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SQUASH QUEBEC

TOURNAMENT AID GUIDE

(T.A.G.)

A practical resource for tournament organizers We have created this document to be a comprehensive source of assistance for tournament organizers. This is the 3rd edition, created with the help of input from many sources, especially several club pros. We are very grateful to all those who contributed.

General administration

Committees ... Be smart! Don’t do it all by yourself. It’s too much work and you’re bound to be snowed under and to forget something. Gather people around you and put them each in charge of a particular facet, outlining specifically what is expected of that person and deadlines for specific tasks. Ask for progress reports, but remember to be tactful since you’re dealing with volunteers. Typical committees would be hospitality, registration, publicity, sponsorship, etc.

Registration ... Establish clearly the rules for signing up and have the club reception all on the same wavelength regarding the norms you decide. For example, payment at sign up by cheque, cash or credit card is highly recommended to minimize cancellations and no-shows. Make sure everyone sticks with the rules! The sign-up sheet should be complete with name, all phone numbers, club membership (so we can

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be sure their club is a member of Squash Quebec), and category, and credit card number if applicable. You may want to keep an «unreliable players list» that don’t show or otherwise cause problems, so that you can share this with other organizers. Also, don’t forget to create the player advisory system to notify players of their starting time, obligatory eye guard wear, officiating policy, and any clothing rules at your club. Ideally start times should be sent to players 48 hours in advance.

Decide on a refund policy and on the costs for people who wish to play in two categories or special discounts for juniors who wish to play in an adult draw, and make clear the certified official policy. Items like the above should be printed out for your club staff and committee members so that everyone is on the same wavelength. Starting with the 2018-2019 season, tournament directors must use Club Locker. Details can be found at: (https://quebec.clublocker.com). Essentially, this online registration system makes many facets of your job easier - including the final reporting of results. The associated costs are quite modest. NEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DEFAULTS - May 2012 Defaults can often be a problem - both for you the organizer, and the opponent of the defaulter. We suggest that you include, in bold type, this wording in your welcome letter : NOTICE REGARDING DEFAULTS: Players are expected to play throughout the entire event should they qualify - both in the main round and the consolation. However, we acknowledge that there are some for whom playing in the consolation round holds no interest. Therefore, out of simple consideration for your opponents, please advise us as soon as possible if you do not intend to play in the consolation. Thank you!

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Control Desk ...

There should be at least one knowledgeable person at all times at a central tournament desk. All kinds of things come up in the course of a weekend, and nothing gives more an impression of disorganization than for people to have no one to answer their questions or deal with their problems.

Report ...

At the end of your tournament, you should create a report for your own reference in the future, and you must fill out the «Tournament results sheet» that was included in your tournament package sent to you by Squash Quebec (also available on the web site). This helps Squash Quebec follow results from year to year. This task would be much easier and automatic for you, as tournament organizer, should you choose to adopt Club Locker.

Participant list ...

Keep a well ordered list that can be shared with other organizers who may wish to use your list as a source of participants for their tournament. We may one day set up a central bank of names of active players that pro’s can use.

The draws

Unfortunately, a lot of well intentioned organizers have received heavy criticism for messing up this part of a tournament. Protect yourself, and you can make a good impression and present a well thought out draw. Rankings ... These are your main source of information for placing players at the right position in the draw. This list is now published regularly by Squash Quebec and you need

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only to visit the web site to confirm that you have the latest rankings. In preparing the Draw, the following rules / guidelines need to be adhered to.

1) Players are not allowed to play in a Division below their Squash Quebec Ranking.

2) Players are allowed to play in a division above their Squash Quebec Ranking at the discretion of the tournament director.

3) When registration numbers for a division have are low, the division may be combined with the next lower category. Note: In this case, the affected players should be informed prior to the draw completion so that affected players understand the change.

Use the T.A.G ... Don’t hesitate to call on Squash Quebec once you have received almost all entries. Given the familiarity of some of its board members with the Squash scene, they can help you place someone who is not on the rankings, or evaluate other factors that can’t be determined by rankings alone. Competition formats … Some draw books are available that show you how to create different kinds of draws (elimination, round robin, consolations, plates, etc.), how to position the individual players and how to move them to the correct locations as the draw progresses. Posting the Draw ... Hang them up in an easily accessible place; spread them out so that people are not crowding into each other to get a look. Fill out the names in big bold letters so everyone (those without their glasses also) can see, and consider making the Men’s and Ladies A on a double or triple size poster. If you have the means, posting the draw on your club’s website is another great way to keep players in the loop on start times.

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Court Scheduling ...

