With under a month remaining until the official kick-off of the 2017-18 junior squash season, we would like to welcome back to the squash courts all of our juniors, parents, coaches, officials and volunteers after what we hope was a safe and restful summer!
Several policy changes will be in effect for the 2017-18 season. Please see below for highlights of these changes.
Gold and Provincials Policy Changes:
The Gold and Provincial Championship circuits are the highest level of competition offered in Ontario and as such the Squash Ontario Junior Advisory Committee has made policy changes to include a qualification process for entry. This will ensure all players receive quality matches and adequate recovery time.
Gold and Provincial Championship Events will now be restricted to the following players:
The Top 24 ranked players in the GU19, BU19 and BU17 draws. In addition, 4 local spots and 4 out of province spots may be awarded by the Junior Advisory Committee to round out the 32 player draws.
Top 12 ranked players in the GU17, GU15, BU15, GU13, BU13, GU11, BU11. In addition, 2 local spots and 2 out of province spots may be awarded by the Junior Advisory Committee to round out the 16 player draws.
Rankings will be determined using the publication closest to 28 days before the start date of the event (ex. The Ontario Junior Open is March 23rd – 25th rankings will be determined using the publication directly before February 23rd).
To accommodate these entry restrictions, Gold/Provincial Events will have a new entry deadline of 2.5 weeks before the start of the event (Wednesday at 11:59pm). Players meeting the rankings guidelines will automatically be accepted while players just outside of the guideline may enter and will be notified by the Friday at noon if they receive a spot in the draw. They will continue to stay on a waitlist in the event that a spot opens up and will be issued a full refund if they do not gain acceptance.
Girls in Boys Events
In order for a girl to participate in a boys event, she must have won any 2 (two) of the following junior events in her current age group: National Championships, Provincial Championships (Open or Closed), Junior Gold. The player must compete in her own age group when playing in the boys divisions.
Default Policy
Players defaulting from any Squash Ontario sanctioned event after 4:00 PM the day before the start of the event will be subject to losing regular head to head points for the match in question regardless of a Doctor’s note. Squash Ontario will use their discretion to complete a re-draw if there is time to do so in the event that the player defaulting is a seeded entry.
Defaults throughout the event will result in losing regular head to head points for the first match defaulted regardless of a Doctor’s note; subsequent matches are not subject to the default policy and will be considered "not played". If a player retires after the commencement of a match, they will lose head to head points for the retiring match and the next subsequent match (if applicable).
Defaulting players with just cause may continue to play consolation rounds at the discretion of the Tournament Chair.
Silver Policy Changes:
Squash Ontario is happy to announce that we will now be adding under 19 divisions to the Silver circuit. The top 8 ranked players are not eligible to play in these tournaments. As always, any age groups with low entry numbers are subject to being combined.
Last season, winners of Silver tournaments had to move up an age group for the remainder of the circuit. After considering feedback from the community, the Squash Ontario Junior Advisory Committee has revised this rule to win two Silvers before having to move up an age group. If a player wins two U19 events, they will be deemed to have graduated the circuit as there is no additional age category for them to move into. Players may return to their age category for the end of season Ontario Silver Championships even if they have won two previous events.
Please note a top seeded player may request to move up an age group in a Silver tournament if they are 50+ points higher in the rankings than the next best player in their division. Any petitions or requests should be sent to programs@squashontario.com prior to the deadline.
The restrictions on who can play these events, or who has to move up based off of rankings will stay the same. Rankings will be determined using the publication closest to 28 days before the start date of the event.
Grand Prix Policy Changes:
Last season, all winners of Grand Prix events had to move up an age group for the remainder of the circuit. After considering feedback from the community, the Squash Ontario Junior Advisory Committee has now revised this rule to win two Grand Prixs before having to move up an age group. If a player wins two U15 events, they will be deemed to have graduated the circuit as there is no additional age category for them to move into. Winners of all events will be invited to the end of season Grand Prix finale to play in their current age group.
Please note that we will no longer allow players to take part in their first Grand Prix event without being a Squash Ontario competitive member. Since these events involve ranking points, it is crucial all players purchase a competitive membership before signing up for any Grand Prix, Silver, or Gold.
The restrictions on who can play these events, or who has to move up based off of rankings will stay the same. Rankings will be determined using the publication closest to 28 days before the start date of the event.