Certification and Upgrading
This sub section deals with a large number of
items that deal with everything from the very first steps
to becoming a certified official in the program, to moving
up through the ranks. It also deals with special specific
policies designed to clarify and streamline that journey as
well as a bit of advice on the paperwork.
Initial Certification
The Upgrading Process
Upgrading of
Markers
The ‘Pooling of Calls’
Policy
The Points System
The ‘A+’ Match
The Use of the Upgrading Booklet
Rules Clinics
Rules
and Safety Quiz
Initial Certification
The initial certification that all candidates of the Officiating
Program receive is designated as D-4. The D signifies the
first level of Referee status, and the attached number signifies
the first level of Marker status. This grade is obtained when
the candidate has successfully completed the following:
- Full attendance at the Certification Clinic, comprising
all three elements of the
- Slide Series,
- the Video, &
- the On Court Demonstration
- Successful completion of the written exam.
- Successful completion of the practical exam.
Typically, the journey through the various levels would look
something like this:
and the typical journey to A-1 might last between six and
eight years.
Other Certifications
Occasionally, exceptions can be made for referees certified
in other WSF member countries to be given equivalent standing
in the Officiating Program. These are reviewed on a case by
case basis.
Also, once a referee has obtained the A-1 designation in
the Officiating Program, he or she is free to apply, with
a recommendation from Squash Canada, for a designation as
a WSF Referee, whose three levels are Regional Referee, International
Referee, & World Referee. More information can be obtained
from the National Office on these matters.
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The Upgrading
Process
Once a referee has achieved the 'Initial Certification' in
the Officiating Program, a long journey begins towards the
successive levels of C, B, & A.
Upgrading of Referees
General
At the C and B levels, the referee requires 5 successful recommendations
from at least 2 different assessors (at least one must be
a PE/NE) (Provincial Examiner-National Examiner). Only 3 successful
recommendations are required if all are given by 2 different
NE’s.
Upgrading to C
The level of play must be an inter-club, team or individual
tournament /competitive match involving A players. The candidate
must have 5 signatures or a combination of 4 signatures and 10 correct decisions in each match
and demonstrate competence at this level.
Upgrading to B
The level of play must be a competitive match equivalent to
the quarterfinals of a major Provincial Championship (Open
Event) or the early rounds of the Canadian Squash Championships
(Open Event). The candidate must give a minimum of 15 correct
decisions in each match and demonstrate competence at this
level.
Upgrading to A
The candidate must obtain 5 successful recommendations from
competitive matches equivalent to those involving the top
20 Canadian men or the top 10 Canadian women (PE / NE's shall
determine equivalencies). At least 2 of the recommendations
must be of an A (very difficult) level, with the remaining
recommendations being of an A (difficult) level. The candidate
must give a minimum of 20 correct decisions in each match,
of which a sufficient number are deemed to be difficult by
the assessor, and demonstrate competence at this level. At
least 2 of the successful recommendations must be given by
two different NE's, one of them must be an A recommendation.
The remaining three recommendations may come from any PE who
is also an A Referee.
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Upgrading
of Markers
General
To be upgraded to a higher level, the marker requires 5 successful
recommendations from at least two different assessors (at
least one must be a PE / NE). Only three recommendations are
required if all are given by NE’s. The grade of marker
corresponds to the maximum allowable number of errors a marker
may make during a match (e.g., a level 2 Marker will be expected
to make no more than 2 errors in any match).
Upgrading to 2 and 3
There is no minimum level of play required for upgrading to
levels 2 and 3.
Upgrading to 1
The level of play required for upgrading to level 1 must be
equivalent to the third round of play at the Canadian Squash
Championships (Open Event). One successful recommendation
must be given by a PE / NE who observes the candidate solely
in the role of marker.
The ‘Pooling
of Calls’ Policy
In an effort to partially overcome the problem of ‘insufficient
calls’, a method to aggregate the required number of
refereeing decisions over multiple matches will be permitted.
However, the following restrictions will apply:
- The pooling of calls may only be done by the same assessor
at the same event.
- This method will only be permitted during initial assessments,
and upgrading assessments to the C and B levels (not to
A).
- If matches were pooled to qualify for a signature, the
candidate would NOT receive credit for those matches under
the point system as well as the signature.
(See Points System... below)
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The Points System
Officiating demands experience. Only by officiating a large
number of matches can an official progress to the highest
levels. In recognition of this principle, the following guidelines
attempt both to encourage and to recognize officials who make
an effort to gain the experience that is necessary to progress.
General principle: In cases
where the match has too few calls for a signature, or where
the candidate makes too few correct calls, the assessor has
the power to award up to three points for the official's performance,
depending on the difficulty of the match and/or the assessor's
judgment of the candidate's performance.
Progressing from D to C:
This step might typically take approximately one year. Present
criteria apply (5 signatures), or a combination of 3 signatures
and 10 points.
Progressing from C to B:
This step might typically take approximately two years. Present
criteria apply (5 signatures), or a combination of 4 signatures
and 15 points.
