NATIONAL SQUASH LEAGUE BYE LAWS
(REVISED JAN 2007)
DEFINITIONS
The SSRA Committee is hereafter referred to as the committee.
The NSL Committee appointed by the SSRA is hereafter referred to as the sub-committee.
THE COMMITTEE
1. The NSL shall be under the control of the sub-committee appointed by the committee.
2. Any questions arising as to the interpretation or construction of these bye-laws shall be decided by the sub-committee.
3. In the interest of national youth development, the sub-committee has the right to field a national youth team in any grade.
4. The sub-committee shall have the power to impose such penalties as it may see fit for any breach of these bye-laws. Such penalties will include:
a. The forfeit of either partial or total match points, instigating penalty points.
b. Suspension of Team.
c. Suspension of Individual Players
d. Suspension for either one match or the remainder of the competition.
e. A minimum fine of $50.00 will be imposed on walkovers.
Individuals suspended from league play are subject to further disciplinary action by the committee.
5. The sub-committee shall have the power at any time to demand from any Club or Individual entered for any league competition of the SSRA, information regarding any matter. Failure to supply such information within the time specified by the sub-committee shall amount to a breach of these bye-laws.
PROTESTS AND APPEALS
6. All protests shall be lodged in writing with the Chairman of the sub-committee within 2 days of the date on which the alleged breach of the bye-laws was committed.
7. a. A sub-committee decision may be appealed to the committee. Any appeal of a sub-committee decision or interpretation shall be directed in writing to the committee. Decision of the Committee will have to be made within 5 days. All decisions or rulings of the committee shall be final.
b. Unless an appeal against any interpretation or decision by the sub-committee under these bye-laws is lodged in writing with Secretary of the SSRA within 2 days from the notification of the decision of the sub-committee, the decision shall be enforced.
c. Should there be an appeal against a sub-committee decision, any penalty imposed by the sub-committee shall not be enforced until the committee has considered and decided on the matter appealed against.
ENTRIES IN THE NSL
8. An entrance fee as determined from time to time by the sub-committee shall be charged for each team and shall be paid to the SSRA at the time of entry. Entries from teams with outstanding amounts will be rejected unless the outstanding amounts are settled in full. Late entries will not be accepted. Cheques are to be made out in favour of the Singapore Squash Rackets Association.
9. a. The sub-committee shall have the right to restrict the number of teams from each Club and to determine the grading thereof.
b. The sub-committee shall have the power to determine in which grade any individual shall compete.
c. i. With respect to the Men’s Premier League each team is required to register a minimum of two (2) A grade players. A maximum of Two (2) grade A1 players is allowed to play on Match Day, failing which if exceeds, the match will be forfeited.
ii. The Veterans League is divided into 2 divisions. A, B and C grade players shall play in Division I, while D, E and F grade players shall play in Division II.
iii. For the Ladies’ Premier League, only three (3) players (instead of four) from each team shall compete in a match. Each team is required to register a minimum of two (2) A grade players. A minimum of one (1) A grade player must play on Match Day, failing which the match will be forfeited.
iv. For the Ladies’ Division I League, each team is allowed to register a maximum of six (6) C grade players, with a maximum of two (2) C grade players eligible to play on Match Day, and they can only play in the first 2 rubbers of the match.
v. For the Ladies’ Division II League, each team is allowed to register a maximum of six (6) E grade players, with a maximum of two (2) E grade players eligible to play on Match Day, and they can only play the first 2 rubbers of the match.
vi. Ladies in C grade and above, interested in taking part in the Men’s League for the first time will be subjected to the under mentioned guidelines:
Ladies’ A grade = Men’s D grade and above;
Ladies’ B grade = Men’s E grade and above; and
Ladies’ C grade = Men’s F grade and above.
Ladies, who have been graded under the men’s grading list, will have to play in that particular grade or higher.
vii. With the exception to the Men’s Premier League, for a team to qualify to play in a grade, at least 2 team players must be registered in that particular grade, and at least 1 player must play on the match day, i.e. the team must have 2 C grade players and 2 lower grade players in order to participate in the C Grade League. However exceptions may be allowed for F grade where no Novice grade is available.
10. a. Each team must have a home court, captain and a vice-captain, whose names, mailing and e-mail addresses, office and home telephone shall be shown on the entry form. The captain and vice captain must be registered players in the team.
b. If a team captain or vice-captain withdraws from a team, an equivalent substitute must be appointed and his name, address and telephone numbers must be forwarded to the co-ordinator of that particular League Grade and the SSRA office within 7 days of such withdrawal.
c. The number of players registered in a team must not be less than 4 and must not exceed the maximum of 12.
