) lecture within a set number of years (this number changes from time to
time and will be announced prior to finals). The cut-off date to ensure members are registered
will be sent in an email by the Squash Victoria representative prior to finals.
These lectures are free to attend and there are often several available throughout the year in
various locations for convenience.
D. Unusual Circumstances.
There are a few infrequent circumstances that might arise during your captaincy. If there are any further
questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of the committee members listed above or email the
squash club at [email protected] for advice.
Best of luck for the season, we wish you and your team every success.
President
Melbourne University Squash Club
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