The 2023 Winter Ladder will run as a 11-week tournament from January 16 – April 2. We are planning on continuing our Sprint Series feature to help create more competition within the ladder and give players the opportunity to win prizes every two weeks along with the overall season long spoils!
In addition, we are excited to run another of the Ladder Play Offs on Wednesday, April 5 that will also double as an end of season celebration which all ladder participants will be invited to.
To generate the most enjoyable and engaging environment for all the participants, the ladder will be split into divisions from Monday, February 27. This means that during the final half of the season we will see a series of concurrent battles as competitors strive to win their respective divisions.
As ever, the goal is to encourage players of all skill levels to take part! The concept of evenly matched games will also apply to the formatting of Ladder Nights that we will run on the following evenings:
Ladder nights: Each ladder night costs $35 to participate in and you’ll play three matches in a 1.5 hours period against three others around your level. It is also possible to use play credits to cover playing in ladder nights.
Signing up: To sign up, log into your Squash On Fire account and purchase one of the Ladder packages below. All packages cover administrative/organizational fees, weekly communications, prizes and the end of season party on 4/5.
- Winter Ladder Pro Package $240 – Covers entry into the Winter Ladder, 15 off-peak play credits (usable at all times aside from 6 - 7:30 pm on weekdays and 9 - 11:30 am on weekends) to use during this ladder season and a cafe drinks voucher for Wednesday, April 5
Booking matches: Before the ladder begins on January 16, you will be sent your official Ladder email so you will know who is participating and have their contact information to book matches. You can then get to work on submitting challenges to others and scoring points!
Scoring:
- All matches will be the best of 5 games
- Scores should be recorded on a ladder scorecard and returned to the front desk team post play
- Per match played = 1 point to each player
- Result of play = 3 points to the winner, 0, 1 or 2 points to the loser depending on the number of games won
- Bonus point = the winning player receives an additional point for a 3 - 0 margin of victory
- In addition, if you beat someone ranked above you on the “SOF Rank” tab then all points gained will be doubled. This means that it is possible to score 10 points in a single match if you defeat a higher ranked player 3-0.
- You may only submit up to a maximum of 2 matches against the same opponent on any given day of ladder play
- We will again have a player ratings (A, B or C) column on the ladder standings for informational purposes so that participants have some assistance in their match planning
US Squash Ratings: It is possible for ladder matches to count for US Squash ratings in Club Locker. If you'd like your activity to count, please make sure you provide your US Squash number to Will Hopton (whopton@squashonfire.com)
Sprint series: Every 2 weeks, we will host a different Sprint series with the theme and prizes for each series being announced prior to the start of that iteration. Towards the end of each Sprint, we will host a Ladder Night so you can earn some more points and enjoy a drink at the cafe with your fellow players and friends!
Overall Season Long Prizes:
1st Place Division 1 - SOF Engraved Ladder Trophy and a 60 mins clinic for up to 10 people
2nd Place Division 1 - 45 Mins Playing Session with Ineta Mackevica (world #55 and 9-time Latvian National Champion)
3rd Place Division 1 - Dunlop racquet bag
1st Place Division 2 - 45 Mins Lesson with a Squash On Fire Senior Coach
2nd Place Division 2 - Video Analysis session with a Squash On Fire Senior Coach
3rd Place Division 2 - A lulu Squash On Fire branded shirt
Playoff Night – April 5: The top 8 finishers from Division 1 will be invited to participate in the Ladder Playoffs night on Wednesday, April 5. There will be no charge for court time for those playing. The exact format will be dictated by how many of the qualifiers can participate. There will be a prize in addition to those listed above for our Ladder Playoffs Champion! Every ladder player is invited to join us for the evening to support the players and take advantage of a complimentary café drinks voucher. Mark your calendars now for what promises to be a fantastic evening on and off the courts!
If you have any questions related to the ladder, please reach out to Will Hopton at whopton@squashonfire.com
Squash On Fire League
We are excited to announce the Winter 2023 edition of the in-house Squash On Fire league. The league will run on Sunday evenings at 5 pm starting from January 29 and conclude with playoffs and finals on Sunday, May 21. Each Sunday there is usually time for some additional social play after the league matches have wrapped up. There will be no matches scheduled for 2/12, 2/19 and 4/9.
- Teams will field a match-day roster of 5 players totaling 17.5 US Squash rating points or less. That maps into fielding rosters ranging from beginners to relatively advanced players. For the sake of clarity ever team needs beginners! Overall team rosters will have 8 - 10 players each so there is no need to be available every Sunday. This may change depending on interest levels.
- Because the rating cap will be strictly enforced, matches will be competitive and balanced!
- Don’t have a rating? We’ll assign you an initial rating and, after a few matches, you’ll have an official US Squash rating. To get a general idea of your rating, see the descriptions at https://www.ussquash.com/participate/rating-criteria/.
- All players need to be paid US Squash members (see https://ussquash.org/membership/). That's $149 for 12 months starting from whenever you join.
- Players also must have an account in the Squash On Fire system and have a payment method on file. This is very important for liability reasons.
- All players who sign up will be charged $80 this covers your participation in 4 matches on different Sundays. From your 5th match of the season onwards dues will be $20 each time you play (and only when you play).
- To sign up, click here and enter (1) your name and email address and (2) your desired frequency of play ("Most weeks" or "50%"). Optionally, you can also enter your rating, whether your US Squash membership is paid and active, your desired team, and any other notes that would help us place you on a team.
- Please direct any league related questions to Will Hopton (whopton@squashonfire.com) or Cory Capps (corysc@gmail.com) and here is to another fantastic league season!