11. The League is open only to clubs and organizations that are members of the SSRA. The club or organization must satisfy the membership requirements as stipulated under the SSRA Constitution. No members, clubs or organizations will be accepted for the league or qualify for voting unless they have paid up all outstanding dues before
REGISTRATION OF PLAYERS
12. A player can play in the league provided he/she is a member of the SSRA and his/her club or organization is affiliated to the SSRA. Full names and Identity Card/Passport numbers of players shall be registered with the SSRA for the league. Failure to provide this shall deem the registration void and invalid.
13. No unregistered player shall play in the league. Fielding an unregistered player is a serious breach of the bye-laws, and the team in question is liable to be penalized by the sub-committee, as it may deem fit.
14. a. For registration in the Age Group Event, no players are allowed to play in more than one grouping. A player who qualifies for a particular age group will not be allowed to be registered for a younger age group if his Club is able to form a team in that particular age group. However, if there is no team registered for his age group, he will be allowed to play for a younger age group. Should there be 2 different age group teams entered, he must play for the older age group team. For example, if a player qualifies for the Vintage group, and his Club registers all 3 groups, he is allowed to play for the Vintage. However, if his Club was only able to form a Veterans and Masters team, he would be eligible for the Veterans and not the Masters team.
b. No player, having been registered to play for a team, shall be allowed to transfer to another team between the date of such registration and the completion of the league i.e. no transfer of players are permitted whether it is inter-team within the same club, or inter-club. Provided that if a team is forced to withdraw from the league under exceptional circumstances, the sub-committee may at its discretion allow the players affected to be re-registered in another team based on the merits of the case in question.
c. Players must qualify for an age-group as at 1st January of that year.
d. A player can opt to play for another club in the age-group event provided his own club is not able to field such a team.
e. Concessions are allowed for ladies players to play for different teams in the season. However there must be an agreement between the teams concerned else it will not be allowed.
15. New players may only be registered during the mid-season as determined each year by the sub-committee. Registration shall be in writing, and must be forwarded to the respective co-ordinators. The new registration must indicate his/her correct order in the team. Payment must be accompanied with the registration else the registration shall not be valid.
16. a. All correspondence to the respective co-ordinators regarding team changes, registration of new players etc, will not be accepted unless signed by the Secretary/acting Secretary of the Club or Team Captain.
b. De-registration is permitted but only for valid reasons such as reassignment to another country, pregnancy, etc. Once de-registered he/she shall not be eligible to be re-registered for the competition.
c. It is the sole responsibility of the club concerned to ensure that the players registered for the league are playing in the correct grade as listed in the latest SSRA Grading Lists. Failure to do so will result in the team in question being penalized by the sub-committee as provided for in bye-law 4.
GRADING OF PLAYERS
17. a. Clubs must grade all players of each team in their order of merit and must inform the sub-committee of such order when the entry of each team is lodged. The team line-up submitted to the sub-committee must be in compliance with the current SSRA grading list, e.g. a D grader cannot be registered in a position above a C grader in the team line-up. This applies to players of the same grade, e.g. D2 cannot play above D1. Movement of players is not permitted between teams in the club within the same grade (includes mid-season team alteration). This rule applies in the case of a lower grade player called upon to play for his/her club’s team in a higher grade. Having played for that particular team, he/she will not be allowed to play for the club’s other team(s) within the same higher grade.
b. No alteration of the graded order as advised and confirmed by the sub-committee will be permitted prior to the commencement of the competition. Clubs may apply for alteration of the grade order of members of teams only once during the course of the competition. These applications for alteration must be submitted to the respective co-ordinators not later than the final mid-season registration and changes date given at the start of the tournament by the sub-committee. Team alterations should always be prepared in accordance with the order or merit of the players. Such amended order shall be effective from the mid-season date as given by the sub-committee, provided these changes meet with their approval. Any variance from the current SSRA grading list in the team line-up at the mid-season stage must require the sanction of the sub-committee, whose decision shall be final.
c. Should a player win 3 matches against a higher grade player, he/she shall be promoted with immediate effect. The average win will be taken into account for his/her new grade e.g. an F grade player wins against an E1, D2 and D1 grade player, he/she will be considered a D2 grade player with effect from his next match. He will automatically be slotted to play at the last position of the particular grade he is promoted to. Captains and/or Vice-Captains should immediately inform the co-ordinators concerned when this situation arises.
d. The sub-committee shall have the power to decide the correct order of merit of players in any team.
e. Should a team fail to play its players in the correct order of merit as last confirmed in writing by the sub-committee, it shall forfeit all rubbers, which are played out of order. The correct order shall be determined by the player who plays in position 1 in any given match, whereupon, all the rubbers that follow the player must be below the order of merit of the player above.
f. In the event of any dispute arising over the playing order of any team, the match shall be played under protest. The sub-committee shall determine the matter on receipt of the protest in writing from the Club.
