Rules
Please ensure that you have read the rules and don’t hesitate to contact the League Coordinator ( info[at]vancouversquashleague[dot]com )if you have any questions.
Are you considering protesting a match? Has your protest been submitted? Visit the Protest page.
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01 Name and Organization
02 Composition of Divisions
03 Compostion of Teams
04 Eligibility
05 Scheduling and Court Usage
06 The Game and Ball
07 Play and Scoring
08 Penalties and Appeals
09 League Results and Playoffs
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1. Name and Organization
1.1 The Vancouver Squash League (the “League”) functions as a non-profit organization which functions as a sanctioned event of the British Columbia Squash Racquets Association (”Squash BC”).
1.2 The League consists of club teams in Open and Women’s divisions.
1.3 The VSL Board will be elected at the Annual General Meeting by club representatives. It shall consist of, but not be limited to, the League Chairperson, Past Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and Junior Director.
1.4 The VSL Board meets as necessary to effect decisions, actions, and the direction the League is taking.
1.5 The VSL Board will appoint a League Coordinator and other positions as necessary.
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2. Composition of Divisions
2.1 Open and Womens
2.1.1 The VSL Board shall determine the number of divisions and the number of teams in each division, so that a sensible schedule may be constructed and that matches be balanced competitions.
2.1.2 The VSL Board will use final League points as the primary basis to determine placement of teams for the following season, i.e, two up/two down (Open) and one up/one down (Women). However, Club Reps may make alternative requests for team placement which will be perused and decided upon by the VSL Board. These requests must be received in writing, or via email, by the League Coordinator by June 30 of each year.
2.1.3 The VSL Board is responsible for allocating teams to the various levels and shall have the right to allocate any team to any particular division or to refuse participation to any team. (See Rule 2.1.2)
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3. Composition of Teams
3.1 Open and Womens
3.1.1 Each team shall consist of five (5) players.
3.1.2 All teams of a club shall be selected, at the start of any season, on the basis of the players available and able to play regularly in order of their merit. That is, the best player selected must play position one for the club’s first team, and the sixth ranked player selected must play position one for the club’s second team. If a club chooses to field more than 5 regular players to any team, the players sitting out on any given week can play for a team in a higher division, but cannot play to a team in a lower division (see Rule 4.2.4).
3.1.3 Manipulating the team order to gain an advantage will not be tolerated. If there is any concern over a breach of this rule, captains should resolve the problem before matches begin or declare that match is being played under protest.
3.1.4 If a club has more than one team in a division, it may operate a single or parallel ladder system to have a stronger and weaker team, or two teams of equal strength. Whichever is agreed to at the start of the season must be adhered to throughout the entire season, ie., two teams of equal strength at the start, cannot be changed to one stronger and one weaker team part way through the season.
3.1.5 The composition of teams may change only in the event of a player’s progress (or demise) on the club ladder. Such changes should be minor.
3.1.6 Notwithstanding the above, a team may use the occasional spare, provided that spare plays at the same or a higher level than previously played as a spare or regular player (See Rule 4.2.4). It is the responsibility of the Team Captain to ask, and the spare to provide honest information, regarding this to determine whether the spare is eligible. If it is determined that a spare has previously played for a higher team during the current season, it must brought to the attention of the opposing Team Captain who then can decide if that spare can play that night.
3.1.7 Captains should submit their team orders simultaneously before matches start.
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4. Eligibility
4.1 Teams
4.1.1 All clubs which are in good standing with Squash BC may apply for one or more teams to participate. Clubs shall not apply for more teams than they can adequately host (see rule 5.3.1).
4.1.2 Clubs must settle all previous outstanding accounts with Squash BC and the Vancouver Squash League before any team applications will be considered.
4.1.3 (Womens Divisions Only) A club lacking players to form a team may enter a combined team with another club. A combined team must have League approval and must declare a host club. Note: This rule has been added to promote more play in Ladies Divisions and is unrelated to the “floater” rule (See rule 4.3.1).
4.2 Players
4.2.1 Any member or associated professional of a club in good standing with Squash BC and any current individual member of same, are eligible to play.
4.2.2 If a player is not a current member of Squash BC when they play for the first time, the team they played for will be penalized one (1) penalty point. If they play a second time without becoming a member of Squash BC the team they play for will forfeit ALL points for that player earned in the second match. However, if the captain, or player, has renewed their membership with Squash BC prior to league result entry no penalty point will be applied. (Amended November 25, 2008. Membership informed via email to Captains and Club Reps.)
4.2.3 Players shall play for the club of which they are a member (with the exception of floaters), and only for one team.
4.2.4 When a team has a bye, or when any regular player assigned to that team is sitting out on any given week, the players allocated to that team may play for a higher team at his/her club, but may not play for a lower team. (See Rule 3.1.2)
4.2.5 No player is eligible to play more than one match each week, with the exception of women playing in both Women’s and Open.
4.3 Floaters
4.3.1 If the club does not enter a team at the level that is suitable for an individual, the player may play for another club as a floater.
4.3.2 A club intending to use a floater(s) must inform the VSL Board in writing, indicating for which team the floater will play. The floater becomes a member of that team for the season for the purposes of these rules.
4.4 Transfers
4.4.1 No player may play for more than one club in the same season either as a floater or a regular player without approval of the VSL Board. Application for transfer must be made to the VSL Board if special circumstances should arise.
4.5 Team Applications and Fees
4.5.1 Applications for League teams should be submitted by a date as approved by the VSL Board each year. (See Rule 2.1.2)
4.5.2 Clubs will be informed as to their allocations sometime after the date as set down in 4.5.1. All team fees are due on the date specified on the club invoice which will be forwarded along with divisional allocations.
