Irish Squash

Junior Committee 2009-2010:

Details for the Junior Committee are listed in the table below.

Tournament Organisation:
The Connacht, Munster and Leinster Junior Opens will be run over 2 days, Saturday and Sunday and Ulster will remain a 3 days event with as few matches scheduled for Friday as practicable.

The reason for the two day tournaments is to reduce interference with Friday work and school time and they may also reduce costs for players who travel on Saturday morning instead of Friday night. However, players and parents should note that matches will be scheduled for 9:30 on Saturday and Sunday morning to allow for reasonably early finishes on both days.

Swiss system:
The standard Swiss 8 or Swiss 16 will be used but the 9 player draw will be discontinued and where a competition is ‘over-subscribed’ players 9 and 10, and 17 and 18 will be reserves. Entries of 11 will result in a 16 draw.

Withdrawals:
Where a player withdraws from the competition up to the day of the event there will be a redraw but where the withdrawal is on the day of the competition there will be a redraw only where the player is in the top 4. Players should also note the bye-laws on late withdrawal on www.irishsquash.com.

Entry Fees:
The entry fee is payable at the venue before the first match. Entry fees will be €20 (£15stg) per player (€30/£25 for 2 siblings & €40/£30 for 3 siblings). In the case of the four provincial junior opens there will be an Irish Squash subsidy of €10 (£8stg) per player (or 50% for siblings).

Seedings:
Tournaments will be seeded by the junior secretary on the basis of Irish Squash rankings that will be published on www.irishsquash.com. Players dissatisfied with their rankings should, in the first instance, communicate through their provincial junior secretaries (listed above).

Balls:
In line with ESF tournaments we have introduced the Dunlop Double Yellow Balls for ALL age groups except U11.

Selection Criteria for U13, U15 and U17 Irish Teams 2009 - 20010:

1. Players must be eligible to play for Ireland (see Byelaw 7) and be under the relevant age on the final day of the competition and be selected by the selection committee.

2.The Selection committee comprises: The Junior Administrator, The Team Coach, and The Team Manager.

3. Team Selection will be based on the ranking points gained from a player’s best three competitions from The Connacht Open; The Ulster Open; The Munster Open; The Leinster Open and The Irish Junior National (Closed) Championship. The Irish Junior Nationals earns higher points than the provincial opens. In the event of equality of points the selection committee will chose the player finally.

4.Players wishing to be considered for selection must play in the Irish Junior Open, although that competition will not earn any points.

5. If a player is unable to compete in a tournament (or complete all matches over a tournament weekend) due to illness/injury a doctors/physiotherapists certificate/letter must be submitted to Irish Squash in the week following the tournament.

6. The selection committee will also consider a player's general behaviour on and off court, attendance at squad sessions and commitment to whatever training programme is recommended by the Team Coach.

7.Once a player receives notification of selection, all monies must be paid by the required date, otherwise their selection will be revoked.

8.Players will be selected to play on teams in their own one age group only.

9.Players moving up from one age group to the next during the season will carry over 30% of the points gained at the younger age group.

10. Where players enter a tournament in an older age group the points thereby earned will also be credited to their actual age group.


Selection Criteria for U19 Irish Panels 2009 - 2010:

1.Players must be eligible to play for Ireland (see Byelaw 7) and be under the relevant age on the final day of the relevant competition and be selected by the selection committee.

2.The Selection committee comprises three members: The Junior Administrator, The Team Coach, and The Team Manager.

3. A panel of players (6 boys and 4 girls) will be selected on the basis of the points earned at the Munster Junior Open and the Irish Junior Nationals.

4.The selection committee will select the team from the members of the panel based on what it considers would be the strongest team.

5.The selection committee will also consider a player's general behaviour on and off court, attendance at squad sessions and commitment to whatever training programme is recommended by the Team Coach.

6.If a player is unable to compete in a tournament (or complete all matches over a tournament weekend) due to illness or injury a letter or certificate from the doctor or physiotherapist must be submitted to Irish Squash in the week following the tournament.

7.Once a player receives notification of selection, all monies must be paid by the required date, otherwise their selection will be revoked.

8.Players will be selected to play on teams in their own age group only.

9.Players moving up from one age group to the next during the season will carry over 30% of the points gained at the younger age group.

10.Where players enter a tournament in an older age group the points thereby earned will also be credited to their actual age group.


Ranking points:

The points to be earned in this season's junior tournaments follow the method in use on the Senior Tour and are listed below. The extra points for the Junior Nationals do not apply to U19 players. Players who move up in age group carry 30% of the points already earned at the younger age group

Many thanks to Gerry Connaughton who has agreed to continue to compile the points rankings based on the finishing positions of players at Junior Opens and they will be published on the web along with the Irish rankings for seeding purposes that will be compiled by the Irish Squash Junior Secretary, Lee Healy.

Squad Sessions:
These will be centralised depending on the address of the players and their coach and players are expected to attend. The dates will be published on the Irish Squash website and phone and text reminders will be sent to the players and their parents. Failure to attend squads may lead to a player not being selected on a team.

Schools Competition:
The age rule for these competitions is the same as all other junior competitions and a player must be under the relevant age on the final day of the competition.

Communication between players/parents and Irish Squash:
If you have an issue relating to junior squash please let us know by contacting your provincial junior secretary who will be able to provide you with an explanation or who will be able to follow up your query through the Irish Squash junior committee and the Irish Squash junior secretary

Eye-Guards

By now you all know the routine, all junior players must wear protective eye guards while on the court during junior competitions. This is now a Europe-wide ESF rule. By the way, this rule applies even while you are just knocking-up on court before your match!

There is a wide range of makes on the market but remember that the ones without the cover over the eye are not allowed. If you wear glasses (spectacles) you should wear prescription eye-guards.

Tips for use include:

Avoid contact with greasy substances (like hair creams or oils).
Warm the eyeguards before putting them on to reduce fogging-up.
Leave them on so that they keep warm. If you remove them from your face after every rally you increase the fogging!
Avoid 'cleaning' them with your wet squash top!
Wearing a head-band will reduce the effect of perspiration.
There is now an anti-condensation spray that can be bought!
The WSF recommends all players, especially juniors, to wear eye protection!

It has come to our attention that at least one prominent sports retailer is selling eyeguards that, although advertised as suitable for racquet ball, squash and handball, do not meet the safety and design standards required. Be sure to buy only those brands carrying the EC or BS standards logo. The wrong eyeguards have an aperture in the lens, that is, they are not fully