| Squash Canada Officiating
Program
Questions/Answers
If you have any questions regarding the game and rules of
Squash feel free to send us an email at fboyer@squash.ca
and Rod Symington (WSF World Referee) will gladly answer your
question(s).
Question 1: If a player, at the front of
the court, hits the ball, which then hits the front wall and
then hits him/her directly AND the opponent is lying on the
floor at the back of the court and makes no attempt whatsoever
to get the ball....is this a stroke?
Answer from Rod : If you hit yourself with
your own shot, you lose the point. The only exception is if
your opponent has blocked your exit -- which is clearly not
the case here.
Question 2:
As the referee of the match should you allow the players on court to overrule your call? There are two (2) parts to the question 1) Should you allow them to overrule your Marker Calls (ups, downs, not ups, etc.) and/or 2) Should you allow them to overrule your Interference Calls (lets, strokes, no lets)?
Answer from Rod:
1. Always go with the players if they agree with a Marking call (it's their game, not yours). They are closer to the ball and there is no point on your being rigid and adamant ("I'm the Referee!").
2. As a general rule, do not give in to the players on interference decisions: 1. They do not have your perspective of the position of the two bodies and the location of the ball; and 2. If you give in on one call, why not on every one? Should the players have the right to pick and choose which of the Referee's calls they want to accept? Why is the Referee there? How can there be consistency if the calls are sometimes accepted, sometimes overruled?
When the two players step on court, they are saying, in effect: We accept this Referee and all the decisions he/she is going to make. A good Referee applies a consistent standard -- a "line" -- and tries to keep to that line the entire match. Another referee's line might be slightly different, but what we are striving for is a consistent line by the Match Referee throughout the match. I (Think of the need for a consistent line on backswing interference.) In this way the players both know what the standard is and where they stand. Any deviation from that standard will serve only to undermine it and confuse the players.
So only in the rarest of circumstances should a Referee "go with the players" on an interference decision.
Question 3:
What is a "correct" hit, or return?
Answer from Rod: You can find the definition of "correctly" in the Definitions at the back of the Rule Book.
Esentially, any double hit or "prolonged contact on the racket" is an incorrect hit.
Thus "scooping" the ball is incorrect.
Also, if the ball is rolling along the floor, it is already considered to have bounced more than once -- so playing it is not legal.
Question 4: If a player, at the front of the court, hits the ball, which then hits the front wall and then hits him/her directly AND the opponent is lying on the floor at the back of the court and makes no attempt whatsoever to get the ball....is this a stroke?
Answer from Rod: If you hit yourself with your own shot, you lose the point. The only exception is if your opponent has blocked your exit -- which is clearly not the case here.
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