4.5.3 Clubs may request changes in allocations (excluding withdrawals) without penalty at any time; however, these are subject to the realm of possibility.
4.5.4 Clubs withdrawing teams between August 1 and September 15 will be refunded 50% of the team fee. (See also Rule 4.1.2)
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5. Scheduling and Court Usage
5.1 Starting Times
5.1.1 League play is on Mondays for Open Division 1-7 and on Tuesdays for Open Divisions 8-9 and Ladies Divisions.
5.1.2 League matches shall start between 6pm and 9pm and be scheduled by the host club. Travel time should be considered, particularly by clubs in more remote locations.
5.2 Rescheduling
5.2.1 A match may start earlier or later by mutual consent. Otherwise, matches are not to be postponed or rescheduled, except for extraordinary circumstances.
5.2.2 Clubs wishing to reschedule a match must inform the VSL Board and arrange a mutually agreeable time with the affected club.
5.2.3 Matches missed for unforseeable circumstances (i.e., snowstorms) must be rescheduled promptly. A missed match before Christmas must be rescheduled and played during the Christmas break. Those missed after Christmas must be rescheduled and played up to and including the last scheduled match in that division.
5.2.4 The rescheduling of an individual tie (match) will generally not be considered.
5.3 Court Usage
5.3.1 Clubs must endeavour to utilize at least two courts concurrently for the duration of the match.
5.3.2 Home teams must book courts and control court utilization.
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6. The Game and Ball
6.1 Matches may be played on International, American or converted racquetball courts. The International Game of Squash will be played no matter which type of court is used.
6.2 All matches are to be played according to the laws accepted by Squash Canada.
6.3 Each team player shall play one match consisting of the best of five (5) games.
6.4 The official league ball will be the Dunlop XX Yellow Dot.
6.5 It is the responsibility of the home team to supply a ball in good condition (ie, label still visible) for each match.
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7. Play and Scoring
7.1 Markers and Referees
The host captain will ensure that a Marker/Refereee be assigned to each match to help ensure games are played in a sporting spirit and in accordance with the laws of the game.
7.2 Order of Matches
7.2.1 All players must be available to play at the designated start time. Selecting from the pairings available to play, the visiting captain decides which is to be the first match, while the host decides which is to be second match, and so on alternately.
7.2.2 If the commencement of a match is delayed for more than 10 minutes because of a player’s lateness, then the late player forfeits his/her match.
7.3 Team Points
7.3.1 Each player will score one (1) team point for each individual game won.
7.3.2 The team winning the most individual matches will be awarded five (5) bonus points.
7.3.3 An individual defaulted match is scored 3-0.
7.4 Results
7.4.1 Official marking sheets should be used for all matches. Clubs should make a habit of leaving completed marking sheets in a club file.
7.4.2 The home team is responsible for reporting results immediately (by first thing the following morning) online through Quick Draws. (Amended November 1, 2008) Results entered later than Wednesday at noon, for Monday night league, and Thursday at noon, for Tuesday night league, will be subject to a two (2) point penalty. (Added January 7, 2009)
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8. Penalties and Appeals
8.1 Correct Placement on Team
8.1.1 Improper placement of any player in a team’s order to gain an advantage, must result in forfeiture of the match at the position of violation and all positions below.
8.1.2. If a match at a position is not played for reasons other than 8.1.1, only that position will be forfeited.
ADVISEMENT TO TEAM CAPTAINS ON RULE 8.1
Team Captains should make every effort to field 5 players each week and play them in the correct order. If only 4 players are available, forfeiting a match at any position 1 through 5 does not constitute a rule violation. However, Team Captains should (i) call the opposing Captain to say only 4 players are available; (ii) get agreement by the Team Captain to default at a position other than #5; (iii) play matches 1 through 4 if there is no agreement by the opposing Team Captain.
8.2 Reporting Results
8.2.1 A two (2) point penalty will be assessed for not recording results at the conclusion of matches (Monday or Tuesday evening). (See Rule 7.4.2)
8.3 Protests and Appeals
8.3.1 A protest of any alleged violation of the rules must be made in writing to the League Coordinator within one week of recognition of the alleged violation, or longer in the case of extenuating circumstances. The League Coordinator and the VSL Board are responsible for ruling on any protest.
8.3.2 An appeal of any ruling made by the League Coordinator and the VSL Board must be received in writing as soon as possible. The VSL Board will select three (3) Club Reps from a pool of those Club Reps willing to serve on the Appeal Committee when required. The appeal letter plus any other pertinent documentation will be forwarded to the Appeal Committee members for a decision to be reached by a feasible deadline. The decision will be forwarded to the League Coordinator who will forward to the VSL Board and to the Club Rep and Team Captain of the appealing team, and others where applicable. The decision of the Appeal Committee is final.
8.3.3 Ignorance of any Rule set down or failure to read and understand any Rule will not be accepted as an excuse for any infraction of such rule and any penalty applied thereto.
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9. League Results and Playoffs
9.1 If a team withdraws from a division after the start of any cycle, all points from matches played prior to the withdrawal shall be voided.
9.2 At the end of the regular season, winners will be declared based on total points accumulated (the sum of match points minus penalties).
9.3 The order of regular season play between tied teams will be determined on head-to-head results, and/or on total games/points for and against (depending on number of teams tied).
9.4 At the end of the regular season, the four teams in each division with the highest total points shall enter the playoffs. If a semi-finalist forfeits playoff position for any reason, the opposing team shall move forward directly into the finals.
9.5 For a team to be eligible to enter the playoffs, each player on that team must have played at least 3 matches for that team during the regular season.
9.6 Playoff matches must be played on the international or converted racquetball court. Thus the lower ranked team will become the home team if necessary. The only exception is if both teams’ home courts are North American (hardball) courts.
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