Singles League Rules
While Singles league rules generally remain in force from one season to the next, they are subject to changes for a specific season, as posted on the Overview page, Season Specifics section. Be sure to read that section for any particulars that may supersede the below.
1. Team Registration
New York Squash league teams may be started by a NY Squash community member, with approval from his/her club by the club pro or appropriate club staff. To register a League team, submit the Team Registration Form by the Team Registration Deadline posted on the Overview page, Season Specifics, Season Calendar section.
Once the team is registered, Captains must fill their rosters by entering at least 7 player names on the ClubLocker team homepage by the Roster Minimum Deadline listed on the Overview page, Season Specifics, Season Calendar section.
2. Club Eligibility
Squash clubs in the New York metropolitan area host NY Squash League teams. Clubs participating in the League must be current US Squash member clubs, and must pay US Squash club dues.
Teams must be hosted by a club with courts available for League matches.
Clubs may enter multiple teams for play on a specific night with permission of their club pro and in coordination with the League Committee.
3. Player Eligibility & Substitutes
In order to be added to the roster, a player must have current US Squash membership in the New York District at time of roster registration.
To be eligible to play in a league match, a player must have current US Squash membership and be listed on the team roster. If a player's membership expires mid-season, he or she may not play a match until membership is renewed.
Teams may add players throughout the regular season.
A player may only compete on one team per division, and women players may play in both women’s and co-ed skill level divisions.
A player may only compete for one club.
On the co-ed skill level Division side, a player's rating at the start of the season on the Roster Closing Date must be below- not at- the title of said division. (i.e., in order to play in 4.0, a player must be rated at 3.99 or below; to play in 5.5, a player must be rated at 5.49 or below).
The Women’s Divisions are also broken up by skill level but do not use the same numbering convention as the Co-ed division’s. We expect to have 3 women’s skill divisions this season: Women’s A (4.3+), Women’s B (3.3 - 4.29) and Women’s C (3.3 and below). The structure of these Divisions and the definitions for those levels will be predetermined by the League Committee in conjunction with the Women’s Division stakeholders. And will be subject to change prior to the start of the season, typically dependent on team registrations and player interest.
A player may be a substitute player for teams in higher Divisions than their season starting Division rating bracket dictates. But a player may not compete in a lower Division. To compete in higher Divisions, the player must be added as a "Sub" on a team roster in the higher Division by the time of the match. If a player has competed in higher Divisions four times, he or she becomes ineligible to play in a Division below the lowest of the higher Divisions, i.e. a player starting the season in the 4.0 Division, but having played as a substitute 3 matches in the 4.5 Division and 1 match in the 5.0 Division, is ineligible to continue playing in the 4.0 Division, and must continue in the 4.5 Division or above. This ineligibility includes playoff and finals matches.
If a player’s rating increases such that it moves up 2 Divisions, they are no longer eligible to play in their original division and must move up at least 1 Division. For example: if a player begins with the season with a rating of 3.9 and plays in the 4.0 Division, but midway through the season is carrying a rating of 4.6, they are no longer eligible to play in the 4.0 Division and must, at the lowest, play in the 4.5 Division (they would also be able to play in 5.0 Division, but would only be required to move up one Division).
A woman may compete on a men's skill level team. In addition, a woman may compete in both a men's and a women's Division during the season, and in playoffs and finals for both.
4. Team Structure
Teams must have a minimum of eight players registered by the Roster Minimum Deadline outlined on the League Overview page at the beginning of season.
Each team must have a Captain. The Captain works with their club to ensure courts are reserved, coordinates matches with opposing captains, arranges lineups, and enters scores in ClubLocker.com.
Each team may also have a Co-Captain, who will help with Captain's duties, including entering match scores in a timely fashion. NY Squash strongly recommends this for all teams.
5. Scheduling Matches & Captain Communication
NY Squash League Chairs set the season schedule in advance. The match schedule will be released to captains and club pros in mid October.
At the start of the season, club pros and club staff should make sure reserve courts for all their home matches. It is incumbent on Captains to confirm their matches have been booked, and organize with their club pro or club staff if not. Matches should be played between 6:00-9:00 pm. NY Squash recommends that Captains reserve courts primarily between 7:00-8:30 pm.
