October 30, 2010 by Design ToTheTrade
Click here for the Point Charts for JCT, Gold Silver and Bronze
1. The Points-Based Ranking System
Junior Players will earn points towards their ranking based on the type of tournament in which they play, the finishing position they achieve in the tournament, and size of the draw in their division.
Tournaments are broken up into the following four main categories, listed in order of descending point value: Junior Championship Tour (JCT), Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Additionally, players will earn points in U.S. Championships and Closed tournaments (see below for description of ‘Closed’ tournaments. Junior Novice Tournaments without points, targeted to beginning players, are also sanctioned.
Tournaments begin counting for points towards a player’s ranking as of the weekend of September 10th-12th, 2010.
2. The JCT, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Structure
The yearly tournament calendar is designed to give players of all skill levels the opportunity for fun and competitive tournament play. The strongest players will participate primarily in JCT and Gold level tournaments, while less experienced players may focus on Bronze and Silver tournaments until they feel ready to move up to the higher levels.
Players of any ranking may apply for entry into any level of tournament. However, some tournaments may be restricted in size due to demand and court restrictions, such as in the case of JCT and Gold tournaments. For information on the selection of players for these events, please see the section on “Rules and Guidelines” or consult the tournament information pages on the U.S. SQUASH website.
3. Conversion Tournaments
During the transition period into the new ranking system, players are assigned 4 “conversion tournaments”, which become part of their ranking average. These conversion tournaments act just like actual tournaments on a player’s ranking average.
The values for the conversion tournaments are determined based on a player’s rating as of September 6th, 2010.
Conversion tournaments fall off a player’s ranking average one at a time throughout the 2010-2011 Season. The first is removed as of the November 15th, 2010 rankings run, the second as of the December 5th, 2010 rankings run, the third as of January 3rd, 2011, and the fourth on January 31st.
4. Ranking Average Divisor
In order to determine a player’s ranking, an average of their highest points-earned tournaments is taken and compared against the averages of other ranked players (see below for more information).
If a player has played 4 or fewer tournaments, his or her aggregate total will be divided by 4 to determine his or her ranking average. If a player plays 5, 6, or 7 tournaments, his or her ranking average will be determined by taking the best (top point-earning) 4 events and dividing by 4. If he or she has played 8, 9, or 10 tournaments, the total points from his or her best 5 tournaments will be averaged (totaled and divided by 5). For 11, 12, or 13 tournaments played, the average will be taken of their best 6 events, and so on by multiples of 3 tournaments per rise of 1 in divisor.
Rankings will be run weekly on Monday at 11:00pm EST, and will take into account all tournaments except from the weekend immediately before the ranking run. This 1-week delay allows tournament directors adequate time to enter results, correct any errors, and properly set finishing positions. An exception to the one-week delay for the 2010-2011 Season will possibly be JCT tournaments if they need to be run early.
5. The Rankings
Tournaments from the previous 10 months (determined as 43 weeks) will be taken into account in a player’s ranking points average. After that point, the tournament will no longer affect a player’s ranking.
Players must be current U.S. Citizens or U.S. Residents to be listed in the rankings.
Players with only 1 exposure in the new ranking system will not be listed in the rankings. Conversion tournaments will continue to count towards this exposure requirement until they fall off a player’s ranking average.
Players who have not previously passed the Club Level Referee Certification must successfully complete the online exam by February 1, 2010 in order to remain listed in the junior rankings. The exam will be posted online in November 2010.
There is no direct equivalent to the “Final Season Rankings” of previous seasons. A player’s ranking stays with them from season to season with no distinctive start or end point.
6. Aging Up Into a New Division
When a player reaches his or her birthday and ages into a new division, his or her ranking will be removed from the previous division.
Any tournaments that fall within the 10-month window will be carried over into the rankings for the new age division. The points earned in these tournaments will be multiplied by .6 before being moved into the new rankings. 10 months after the completion of the tournament, the points earned in that tournament will fall off the player’s ranking in the new age group just as they would have in the original age category.