A 45 minute period seems to be a good average time in the beginning rounds of a tournament (no less) and extending the allocated time to 1 hour in the quarter or semi finals onward, since the quality of matches tends to improve as the tournament progresses. If you're running a junior tournament with a lot of novice players, you could even book half hour periods for the initials matches. Sponsorship An organizer that can make those extra efforts in this area is putting the odds in his favour in creating an especially successful, profitable, and talked about tournament. Start months and months ahead of your tournament date and you can create a pretty impressive package. Remember, this is a big job... get a committee together to get this done at its best. Main Sponsor ... Although some nationally known names are seen to include Squash in their budget for PR, most of the time the path that leads to their door is through a contact at the club itself. Find out what the Squash players, especially the keeners, do for a living, and you’ll have a clearer target and an «in» for sponsorship. Speak to pro’s that have had important sponsors in the past and you’ll see that this is the way to go. You’ll be looking for cash if you’re contemplating cash prizes, but in these times it can be hard to come by. Keep your eyes open for possibilities for trips, hotel weekends, deluxe items, etc., that can be donated by these sponsors instead of cash.

Other Sponsors ...

The more people you have on board, the more impressive a package you will present to have people remember your tournament. Look for companies to supply their products to you, like fast food franchises, sport drink companies, yogurt companies, sport’s manufacturers, grooming supply companies and countless others limited only by your imagination...

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Sponsor Acknowledgement ... Don’t forget this part if you ever want to see that sponsor again. Also, remember that the word spreads about you and how you treat people. The sponsor will also be impressed to get a report on the tournament and how it might positively have impacted his business.

Publicity

There are 3 areas where you should direct your efforts in regards to the promotion of your event. 1) Pre event publicity ...

This means first of all ensuring that Squash Quebec is advised 6 weeks ahead in order to get the posters out with the information the way you want it. Then, your local paper (especially for suburbs) should be advised, even sending them a week ahead of time a write up and a picture. You can also make arrangements with the pro of the preceding event on the Squash calendar to include a sign-up sheet for your tournament in his package. He/she might also consent to making an announcement about your event during the prize presentation. As mentioned before, if a master list of usual tournament participants is available, getting a phone team together will ensure reaching those who hadn’t seen any posters or those who otherwise had forgotten. 2) During the event ...

It’s always important to create the right mood during an event so that the participants are involved in something significant and successful. Have a banner welcoming participants and display any materials that promote the sponsor. These can be made visible at the entrance to the club, at the control desk, and at the courts.

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3) After the event ...

Send your local paper the results with a picture (a dramatic one!). They’re looking for stuff like this all the time and are usually willing to publicize amateur sports like this. Send the same write up and pictures to the editor of Squash Quebec’s website.

Officiating

The issue of officiating at events on the Squash Quebec calendar continues, at times, to be a source of much discussion – and misunderstandings. This communiqué is intended to clarify the parameters surrounding this issue in order to facilitate the organization of officiating for your event. It almost goes without saying that having several officials on hand during an event can make the event run much more smoothly – not only in terms of simply having more personnel available, but in having formally certified people who are more likely to generate fairer match outcomes.

Limitations The very first thing to make clear is that all of the certified officials found in Quebec (actually, anywhere for that matter) are volunteers – and unfortunately, there are but a handful currently certified and active in this province. Squash Quebec itself is an organization that, among other things, assures conformity with the officiating standards of Squash Canada, and can act as a coordinator for use of those officials in our local events. However, it does not pay these officials, and so does not have any power to dictate their participation. Expectations Essentially, the officials, like anyone, need to feel appreciated and treated with respect. These volunteers often give up many hours of their free time for an event

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– sometimes an entire weekend. It’s true that they do this because they enjoy the challenge that officiating offers – but nonetheless, there is a sacrifice involved. They often have to come down and pay considerable amounts of money for parking, meals, etc. In a nutshell, you are inviting them into your club and asking for their help. Treat them as you would anyone doing you a favour. They should not have to ask.

REVISED OFFICIATING POLICY June 2012 PREAMBLE What follows is the revision of the original officiating policy that was created around 1998. Recent requests for changes resulted in our soliciting input on an 8-page summary document on the subject, from a wide range of interested people in Quebec (officials, pros, board members). This is the result. TD= Tournament Director TR=Tournament Referee GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Amateur and pro events require different approaches. 2. A remuneration policy, such as this, would likely result in increased

registration fees. 3. Both the TD and official must agree on the arrangement ahead of time for

clarity. 4. The TD, if using a TR, might want to use a blanket arrangement for all

officials. 5. A TR should benefit from a separate remuneration given the extra

commitment. 6. Higher level referees should be advantaged. 7. The remuneration component of this policy would not apply to designated

‘charity’ events.

PROTOCOLS 1. TRADITIONAL PROTOCOL (The way things generally occur now). 2.

a) The benefits covered in the remuneration protocol (below) are forfeited b) Officials receive the usual ‘player package’. c) Any other meals offered at the event are provided. d) Generally, an end-of-day ‘beverage’ service is provided.

