Sep
9
2017 / 2018 Season Update
Filed Under Info for Captains, Info for players | Comments Off on 2017 / 2018 Season Update
Quick note to all VSL participants.
The VSL Committee is still attempting to confirm divisional alignments for the upcoming season. We have a couple of issues of concern that we’re trying to sorted but our hope is to have all the club reps and pros on board and in agreement by Friday, September 15th. This will allow us to get the teams sorted on SportyHQ with two weeks to spare before league starts.
League Start Date
As usual league is scheduled to start the first week of October.
- Open Divisions 1-6 will start on Monday, October 2nd
- Women’s Divisions and Open Div 7 will start on Tuesday, October 3rd
Captain’s Social
The Captain’s Social will be happening early in the week of September 23 – 27th. We’ll announce that as soon as we can via a league-wide email. All first time captains are STRONGLY encouraged to attend. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions.
Hope you’re all back on court getting ready for another amazing season! Please check back here for more updates as we get closer to the season.
Oct
14
2016 BC Open
Filed Under Info for players, Provincial Tournaments, Tournaments | Comments Off on 2016 BC Open
#2016BCOpen
This year’s edition of the BC Open will take place at the Bentall Centre Athletic Club, from November 23-27, and is presented by The Lincoln Motor Company. Entry is $65 ($60 before November 9) and the deadline to enter is Wednesday, November 16th at 6pm PST.
There is $5000 in prize money available and only 120 entries maximum. Your entry entitles you to 3 hours of validated parking, three (3) guaranteed matches and a meal coupon that you can use any time you’d like between the 23rd and 27th. World #74 Martin Knight will be playing and will host a Q & A on the Friday night.
Register now at SportyHQ
Questions? Email Andrew Lynn.
Poster design by SquashRepublic.com
Sep
10
Women’s Div 1 for 2016/2017 Season
Filed Under Info for players, Women's Div 1 | Comments Off on Women’s Div 1 for 2016/2017 Season
If you are interested in playing in Women’s Div 1 for the upcoming season, lease let the VSL know by September 20th. Send an email to info@vancouversquashleague.com and include your name and club. If you are a member of a VSL club you must sign up for league through your club. If you are unaffiliated you will be asked to pay a VSL league fee prior to the start of the season.
There will be a draft just like last year and teams will be selected, and informed, prior to the first matches which are scheduled for Tuesday, September 27th.
Please note that the ranking point guidelines to play in Div 1 are between 975 – 1700.
Sep
10
2016 Captain’s Social
Filed Under Info for Captains, Info for players | Comments Off on 2016 Captain’s Social
ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2oth, from 6-8pm, AT THE JERICHO TENNIS CLUB, the Vancouver Squash League (VSL) is hosting a “Captain’s Social” for all VSL captains and co-captains. This brief information session will include an overview of a captain’s job requirements, league rules overview and a SportyHQ demo. There will also be a question and answer period and FREE BEER AND APPETIZERS.
This is a great event for captains to get up to speed on the league before it starts and it’s our way of saying “THANKS”. First-time captains are strongly recommended to attend If you are a league team captain and can’t attend please send your co-captain.
RSVP by September 18th to be entered in a prize draw: info@vancouversquashleague.com
Mar
12
2016 VSL Survey Results
Filed Under Info for players, Survey | Comments Off on 2016 VSL Survey Results
View the results of previous surveys:
2014 – Should the VSL switch to 4 players per team?
2013 – League Survey
Jan
9
Playoffs and 3rd Cycle for Open Div 1 & 7
Filed Under Info for Captains, Info for Club Reps, Info for players, Playoffs, Schedules, SportyHQ | Comments Off on Playoffs and 3rd Cycle for Open Div 1 & 7
The playoff dates have been added to SportyHQ’s online schedule. Previously we had posted them on the SCHEDULE page on our website.
