MONTREAL SQUASH LEAGUE RULES & REGULATIONS
FOR DIVISIONS:

• MSL (Montreal Squash League)
• WMSL (Women's Montreal Squash League)

Eligibility:

1. Clubs must be members in good standing with Squash Quebec to enter a team.

2. All players in the league must also be members of Squash Quebec.

3. Cross-Team Playing:  A player can play for a higher team up to a maximum of 3  times; after his fourth match he is considered committed to the higher level team.

 Exceptions:
  •  Multi-Level Teams.
  • “B” players can substitute an unlimited number of times on an “A” team.

4. Players registered at a higher level may not play down.

5. Individual clubs can enforce their eligibility rules for team play.

6. Captains must bring irregular actions to the attention of the league authorities and  then protest if necessary.

7. The league Executive monitors the level of play in all divisions and reserves the right to make changes deemed appropriate.

8. All teams must have a minimum of five (5) paid registered players by December 15th. 

8A. All teams (3-person, 4-person, 5-person, 6-person), must register the number of players required to play each week, plus one additional player.  All players must be registered by December 15th.

8B. In the event that a team registers less than the recommended minimum number of required players, the team is still responsible to pay the full registration fee due for the team.  Example:  In a 4-person team, should the team register only 4 players, the team must still pay for the minimum number of players required (4 + 1 x $ Annual Registration Fee).

9. New players cannot be added as of the first Monday in February. 

9A. New players are required to pay the annual registration fee.

10. SUBSTITUTES:  As of the 1st Monday in February, all substitutes must either be registered in a lower division or ranked below your top 4 registered players. 

Women’s C/D and Men’s D may continue with existing subs, but the “no-new-additions” clause remains in effect.

10A. Substitutes may play a maximum of 3 times, after which they must be registered.

11.   AFTER the CUT-OFF DATE:  Illegal players will cause that match and all those below that position to be forfeited.

Rules:

1. Matches are to be played under the International Softball rules as adopted by the  C.S.R.A.

2. The official ball is the Black Knight Tru-Bounce Yellow Two-Dot International.

A player may enforce the use of the official ball, but this must be done prior to the start of the match, and s/he may be asked to supply the ball if the opposing team cannot produce one.
           
3. New balls (or balls in good condition) are to be furnished by the players of the home  team.

4. International or converted racquetball courts may be used at the option of the home team during regular season.  International squash courts can be enforced by opposing teams during  play-offs.

5. The home team is expected to have two courts available for play.  A minimum of six  periods is recommended to assure completion.

6. Matches should start after 7:00pm and before 8:00pm.

7. Visiting players MUST adhere to local dress code, etc. (WHITE ONLY or EYEGUARDS are required at certain clubs).

8. The promotion of sportsmanship in league play is considered of paramount  importance.  Unacceptable behavior, such as constant arguing, verbal abuse, foul  language or anything else deemed disrespectful to the referee and / or host club will be dealt with in the following manner:

 (a) Once the complaint has been filed and verified by the league director, a warning will be issued to the respective player.

 (b) A second offense will bring about a suspension from league play
  (The seriousness of offense will determine length of time).

 (c) A third offense will bring about the immediate suspension from league play for remainder of year, including play-offs.

Matches:

1. Each team consists of four players.

1A. Exception:  Divisions with 3-person teams, 5-person teams or 6-person teams.

2. Both teams must present their order simultaneously.

2A. Playing order is determined by the provincial rankings starting on the “Rankings in Effect (RIF) Date”.  As of the RIF Date, an allowable variance of 1% is permitted. (e.g., Players at 2000 points and 1981.0 may interchange, but player at 1975.0 may only switch with 1981.0) is applicable. 

2B.      The RIF Date is set as the first Monday in February. 

2C.      Clubs with teams in multi-level divisions, ie; B1-B2, or C1-C2, must register their Top 4 ranked players in the higher division, with an allowable 1% variance.    

2C.      Unranked players must begin in position 4 and work their way up or until a ranking has been established.

3. The required order of play is 4-3-2-1, with the top-ranked opponents playing last.  Any changes must be agreed upon by the other team.

Exceptions:  
Multi-level Teams:  Required order of play: 

• 3-person team:  3-2-1
• 4-person team:  4-1, 3-2
• 5-person team:  5-4, 2-3, 1
• 6-person team:  6-4, 5-2, 3-1

This allows the stronger players to be available to referee players of their level.

