World Squash Rules 2014

[David Williams]

As of January 2014 the official squash singles rules have been updated:

World Squash Rules

The update is mainly a question of updated language; the rules have stayed essentially the same in concept so that the same situations should still result in the same decisions. However, they have been made a lot more concise in their wording and in most cases easier to understand and so more accessible.

Anyone who referees competitive matches should have read the updated 2014 rules, be familiar with their content, and confident in how they are to be applied. All match venues should have a copy of the rules available so they can be consulted in case of a query or dispute.

Those who haven't read the rules for a few years (or even, dare I say, ever?) would be doubly advised to read them. They might not be the most interesting read, but ultimately if we want to make fair decisions then we need to base those decisions in the actual rules as stated, not a 5th-hand 'chinese whispers' version of the rules which may or may not actually reflect the rules as they are today.

Happy reading, and as always I strongly encourage discussion so please add your own comments below!

[neil]

The wording in the Singles Rules 2014 are in plain English, which is good. The "interference" sections are still the biggest difficulty. One thing that seems to me to be new - but may well not be new - is that a referee may allow a let or stroke on grounds of interference WITHOUT a request from either player.

[David Williams]

Well spoteted! However, while it is probably made clearer, it's not new. See rule 12.11 from the 2010 rules:

"12.11 The Referee may allow a let under Rule 12.9 or award a stroke under Rule 12.8 without an
appeal, if necessary stopping play to do so."

12.8 and 12.9 are the interference rules.

However, in practise this rarely occurs because refs cannot realistically stop play before the moment has passed, and if neither player objects most refs will let them play on in the interests of continuity of play.

But the 2014 rules definitely make this clearer and are, as you say, written in plainer language and generally easier to follow. I think the turning rule is considerably clearer now also.