Today is the final day for completing all squash league matches. As we are running two weeks later than usual because of the early Easter this year, I'm anxious to have the final league tables completed as soon as possible. Could I therefore ask all clubs who have had fixtures in the last few days, to input their results into LMS as soon as possible.

I still have to penalise a number of ladies teams for non-fulfilment of fixtures. Ladies teams who put out a less than full team of five are no longer penalised (rule 5.6). However it has been pointed out to me that rule 5.4 (which I have not applied to ladies teams) where a team is penalised 20 points for not fulfilling a fixture still exists and that I should apply it. After considering the matter, I agree and I will be making adjustments later today to LMS. I will inform clubs who have been affected by this and if they feel they have grounds for appeal, should do so as soon as possible, and certainly within the next 14 days. If you believe that such penalties shouldn't be imposed then might I suggest you propose an amendment to the league rules.

I shall be sending out the team registration form within the next 7 days. When entering teams for next season, please consider whether you have enough committed players to support the teams throughout the full season. There has been an excessive number of unfulfilled fixtures and fixtures with less than full teams this season which have affected promotion and relegation, which I believe is not healthy for the integrity of the league and which I would like to see reduced next season.

I would also like to know as soon as possible where teams might be significantly stronger or weaker next season and in particular where clubs might want to play in a lower division or might not want to take up a promoted position.

Thank you

The new Ghost rule (see League Rule 8) comes into operation for the 2nd half of the season. Please make sure that you and your club captains are aware of this rule. The following points might help you understand player eligibilty for the remainder of this season.

1. The 50% rule and the old second half of the season restriction have gone. New players can be added to your ranking list at any time subject to the restrictions under rules 4.3 and 7.6. However they will be "ghosts" and your ranking list will be subject to the ghost rule until they have played their first two matches.
2. Rule 4.3 states that a player who hasn't played in any previous matches, cannot play play in the last 4 matches of any team's fixtures. An exception can be made for a club's lowest side, subject to my prior permission. Rule 7.6 makes a similar exception for a club's lowest team playing an unranked player, again with my prior permission.
3. Being a ghost doesn't actually affect the ghost, or his/her eligibility to play. What it might affect is other players' eligibilty to play for a particular team If you need an actual example of how the ghost rule will affect a club, go to the Club Page on LMS for Winchester and have a look at their January ranking list. Gary Hinton, ranked No 1, has been injured for most of the first half of the season and has only played one match. He is therefore "ghosted" until he plays his second match. Ranked No 1 he can only play for Winchester 1 and as their first match is not until 21 January he will be ghosted and have no "effective" rank until that date or until the first match he actually plays. Therefore until that time, Simon Retter with a stated ranking of 6, has an effective ranking of 5 and is tied to the 1st team; Oliver Sheldrake with a stated ranking of 11 has an effective ranking of 10 and cannot play for other than the 1st or 2nd team and James Heyes, stated ranking 16, effective ranking 15, cannot play for Winchester 4th team. Alex Antonius, another ghost player, will likewise affect player eligibility of Winchester 4th, 5th and 6th teams.
4. So unless you and your team captains are aware of these restrictions, you are liable to breach the team eligibilty rule (Rule 7.2) and be penalised. Don't add players to your list unless you are confident that they will be playing regularly, otherwise you will complicate matters for your team captains and myself who has to apply the rules. If a player is on your list and has yet to play a match, is he/she really going to play? It might be better if you removed that player. You have until midnight on 1st January to revise your January ranking list.
5. If a club has two teams playing on the same night where the ghost rule might affect player eligibility to play for a particular team, I will apply the rule so that a player's "unghosting" will apply to both teams. So to use the Winchester example, If Winchester 2 or Winchester 3 had a match on the same night as a Winchester 1 match which would unghost Gary Hinton, Simon Retter could play for Winchester 2 on that night and Oliver Sheldrake could play for Winchester 3.
6. However in such a situation, if the Winchester 2 or Winchester 3 match was entered in LMS before the Winchester 1 match, LMS would flag Simon Retter or Oliver Sheldrake as ineligible to play for their respective teams. In such an instance it is essential that I am notified by email, or by attaching a note in the Team Comments box on LMS, that such a situation has arisen, so that the team is not penalised.
I hope this has clarified matters. If not, email me with your queries, preferably before you get penalised!

Happy New Year

Regards

David

Click the printer item at the bottom of this note to see the divisions for the 2007-08 season. They have been compiled on the following priority basis;

1. All teams who have earned promotion are promoted
2. In order to have divisions of equal size, some further teams have been promoted and not all teams in relegated positions have been relegated.
3. Wherever possible, I have avoided placing two teams from the same club in the same division.
4. Clubs' comments about their perceived strengths and weaknesses for the coming season have been taken into account.
5. Divisions 4A/4B and 5A/5B have been split on a geographical basis, as far as possible (taking into account the previous 4 points).
6. Following the response from clubs, the Ladies league has been restructured into 2 divisions. Teams will remain at 5 strings per team

<- Click here to view the divisions for 2007-08