FORFEITS AND SUBSTITUTES
18. a. A player, once registered in a particular grade shall not play in a lower grade.
b. A player may only play in a grade higher than his/her current grade or grade that he is registered for and for the same club. However, if he/she wins more than 2 matches against higher graded players, he/she shall not be allowed to play in the lower grade in which he/she was originally registered. The sub-committee shall decide his/her promotion into an appropriate higher grade.
c. A team is allowed to call up to a maximum of 2 players from any lower grade team of the same club in a particular match.
d. In the case of a grade divided into sections, players from any one of the sections may only play in a higher grade of 1 level for the same club. However, they are not allowed to move from one section to another e.g. a Group A player will not be permitted to play for his other club team in either Group B or C and likewise a player from Group B or C will not be allowed to play in any one of the two other sections in the same grade. (Refer to para 16a.)
19. a. If any team receives a walkover from any other team, it shall be awarded all rubbers, games, and points. In the event of default, it shall be awarded all uncompleted rubbers, games and points.
b. i. If a team wishes to forfeit a rubber, the remaining players must move up accordingly and play in the correct order e.g. if the Number 1 player in a team of 4 players does not show up, the Number 2, 3 and 4 must play one rubber above and consequently forfeit at Number 4. In this case, since the forfeit is at Number 4, then the team will score no points for that Rubber (otherwise
ii. In addition to scoring no points, the team shall incur a 1-point penalty for each rubber conceded as a walkover or played out of order. All walkovers must be shown on the scoreboard.
iii. Teams conceding walkovers i.e. not showing up entirely are liable to be banned from further participation in the league and will be subject to a minimum fine of $50.00 for the first offence. The amount fined will be double for subsequent offences. This will also apply to the SSRA Invitational Finals.
INTERCLUB LEAGUE MATCHES
20. a. All matches shall be played under the rules of the game as adopted by the SSRA, the interpretation of which shall rest with the sub-committee. There must be a minimum of 3 teams from 3 different clubs in order for each grade to start.
b. The League shall be run under the following Grades:
Men’s: Premier, B, C, D, E and F (The sub-division of Grades into sections will be dependent on the number of entries received).
Ladies: Premier (A and B), Division I (C and D), Division II (E and F)
Masters: Age 35 to 39 (all grades)
Veterans: Age 40 to 44, Division I (A, B and C) and Division II (D, E and F)
Vintage: Age 45 and above (players in grades D, E and F can also participate in Veterans II).
The cut-off date for the determination of the ages are to be based on 1st January of that year prior to the current League competition year.
c. Playing Days of the various Grades are as follows:
Monday: Men’s E, Veterans I, Ladies II
Tuesday: Men’s A, Men’s D, Masters
Wednesday: Men’s C and F, Ladies I
Thursday: Men’s B, Vintage
Friday: Veterans II, Ladies’ Premier
21. 4 players from each team shall compete and each team shall play a rubber against one of the opposing team, to the best of 5 games. In each match, the Number 1 player from each team will play each other, the Number 2 will play each other and so on.
22. At the beginning of each match the home club shall provide 1 new yellow dot ball. The captain may choose a used yellow dot ball, but if there is any disagreement, they shall confine their choice to the new yellow dot. The home team will provide a substitute ball for any ball, which bursts during play.
23. In all matches, the visiting team shall have the right to decide which players shall play in the 1st and 3rd rubbers and the home team the 2nd and 4th rubbers.
24. Each match will be refereed strictly under the rules of the game. Therefore, each team will supply a Marker and Referee for each match alternately. The marker and referee should be players from the competing teams.
25. The days and times of play will be set out in the draw and will be adhered to throughout the duration of the league.
26. Matches shall be played at dates and times given. However, in the event of an enforced postponement or change of venue, the co-ordinators in charge must be informed of the intended change at least 2 days in advance of the original scheduled date, and the match must be played within 7 days before the next scheduled match. Under no circumstances should a game be postponed or venue changed without the agreement of the co-ordinator in charge. In the event of disagreement, the matter shall be referred to the sub-committee, whose decision shall be final. It shall be the duty of the team captain requesting the postponement or change of venue to inform the co-ordinator in charge and the opposing team captain.
27. If no member of a team has arrived within 15 minutes of the starting time, the team present may claim a walkover. Play shall be continuous after the 15 minutes grace of the 1st rubber played i.e. succeeding matches shall be played without undue delay in accordance with Para 21. If both teams default entirely, the match shall be cancelled and no points shall be awarded to either team.