3. REMUNERATION PROTOCOL (The new alternative option) 4.

a) The benefits covered in the traditional protocol (above) are forfeited. b) Remuneration is based on one of these options:

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I. Per hour: The remuneration is $2 per hour – and only A & B level officials are admissible. Using longer time-blocks (e.g., a block of 5 hours) is impractical.

II. Per match: The remuneration is $2 per match - and only A & B level officials are admissible.

III. Flat fee: The official is paid an amount predetermined with the TD - either for the entire event, or only for a specified part of it.

Reimbursement – applicable to both protocols It’s important for TDs to realize that, even though some officials attend events simply because they care about the sport and enjoy helping out – they are volunteers who incur expenses. They often spend the entire weekend at the club, with multiple trips from home – sometimes quite a distance away. Regardless of the protocol under which the official will participate, all reasonable expenses (e.g., gas & parking) should be reimbursed. Also, it’s important for officials to have a prior agreement with the TD or TD’s representative (e.g., TR) about attending to avoid misunderstandings. Too many officials will cause a TD to incur unnecessary expenses that require reimbursement. No benefits should be expected by an official with any unannounced attendance. Professional events Given that the numbers of matches are relatively few, that the degree of difficulty is often greater, and that 2 or 3 officials are often used for each match – the TD should use an open, customized approach for the issue of remuneration – either individually with each official, or commonly through a selected TR. Reimbursement, of course, remains a constant. Other considerations Referees using the remuneration protocol may have certain issues to consider such as the fact that the club may need to use formal accounting procedures; the club may also need to issue tax documentation; the official may be entering into a different relationship with the TD since payments now imply more formal expectations – in contrast to the volunteerism associated with the traditional protocol.

SAMPLE OF REMUNERATION & REIMBURSEMENT CLAIM FORMS (see pages 17-18)

Squash Quebec will make these forms available for participating officials - but it may occasionally be necessary for the tournament director to have a few printed up and available for the officials to make their claims.

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Other recommendations

• Arrange for a TR (Tournament Referee): This person can help to find available Referees and set up a schedule of availability throughout the event (since few officials are available all the time). The TR will also generally be aware of the competence of each official and will be able to appropriately place them in specific matches.

• Clarify the offer: Advise the TR of what you are prepared to offer to any

official willing to offer services for the time that he or she is available.

• On-site Referee Assigner: In order to free all available officials for on-court duty (including the TR if there is one), it makes sense to have a separate tournament volunteer (who essentially doesn’t need to know anything about officiating), who ensures that there are designated officials for each upcoming match – whether it’s the winner of the previous match, or one of the volunteer Referees. This can involve quite a bit of running around, (including ensuring an adequate supply of materials like pencils, score sheets, balls, etc) - and using a certified official for that is not the most efficient thing to do. This takes a big load off the Tournament Director’s shoulders.

• Officiating assignment formats: There are three ways to arrange for an

efficient management of the officiating of matches at a tournament. The winners are assigned, the losers are assigned or a team of referees is assigned to do the matches. It is at the discretion of the head referee to choose the format he prefers, but the latter choice requires a dedicated team organized beforehand. Whatever the format, it should be very clear to the players. Some tournaments prefer to hold the T-shirt and give it to the player who is supposed to referee when he/she returns the score sheet at the end of the match.

• Officials’ draw: This is simply a raffle designed to encourage participation by

players and officials. A dedicated prize (racquet, shoes, etc) is selected and advertised throughout the event. The draw box is made clearly visible at the control desk – the box where the names of all those who helped with the officiating over the course of the event are placed. Upon completion of a match, the official enters his or her name onto appropriate line at the top right section of the score sheet – then tears it off and places it into the designated box. The draw is made at the prize presentation on the final day.

• Public acknowledgement: One simple idea for major events that have a

program is to have a page listing all selected officials. For routine events, some form of acknowledgement should be made during the presentation ceremonies. Such overtures certainly help to increase the perception of officials as a valued part of these events by the general Squash community.

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Conclusion It would be a good idea for any event organizer to include the following ‘Referees’ Statement’ in the player package. It is modified from the original document used by the WSF and Squash Canada in their events. A digital version can be obtained from Squash Quebec.

REFEREES’ STATEMENT

During this event, the Match Referees will apply the following guidelines: 1. Under the Rules of Squash, the Referee (or Central Referee in the 3-Referee

System - both abbreviated as CR in the rest of this document) is instructed to penalize behaviour that is “disruptive, intimidating, or offensive”. Thus any form of obscenity whether audible, mouthed or gestured, will not be tolerated and will be immediately penalized. This will also apply to any expression that the CR considers to be blasphemy. There is no excuse for such behaviour, even in the heat of the moment. It is important for you to realize that the CR does not have to issue a warning first but may apply any level of penalty (Warning, Stroke, Game, Match) on the first occurrence, depending on how the CR views the severity of the situation.