Progressing from B to A:
This step might typically take approximately three to five
years. Present criteria apply (5 signatures, 2 of which must
be for matches considered very difficult), or a combination
of 4 signatures (one of which must be for a match considered
very difficult) and 30 points.
In addition, a candidate will be allowed to count 4 points
for each signature obtained towards the A level. This point
total is in addition to the requirements for one A+ and three
A signatures. This precludes the possibility that a candidate
might go on indefinitely receiving A signatures when really
in search of a second A+ match. Referees at the A level are
those considered able to handle any difficult match and maintain
composure.
General Note
As a guideline, an assessor might award three points for a
match that has approximately three quarters of the required
number of calls for a given level, two for approximately half
the required number, and one for a match that has about one
quarter of the required calls. All the above might be modified
by the assessors opinion of the general degree of difficulty
of the calls.
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The ‘A+’ Match
The Squash Canada Officiating Committee believes that the
credibility of the entire program is dependent on the setting
and maintaining of high standards. By achieving the A1 level
in the program, a referee is supposed to be able to handle
any match played in our National Championships. In order to
prove to any assessors that they can perform to that level,
referees must actually do it - that is, referee satisfactorily
a very difficult match - one which the Committee has defined
as an A+ match.
.
In order to achieve A1 status, a candidate must referee satisfactorily
at least one match deemed to be an A+ match. The decision
as to what qualifies as an A+ match must rest with the assessor,
who will take into account the following factors:
- the number and difficulty of the referee's decisions
- the behavior and personalities of the players
- the crowd - its mood and its reactions
- the "importance" of the event (e.g. National
Championship Final)
- the physical surroundings
- the competence of other officials (e.g. marker, appeals
referee)
- the presence of an assessor
The Committee recognizes that any or all of these factors
can contribute to a match becoming very difficult, and wants
the assessor to have some confidence that the candidate is
able to handle any or all of these pressures. This is not
to say that all of these factors must be present for a match
to be considered A+. However, the assessor must be satisfied
that, based on the candidate's performance, none of these
factors would likely cause the candidate any trouble.
The principle of composure under pressure is key for an A+
match.
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The Use of the Upgrading
Booklet
Every candidate who attends any one of the modules (slide
presentation, video presentation, on court demonstration)
of the Squash Canada Officiating Program is to be given a
Certification / Upgrading Booklet. This booklet will serve
to compile the above requirements to certification and is
to be signed by a PE or NE as testimony to their completion,
as well as to the fact that the candidate has successfully
passed the written examination and practical test. The first
three pages of the booklet contain all the appropriate forms
to record the above mentioned items.
From Initial Certification onward, the certified official
will use this booklet to record all assessed matches until
attaining the total required matches or points to qualify
for the next level. At that point, the candidate returns the
booklet to the appropriate Provincial / Territorial Association
who will then confirm the upgrade and issue the candidate
a new booklet with the new level of certification recorded
on the cover. The process of accumulation of assessments then
begins again until the next level is reached, and so on.
Assessors should be thorough in recording the results of the
assessment on the appropriate pages of the booklet. The information
compiled on the assessment form is faithfully transferred
to the booklet page in summary form as dictated by the list
of decisions found there. The Assessors Comments section is
then completed with a short summary that ;
- Categorizes the level of difficulty of the match,
- Gives a brief comment about the referees performance
- Touches briefly on any points of concern that need attention.
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Rules Clinics
An integral part of the Squash Canada Officiating
Program is the delivery of Rules Clinics. These are designed
to provide interested players the opportunity to learn properly
the rules of the game and their correct interpretation. The
participants at these clinics may vary widely in their playing
level and experience, but the objective is the same for all
clinics – to provide an overview of the rules of the
game in an effort to promote a safe and fair framework from
which everybody can enjoy the game.
A full Rules Clinic is now the same content
as one of the modules of the Officiating Certification Clinic.
That is a 2½-3 hour slide presentation that illustrates most
of the common situations that arise during a match, which
rules pertain to them, and what the correct decision must
be in each case. The actual length of the clinic will vary
depending on the prior knowledge of the participants and how
many questions arise during the presentation. The Provincial
Examiner who delivers this clinic must maintain an attendance
sheet at these clinics and submit copies both to the host
Provincial/Territorial Association and to Squash Canada. This
will allow the proper recognition should any of the Rules
Clinics participants later want to receive credit when taking
the full Officiating Certification Clinic.
Many squash leagues across the country require
all participants to take a Rules Clinic, in order to be eligible
to participate in the league. The Squash Canada Officiating
Committee certainly encourages such a requirement and would
welcome any additional leagues that may be considering including
it in their by-laws.
The Officiating Committee also encourages
any informal delivery of "mini-rules" clinics that
may be tailored to suit specific audiences (e.g. new club
members, juniors, sponsors, etc.) All such activity is positive
and helps "spread the knowledge of the rules" for
the betterment of all. However, unless these are presented
as full Rules Clinics, no credit will be given to the participants
should they subsequently enroll in a Certification Clinic.