Venues and teams participating in the semifinals and the finals have not been determined yet but some divisions will notice that they have a gap between their last league match and the semifinals. Teams are welcome to reschedule if both captains agree and the host club is able to accommodate them. Always check with your club pro first and don’t forget to let the league coordinator know about the date change. Please enter the results!
Div 1 Open and Div 1 Women will play their finals on March 19th at the AGM & Wrap Party event (location TBD).
We have also added the “missing” third cycle for Open Divisions 1 & 7. Club pros or reps with teams in those divisions (ARB, BEN, BON, EVE, JER, RIV, SPC, TCC & VRC) will have to enter the start times for these matches. Players should note that hosting is shared during third cycles. Thanks for your patience while we figured out how to get this online!
If you have any questions please check our FAQ page or email the league coordinator if you don’t find your answer there – info@vancouversquashleague.com
Sep
9
Women’s Div 1 > New Format for 2015/2016 Season
Filed Under Announcements, Info for players | Comments Off on Women’s Div 1 > New Format for 2015/2016 Season
As some of you know, participation in Women’s Div. 1 was down last season. A variety of reasons for this drop were suggested and in response to these suggestions the VSL held a Women’s Div 1 Spring League with a new format. Teams were created based on skill level rather than club affiliation and this made for fun, competitive matches for all players. Hosting was made optional and all teams were able to share players, when necessary, from a “spare pool”.
Based on overwhelming positive feedback from the trial, the VSL has decided to move forward with a trial version of that new format for the 2015/16 season.
This season will be a trial period and the league will assess near the end of the season whether to continue with this format for future years.
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HOW DO I SIGN UP?
Send an email to info@vancouversquashleague.com BEFORE September 15, 2015 and we’ll do the rest. Let us know:
1) Your preference for playing:
a) full-time,
b) part-time or
c) spare?
2) Would you like to be a team captain?
3) Does your club have a Women’s Div 1 team?
a) If you are a member of JER, EVE or VRC you must also register with your club and pay the appropriate fees to join league in addition to letting us know about their desire to play in Div 1.
b) If your club is not listed above that’s okay, we’ll place you with a team! Sign up by emailing the league coordinator at info@vancouversquashleague.com. There will be a registration fee for these players that will be distributed to their team’s club that season as per a regular league participant.
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WHAT IS THE NEW FORMAT?
(i) Who can play?
As a general guideline, players should have a minimum of 1,000 ranking points. However, some players (such as juniors) may not have points that reflect their skill level, so they should check with the squash pro at their club before signing up.
Players below 1,000 ranking points who would like to play in Div 1 will likely be placed in the “spare pool”. If you would like to play full time in league, then we strongly recommend you register as a regular player for Div 2 and register as a spare for Div 1.
The VSL will pool players that have signed up and create a minimum of four equitable teams.
You can sign up choosing to play a) full-time; b) part-time or c) spare.
Spares will be available to all teams.
New this season: Players that don’t have a Div 1 women’s team will sign up by emailing the league coordinator at info@vancouversquashleague.com. There will be a registration fee for these players that will be distributed to their team’s club that season as per a regular league participant.
NOTE: All players must register for league with their club as normal in addition to letting us know about their desire to play in Div 1.
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(ii) Teams and Team Captains
The team line-up will be 4 or 5 players depending on participation and there will be at least 4 teams.
We’re hoping to have people volunteer to be team captains but we may ask players if there aren’t enough.
Players will be kept with their respective clubs, as much as possible, but the priority is to have balanced teams so that all players have competitive matches. It will be important for captains to communicate with one another to coordinate matches to ensure players are as closely matched as realistically possible.
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(iii) Host Clubs
Just like last season, each week teams will play at the host clubs on a rotating basis. The clubs participating are Vancouver Racquets Club, Jericho and Evergreen.
The VSL will determine the designated HOME team and the designated visiting team for each night in the league schedule. The HOME team will be responsible for reffing that night.
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(iv) Scoring
Teams have the choice of playing PAR 11 or PAR 15. Both captains must agree on the scoring system or play PAR 15. All matches should be played with the same scoring system.
