Ladder Rules

League Purpose

To provide quality competitive matches and to provide a path for players to get increasingly challenging squash matches. Yes we all want to win and move up, but having a challenge and meeting new people is the priority.

PAR 11 Scoring System

All groups will follow a par 11 scoring system.

What is PAR scoring?

PAR scoring, also known as "Rally Point" is played where a point is awarded on every serve, regardless of whom serves. Who serves first in the match is still decided by spinning the racquet, and the winning of the previous game serves in each of the following games. A point is awarded on EVERY rally (unless a LET has been given).

PAR 15 vs. PAR 11

There are only 2 differences between these two scoring systems are:

PAR 15 goes to 15 points, PAR 11 goes to 11 points.
PAR 11 continues until one player reaches 11 or more and is at least 2 points ahead of their opponent. This means games can be 17-15 or higher if the scores are always with 1 point.

PAR 15 continues to 15 unless the score is 14-14, then the player who reached 14 first decides if 1 or 3 additional points are required (i.e. the game ends as the first player reaches 15 or 17 points)

Standings Point Scoring

For a 3-2 win, 3 points to the winner, 2 points to the loser.
For a 3-1 win, 4 points to the winner, 1 point to the loser.
For a 3-0 win, 5 points are awarded to the winner.
Each matched played earns 1 additional point

Games Not Played

If 2 or more matches are not played and the ladder coordinator is not notified of a valid reason, the player may be removed from the ladder, at the coordinators discretion, for the following month and will only be added back in once communication occurs and the coordinator is satisfied that the majority of matches will be played in the future. It is the players responsibility to ensure all matches are played each month, the coordinator will not be chasing players.

Injuries

If an injury occurs and the injured player is not able to complete at least 3 matches, all of his matches will be removed from the scoring for the month. The scores will remain in the database and count towards rankings, but will not count towards monthly movements. In the case of injury only, where the injured player played three games, the games not played may be recorded as a 3-1 win for the opponent.

Each ladder should contain 5 players. In that situation, the top 2 players go up, the middle stays and the bottom 2 move down. If all matches are not played, or if there are injuries or additions to the ladder, there may be adjustments to this strategy made. It is very common for the coordinator to use his/her best judgement in player movements based on players returning to the ladder, new players of a high skill level, or players leaving the ladder. This causes irregular movement in the ladder in order to attempt to keep all groups at 5 players. The coordinators first priority is to create competitive groups, and will shift players accordingly.

Default Matches

THERE ARE NO DEFAULT MATCHES. Matches cancelled due to injury are recorded as 3-1 for the opponent. All matches that are not played otherwise are NOT recorded, nor are any points awarded. If you have issues with players not getting games in, please contact the coordinator and let him/her know. Do not record games that are not played unless all of the following criteria are met:

there is a clear injury,
the injured player completed at least 3 matches before dropping out
the coordinator was informed of the injury in advance.

Players found recording scores for matches not played will be warned once and then removed from the ladder for a second offense. Reporting scores not only affects standings, but also player rankings.

Standings Order

The order in which standings will be determined are:

Points
Wins
Head-to-Head record
Games Played
Games For
Position in the ladder the previous month
Discretion of the coordinator

Score Reporting

Scores must be reported as quickly as possible after the match is played, and the extension at the end of the month will simply be when the coordinator gets around to resetting the ladder (typically between the 1st and 4th of each month). Extensions will not be offered for individual matches to be played. This is simply because the system calculates this automatically and extensions add time and work.

Please note that players are not required to add points to their scores when reporting. i.e. just report the actual score in games, the system will calculate the points for the standings automatically.

Injuries and Vacations

There has been some controversy lately over players missing months, or new players being added into the ladder. So here are the rules of thumb now being used. These are subject to change and feedback is always welcome.

If a player is injured, away, or simply wants to take some time off (summer) and requests to be removed from the ladder before the month starts, they will be moved down 1 box coming back in and will have to earn their ranking back. (pending movement of other players, may be more than one box if several players join above the level of play)
If a player is injured during a month, they will be ranked in the following month based on their points to that point, but if they only get 2 or less matches in, their opponents scores will be adjusted to NOT include games against them. The scores will remain on the site and points will be shown on the website for historical archiving purposes, but promotion and relegation will be adjusted based only on points. There will always be some discretion by the ladder coordinator to adjust this, but this interference will be minimized. The difference between this point and the above point are simply the removing before or after the start. (i.e. if a player is injured 2 months in a row and does not request to be removed, the player will be dropped 2 levels rather than just 1.)

New players joining

New players joining must play someone in the ladder or have a good indication of skill level BEFORE they are added. Ideally they should beat that player, but close matches will be considered. The reasoning is that we want to make it fair for existing players and also try to make matches as competitive as possible. Otherwise new players will be added in the bottom group.

Whom is Eligible

All members of the Woodstock Fitness & Racquet Club whom has access to play at the Woodstock location. There is a minimum standard of play in order to keep matches competitive, but the largest criteria is the commitment to playing 4 matches per month.

Booking Courts

It is the players responsibility to book courts for their matches at their own discretion. A Court booking system is underway and