RULES AND BY-LAWS

League Play will be governed by the Rules of Squash as defined in the latest edition of "Rules of the World Singles Game of Squash", unless modified in the following Rules and By-Laws of League Play.

1. Definition of Terms

(a) Association: The term "Association" shall mean the Niagara Squash Racquets Association (N.S.R.A.) of the Niagara Region.

(b) Fixture: The term "Fixture" shall mean a match between two teams.

(c) Match: A "Match" shall mean an individual match between two players. A match shall be the best 3 out of 5 games, international scoring rules apply.

(d) Team: In all divisions, a league "Team" shall consist of four or Five players depending on the Division format. All players must be members in good standing of a Member-Club. All teams must have a designated captain.

(e) Club: The term "Club" or "Member-Club" shall mean a club or institution which is a member in good standing with Squash Ontario for the entire league-season.

(f) Eligible Player: To be eligible to play league, each player must be a member in good standing of a Member-Club for the entire league-season (or for their duration of league-play) and must complete the N.S.R.A. Player Registration Form, Release/Waiver and Indemnity Form prior to their first league fixture.

2. Entry of Teams into League

(a) Each club shall make application to the Association for the teams it desires to enter in the league in the following season.

(b) When applying, each club shall specify its home courts available for league play.

(d) The application of the entry of any teams shall be subject to acceptance by the Association.

(e) As a guide-line, for every two teams entered to play on any one night, the club should provide three hours of court time.

3. League Scoring

(a) The team that wins the most matches, or in the case of an equality of matches, most games, or, in the case of an equality of games, most points, shall win the fixture. The team winning the fixture shall score one point per match won by it, plus one bonus point. In the case of an equality of matches, games and points, the bonus point shall be halved and each team shall score 2.5 points each.

(b) In the event of a team withdrawing or being withdrawn from any division, all fixtures played by that team and all points awarded in respect thereof shall be cancelled and the division shall be completed by the remaining teams. In the event that a team withdraws or is withdrawn at the completion of the first round of fixtures, these provisions may, at the discretion of the Association, only apply to the second round.

(c) The End of Season Standings will be determined by each Team's total number of points. In the event of there being an equality of points between two or more teams at the end of the season, the tie(s) shall be broken as follows:

Total Fixture points between the tied teams;
Total Games between the tied teams;
Fixture points of the last match between the tied teams (Retrogression)

4. Duty of Team Captain

(a) The Team Captain, or his/her representative, must attend the pre-season Players' Meeting, (if held), and be responsible for the payment of their team’s dues.

(b) The Team Captain must submit to the N.S.R.A, the Squash Ontario Release/Waiver and Indemnity Form for each player on the team, prior to that player's first match.

(d) The Team Captain, or his/her appointed team scorekeeper, must collect scoresheets from all matches and enter the game's scores, or approvals, into the N.S.R.A. Scorekeeper database located on the internet within 48 hours of the played game(s).

(e) They must ensure that:

i) courts are available for a home league fixture;

ii) the team roster is listed as required by Rule 7(d);

iii) results are submitted as per Rule 7(i).

(f) Team Captains must bring all grievances to the attention of the N.S.R.A., in writing.

(g) Team Captains (or their team-member-representative) are expected to attend the Annual General Meeting.

(h) The Team Captain must ensure, for the Play-Off Tournament, that their team is in compliance with the Rules for Play-Off Eligibility and Position, as laid down in Rule 9.

5. Duty of the Scorekeeper

Roles of the Team Scorekeeper should be, including but not limited to, the following:

(a) must collect scoresheets from all matches and enter the game's scores, or approvals, into the N.S.R.A. Scorekeeper database located on the internet within 48 hours of the played game(s).

(b) the individual selected should have the ability and access to use a web based statistics system;

(c) expectation on response time is within 48 hours of the played game(s). Lack of response will result in an approval for any entered match by the other team;

(d) entry and/or approval is the responsibility of both the winning and losing teams.

6. Promotion and Relegation

(a) It shall be the responsibility of the Fixture Committee to consider promotion and relegation prior to the establishment of each season’s fixtures-schedule. (In general, this means that the top two teams of a division are promoted and the bottom two are relegated.) Clubs may request to the Executive in writing for exceptions to this policy.

7. Fixtures

(a) The Rules Committee is responsible for ensuring that the Rules and By-laws of League Play are followed. Teams which contravene these By-laws will be liable to forfeiture of its points for that fixture. Teams involved will be notified by the Rules Committee. Decisions of the Rules Committee may be appealed in writing to the Executive within10 days of the decision.

(b) All matches must be played at the scheduled date and time. In exceptional circumstances, matches may be rescheduled provided BOTH Captains are in agreement.

(c) In the event of any team being compelled to scratch from a fixture or play short, the team captain concerned should notify the opposing captain of this as soon as possible. If a team scratches from a fixture, that team shall forfeit the fixture and the opposing team shall be awarded full points for that fixture.

