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PRO Scoring in Malaysia
One event down, many more
to go ... we asked WISPA's Andrew Shelley for his reactions
after the women's new scoring system had been used fore real ...
 It
is what it is. Pro-Scoring has been embraced by WISPA, and will
now be a component of the WISPA World Tour. Because of the
lengthy testing there was no sense of surprise at the CIMB
Malaysian Open where we launched it this week. It was not an
unveiling where the crowd gasped and cried wow! It is an
evolution.
Players have had to adjust to the format mentally as the
dynamics of the game can differ, but those of us off the court
are too close to it to be objective. The shoppers hanging over
the balconies at the Curve Centre in Kuala Lumpur wanted the
spectacle of top players competing. It is what they came to see
and admire. They have heard the score mount as rallies were won
and expected the points total to mount. For those that play or
have played they understand both Standard and PAR scoring, but
simply wonder why both men and women are not playing the same.
For those that are not squash enthusiasts they watch the
athleticism without appreciating the nuances.
WISPA had spent a long while testing to be confident that the
change to Pro-Scoring wouldn't be damaging. Many players have
been comfortable at the first event this week, and during the
coming months all those who have trained counting each point
will be trying the format under pressure too.
So now both pro Tours are aligned. Squash is united at the elite
end. That is not to say that this is suitable for recreational
play, that is up to WSF to decide, but as we move towards the
next window of opportunity for Olympic acceptance, anybody from
that organisation will see the same system in operation amongst
international players.
And while it may be remarked that the tin is lower for the men's
pro game than it is for the women and recreational, this is
simply a device to 'lengthen' the court for the guys and thus
shorten the game a little; something that is not needed for the
women or the rest of us.
Perhaps the men's between-game interval will come down from two
minutes to join the rest of the sport at ninety seconds to unify
the elite level still further, but the main task has been
completed.
The WISPA Experience will go from strength to strength and
discussions on scoring will be a thing of the past.
Our new scoring is what it is.
WISPA Chief Executive |
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Some Numbers |
Matches |
2008 |
2007 |
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Mins |
Av Game |
Av Match |
Mins |
Av Game |
Av Match |
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Qualifying |
12 |
350 |
11.7 |
29.2 |
357 |
8.7 |
29.8 |
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Main Draw |
15 |
544 |
9.7 |
36.3 |
593 |
11.4 |
39.5 |
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Total |
27 |
894 |
10.4 |
33.1 |
950 |
10.2 |
35.2 |
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22-Jul-08:
England Squash introduce PAR to all junior sanctioned events
 England
Squash, the National Governing Body for Squash & Racketball, have
announced that all junior sanctioned events will be played under a
Point-A-Rally (PAR) scoring system from the 2008/9 season onwards,
to keep scoring in junior events consistent with the new European
Squash Federation PAR-to-11 rules.
At its AGM in May, the European Squash Federation (ESF) voted to
move to PAR-to-11 scoring for all competitive squash under the
Federation’s jurisdiction – including the ESF Junior Circuit - for
an experimental period of 12 months. England Squash’s Performance
Department quickly moved to propose that junior squash in England
moved to PAR-to-11 to ensure that young English players were not
disadvantaged when playing competitive squash on the European stage.
With this in mind England Squash’s Board of Directors has agreed
that all junior sanctioned competitions under its jurisdiction will
be PAR-to-11 for the 2008/09 season.
Trials have shown that PAR scoring creates a more exciting game for
players and spectators, and there is a strong desire within squash
to create a simple and consistent scoring system across all levels
of the sport.
“I believe that adopting PAR scoring next season for junior
competition will be of significant benefit to all English players.
They will be able to develop their game accordingly and feel
comfortable using the new scoring system in competitive play, in the
future,” revealed Jim Lord, England Squash Director of
Development & Competitions.
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Double Match Ball
by James Zug
What is the most exciting thing
in sports? When a tied game goes into sudden-death overtime. Extra
innings in baseball is boring. Overtime in soccer, football or
basketball is tedious. But give me ice hockey, with the chance in a
split second, the game can be over. That is a thrill.
Pro-Scoring Hails New Era For Women's Squash In Kuala Lumpur
WISPA Press Release, 21-Jul
 The
$53,500 CIMB Malaysian Open is making squash history today as the
first women's Tour event to use point-a-rally scoring.
The WISPA World Tour Gold championship introduces the first change
in scoring from the traditional 'hand-in-hand-out' system - in which
a player can only win a point when serving - which has been used
since the Women's International Squash Players' Association was
formed in 1984.
As before, all matches will be best-of-five-games - but the games
will feature point-a-rally to 11 points, the same as the scoring
used on the men’s PSA Tour.
"Scoring is a fundamental part of the game, which is why WISPA has
spent a good deal of time discussing and evaluating Pro-Scoring,"
explained WISPA Chief Executive Andrew Shelley.
"Now we have committed to it, confident in its success, and look
forward to its formal unveiling on one of our really big stages -
the CIMB Malaysian Open. And there, for the first time there will be
uniformity for the players, the spectators, huge media coverage and
in our worldwide results output. A milestone in Malaysia!"
Australia's world champion Rachael Grinham is looking forward to
seeing the effects of this new introduction: "It's a big change for
the game mentally, which I think is huge because I believe at the
top of the women's game most matches are won mentally.
"From my experience in practice matches, I've found the pace to be
much faster, maybe because of a hint of urgency on the mind. I think
it will still take some time for everyone to get settled into the
new scoring.
"I do believe it will make matches much closer, which will be better
from the spectators' point of view. It will be interesting to see
what happens in KL," added the third seed.
Quick Facts:
In qualifying in KL there were twelve men's and twelve women's
matches.
Average game times (min):
2008 2007
Men's
12.9 9.6
Women's 7.6
8.7
Verdict: too early to tell ...
Plenty more scoring discussion
in the forum ... |
IS 'PRO' SCORING UNSTOPPABLE ??
Steve Cubbins, 13-Jul
Leaving aside the arguments about the relative merits of the
different scoring systems available in squash, there seems to be an
unstoppable momentum at the moment behind "Pro" scoring
(point-a-rally, first to 11, 2 clear).
For a long time it was just 300 professional male players (PSA)
who used it, while the other 20 million or so of us mainly used
"standard" scoring (to 9, score only on serve).
But now more and more organisations and competitions are converting
to "Pro" scoring;
* WISPA (professional women), after a long period of trials,
will go "Pro" for the Malaysian Open at the end of July.
* ESF (european squash fed) have converted for all events as
from now
* WSF (world fed) used "Pro" scoring for the last men's team
championships
* DSQV (German fed) recently converted all their events
* FFSquash (French fed) converted all their senior and junior boys
events last year
* Many European leagues already use "Pro" scoring, as do many of
their counterparts in other continents
So, while the vast majority of players still use standard scoring,
most of the high-profile matches already use, or soon will use,
"Pro" scoring, and while most recreational players pay scant
attention to the professional game, the effect is bound to filter
down to other levels - for example, "Pro" scoring was used at a
regional junior event at my own club last month (and the matches
were very quick).
The WSF is actively undertaking a process of examining scoring
systems to see if there should be a standard method used for the
whole of the sport. Given all the developments above perhaps they
might as well abandon the process and simply "go with the flow" ...
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"It's like you are in control
but suddenly you are second guessing yourself when you have a chance
to put the ball away. 
"I have point-a-rally to thank, as well, as I am not sure how I
would have coped physically if the match had been even longer. In
normal circumstances, I may have been a little more defensive, but
after the layoff I had to be more attacking."
