1

ELIGIBILITY

1.1

All participating clubs shall have paid their annual Team Fees to the West of Scotland Squash.

1.2

All participating clubs will be affiliated to Scottish Squash & Racketball.

2

DEFINITIONS

2.1

A match is a contest between two club teams.

2.2

A tie is the contest between two players and it shall be the best of five games.

3

TEAM CONDITIONS

3.1

Teams in all Gents (Open) & Ladies League Divisions shall comprise of five players.

3.2

All shall be fully paid up bona fide members of the club which they represent.

3.3

The following applies to Gents and Ladies Division 1 players only: Players who have not represented their club in the West Leagues in a minimum of 3 matches in the first half of the season are ineligible for any second half games. Any team found in contravention of this rule may be fined up to 10 points. The league secretary has the right to waive this rule if there are any extenuating circumstances communicated to him/her (e.g. sickness, injury, relocation etc) during the season.

4

PLAYER CONDITIONS

4.1

No player shall represent more than one club in any one season without the prior permission of the West of Scotland Squash Committee.

4.2

Where clubs have more than one team, a player may represent only one team on any match night.

4.2.1

This also applies where a match night has been re-arranged – players nominated for the re-arranged match must not have played for another team on the original match night. Any player found in contravention to this rule will be deemed ‘ineligible’ and rule 6 ‘incomplete teams’ will apply.

4.2.2

Clubs may be asked to name the team who would have played in a postponed fixture to validate a lower team’s line-up in this instance.

4.2.3

The above also applies where a higher team has no fixture. Players must not move down to strengthen the team below.

5

TEAM ORDER

5.1

Team order shall be that of ability. All ties shall be played in reverse order of ability unless mutually agreed by both club captains.

5.2

The team order must be written on the match result card by the captains prior to the commencement of the match.

5.3

Clubs with more than one team must play their teams in descending order of ability from their first team to the last.

Team Splitting

5.3.1

Clubs with two teams in the same division may, however, elect to play the two teams split in any way they choose provided that within each team players play in order of ability and the overall order of ability as in the preceding paragraph is adhered to.

5.3.2

Under this system, no player may play for the other team in this division.

5.3.3

If this system is adopted the League Secretary must be informed prior to the start of the season.

6

INCOMPLETE TEAMS

6.1

If a player fails to arrive, and the ties below this player have already been played, then the unplayed tie will be conceded 3-0, together with all string matches below the missing player.

6.1.1

All such string ties will also be conceded 3-0.

6.1.2

If one of the first four players fails to arrive, the team must be organised so the 5th string tie is conceded.

6.1.3

If a team turns up with only three players, ties four and five will be conceded.

6.2

Clubs with multiple teams in the leagues must move players up to field complete teams. Lower teams will be otherwise considered to be unfairly strengthened, and will be subject to score penalties except under exceptional circumstances.

7

SCORING

7.1

Ties will be played according to the current World Squash Federation rules.

7.2

Division 1 men’s matches will be played to PAR11 (point a rally to 11). Where the score reaches 10-10, player must win by 2 clear points.

7.2.1

Divisions 2 – 6, and Ladies Leagues will be played to PAR15 scoring. Where the score reaches 14-14, player must win by 2 clear points.

7.3

Every game won will score one point for the team.

7.3.1

A bonus of three points will be awarded to the team winning most ties.

7.4

The league will be decided on total points scored. In the event of a tie for relegation or promotion, positions will be decided by: (a) Fewest points against. (b) Number of matches won. (c) Play-off as specified by the committee.

8

WALKOVERS

8.1

Eighteen points will be awarded for a walkover. Teams claiming a walkover must put their case in writing within seven days of the match date. The team conceding the walkover will have eighteen points deducted from their Points total.

8.2

Should a team have two walkovers against it, suspension from the league will follow, except in exceptional circumstances. 8.3 All previously played matches will be void and all scores will be removed from the league reckoning.

9

MATCHES

9.1

Gents (Open League) matches will be played on Wednesdays and will commence at 6:45 pm.

9.2

Ladies matches will be played on Mondays and will commence at 7:00 pm.

9.3

Unless agreed by League Secretary, the match must be played at the correct venue and on the scheduled day.

9.4

A minimum of three players must be present at the start time.

9.5

Unless agreed by both team captains ties must be continuous with a maximum fifteen minutes between ties.

9.5.1

If a player is more than fifteen minutes late, then Rule 6 will be deemed to apply.

9.6

There is no obligation to accommodate clubs having difficulty in raising a team for a match.

9.7

Matches will be played on a home and away basis.

9.8

As a matter of courtesy, the home team captain should contact the away team captain to confirm arrangements for the match.

9.8.1

Team captains must ensure their current contact details are listed on the main website. If this is not the case, the committee must be informed without delay.

9.9

All re-arranged matches must be completed no later than one week after the last scheduled match of each half season.

10

THE BALL

10.1

The ball shall be a Dunlop XX or Revelation Pro XX, unless both team captains agree court temperature merits a different speed of ball.

10.1.1

The same speed of ball need not be used for each tie.

10.1.2

Consideration should be given by both captains as to the players' ability.

11

MARKING

11.1

All ties shall be marked competently.

11.2

The home team shall be responsible for marking three ties and the away team two.

12

DISPUTES

12.1

It is essential that team captains ensure a fair and reasonable approach to the opposition.

12.2

Notwithstanding, any dispute must be referred in writing to the League Secretary, who will give a ruling.

12.2.1

A copy of the dispute letter must also be sent to the opposing team by the plaintive team.

12.3

The League Secretary must receive any correspondence on the dispute within seven days of the incident taking place. Queries regarding these rules should be made to the League Secretary.

13

MATCH RESULTS

13.1

The winning team is solely responsible for submission of scores. Once posted, this will appear immediately in the league software, with a record who posted the result and when it was done.

13.1.1

The winning team have 5 days to enter the scores using the League Software. Failure to adhere to this deadline will result in a 5 point penalty for the offending team.

13.2

In the case of postponed fixtures, the League Secretary must be informed within 5 days otherwise rule 13.1 will apply.

13.2.1

If two weeks have passed since the original fixture, both teams will receive zero points.

13.3

If the winning team has entered the result, and the other team disagree with any scores then the dispute shall be resolved via the League Secretary and the two team captains.

13.3.1

Any disputes with regard to scores should be advised to the League Secretary within 7 days of appearing on the website.

14

ENTERTAINMENT

14.1

The home team should provide simple refreshments.

15

PROMOTION AND RELEGATION

15.1

In the Open League, there will be three promotion places per division, excepting division two, in which only the top two teams are eligible for promotion, dependent upon rule 15.1.1.

15.1.1

There will only be allowed a maximum of two teams from one club allowed in division one. Below division one, there is no limit to the number of teams per club in each division.

15.2

Thereafter the leagues will be restructured at the discretion of the League Secretary depending on the number of teams competing in the following season. (The principle is to have as many divisions as possible with 12 teams whilst retaining 6 divisions for as long as possible, with the remaining divisions having either 11, 10 or in the case of the lowest/starter division, a lesser number of teams.

15.2.1

Where there is a 6 team division the teams will play each other four times throughout the season.

15.3

Because of the restructuring as many as six teams could be relegated in the lower divisions, so even if a team is in mid-table there is everything to play for right to the end of the season.

15.3.1

In the event of there being no teams lost from the leagues and no new teams entering, promotion and relegation will be on a three up and three down (two up and two down in division one) basis.