(d) All matches should be played IN STRICT ORDER OF STRENGTH according to the current Order of Strength published on (and updated weekly on) the NSRA Scorekeeper. However to support players who may have challenged up on their team, or where team-player strengths are similar, team-players may play out of sequence (up or down) by ONE position (per the Order of Strength list) only. Any Team failing to comply with this rule will have that match AND ALL matches below that position defaulted. (e.g. if the ‘weakest’ player of a team on any given night (per the Order of Strength) DID play at #2, then the #2, #3 and #4 matches would all be defaulted.)

This rule will be strictly enforced by the NSRA Scorekeeper program (after one warning).

It is recommended that prior to the start of each fixture, the respective Captains -
(a) check the NSRA Scorekeeper to ensure compliance of their team and of their opponents
(b) complete their Player-list (1-4) for the fixture on the paper score-sheet.

(i) The recommended normal sequence of play is that the Number 4's should start the match, followed by 3's, 2's and finally 1's. Although, it is acceptable for matches to be played in any sequence.

(ii) All fixtures MUST start at the appointed time. In the event of a player not being ready to play when their court becomes available, the match will be defaulted by that player and a win of 3-0 recorded for the other team.

(e) A player may not participate in more than one fixture on any one night. Any player doing so would cause a default in both fixtures, according to Rule (d) above.

(f) Once a player has played five fixtures for a team, that player becomes ineligible to play for another team of the same or lower division.

(g) No demotions will be permitted after February 1st. i.e. no player from a division can play for a lower division after February 1st.

(h) A team may be removed from the league for failing to appear at matches.

(i) Results are to be entered into the N.S.R.A. database Scorekeeper located on the internet by the team scorekeeper and approved by the other team scorekeeper. Scoresheets must be approved through the N.S.R.A. website by both Team Captains, or their representatives (team scorekeeper), within a 48 hour period following a game(s). Failure of the team scorekeeper to perform the approval of the game(s) scores on the N.S.R.A. website will result in an approval of the entered score. If, for any reason, there are extenuating circumstances with regard to a fixture, these should be addressed in the "I do not agree" button of the fixture.

(j) All matches are to be officiated.

(k) All Junior players (under 19) are required to wear appropriately suitable eye-protection.

(l) Protests related to league matches should be made between team captains on the night of the fixture and should be noted on the score sheet. This should be followed by a formal letter of grievance to the N.S.R.A. Executive within two weeks.

(m) The dues of each team entered into the league will be $280.00. This charge includes the price of four banquet tickets. Fees are due at the players meeting at the start of the season. Any team-dues not received by either the Treasurer or the appropriate Division Rep by the end of the first Tuesday in January will result in the forfeiture of all matches played by the delinquent team after that date until such fees are paid in full. Match-points forfeited during that period will not be re-instated.

(n) Hosting Rule: The home team shall act as host at the home-club where possible. The bill is to be divided between the players of both teams.

8. Individual Position Awards

(a) A player is placed into the position that (s)he has played most often.

(b) The higher position is favoured in the case of a tie.

(c) Players qualify for the individual award by playing in at least 50% of their team's fixtures (excluding default wins) in the designated position.

(d) Any match played against a non-qualifying member is discarded.

(e) In summary, scores are only derived from matches between the players in your category.

(f) Scores will be displayed as a percentage of games won.

(g) An award will be presented to the top player of each position in each division.

(h) The top two players from each level must have played each other a least once during regular season play. If they have not played each other, an additional match will be played and the outcome added to the overall calculation. This match will not be played if it can not affect the outcome of the overall winner.

9. Play-Off Tournament Player Eligibility

(a) Players who are eligible to play for a team in the Play-Off Tournament:

must be an eligible player (see 1 (f)),

AND

must have played 40% of that team’s fixtures in regular league play by the end of the regular season.

Applications for exceptions must be received in writing, by the N.S.R.A. Executive by the date of the Annual General Meeting.

(b) The player's position on a team in the play-offs will be determined by the average position played for that team as determined by the N.S.R.A. Scorekeeper website statistics. The order of strength players' list will be strictly enforced in playoffs as supplied by the N.S.R.A. scorekeeper.

10. Play-Off Tournament Rules / Format

The format will be determined by each N.S.R.A Division Representative, in consultation with their Team Captains. The Division Representative's decision is final, and once determined, must be communicated to the Team Captains before the Division's first fixture in January.

A suggested format is outlined below.

(a) Teams will be seeded according to regular season finish.

In cases of ties, order of regular season is decided by:

i) Fixture points between the tied teams;

ii) Games between the tied teams;

iii) Points of the last match between the tied teams - (retrogression).

(b) Higher-placing teams receive byes if necessary.

(d) The Winning team in each Play-off fixture is based on this order:

i) Matches won;

ii) Games won;

(iii) Points of all games;

(iv) The last pair playing a match will play one (1) more game to nine (9) to decide the winner.

(e) All grievances related to Play-Off Eligibility must be received, in writing, before the date of the Annual General Meeting.