Matches must be played on the assigned night. RESCHEDULES ARE NOT ALLOWED.
Home Captains should contact the visiting Captains at least four days prior to the match to communicate court times, club location, and preliminary (or final if available) lineup. Visiting Captains should respond with their preliminary or final lineup. Captains can find opposing captain's contact information on the Division Info Packs sheet, via ClubLocker.com, or by contacting their Division Coordinator.
Lineups must be finalized by the day before the match. If a captain needs to change his or her lineup after the lineups have been finalized, the captain must communicate such changes to the opposing captain. Common courtesy applies to lineup changes and should only occur in the event of a player injury or unavoidable scheduling changes. Please contact the League and Division Coordinators if there are any issues with scheduling a lineup. (Captains deemed by the Leagues Committee to be repeat offenders with respect to scheduling lineups shall be removed as captain, and another captain shall be appointed.)
Visiting Captains must ensure that they are aware of all relevant club rules and dress code, and must inform their team of the same, and are responsible for their players’ conduct while visiting such club.
6. Match Line Ups
The number of matches played per night may vary by division: Most divisions will play 3 matches per night, but depending on player signups certain divisions may go up to 4.
The team's best player that night plays the opposing team's best player. The 2nd best plays the other team's 2nd best, etc. Captains should try to agree on the order at which matches are played to accommodate schedules as best possible but, as a default, matches should be played in seed order, i.e., first no.1s, then no.2s, etc.
A lineup must follow a reasonable ranking of the relative playing levels of a team’s players. Teams should NOT manipulate their lineup to deliberately use a better player at a lower seed. If opposing captains disagree on the reasonableness of lineups, such reasonableness shall be determined by the League Committee in their sole and absolute discretion, whose ruling shall be final without the possibility of review or appeal.
If a scheduled player cannot play, a non-rostered player may compete in order to give the opponent a fun game. However, the match does not count toward team rankings, and the official score will be recorded as a default in favor of the opponent.
7. Match Play
Home Captain should supply 1 new ball for all the matches hosted that night.
Warm-up should be limited to four minutes (two minutes per side). Captains or home team players must ensure adherence to time limits since court time is constrained.
All matches in all divisions will be three-out-of-five games, with Point-a-Rally (PAR) scoring to 11 points. All other US Squash rules shall apply to all matches.
Individual match results count towards each player's US Squash national ranking as well as towards the final team result in the match.
In the event of a tie in four-player team matches, total accumulated games will decide the winning team. In the event of a tie of games, total accumulated game points will decide the winning team.
Home Captains are responsible for entering match scores on the US Squash League Website within 24 hours of match completion. The system will automatically award a default to both teams if scores have not been reported within 48 hours.
Visiting Captains are responsible for reviewing and confirming score entry within 72 hours of the match completion.
Play follows the official rules of squash and use a double yellow dot ball.
All participants should exercise appropriate squash etiquette and conduct themselves in accordance with the US Squash Code of Conduct.
8. Refereeing
Matches should be refereed and marked by a player from each team, who are ideally the captains. Each call will be decided by both referees. If the referees disagree on a call, a let shall be played.
If a match is self-refereed, players should be aware of the following guidelines: strokes cannot be taken or demanded by the player calling the let, and require the obstructing player to grant the stroke; and any other disputed call must be deemed a let.
At any point during a match, if a player from each team is unavailable to referee such a match, either of the two players playing a match or either captain may request the appointment of a referee who is not a member of either team. Once such a referee is designated, all calls of the referee shall be final.
Parents or Guardians of Junior match players may not referee or attempt to interfere with the calls of the referee(s).
9. Defaults, No-Shows, and Re-Schedulings
All League matches must be played on the night scheduled. RESCHEDULING IS NOT ALLOWED without advance league permission.
If a player is not ready to play within 15 minutes of the assigned match start time, the opposing player or Captain may enforce a Player Default.
A Player Default shall occur automatically if a player's US Squash and/or NY Squash membership is expired at the time of a match.
A Player Default shall occur automatically if a player does not abide by the dress code of the home team's club.
