yeah Keith, I would be going for the more match idea no matter what the scoring system. It has lots of plussss, eg keeps players involved, keeps them out of mischief, gives more results for the selectors, sorts out the seedings, much better value for money.  Surely then those decisions are really up to the Tournament Organisers of that particular competition.  A push for that format would certainly be worthwhile.

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Hello Rita and thanks for your observations.Just to clear up a few points.The 7 minutes quoted was for the whole rubber!Regarding Adam´s fictitious Pakistani opponent,please feel free to correct me,but I believe the current  method used by Pakistani juniors is first enter the tournament,then apply for the visa.When the visa is not forthcoming,the draw is already posted and the obvious absences ensue.At risk of stating the obvious,overseas players should have their papers in order before inscription.Now someone is going to tell me you need the inscription to get the visa(something about chickens and eggs?)The junior tournament of which Adam speaks was a Swiss draw,my personal favourite,which means everyone gets the same number of matches at all levels,and everyone has an exact ranking at the end.I would love to see it applied to Masters.Going back to PAR11,let's assume it is here to stay,given how long it takes WSF to make a decision anyway,so the only way to compensate is more matches per tournament.How do you do this?Well,|Swiss draw is a fine example.Another is make the preliminaries round robin,and that way you get more than the usual three matches,plus by the time you hit a seeded player you have already played plenty of squash.I would reommend this as an alternative to the three plate system,as guaranteeing 3 matches at PAR11 is no great thing.

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I was playing at the austrlian juniors, and yes it did seem like a rather quick tournament.

Rita, Luckily for me (and lots of others I'd say) it wasn't a knock-out tournament, so if they did lose in 7 minutes (or 21), they would still have other matches too!  I was in the 19's, had a bye in the first round (due to the opposition pulling out, [pakistani's never seem to actually show] ) and then lost my next four matches. So overall I could have had 5 matches over 5 days.

( :S ended up 16th too, even after losing 4 matches because of the pullout. I would have rather come in at a lower ranking, and played people closer to my level. but anyway..)

The PAR11 does seem to make the game unnaturally short, even for juniors who can run and run.. Adleast with the PAR15 it does last a bit longer and players feel like they've actually played a game, even when losing in 3!

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Keith those stats are interesting.  When you say 7 minutes, is that about  3 x 7mins for each rubber?  Then the loser is finished?  So, you are saying travel 1000kls for 21mins on court?  You would hope the Tournament Committee would write up a report and send it to the appropriate authorities so that in future players would at least get a match a day for the majority of the tournament. Of course it takes workers to run the plate events too.  Frustrating to say the least when these organisational glitches just keep repeating themselves for years and years. 

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Keith, I do sympathise with you people trying to get someone to listen; and, for the benefit of the players too.  Squash seems to be controlled by Boards who, in the main, are probably not at the cold face, and often do not represent the majority of people who are on court regularly.  Not sure if you understand exactly what I mean.  A good example is, coaching a player and never actually going to the courts and watching them perform under various conditions.  So with this in mind, I ask, how can decisions be made and plans be set without really following the players; not the results, but all the facts, the stats.

The member Nations are listed on the WSF site provided they are affiliated so maybe it is time for all of those Nations to get their heads together.

PS - We have a big division in squash, in that player affiliation is not compulsory, or is not enforced, mostly due to the fact that it is generally run by private venue operators who want to take control and keep the loot.  When things do not affect them they do not really care, but of course want the clients to be happy and keep coming back.  However, the break-down then comes that there is no continuous thread going through to the WSF, and it is a chain from the Club right through via Committees and Boards.  The affiliation fees are used to finance the meetings of these Boards and bring them together yearly in their respective, States, Nations, etc...so really those not affiliated can do as they please as I see it anyway....but they don't 'cos they want to appear to be connected!

Sorry, I know nothing I have said really helps the situation 'cos the next time you go to the tournaments the PARS11 will stick in your neck.

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