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RUSC News 22/07/2019

This league runs to Sunday 15th September and then the following league will end 24th November

LEAGUE NEWS

Welcome to 3 players joining the league and with 3 dropping out, we still have 48 players with a further 15 out injured or away.

In the last league, 130 games were played, being 96% of games , with 37 players playing all their games and 10 ( 4 in Premier Division! ) who did not with just 6 games not played.

ANNUAL KNOCKOUT TOURNAMENT

It is that time of the year to start preparing for the annual club tournament.

The draw will take place next month so please let me know in next 14 days if you do NOT want to be included . The first round deadline will be the 13th October through to finals on Sunday 8th December. Details of the tournament will be on the website and, as usual, there will be three tournaments with the league players split between A,B & C and for each there will be the main competition with the first round losers going to the plate competition.

RANKINGS

The following are the biggest increases in rankings in the last league:

David Foster + 230 points

Oliver Phillips +126 points

Oliver Quinn +121 points

James Quinn +118 points

Brendan Rogers +116 points

Alex Pitt +100 points

RUSC COMMITTEE

The last meeting of the RUSC committee took place last week. The committee consists of Geoff Woodcock, Mark Chatfield, James Mathers, Avon Seneviratne, Ray McGroarty and myself.

We are now concentrating on several themes, including the new website which, with thanks to James Mathers, should be ready for early September. It will be a more modern style website which will link straight through to the league section. You will receive details of the changeover as most members will probaly need to change their “ shortcuts/links” .

We are also considering an Open Day, sometime in September, to encourage new members to join. This is being led by Ray and if anyone would like to assist in setting this up or helping on the day, please contact Ray McGroarty.

You will also shortly see some new RUSC posters encouraging new members to join, so if anyone has a friend who might be interested, please encourage them to come along to club night in the first instance.

Finally, Avon is heading up the social events and currently looking at a Summer BBQ, Mini tournament and Supper, Christmas Social and possibly a visit to one of the local PSL venues ( Weybridge is the nearest now ). Again, any more volunteers will be welcomed.

SPORTSPARK CAR PARKING

Most of you will have seen notices that from 1st August the two hour free parking period during weekdays up to 5.00 pm will be withdrawn. In future, it will be necessary to go to reception to collect a car park ticket . Unfortunately a small minority ( not just the students) have been abusing the existing arrangements and parking without attending SportsPark. It is hoped that the new system might be modified in time.

Car parking after 5.00pm and at weekends is not affected.

ENGLAND SQUASH AND MEMBERSHIP FEES

Currently all RUSC members are members of England Squash and the Committee have decided that, from next membership renewal

(September 2019) there will be a choice of membership depending on whether members want England squash membership or not.

The committee have also decided that from next renewal the membership fees will need to rise to £20 ( excluding ES membership) or £25 ( including ES membership).This is the first increase for at least 15 years and arises partly because of the increased ES affiliation fees and membership costs , together with increased website costs and some of our development plans. Our membership is still considerably cheaper than most of the other local clubs.

SQUASH LEVELS

Many of you are already aware of Squash Levels which is basically a squash ranking system originally based on tournaments and team matches but is now available for internal leagues.

We have now rolled out Squash Levels for all RUSC members, with thanks to Chris Tingley who designed the leagues website. Currently about 25 members are already on Squash Levels as a result of playing in the Berkshire Leagues .

You might have noticed that on your individual profile page there is reference to Squash Levels with a default setting of “ Opting Out”. If you wish to be included then you would need to opt in and then supply your birthdate and England Squash Number . Some people will already have this number but, if not, Geoff has advised “ In order to add a member I need their email address and DOB and permission for me to share with England Squash OR they can go to the England squash website and register and link themselves to the club” ( which is shown as University , Berkshire ).

Currently, all members of England Squash automatically can be included free on Squash Levels .

This means that , in future, any league match between two ( Squash Levels) participating players will be recorded and that will activate your Squash Levels ranking points. This will be in addition to our existing Ranking system which updates your ranking based on the results of each match you play.

To summarise – if you do NOT want to participate in Squash Levels then do nothing as the default position is “ opting out”. If you want to be included then complete on your profile page as above.

Team Matches

In the Berkshire Summer Season leagues mixed results on the 11th July. The 1st team ( Division 1 ) won convincingly 20-4 and remain in 2nd place. The 2nd team ( Division 3 ) lost 5-18 to a strong top team remaining in 3rd place.

The next home matches are on the 25th July (1st team ) and 8th August ( 2nd team)- both being tough matches against the respective top and 2nd teams in their divisions.

Do come along to support and please ensure you make yourself available for selection as we will need our strongest for the Summer leagues with several regular players not being available.

WALKOVERS ,CANCELLATIONS ,LATENESS ,COURT FEES, RESPONSES AND INJURIES

Again just a few players not responding to emails or making contact for games.

Therefore, for the benefit of the many recent joiners and possibly many of the existing players I have re-stated the position in respect of, firstly players who do not turn up for a league game . Most players would automatically offer a walkover to their opponent in these circumstances and equally most opponents try and re-arrange the game as they would rather play than take a walkover but as it gets towards the end of the league , this becomes increasingly difficult and thus walkovers are the only option.

Secondly, if anyone cancels a game, for whatever reason, then the onus is on them to re-arrange the game, if there is time, but otherwise the previous comments will equally apply.

Unfortunately, there are a few players who have a track record for late cancellations or not showing and this will be taken into account in deciding whether a walkover is appropriate.

If anyone turns up late for a game, the rules clearly provide for this situation whereby if the game is not finished then the late arrival loses the match, with the score dependent on the actual games played (see rules) .

Finally, despite all the reminders, there are still members who do not respond to requests for games which is not only annoying for those who make the effort to organise their games but is also discourteous . If you do not respond to requests for games then walkovers will be awarded ( saying you are unable to play without offering alternative dates is the same as no response ).

There is a facility on your profile to show if you are away and should be used if you are away during a league period .If you know you are going to be away for a longer period or going to be busy then please drop out of the league and return the following league to avoid inconveniencing players.

Walkovers can only be claimed by referring to me with all the relevant information.

If you do not play a game, please do not decide on a 2-2 result as that is not in the spirit of the leagues and is unfair on those who make every effort to play their games.

Finally, it is expected that the person who has booked the court be offered half the court rate applicable by the other player, especially if that player does not have VO2 max membership.

CLUB SQUASH SHIRTS

The original design (in the two different colours) are still available and still at £17.50 each. The new range of tee shirts, as proudly worn by the teams, is available in a wide range of colours with the squash club logo printed thereon at a mere £10 each. Both shirts are now produced by Geoff at The Racket Shop.

SUNDAY CLUB NIGHT

The times for club night (every Sunday night) are from 17.00 pm to 19.40 .It is an opportunity to play other league players of all standards and also some non RUSC members, many from other clubs and some of a high standard.

Richard Porter 22nd July 2019