7. Competing in Higher Age Divisions
A player may choose to participate in a higher age division than that of his or her actual age. In this case, the player will earn points towards a ranking in the upper age division. These points do not convert downward and therefore have no affect on his or her ranking in the lower age division. The points earned in the higher age division will stay on the player’s ranking in the upper division for the standard 10-month period.
8. Combined Age Divisions
In some cases, a Tournament Director may choose to combine age divisions (For instance Boys’ Under 15 and Boys’ Under 17) due to low entries or other extenuating factors.
In the event divisions are combined, a player who registered in the younger age division may choose to have his or her earned points from that tournament applied to his or her ranking in that younger age division. The player will earn points equivalent to their relative finish compared to all players in the tournament who registered and attended the tournament from the lower age division (e.g. if 3 players registered for the BU11 division and it is combined with the BU13, the player that finishes the best out of those 3 players would receive points for first in the BU11, etc.). The player may also choose to not convert his or her point values into the younger age division, and instead take the points in the older age division.
If a player who registered in the lower age division wishes to have their points converted into his or her standard age division, they must communicate this to the tournament director and U.S. SQUASH in order to have the points adjusted.
9. Closed Tournaments
Closed tournament restrict entry to players based on certain set criteria. Examples include individual championship tournaments for U.S. SQUASH Scholastic Squash Program (SSP) leagues, or regional/district junior championships.
Point allocations for closed tournaments will be determined based on the overall strength of the players entered in each division, determined using a number of factors including player rankings and rankings.
10. Junior Novice Tournaments
Junior Novice Tournaments are designed to give beginners the opportunity to compete in a tournament atmosphere without the pressure of worrying about wins and losses. The results from these tournaments go towards a player’s junior rating, but do not contribute any points towards the player’s ranking or count as part of his or her ranking average.
These tournaments are fully sanctioned U.S. SQUASH events and players are required to abide by all applicable policies and guidelines.
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2010-2011 Junior Rules and Guidelines
1. Rules of Squash
All sanctioned U.S. SQUASH Junior Competition is governed by the Rules of Squash as set forward by the World Squash Federation (WSF), unless there is a specifically noted exception.
Please click here to view the full WSF World Squash Singles Rules.
2. U.S. SQUASH Code of Conduct
The U.S. SQUASH Code of Conduct establishes detailed guidelines regarding sportsmanship and conduct for players, coaches and spectators during all U.S. SQUASH sanctioned junior activity. The Code of Conduct applies to behavior both on and off court.
It is the responsibility of every entrant to understand the Sportsmanship & Conduct Guidelines. By entering a sanctioned tournament, the entrant agrees to accept and abide by the Code of Conduct, and acknowledges that any breach of the established guidelines may result in penalties applied by U.S. SQUASH.
Please click here to view the U.S. SQUASH Code of Conduct.
3. Eligibility to Compete In Sanctioned Junior Tournaments
As of December 1st, 2010, all players in U.S. SQUASH sanctioned junior squash tournaments must be current members of U.S. SQUASH through the last day of the tournament.
A player may enter any level of junior tournament (Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc) regardless of his or her ranking. However, divisions in some tournaments will be limited in size, and entry will be granted to the highest-ranked players that apply by the entry deadline. For instance, if a division in a Gold tournament is limited to 16 players, and 20 players apply before the entry deadline, the Tournament Director will grant entry to the top 16 ranked players as of the time of the release of the cut list. The remaining 4 players will be placed on a waitlist in order of ranking and may qualify for entry at the discretion of the Tournament Director or U.S. SQUASH in the case of a withdrawal or other circumstance. If any players apply after the entry deadline, they may also be placed on the waitlist, but will be placed below the already present entries, regardless of ranking. Please see the tournament information page of each event for any other pertinent information.
Entry into Junior Championship Tour (JCT) events is also determined by ranking in that age group as of the release of the cut list. U.S. SQUASH reserves two positions in each division to be selected at its discretion. During the conversion into the new ranking system, player ratings and conversion tournaments may be taken into account for entry into JCT draws where appropriate. Please see the tournament information page of each JCT for additional regulations and other pertinent information.
In Gold and JCT tournaments, players may only compete in one age division.
