US Squash July Update - Ranking changes and National tournament schedule

U.S. SQUASH Announces Direction of Changes Expected in Rankings Methodology U.S. SQUASH is in the process of making significant changes to the method players are ranked for the 2010-2011 Season. These policy changes are designed to resolve known issues with the current methodology while also responding to feedback from players, coaches, parents, and other constituencies. Several groups and individuals continue to provide invaluable assistance in the process, including the Teaching Professional Advisory Council (TPAC), consisting of coaches from around the country.  The Junior Rankings will shift away from the current ratings-based ranking system to a points-earned structure. A points-based system is designed to encourage participation while also incentivizing players to challenge themselves in more competitive tournaments as they improve. All sanctioned junior tournaments will be assigned point values in 5 tiers: U.S. Championship, Junior Championship Tour (JCT), Gold, Silver and Bronze. Players will earn points based on their finishing position in each tournament they play, and these points will be averaged to determine a player’s ranking in his or her respective age group. Points will accrue on a rolling calendar, with earned values from past tournaments dropping off a player’s average after roughly a year.  Juniors participating in sanctioned High School Leagues will be placed in a new category, the U.S. SQUASH National High School Rankings. This ranking system will use an improved algorithm to calculate school match results and rank players from leagues around the country. Players from sanctioned High School Leagues playing in the league individual championships will earn points towards their Junior Ranking, provided the tournament format adheres to basic guidelines. As is currently the case, High School players may also participate in regular sanctioned tournaments.  The Adult Rankings will continue to use a ratings algorithm-based system, in order to best aggregate play from tournaments, leagues, and sanctioned club play under the PLAY SQUASH program. An improved rating algorithm is currently being developed and tested for increased accuracy of match calculation, and U.S. SQUASH will be instituting several programs to adjust players’ current ratings to a more accurate position for their respective levels of play.  U.S. SQUASH is optimistic that the combination of these initiatives will lead to a rankings system that is both easy to understand for players and fans, as well as fair and accurate. More information on these improvements will be released throughout the summer, with implementation expected by September in time for the increased volume of season tournament play.  The locations and dates for the 2010-2011 U.S. Championship Series have been announced.  

The U.S. Women's team Squash Championships (Howe Cup) kick off the season November 5th-7th, 2010 in Rye, New York  followed by the U.S. Junior Open Championship in Boston, December 18th-21st. Additional highlights include the U.S. Hardball Championships in Boston, February 18th-20th, 2011  and the U.S. Skill Level Championships in Baltimore, MD, May 13th-15th, 2011. A new team event, the National League Finals, will conclude the Championship Series, May 20th-22nd, in New York City