Sheffield and District Squash League Rules 2020-21

Administration

The League is administered by the League Committee, comprising of a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Fixture Secretary, Referees and Ordinary Members.
The Committee may meet together for the despatch of business as they see appropriate. The quorum will be two.
The Annual General Meeting of the League is normally held in June at a date to be fixed by the committee. Sufficient notice of the intended agenda will be distributed to clubs. A representative from each club must attend.
Voting at the AGM is limited to one vote per club. A resolution will be carried by a majority of 66% of clubs present.
The calendar of fixtures is arranged at a fixtures meeting, normally held in June, where all captains must attend to arrange their matches with other captains.

Format and Rules

The Sheffield and District Squash League is an inter-clubs competition run by the Sheffield and District Squash League.
Clubs must be located within Sheffield area. All participating clubs and players should be affiliated to England Squash (ES), however this is not essential.
Teams consist of four players. Participating clubs can enter as many teams as they wish. A club may not normally have more than two teams in the same division.
The League will consist of as many divisions as there are teams available. Each division will normally consist of between 8 and 10 teams. The formation of the forthcoming season’s league will be agreed at the AGM.
The League season will normally run from 10 September to 7 April. Each team will play every other team in their division twice, once at home and once away.
A team entry fee of £30 must be paid before the first round of fixtures, late payment will entertain a £10 penalty.

Match Management

Division One matches shall take place on Monday nights.
Matches should commence no later than 7.45 pm. The home club must ensure that adequate court time is available for the completion of the match.
All matches must be completed on the day of the fixture and must be played entirely on the courts of the home club.
Where a club has two or more teams in the same division the matches between the representative teams must be completed by 31st January.
Matches should not be rearranged unless it is unavoidable. Clubs are not obliged to accept requests to rearrange, except where bad weather has prohibited travel. The rearranged matches should be played as soon as possible after the original fixture. The Fixture Secretary should be informed, and will update the fixture list on the web site accordingly.
Where a club fails to honour a fixture, it shall be penalised 4 points. Further occurrences will increase the penalty by 2 points for each occurrence. Where notice is given less than 48 hours before the fixture is due to be played, the offending club will pay a £50 fine as out of pocket expenses to the offended club. Failure to pay will mean automatic relegation or expulsion from the League.
Each team will play in order of merit, as set out in the squad list submitted at the start of the season.
All matches must be marked. The home team is responsible for providing markers, unless otherwise agreed.
All matches will be the best of five games. The point-a-rally (PAR) system to 11 will be used for Division One. From 10 all, two clear points are required to win the game. Other divisions will play to 15. From 14 all, two clear points are required to win the game.
Each game won counts one point, and the team winning the tie earns 4 bonus points in addition. The extra points for winning the tie will be decided on matches won, then games won, and then on points won. If the match is then still undecided the extra points shall be awarded to the winner of the first string rubber.
Any winning team which does not field four players shall not be entitled to any bonus points.
Match results shall be submitted by the home team via the web site within 7 days of the match being completed. Clubs will be penalised five points for late results.
The rules of play shall be those laid down by England Squash and the ball to be used will be the Dunlop Pro double yellow spot. Players under the age of 19 must wear protective eyewear while on court.
The home team is responsible for providing refreshments and hospitality after the match. As a matter of courtesy, the away team captain is responsible for confirming the fixture 48 hours before it is due to take place. The captain will confirm the attendance of players and any dietary requirements.
If a team withdraws from the league any points gained, from fixtures that have already been played, will be voided. For clarity on fairness, this includes points gained by the team and their opponents.

Qualification of players

In advance of the first fixture, each club will submit a list of four players, in merit order, nominated for each of their teams, to the Fixture Secretary. The playing order must be adhered to throughout the season, though re-nominations are permissible at the Christmas break (and, exceptionally, at other times with the permission of the League Referees). No player can appear in more than one team list.
In advance of the first fixture, each club will submit a list of all players representing their club in merit order.
Clubs may register new players at anytime during the season. New players must be inserted into the club list at the correct position.
In each fixture, a team must field at least one of its nominated players. Failure to do so incurs a penalty of 5 points for the team.
Nominated players can only substitute for a higher ranking team. Teams including one or more substitutes must still play in merit order.
When a non-nominated player represents a team, they are considered nominated to that team, and therefore, may not substitute for a lower ranking team.
Once a player has substituted for a higher team more than three times they can no longer play for their original team. (The lowest ranked team that the player represented in their highest four appearances, is the team that the player is currently tied to. See examples below.)
For Division One only, players must have played two games before the Christmas break to be eligible to play for the rest of the season (unless there are exceptional circumstances, and with the permission of the League Referees).

Ladies

The ladies league is considered separate from the open league. Players may compete in both leagues and for different clubs if they choose to.
Matches will consist of three rubbers.

Veterans

The veterans league is considered separate from the open league. Players may compete in both leagues and for different clubs if they choose to.
Players in the Veteran’s League must be over 45 on the day of the fixture.

Racketball (Squash 57)

The racketball league is considered separate from the open league. Players may compete in both leagues and for different clubs if they choose to.
The point-a-rally (PAR) system to 11 will be used for Racketball.
Matches will consist of three rubbers.
The home team will choose the ball.

Promotion, Relegation and Trophies

Promotion and relegation shall normally be two up and two down. It will be decided by the number of points won by teams during the season. If two teams are level on points, the aggregate of points in the matches played between the two teams will decide. Should this be the same, there shall be a playoff match at a neutral venue, unless agreed otherwise by the two captains.
Trophies will be awarded to the winners of each division, and presented at the SDSL Fixtures Meeting or another suitable event.

Exemptions and Disputes

If, because of special circumstances, any club or team wishes to apply for a variation or exemption to any of the rules above, or has a dispute with another club/team which cannot be resolved by negotiation between the two parties, details shall be submitted by email to the League Referees for a decision. If the decision is appealed, the appeal shall be considered by the SDSL Committee or a sub-committee set up for this purpose.

Alterations to the Format and Rules

Changes to the Sheffield and District Squash League Format and Rules shall be agreed by the S&D AGM where practical, or at the discretion of the committee when required. Where a change is granted there will be a 28 day dispensation period before the change can take effect.

League Committee

October, 2019

Examples of Rule 4.6

Simple

Big Boasters have entered 4 teams in the league.

Ollie Volley is nominated for Big Boasters 3, so he can’t play for the 4th Team.

Ollie is playing matches for the 3rd team, but he has also substituted three times for the 2nd team.

Ollie plays again for the 2nd team. Because this is the fourth time he has played ‘up’, the lowest team Bob can now play for is the 2nd team.

More Complicated

Racketeers have entered 6 teams in the league.

Bob Lob is nominated for Racketeers 4, so he can’t play for 5th or 6th Team.

Bob is playing matches for the 4th team, but he has also substituted twice for the 2nd team and once for the 3rd team.

The 1st team have yet another an injury, so he helps them out. Because this is the fourth time he has played ‘up’, the lowest team Bob can now play for is the 3rd team.

Bob plays yet again for the first team. Because this is the fourth time he has played ‘up’, the lowest team Bob can now play for is the 2nd team.

Non-nominated Player

Alley Cats have entered 3 teams in the league.

Clive Drive isn’t nominated for any team.

Clive substitutes for the 2nd team, so he can no longer player for the 3rd team.

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