Players may compete in multiple age divisions in Silver and Bronze tournaments, but may only receive points towards their ranking average in a single division per tournament. In such a situation, players are responsible for emailing rankings@ussquash.com within 5 days of completion of the tournament to notify U.S. SQUASH of the division in which they would like the points awarded.
4. Protective Eyewear
All players and coaches must comply with the U.S. SQUASH Eyewear Policy at all times during sanctioned play. This covers any activity on court during a sanctioned event, including practice and pre-match warm-ups. Please click here to view the U.S. SQUASH Eyewear Policy.
5. Videotaping
All players, parents, coaches, and spectators must comply with the U.S. SQUASH policies on videotaping matches at all times.
In the case of players under the age of 18, if the player, or coach, parent or guardian of the player objects to the use of a photographic device within the court, by parties other than those approved by U.S. SQUASH, the objecting party may request the use be discontinued.
6. Refereeing Requirements
At all U.S. SQUASH sanctioned junior play, players are responsible for refereeing their peers. Winners and Losers are responsible for refereeing after their match, unless released by the Tournament Director. The Tournament Director may also ask players to referee matches at other times or on other courts. The refereeing and marking players must be ready and present for their duty within five minutes of the completion of their match. In event players do not fulfill their refereeing responsibilities, penalties may be assessed against the offending players.
Players who have not previously passed the Club Level Referee Certification must successfully complete the online exam by February 1, 2010 in order to remain listed in the junior rankings. The exam will be posted online in November 2010.
7. Seeding Guidelines
Players generally will be seeded in order of their U.S. SQUASH ranking in the appropriate age division. The most current ranking as of the date the draw is made should be used. Tournament Directors may use their discretion in the seeding of foreign players, or in other exceptional circumstances, but are expected to use their best judgment to seed players accurately and fairly. In some cases, a player’s U.S. SQUASH rating may be used to determine proper seeding.
Once seedings are established, the Tournament Director has the option of seeding the draws based off standard non-randomized seeding guidelines, or by seeding-group randomization.
Non-Random Placed Seeding:
In this seeding method, seeds are automatically placed in pre-determined positions on the draw. In each round, the highest seeded position matches up against the lowest seeded position. For instance, in an 8-player draw, the #1 seed plays #8, #2 plays #7, #3 plays #6, and #4 plays #5. #1 v. #4 and #2 v. #3 would hypothetically match up in the second round, with #1 and #2 playing in the finals.
Randomized Seeding Groups:
In this method, seedings are still used, but players are placed in groups instead of having individual single seedings. For instance, the #3 seed and #4 seed are drawn randomly to be placed in the 3 seed and 4 seed draw positions; the #5-#8 seeds are randomly drawn to go in the 5-8 seed draw positions, etc.
For Junior Championship Tour (JCT) events and U.S. National Championships, please consult the tournament information page on the U.S. SQUASH website for more detailed seeding information.
8. Default and Withdrawal Policies
For general sanctioned tournaments, a player may withdraw before 5:00pm on Monday (in the time zone of the tournament) the week of the tournament without penalty. Any withdrawal after that timeframe is considered a late withdrawal. Please consult the tournament information page of JCT and U.S. Championship tournaments for withdrawal deadline information.
If a player withdraws from a tournament after the withdrawal deadline but before they have begun their first match, or if the player is registered for the tournament and does not appear, the player may receive the following penalties:
1st late withdrawal within a 10-month period: No penalty, but the late withdrawal goes on the player’s record.
2nd withdrawal within a 10-month period: The tournament goes into the player’s ranking calculation with a 0-point value. This tournament counts like any other in his or her average, but he or she receives no points for the event.
3rd or further withdrawal within a 10-month period: For each further late withdrawal, the player continues to receive 0 points for the tournament in question.
If a player withdraws once he or she has begun his or her first match of a tournament, the player receives the lowest amount of points available based on the round they were in at the time of the withdrawal. For instance, if a player defaults in the semifinal of a 8-player tournament, they receive the points for the 4th place finish if there was a ¾ playoff in place. If there was no playoff planned, the player would receive the point for finishing in the 3-4 position.
