Teams are formed by district, state or region. Each district, state or region may enter as many teams as desired in all divisions.
Some districts may combine with other districts to form statewide or, in some cases, regional teams. Players who live outside of a district would generally be eligible to play on state teams, regional teams or, in some cases, any team. Full details appear below.
Each team plays with three players, but may roster up to four players. There are six skill level divisions as follows:
- Open, but one player must be rated 5.25 or less and one must be 5.5 or less.
- 5.0
- 4.5
- 4.0
- 3.5
- 3.0
Draws are limited to 16 teams per division. The tournament offers a guarantee of three matches per team. If more than 16 teams enter, teams will gain entry based on the cut list procedure below.
Teams may have up to one under-19 player on the roster. Teams may roster up to four players and all must be at least age 17 on the first day of the tournament.
Detailed Rules
Player Eligibility
All competitors must have a US Squash skill rating, be at least age 17 on the first day of the tournament, be US residents and be current members of US Squash through the last day of the tournament.
Eligibility for a team is based on the player’s skill level rating as of the regular entry deadline. This will be strictly enforced.
Players may play on only one singles and one doubles team.
With certain exceptions listed below, players must live in the District fielding a team or the state of the district fielding a team. For example, players from Albany, NY, Rochester, Ithaca, and Buffalo could form a New York team. Northern NJ and Central NJ districts could field combined New Jersey teams.
Massachusetts Squash, New York Squash, National Capital Squash and Philadelphia District squash players may not play for any other team.
Connecticut members may only play on a team with other Connecticut members.
New Jersey teams may use players from DE and PA (outside of the Philadelphia District).
Regional teams
Regional teams may be formed only from players in the states listed below and into the following regions.
Great Lakes Teams:
Includes players living in these states: IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, ND, OH, SD, WI, WV. Teams may be formed using any combination of players from these states into a Great Lakes Team or a state-based team.
West Coast Teams:
Includes players living in these states: AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY. Teams may be formed using any combination of players from these states into a West Coast Team or a state-based team.
Players living in these states: AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, KS, LA, ME, MS, NC, NE, NH, OK, SC, TN, TX, and VT may play for any district, state or regional team. We will assemble a list of available players from these states who could be drafted by any district, state or region looking to field a team.
Entry deadline and cut list
The regular entry deadline is April 5, 2017 at 12 Noon Eastern Time. Teams may enter after that time, but have a lower chance of gaining entry.
All districts, states and regions may enter as many teams as they like, but draws are limited to 16 teams.
If a draw is oversubscribed as of the regular entry deadline, teams will be accepted in the following order:
- One district team from a recognized US Squash District. If more than one entered from a District, the one that entered first will gain entry.
- One state based team from a particular state. If more than one entered from that state, the one that entered first will gain entry.
- One regional team that does not draw from any state fielding a team under priority #1 or #2. If more than one entered from the region, the one that entered first will gain entry.
- One regional that draws from any state fielding a team under #2. If more than one entered from the region, the one that entered first will gain entry.
- If after steps #1 to #4 are completed and spots remain, then steps #1 through #4 are repeated, with only one additional team gaining entry from each District, state or region until the limit is reached. If at any time during that process, there are more than 16 teams, then the teams that entered first under each step will gain entry.
- All other teams are placed on a wait list based on the process listed above. Any team that enters after the regular entry date will go at the end of the wait list. The wait list for teams entering late will be based solely on the entry date and time.
Roster and rules of play
Teams may roster up to four players, and each player must be at least age 17 on the first day of the tournament. Teams may not have more than one under-19 player on the roster. Each match will be played with three players.
The event will be played according to US Squash accredited (sanctioned) tournament guidelines including the requirement for all players to wear eye guards.
Player rosters must be entered by Monday, April 17, 2017 at 12 Noon before the start of the competition for seeding. The team’s event lineup and ladder order must be entered by Wednesday, April 19, 2017 at 12 Noon Eastern Time. US Squash will post this information for review by other captains. This ladder order must be maintained throughout the competition.
If a player is unable to participate in a match, he may default his position in the ladder order and the team members below his position must all move up on the ladder to fill the position. If the team does not have four players on its roster, it would default the #3 match. In any case of injury or default, the team captain must notify the opposing captain and tournament director before the beginning of the match.
If a player has defaulted a match or otherwise is removed from the team line-up, for later matches he may be placed back in his original ladder position if he is able to resume play.
Manner of Play
The District Committee, in collaboration with US Squash will determine the manner of play. For example if four or fewer teams are entered in one skill level division, a round robin may be played.
Determination of the Winners
In the event of a round-robin, the team winning the greatest number of team matches shall be declared the winner. In the event of a two-way tie, the team winning the head-to-head match between those two teams shall be declared the winner. In the event that three or more teams are tied, the following criteria will be used until there are two remaining teams, at which time the head-to-head match between those two teams will be used to determine the winner:
- Most total individual matches won
- Most total individual games won
- Fewest total individual games lost
- Most individual points won
US Squash Recognized Districts
The following Districts are recognized by US Squash:
California Northern
California Southern
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Illinois
Kentucky
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri (formerly St. Louis)
National Capital
New Jersey Central
New Jersey Northern
New Mexico
New York
New York Albany
New York Buffalo
New York Rochester
Ohio Cincinnati
Ohio Dayton
Ohio Greater Cleveland
Pennsylvania Lancaster
Pennsylvania Philadelphia
Rhode Island
Seattle
Southeastern (Georgia)
Texas Dallas
Texas Houston