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(v) Team Responsibilities
The HOME team is responsible for refereeing matches and entering scores into SportyHQ. Team hosting is no longer a requirement in this division but players are encouraged to socialize after the matches.
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(vi) Player Costs
Players must register with their clubs and pay the appropriate fees to join league. There is no additional cost, such as club drop-in fees, to play in the new format.
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ANY QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK?
Please email the League Coordinator: info@vancouversquashleague.com.
If you know of anyone who might be interested in participating, who isn’t currently playing in the VSL, please let them know about this.
Apr
16
Div. 1 Women : Spring League Apr 28 to June 16, 2015
Filed Under Info for players | Comments Off on Div. 1 Women : Spring League Apr 28 to June 16, 2015
As some of you know, there was an issue with participation in Women’s Div 1 this season. In response to this, we are proposing a format change for Div 1 to try to make playing a bit easier for everyone and provide fun, competitive matches for all players.
We would like to do a trial run of this new format this spring. It would be on Tuesdays starting April 28 and end June 16.
Each week, all teams will play at the same host club on a rotating basis.. The clubs participating are Vancouver Racquets Club, Van Lawn, Jericho and Evergreen (to be confirmed).
The goal is to make it fun: come out for a good run, cheer on your team mates, and win prizes! There will be a draw for “door prizes” every league night and all players will be entered to win a gift basket on June 16.
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What is the new format?
As a general guideline, players should have a minimum of 1000 points. However, some players (such as juniors) may not have points that reflect their skill level, so the squash pro at your club can advise you on this.
We will pool players that have signed up. You can sign up choosing to play a) full-time; b) part-time or c) spare. Spares will be available to all teams.
As much as possible players will be kept with their respective clubs but the priority is to have balanced teams so that all players have competitive matches.
The team line-up will be 4 players. We hope to have at least 4 teams.
2 to 3 women from the Div 1 pool will act as Division coordinators.
Meals, snacks and beverages afterwards are optional but will be paid for out-of-pocket by individual players.
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What do you need to do?
Sign up!! Get your club mates to sign up!!
It’s easy. Just send an email to vsldiv1women@gmail.com. We’ll do the rest!
This is a trial for the 2015/16 season. If we get positive feedback we will move forward with this change. If there is a lack of response there may be an assumption that there is a lack of interest in women’s Div 1 period.
If you would like to participate in this format for Div 1 during the 2015/16 season but are unable to participate in the trial, please send us a note to let us know!
If you know of anyone who might be interested in this trial league that isn’t currently playing in the VSL please PASS THIS EMAIL ON!
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Have any questions or feedback?
Contact Nicola Martin or Anna Kirbyson at vsldiv1women@gmail.com
Nov
7
Note about challenge matches and your rankings
Filed Under Info for players, SportyHQ | Comments Off on Note about challenge matches and your rankings
Vancouver Squash League players should note that SportyHQ is no longer collecting or gathering data from QuickDraws. This means that any club-level challenge matches that are ONLY entered into QuickDraws will not appear in the player’s Squash BC match history and will not affect their official rankings.
If your club is running something other than SportyHQ (Game Time or QuickDraws) for court bookings, or for club ladders, please ensure that you enter your challenge matches in SportyHQ AS WELL AS your local club-based software program
Sep
17
A Guide to SportyHQ
Filed Under Info for Captains, Info for players, SportyHQ, SportyHQ Guide | Comments Off on A Guide to SportyHQ
As you may have heard, Squash BC has signed a five year contract with SportyHQ and the VSL, which is a sanctioned event of Squash BC, is following suit and switching to SportyHQ.
The VSL league schedule is already online: Check it out here. At that link you’ll be able to see the schedule, results and team lists.
NOTE: All players in the VSL will need to set up an account in order to access their rankings and team info. Here’s a quick guide to help you get up and running.
DO I ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT?