28. In addition to a 1-point penalty for each rubber conceded as a walkover, a 2-point penalty and a minimum fine of $50.00 will be levied against the team failing to appear. This will also apply to the SSRA Invitational Finals.
RESULTS
29. For all matches played during the competition, 1 point shall be awarded to the team winning the match and 1 point shall be awarded for each rubber won by either team. To decide the winner of any match, the basis shall be on all Rubbers’ Match scored, followed by Game scored and Point scored counted.
30. Where a bye occurs, no point shall be scored. Where a team withdraws from the League, all points scored by and against the team shall be disregarded and the results shall be recorded as for bye matches.
31. The winning team captain shall forward the result of each match on the official score card to the co-ordinator in charge. Score cards must be signed and certified as correct by the captain of each team or his nominee, and must be in the hands of the Co-ordinator not later than 3 days after the match has been played. It is the duty of the winning team captain to ensure that the results reach the co-ordinator, by calling him to re-confirm, 3 days after sending the results. Failure of the winning team to submit the score card in the specified time will lead to the imposition of a 2 point penalty (2 points will automatically be subtracted from the existing total) against the team by the sub-committee.
32. a. The team with the highest number of points in each Grade at the conclusion of the League competition will be declared the winning team in that Grade. In the event of a tie, the winner of the head-on match/matches between the two teams will decide the winner. If there is still a tie, the number of games won and then the number of points won will be used.
b. In any Grade with 2 or more sections, each section will play off in a knockout championship to determine the champion team of the Grade.
c. Prizes will awarded to the first 3 teams (7 prizes to a team) in each Grade/Age Group with participation of 5 or more teams.
d. Prizes will be awarded to the first 2 teams in each Grade/Age Group with participation of 3 to 4 teams.
e. Points will be awarded accordingly to determine ‘Club of the Year’:
1st – 4 points, 2nd – 2 points, 3rd – 1 point.
Should there be a tie in the total points, the club with the most 1st team placings will be the winner. If there is still a tie, 2nd and then 3rd placings will be counted.
f. There will be an SSRA Invitational Finals for all grades (except Age Group) to be played at Kallang following the League competition.
g. This will be for the top 4 teams in a grade with 5 or more teams (semifinals & final to be played) and the top 2 teams in a grade with 3 to 4 teams (only final to be played).
h. Prizes will be awarded to the top 2 teams.
INDIVIDUAL GRADED CHAMPIONSHIPS
33. a. The sub-committee shall be responsible in organizing the Individual Graded Championship on completion of the League.
b. All League players, Residents of Singapore and those approved by the sub-committee who have not participated in the League are eligible to participate in the Individual Graded Championship.
c. Participation of players in the various individual grades shall be at the discretion of the sub-committee.
POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE
34. The sub-committee may at its discretion waive or modify any of the above bye-laws.
35. The sub-committee may reject any court found unsuitable for competition play. And such a court shall not be permitted to be used for competition until such time as it is deemed by the committee to have been made suitable.
NOTE TO ALL TEAM CAPTAINS
1. Play will commence at 6.30 pm on weekdays.
2. Competing teams are requested to note that the Home team is listed first in the schedule of fixtures.
3. Captains and/or Vice Captains of Home teams are to ensure that their courts are available for all matches. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the match unless alternative arrangement is made with the full approval of the co-ordinator in charge and the visiting team.
4. It shall be the responsibility of the Home team to:
a. Telephone the Visiting team at least 2 days in advance of the match to confirm the arrangements.
b. Supply 1 new ball (yellow dot) and ensure replacement balls are available if it breaks.
c. Ensure that drinks are provided. Besides encouraging competition, the League provides an opportunity or players from various clubs to socialize and to get to know one another.
d. There will be acknowledgement of the “Most Sociable Club” at the end of the league.
5. Captains/Vice Captains are to inform the co-ordinator in charge of any change of status of their players, eg. a player having won 3 matches against a higher grade player, etc.
6. Team Captains should indicate on the score cards the grade of a lower grade player who has been brought up to play in the higher grade league. Lower grade players are only allowed to feed 1 grade above their current grade at time of registration. A maximum of 2 lower grade players (unlisted in the team list) are allowed to feed up in any match. Ladies players playing in the Mens’ league must be registered as part of the team that she is playing.
7. If required, Captains and/or Vice-Captains may request for the Identity Card/Passport for verification, when filling in the scorecards.
8. All Result Score Cards must be completely filled in with the participants’ particulars, such as their current grade and identity Card/Passport Nos.
9. To submit the full details of their players in their order of merit for the Mid-season changes or new registration by the date decided upon by the sub-committee.
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