7 Comments

1. Paul Martin

   August 10, 2022

   Whilst I appreciate that some of the better and ambitious players in the county may benefit from having equivalence in their stats similar to that for county players and national rankings I cannot see that applying to the greater majority of players in Dorset. We already are suffering from a decline in numbers of teams in the county leagues, those players in Division 1 may prefer to aspire to national rankings, however, and certainly with respect to David LLoyd Ringwood (playing in Div2 this winter) we do not have similar aspirations. For those that manage regular 40 shot ralies – fine, I warrant however, even with the number 1’s in Div 2 they would be rare indeed and, frankly, the much curtailed durations when playing to 11 will render the occassion – not worth the trouble! I have been playing in the Bournemouth and Dorset leagues since 1981 – it would be a shame to bring that to an end, and probably the end of team squash at DLR on an unnecessary change.

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2. David Beater

   August 10, 2022

   Hi Paul, thanks for your comment on PAR 11. To clarify, a letter was sent at the start of the summer leagues to trial PAR 11 and to review after. PAR 11 was brought in for the following reasons: 1) It is England Squash rules, 2) It allows players within Dorset to switch divisions and have the same scoring system. 3) there are lots of masters players in the county and that is all PAR 11. I do understand although there has been plenty of support for PAR 11 there are those who would rather play PAR 15. I do get the longer game that it gives and see that viewpoint too. There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers. If you look at what other counties are doing a number play PAR 11 in the higher divisions and PAR 15 in the lower divisions. I believe Yorkshire plays PAR 11 throughout all divisions and Norfolk uniquely plays PAR 13!!! So there are plenty of views and as a county we do need to make a decision we feel is best for the future of our sport and next generation . It won’t be what everyone wants!

   I don’t share your view that players will simply ‘give up’ due to choice of scoring we go for. Surely our sport is far bigger than that. Back in the day, when we moved from 9 points it certainly raised a few eyebrows and we are now discussing the pros and cons of PAR 11 and 15.

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   • Paul Martin

     August 21, 2022

     David,
     Its good to know that other counties have made individual calls on how they wish to proceed. 2 from 48 english counties is, though, hardly representative of opinion. Yorkshire continues to enjoy a strong squash following with over 30 teams and strong county level involvement. (I used to play for Hull when there as a student). Norfolk is more similar with diminishing representation similar to the situation we find ourselves in. Back in the day, the move to ‘American’ scoring was unwelcome, however did not radically change game duration in the lower leagues. Whether you agree with my assertion or not is immaterial the facts are that each year there are fewer teams playing and fewer clubs. It is the stalwarts that keep some going, pee them off at your peril – particularly if it is a choice!

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3. Guy Bodiley

   August 21, 2022

   I believe a PSA ranking is of no relevance to any player except the few very top league players.
   Personally, I have had to drive a total of 3 hrs to play in some matches and wish to always enjoy a fulfilling experience.
   I believe reducing the scoring to 11 will only drive people away from a sport that is close to all our hearts.
   From my experience, certain clubs have had to close down and many others have had problems pursuading players into travelling to away matches.
   The social aspect of Dorset league squash is just as important as the competition and personally I do not wish to lose even more clubs and players from our community.

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4. Brian Barnes

   August 22, 2022

   It sounds like maybe this could be something for discussion on Wednesday.

   I seem to recall a similar issue with black/blue balls for some divisions in racketball.

   Not 100% sure but didn’t it get resolved by saying you should play with a black ball, but could use blue if you agreed it between yourself and your opponent.

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   • Guy Bodiley

     August 23, 2022

     Are you saying we could each agree with our opponents on the day whether to play to 15 or 11?

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     • Brian Barnes

       August 24, 2022

       I’m just suggesting a possibility for discussion.

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