Halifax Squash League has a new look!
Team captains met over the summer to discuss how to improve and renew the league and agreed to adopt, with minor modifications the concept of the ODSA Open City League.
Registration closes on 7 Sep. Club registration caps SMUFit 40, CHP 20, Dal 20. Spares unlimited. Registration is first come first served with a waiting list for players over the cap. 16 teams will be filled. This year the season will run from 11 Sep 2019 to 3 June 2020 (no matches on 25 Dec, 1 Jan and 18 Mar). Useful links are below and are followed by a league overview.
1. League website is here
2. Registration link is here. Please sign in to register!
3. Rules can be found here 2019-07-30 HSL Rules – Final
4. Current session stats and standings are available here (To be published)
5. Season rankings are here (To be Published)
6. Previous Season results 2013-2018, 2018-19
The Halifax Squash League (HSL) is a team league that operates out of participating Squash Clubs in the Halifax Region from September to May each year (six sessions). It is open to players who are a competitive member of Squash NS, belong to a participating club and have a Club Locker (CL) rating of 3.75 or less (subject to review). Session one is an exhibition and warmup round and sessions two through five contribute to crowning division champions. The number of teams that can participate from a club is based on the number of courts they can contribute. League matches are scheduled on Wednesday evenings in either an early (7-8:30pm) or a late (8:30 – 10pm) time slot at participating clubs. Cost is $40 per player per year, with a discount of $10 to those who have a Club or higher officiating certification. Spares can register for $5 for the season.
Clubs enter teams composed of 5 players. Four of the five players on a team play each week. Players are assigned to teams by their club based on their CL rating with the top five being placed into the first team from the club, the next five into the next one and so on. The teams are placed into four team divisions, initially based on cumulative rating and then based on performance. Each team then plays each other twice in a six-week session. At the end of each session the top team in a division is promoted to the next higher division and the bottom team in a division is relegated to the next lower division. At the end of every session, players’ placements within teams are also adjusted to ensure that this condition continues to be met. For example: a player whose ranking has improved may move into a team in a higher division. This repeats for a total of six sessions. Essentially teams move up and down between divisions based on performance in each session and players move between teams, in each session, based on their individual ratings. At the end of the competitive season (sessions 2-6) the top team in each division is declared the division champion.
There is an active social element to the league. Players routinely gather after play at Freeman’s on Quinpool Road and the league organizes one or more league parties with at least one being the year-end party.
Matches are player refereed by players waiting to play their matches. Players are strongly encouraged to complete the Squash Canada Online officiating course https://www.coursepark.com/squashcanada. Players are also encouraged to attend an in-person certification clinic. Certified referees get a discount on league fees.