A team that cannot fill all roster positions on a given night must notify opposing team Captain and players in enough time to release courts. If a player defaults, the opposing team shall decide whether the matchups remain the same or the incomplete team’s players shall each move to a higher position.
The non-defaulting player should be entered on the league systems as winner (by default) so the match will count towards playoff eligibility
Repeated defaults by a team may result in removal from the League by the League Committee, after the captain of such team has been warned in writing (electronically or otherwise) by the League Committee.
If a match is prematurely terminated due to court-time constraints, such match must be completed within seven days, according to these rules:
if two or fewer games were completed when play was suspended, the match should be replayed in its entirety; and
if three or more games were completed, then match resumes at the beginning of the interrupted game with a score of 0-0, with the score of completed games remaining as they stood (e.g., if the match was halted at 2 games to 1 game, with a score of 5-2 in Game 4, the match resumes at the start of Game 4 with a score of 0-0 and the winner of the third game to serve).
10. Safety and Injury
Players must wear protective eyewear for league matches. We ask the entire league community to help enforce this rule. If a player participates without wearing eye protection and a charge is made with the League Committee, the un-lensed player shall be automatically defaulted.
If a player is injured while on court:
If injury was caused by the opponent: do not reschedule. The injured player wins the match if any recovery time is needed. [Scoring: mark score of any completed and interrupted games; mark score of un-played games as 11-0]
If self-inflicted injury (sprained ankle, fatigue, etc: do not reschedule. The injured player is allowed 3 minutes to recover and must then play on (he may also concede that game using the 90 second rest period between games to recover). If he can't continue, injured player concedes the match to opponent [Scoring: player keeps points from completed games; un-played games would be scored 0-11]
If contributed by both players, or if it was a court problem (e.g., something fell from the ceiling and hit a player, etc.): you may reschedule. Follow "Unfinished Match" guidelines above.
11. Regular and Post-Season Structure
Only the top 8 teams in the standings at the end of the regular season will be eligible for the playoffs. All divisions will play an 8 team, knock-out style playoffs. For Divisions with less than 8 teams, the top seed(s) in the standings will get byes as dictated by the number of teams in the division.
12. Playoffs & Finals
Playoffs will be run in a seeded, knockout style bracket based upon season results.
For uneven brackets, the top seed will receive a bye-week during the first round of playoffs.
The higher seeded team will always be home during playoff matches.
The finals will be the winners of the semi-finals playoff matches and will be played at Finals event, held on a weekend date at the end of season.
If two teams have tied win scores at the end of the regular season, the tie is settled first by total individual matches won, then total individual games won, and then total individual points won. If a tie still ensues, a pre-playoff match will determine which team advances to the playoffs.
No player may compete in any playoffs or finals match unless he or she has played in at least three matches for that team during the regular season.
If a team dropped out mid-season, final division rankings will be calculated by removing that drop-out team's matches.
If a match was double-defaulted, it will count as a loss for both teams.
If a player has served as a sub for a second team during the season, he may only compete in playoffs/finals for one division (except for women who play on men's teams; they may compete for both teams).
Costs & Court Payments
League team dues are $275 for each Division team.
Teams will receive defaults for matches played while team dues are in arrears. Team Dues must be paid within 30 days after the season schedule is published in mid October and invoices sent.
Any team that is still in arrears from a previous season will not be permitted to field a team in the following season until the previous season’s dues have been paid.
Some clubs pay their league teams’ dues; in those cases, invoices will be sent directly to club managers.
For teams whose clubs do not pay their league team dues, the captain should collect money from team players. Preferred form of payment is electronic via Zelle to cory@nysquash.com. Please note what team the payment is for. Alternately payments may be made via check made out to “New York Squash” and mailed to:
New York Squash
c/o Horowitz & Ullmann, P.C.
232 Madison Ave, Suite 1200
New York, NY 10016
For clubs with court fees, the host Captain must arrange for payment of court fees.
If a team is hosting, but it's actually an 'away' game, then the host Captain should reserve courts and collect money from the opposing team.
Disputes
The game of squash is dependent on the honor system and common courtesy. The league rules and common sense should prevent most disputes. However, if disputes can not be resolved by the players or captains themselves, please contact the Leagues Committee.
Singles League
Overview
Captain Responsibilities
Singles League Rules