If you’ve played in a recent tournament there’s a good chance you do. If you’re not sure, go to this page and follow the simple steps: https://www.sportyhq.com/help/im-not-sure-if-i-have-an-account/
HOW DO I LOGIN?
If you have an active account, you can login by going to https://www.sportyhq.com and clicking on login in the top right hand corner. The direct link to the login page is https://www.sportyhq.com/authentication/login.
I’M A CAPTAIN. HOW DO I ADD PLAYERS?
Please note: You’ll need to be the captain of your team in order to add players to it. If you are the captain, but you can’t access the page referenced in this article, then please contact the league administrator.
Bring up your TEAM’s page by going to the league’s main page and clicking on your team’s name in the summary box (you may have to select your division first). In this example Women’s Div 1 is selected and we’re clicking on VRC A1 to bring up the team menu.
This will be the page that pops up after clicking on your team name:
In this example seven players have already been added by clicking the blue “Manage Players” button on the far right. In this example none of the players have updated their accounts to include a photo of themselves. They can do that at any time.
After clicking on the blue “Manage Players” button a new screen will appear and you’ll see a bar that says “Add a New Team Player”. Click it and simple type in the players name. The system will search for them and you can add them. You can also designate whether they are a spare or not. You can also order your players from 1-5 but remember RANKINGS will decide the correct order of play on match day.
Close up view:
Ok, so now you have all your players signed. Make sure they activate their accounts and add their photos!
HOW DO I RENAME MY TEAM?
If you’d like to rename your team in your league, please send an email at support@sportyhq.com. Be sure to include:
- Your name (you should be the captain of your team!)
- The league your team is in
- The DIVISION you play in
- The CLUB you play for
- Your existing team name
- Your new team name
HOW DO I VIEW THE SCHEDULE?
Go to the league page and select your division from the summary box on the main page. Then, click the green Schedule button.
If you want to view only your team’s schedule, then you can visit your team’s page. To do that, go back to the main league page and click on your division, followed by your team’s name.
You can alternatively use the search box in the navigation bar (click on the magnifying glass icon and type in your team’s name). Both of these methods will take you to page where you can see the full schedule.
SETTING UP YOUR TEAM LINEUP FOR MATCHES
Setting your team’s lineup is a really useful feature in SportyHQ. It takes the headache out of having to email and coordinate your team’s availability each round.
In SportyHQ, you can ask your team at the beginning of the season (and throughout) to update their availability for each round. Team members can indicate if they’re available, unavailable, or only available if absolutely necessary. That availability then shows up on your team’s page, where you can then set the line up for the coming round.
As soon as you set your line up, your entire team (including those who aren’t playing) are notified via email. You can also include useful instructions (such as carpooling information) in a free form comments field.
HOW DOES A TEAM MEMBER INDICATE THEIR AVAILABILITY?
It’s very easy. All they have to do is visit the league’s main page. Because SportyHQ knows that they’re a member of your team, they’ll see a box on that page with upcoming rounds where they can indicate their availability. It looks like this:
SET AVAILABILITY
Clicking the thumbs up means Available! The yellow “minus” sign means that you might be available if you’re absolutely needed, while the thumbs down indicates that you’re Unavailable. As soon as you click one of these, the availability immediately updates.
Go back to to your team page, then scroll down to the schedule. Next to an upcoming round, you’ll see a button titled “Choose Lineup“. Click it.
SCHEDULE AND CHOOSE YOUR LINEUP
On the next page, you’ll see a list of your team members, along with with their availability and plenty of statistics about them that might help you set your lineup. All you have to do is pick your positions for each player (please make sure your reference any league rules that may apply to rankings and positions!), like this:
Then, enter a custom message if you would like to and then press “Save Lineup!”.
Your team’s lineup is emailed out to your entire team, and is then also available for your opposition to view, which will hopefully encourage them to set their line up, if they haven’t done so already.
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
CLICK ON THESE HANDY LINKS: