SQUASH
LEAGUE RULES
Last Updated: June 2015
Table of Contents
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5
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Recent Revisions and Updates
Sportsmanship
Waivers
Weather
Defaults
Schedules
Rosters/Subs
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9
10
11
12
13
Facilities
Equipment
Reporting Results
Standings
Playoffs
League Specific Rules
1. RECENT REVISIONS & UPDATES
Recent Changes
June 4, 2015
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Updated section 10 – 'Reporting Results'.
April 8, 2013
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Updated section 5 – 'Defaults'.
2. SPORTSMANSHIP
The SSC encourages a fun-first, winning-second attitude in all leagues. All players are expected to abide by the SSC
sportsmanship policies, any player or team who does not will be subject to suspensions or league expulsion.
ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY
In order to promote a safe and sportsmanlike environment for its players, the SSC has clarified its
stance on unsportsmanlike behaviour. All players must understand the expectations for playing in
SSC leagues. The Coordinator and/or the Team Captain is required by the SSC to ask players to
leave the gym/field if they are involved with any of the following acts:
• Swearing directly at another player or the Coordinator.
• Intentionally pushing, shoving or making physical contact with another player.
• Making comments to instigate an altercation with another player.
In addition to being dismissed from the game, a one week suspension (or more) may be assigned
by the SSC to the involved player or team.
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SPORTSMANSHIP RATINGS
In order to encourage sportsmanlike play, each team must choose and report a rating for their opponent directly after the game.
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The sportsmanship rating(s) for your opponent gets reported when the Team Captain submits the game results
online. 4 ratings will be given each night, one for each match.
If a team captain does not report their score by 5:00pm the following day, their team will receive a 0 sportsmanship
rating (unless their opponent has given them one or more -1's) and the score will be processed as their opponent
reported it.
For a description of how to rate your opponent, see below.
A team's Sportsmanship rating should combine “Accountability” and “Spirit of the Game”. Accountability is based on how you felt
your opponent took responsibility for calling their own infractions/lets. A team that does well on Accountability either: committed few
or no fouls so it was not an issue, or committed several fouls but made a genuine attempt to call most of them. Spirit is based on
how fun your opponent was. A high rating would be for a team that appeared to have a fun-first, winning second attitude and
encouraged themselves and/or their opponent in a positive way. See below for guidelines:
Rating
Explanation
1
The team went above and beyond. They knew the rules
well and were honest about enforcing them against
themselves.
0
The team was OK. There were no major issues, but the
team did not put in extra effort to make fair calls or
follow the rules.
-1
The team either broke some rules and didn’t call
themselves, or tried to enforce rules that were wrong.
REPORTING SPORTSMANSHIP CONCERNS
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If during the game you have a concern with the other team, address the issue respectfully with the team captain at
the appropriate time (during play on the sidelines or at halftime).
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If at the end of the game you do not feel that the issue has been resolved, report the details of the issue to the SSC
by 5pm the next day by using the online complaint form - Click here.
Click on the links below for full details on the following topics:
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Full sportsmanship policy
End of season sportsmanship rating review
How the SSC handles complaints
Nominate a Lady Bing Team
3. WAIVERS
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All players must sign a waiver every season before playing their first game. The waiver can only be completed
online.
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Any player that subs in (even if only for one game) must fill out a waiver prior to playing. Captains are responsible to
ensure that this is done.
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The waiver outlines the SSC’s liability and sportsmanship policies.
4. WEATHER POLICY FOR INDOOR SPORTS
The SSC does not cancel any indoor games due to inclement weather. The only time that games would be canceled and
rescheduled would be if the facility is closed, teams will be contacted if this is the case.
5. DEFAULTS
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For full details on defaults, please visit the Default Information Page on the website.
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6. SCHEDULES
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Schedules are posted online 48 hours prior to the first game.
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Games can be played anytime between 6:00pm-11:00pm on weeknights and 8:30am-11:00pm on weekends.
If the schedules are not posted you may assume the schedule has not been completed. Please do not contact the
SSC regarding your schedule until after it has been posted.
Singles team names are assigned by the SSC office staff. All individuals’ names will appear on the schedule with
their team name.
7. ROSTERS & SUBS
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When registering a full team, the maximum number of players that you can have on the roster is 2.
A full team consists of 2 players who will play simultaneously on separate courts.
There are no gender restrictions for this league.
A sub list can be requested from the office. If you recruit a sub, it is your responsibility to ensure that they are
ready to play (know the rules, will play at the proper level and have submitted a waiver).
A team may bring in subs that are not listed on the roster. They must fill out a waiver prior to playing.
In the spirit of sportsmanship, captains are expected to replace players with a person of a similar skill level.
Bringing in “ringers” for regular season and particularly playoff games is discouraged.
If you are playing in a league where there are other SSC teams playing before you, your team may borrow players
under this condition: to increase your team to a minimum full line-up. The SSC considers it to be an unfair
advantage if a team borrows players to bolster their line-up.
Individual team rosters will be e-mailed out 48 hours prior to game one.
Subs in Playoffs:
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Subs are expected to play at the same skill level of the player that they are replacing.
The top 4 teams can only bring in subs that have played at least one game in the regular season.
To help avoid defaults in the playoffs, teams, excluding the top 4 (teams ranking 1-4 in the standings after
regular season games), are welcome to bring in subs who have not played at least one regular season game
with the team.
8. FACILITIES
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The SSC rents facilities from Parks and Recreation or private establishments. As tenants, players must respect the
standards and rules of each facility.
Alcohol is strictly forbidden inside facilities or in parking lots.
Players are expected to clean up after themselves, please do not leave any garbage behind.
Any player who causes the SSC to receive a complaint regarding a facility will face a $100 fine and may be ejected
from the league. For full details on the Facility Complaint Policy, please click here.
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Facilities are chosen based on quality and location. Some leagues utilize many facilities; the SSC always tries to
ensure a fair distribution of locations throughout the city in each division.
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The SSC asks all players to arrive 15 minutes prior to the game start time. This 15 minutes should be used to
change shoes, stretch, set up nets, and any other pre-game preparations.
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Players are not allowed into the court until the start of the permit time so be patient. Some facilities will allow us into
the court early and some will not.
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Players must wear clean non-marking running shoes. PLAYERS MUST BRING AN EXTRA SET OF GAME SHOES TO BE
PUT ON AFTER ENTERING THE FACILITY- OTHERWISE, YOU MAY NOT BE ALLOWED TO PLAY.
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Players are responsible for property damage.
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9. EQUIPMENT
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Players are required to bring their own racquet and protective eyewear to each game. (Eyewear is mandatory)
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Some facilities that the SSC rents may provide equipment rentals.
The SSC will provide teams with two (double yellow dot) balls to start the season. Teams may choose to use their
own balls if their opponents agree.
10. REPORTING RESULTS
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Only one team from the night is responsible for entering scores. As a general rule, the winning team will take the
score sheets and enter them online. However, teams can decide otherwise as long as one team enters the scores.
Scores must be entered no later than midnight the day after your game. If the scores are not submitted by this time
they will be entered as a 1-1 tie with zero spirit points awarded for both teams.
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Team Captains must submit their scores through their My CSSC profiles.
The mercy rule does not apply in Squash.
11. STANDINGS
Squash scores are reported by winning team captain to the office by midnight the day after the games. The SSC admin staff
will process scores and post the updated standings to the website within 72 hours of the games. Each set of SSC standings
will display notes at the bottom outlining how the standings are calculated.
HOW TEAMS ARE RANKED
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1st criteria: Winning %.
2nd criteria: Spirit points (one point given for each match, four per night)
3rd criteria: Differential of games won vs. games lost.
4th criteria: Differential of points scored vs. points allowed.
12. PLAYOFFS
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All teams are guaranteed 2 weeks of playoffs. The top 4 teams will play for the league championship.
The winner of the overall match in playoffs will be defined by:
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1st criteria: Winning %.
2nd criteria: Differential of games won vs. games lost.
3rd criteria: Differential of points scored vs. points allowed.
4th criteria: If it is still tied, each team chooses one player to play a tie break game to 5 points.
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League champs receive t-shirts and need to attend the Season Ending Party to pick them up.
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The top 4 teams can only bring in subs that have played at least one game in the regular season. Subs are expected
to play at the same skill level of the player that they are replacing.
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There are no ties in playoffs.
Sportsmanship during the playoffs is very important – a team that wins their playoff game but has sportsmanship
issues may have their win overturned and may not be allowed to play their final game or participate in future
seasons.
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13. LEAGUE SPECIFIC RULES
GAME FORMAT
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Teams will play four matches per night (each player will play 2 matches; one match against each member of the
opposition).
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Matches are a best of 5 games.
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Games are rally point scoring up to 11 points. Games are strictly first to 11, players do not have to win by more than
1 point.
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If time expires in any game, at least 5 points (total) must be scored for the game to count.
Before the start of play players have 5 minutes to warm up the ball together (2 ½ minutes on each side of the
court)
If the game score is tied when time is called, players will play one more point to decide the winner.
The player who wins the most games during the allotted match time wins the match.
If both players have won the same amount of games when time expires, the match will end in a tie.
Players are permitted 90 seconds of rest in between games if required.
After any infraction or call where there is a discrepancy between players, players should reserve the point.
The below rules are adapted from the rulebook at worldsquash.org
SERVICE
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Play commences with a service. The player to serve first is decided by the spin of a racket. Thereafter, the server
continues serving until losing a rally, when the opponent becomes the server and the server becomes "hand out".
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The player who wins the preceding game serves first in the next game.
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To serve, a player stands with at least part of one foot on the floor within the service box. For a service to be good,
it is served directly onto the front wall above the service line and below the out line so that on its return, unless
volleyed, it reaches the floor within the back quarter of the court opposite to the server's box.
At the beginning of each game and when the service changes from one player to the other, the server can serve
from either service box. After winning a rally the server then continues serving from the alternate box.
RETURN
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A return is good if the ball, before it has bounced twice on the floor, is returned correctly by the striker onto the
front wall above the tin and below the out line, without first touching the floor. The ball may hit the side walls and/or
the back wall before reaching the front wall.
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A return is not good if one of the following three scenarios applies
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“NOT UP” : the ball is struck after bouncing more than once on the floor, or not struck correctly, or a double
hit
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“DOWN”: the ball, after being struck, hits the floor before the front wall or hits the tin
“OUT”: the ball hits a wall on or above the out line
RALLIES
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After a good service has been delivered the players hit the ball in turn until one fails to make a good return.
A rally consists of a service and a number of good returns. A player wins a rally if the opponent fails to make a good
service or return of the ball or if, before the player has attempted to hit the ball, it touches the opponent (including
racket or clothing) when the opponent is the non-striker.
NOTE: AT ANY TIME DURING A RALLY A PLAYER SHOULD NOT STRIKE THE BALL IF THERE IS A DANGER OF HITTING THE
OPPONENT WITH THE BALL OR RACKET. IN SUCH CASES PLAY STOPS AND THE RALLY IS EITHER PLAYED AGAIN (“A LET”)
OR THE OPPONENT IS PENALISED.
HITTING AN OPPONENT WITH THE BALL
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If a player strikes the ball, which, before reaching the front wall, hits the opponent, or the opponent’s racket or
clothing, play stops.
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If the return would have been good and the ball would have struck the front wall without first touching any other
wall, the striker wins the rally, provided the striker did not “turn”.
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If the ball either had struck, or would have struck, any other wall and the return would have been good, a let is
played.
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If the return would not have been good, the striker loses the rally.
TURNING
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If the striker has either followed the ball round, or allowed it to pass around him or her - in either case striking the
ball to the right of the body after the ball had passed to the left (or vice-versa) - then the striker has “TURNED”.
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If the opponent is struck by the ball after the striker has turned, the rally is awarded to the opponent.
If the striker, while turning, stops play for fear of striking the opponent, then a let is played. This is the
recommended course of action in situations where a player wants to turn but is unsure of the opponent’s position.
FURTHER ATTEMPTS
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A player, after attempting to strike the ball and missing, may make a further attempt to return the ball.
If a further attempt would have resulted in a good return, but the ball hits the opponent, a let is played.
If the return would not have been good, the striker loses the rally.
INTERFERENCE
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When it is his or her turn to play the ball, a player is entitled to freedom from interference by the opponent.
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A player, finding the opponent interfering with the play, can accept the interference and play on, or stop play. It is
preferable to stop play if there is a possibility of colliding with the opponent, or of hitting him or her with racket or
ball.
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When play has stopped as a result of interference the general guidelines are:
To avoid interference, the opponent must try to provide the player with unobstructed direct access to the ball, a fair
view of the ball, space to complete a swing at the ball and freedom to play the ball directly to any part of the front
wall.
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The player is entitled to a let if he or she could have returned the ball and the opponent has made every
effort to avoid the interference.
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The player is not entitled to a let (i.e. loses the rally) if he or she could not have returned the ball, or
accepts the interference and plays on, or the interference was so minimal that the player’s access to and
ability to strike at the ball was not affected.
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The player is entitled to a stroke (i.e. wins the rally) if the opponent did not make every effort to avoid the
interference, or if the player would have hit a winning return, or if the player would have struck the
opponent with the ball going directly to the front wall.
LETS
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A let is an undecided rally. The rally does not count and the server serves again from the same box.
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A let must be allowed if the receiver is not ready and does not attempt to return the service, or if the ball breaks
during play.
In addition to lets allowed as indicated in the paragraphs above, lets can be allowed in other circumstances. For
example, a let may be allowed if the ball in play touches any article lying on the floor, or if the striker refrains from
hitting the ball owing to a reasonable fear of injuring the opponent.
CONTINUITY OF PLAY
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Play is expected to be continuous in each game once a player has started serving. There should be no delay between
the end of one rally and the start of the next one.
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