4. Players must be on time as court-time is often scheduled for use afterwards.

5. Individual matches are the best of five and the team winning the most individual matches wins.  Individual games won and then individual points won, are the next deciding factors in determining the winning team.

6. TIED MATCHES:  Equal matches, games and points.

REGULAR SEASON:  If two teams are tied, the deciding match is that of position-1.  The winner of this match decides the tie.

PLAYOFFS:  The players from the last (played) match (usually position-1) will return on court, and play a match of “point-a-rally” game to 7.  They will spin for serve, and the 1st player to 7 (or win by 2 points) will determine the outcome.

7.   Disputed matches should be noted as “under protest” on the scorecard under the captain’s signature and a brief note must be added.  The league director should be contacted and if the dispute cannot be resolved, then his decision will be final.

Defaults:

1. Every attempt must be made to play the matches as scheduled.  Absence of several  regular players is not a valid reason as substitutes should always be available.

2. Exceptional circumstances might be accepted as reasonable cause for rescheduling, providing a 48-hour notice has been given to the opposing captain AND league director, and that the rescheduling has been accepted by all parties involved.

3. The league strongly opposes the rescheduling of matches with less than 24 hours  notice.  Rescheduling an individual match is not permitted, however, opponents may  agree to play before a scheduled match.

4. The two teams must be prepared to play at the scheduled time and the 15 minute  default rule can be enforced unless exceptional circumstances can be evoked by the  offending team / individual. The defaulting team must forfeit the individual match(es) at the weakest position(s). 

Example: Team A has all 4 players and Team B has only 2 players.  Team B must play their 2 players at the number 1 and 2 positions and default at the 3 and 4 positions (loss of 2 points as identified in Point-5  below.

5. A defaulted individual match results in a score of 3-0 in games and 45-0 in points for the opponent. In addition, penalty point(s) (one per match) will be deducted from the team points.

6. Teams will be suspended from league play after deduction of eight points and will  only be reinstated after receipt of performance bond.

Results:

1. The captain of the host team must supply the scorecard and the marking sheets.

2. The onus is on the winning team to e-mail the results by noon the following day, however, both captains are responsible for all their results.

3. All league results are considered in any ranking system compiled by Squash Quebec.

Playoffs:

1. Play-off format will be determined by league director, based on available time and  number of teams per division.

 Play-off positions are determined by the following criteria:
   (a) Total points.
   (b) Most team wins.
   (c) Most individual matches won.
   (d) Best spread between matches won and lost.
   (e) Head-to-head results.
 
2. To be eligible for the playoffs, a player must have played a minimum of one-third (1/3’rd) of the season’s total matches, and have paid the registration fee.

“The Grant Clause”:  An eligible player from one category may move up to play in  a higher category, but he forfeits his eligibility in the lower category.

3. International courts can be enforced by opposing teams during play-offs.

4. Play-off matches are to be played on the “official” night of the division, and not on the exception night (which is to say, NOT the night that the league allows the club to play their regular season matches in order to avoid court conflict with other divisions or in-house programs).

Referees:

1. The league expects all players to be familiar with, and to have read the international  rules of squash.

2. Every player is also expected to referee a match previous to or following his own if  he/she is asked.

3. It is important for referees to be consistent in their application of the rules.

4. As noted in the rules, sportsmanship is paramount and arguing with the referee or  other disagreeable behavior on or off the court will not be tolerated. After one  official warning, a player can be banned from further league play.

5. It is the referee’s duty to award lets and penalty-points.  No appeal of the referee’s  decision is permitted, although the referee at his option, may choose to listen to a  player’s version of what transpired.

If a marker is also being used, it is his duty to call score, announce the referee’s  decision, call outs or not-ups and all service faults.

6. It is highly recommended that players participate in a refereeing clinic.  Playing for  years does not make you an expert referee!!

Security and Good Behavior:

1. Please note that Squash Quebec membership automatically includes and accident  insurance policy.

2. Mutual respect between opponents is the basis of security and good manners on the  court.

3. Players who persist in dangerous play, continually argue with the referee or  verbally/physically abuse their opponents can and will be banned from the league.

Hosting Guidelines:

“Après-Squash” refreshments may be provided by the home team based on reciprocal agreement with opposing teams.  Otherwise, it’s each one for themselves, or everyone who stays splits the tab equally at the end of the evening. 

NOTE:  In the event that none of your team plans to stay after the interclub games, the captain of the visiting team should advise the home captain in advance.