2. Referees will not award a let for minimal interference nor will they award a

stroke unless it is truly merited. We hope that this will promote matches that flow, with a minimum of stoppages.

3. Referees do their best to make correct decisions, and with the Three Referee

System the likelihood of a totally incorrect decision is greatly reduced. However, there may be times when a player disagrees with a marginal decision by either the single or the Three Referees. In the Referee/Marker System the Referee may provide an explanation of a decision, but in the Three Referee System explanations of why each of them decided the way they did are not practical. With either system, expressions of dissent and prolonged discussions will be penalized.

This does not mean that an amusing quip or comment, even if mildly directed towards any of the Officials, will be regarded as an offence.

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4. The position from where the Referees and Marker have to officiate is not always

ideal. This often reduces their ability to determine whether pick-ups are good or not, particularly at the front of the court, or whether the ball may have clipped the top of the tin, or may have hit above the out-line on the back wall. The Referees would greatly appreciate players’ honesty in declaring promptly if their shots are ”not up”, ”down”, or ”out”, etc.

Referees look forward to continuing the dialogue between themselves, players and players’ representatives at this event. Please feel free to contact any member of the Squash Quebec Officiating Committee to make your views known. We recommend that tournament directors give each participant a copy of this statement in their player package in order to help foster better understanding of important officiating issues.

Hospitality

Apart from the play, this is the aspect of a tournament that players notice the most. This is about how you treat the players. This is your opportunity to gather as many of the things mentioned under «Other Sponsors» and create an impressive package. 1) Cost ... Be sure that the cost you advertise has any taxes built in. Nothing can be more irritating than for a player to have to shell out more money than he/she expected. You should also take into consideration a special package of costs for juniors, especially for families with more than one child participating in your event. Remember that they are the future of the game, and we should do all we can to minimize barriers that would prevent their participation. 2) Tickets ... Are the best way to allocate the food and drink provisions of the hospitality package, and they allow you to monitor the actual consumption for billing

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purposes with the suppliers. Each ticket should clearly indicate what it represents. 3) Times ... Both the tickets and the program sheet should clearly indicate the time that meals and drinks are available and the suppliers should be held to this schedule. All too often, we see players showing up for an announced meal only to have nothing ready (especially breakfast). All these types of things reflect on you and show what kind of attention you pay to details. 4) Snacks ... It’s a nice touch to have some form of snack (like yogurt or fruit) always available. These are low cost items that for 30$ to 50$ can be made available throughout the weekend and help create a good impression. 5) Package Proposals ... The following is a set of proposals that the T.A.G. is making to set norms for hospitality packages for tournaments. This can both be a help to an organizer to know what he is expected to furnish for a specific cost, as well as giving the players an idea of what they should expect in return for their entry fee. Ultimately, this format below could be published in the form of a poster and, except for normal variations for the increases in cost of living, would become the accepted norms in the Squash community for years to come. Items: A) Minimum 2 matches B) Trophies to all event winners C) Prizes to all winners and finalists D) Shirt or similar souvenir for all E) Minor hospitality - 1 breakfast & 1 meal F) Major hospitality - 2 breakfast & 2 meals G) Banquet & dance H) All taxes included Suggested formats: $35 A,D,E,H $40 A,C,D,E,H

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$45 A,B,C,D,E,H $50 A,B,C,D,F,H $55 A,B,C,D,F,G,H (or more than $55) Conclusion Remember to feel free to call us for help. Use this document as a guide, but remember that nothing replaces common sense and individual initiative and creativity.

GOOD LUCK !!!

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Comments :

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OFFICIATINGREMUNERATIONCLAIM

EVENT:____________________________________________________________ DATE:______________________EVENTDIRECTOR:______________________________________________OFFICIAL:_________________________________________________________ CURRENTLEVEL:_________ADDRESS:________________________________________________________________________________________________S.I.N:___________-___________-___________

DATE PROTOCOL #HOURS #MATCHES TOTAL

Signature GRANDTOTAL

NOTE: Enter the chosen protocol type in the 2nd column. If a flat fee, enter the agreedamountinGrandtotal.Fillintheothercolumnsasapplicable.

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OFFICIATINGREIMBURSEMENTCLAIM

EVENT:_________________________________________________DATE:_________________________________EVENTDIRECTOR:_____________________________________OFFICIAL:_______________________________________________ CURRENTLEVEL:____________________ADDRESS:(ifnecessaryforpayment)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DATE ITEM # KILOMETERS TOTAL

Signature GRAND TOTAL NOTE:Enter‘gas’or‘parking’inthe2ndcolumn.Entertotalkilometersin3rdcolumn.Gasiscalculatedat$0.40perkilometer.Attachanyapplicableparkingreceipts.