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Welcome to Squash at Scottish
By Peter Robinson, Squash Coordinator
The squash division of Wellington Scottish was created in the early 1970s when the
present club rooms were built along with the two squash courts. The squash division is still part of Wellington Scottish
Athletics Club, but run separately. During the early days, our squash division was involved with inter-club competitions but at present
there are no plans for this to happen in the future.
With a total of 30 members, we do not have a booking system
and there does not appear to be a problem with availability of courts. Ideally we would like to grow the membership numbers to
50.
There are plans to start a competition ladder in the near
future for the more competitive members.
The subscription for the year is $110 per person.
This cost is the lowest for any squash club in the Wellington area. This entitles the member to two light meter cards and
unlimited access to the courts. This is to encourage members to introduce new people to the club as we are still in need of
new members.
The advantages of joining Scottish Squash are:
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The club rooms are five minutes
from CBD.
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The subscription is cheapest in
Wellington.
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There is no need for booking
and with low membership there are courts available almost at any time.
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The club is open 24/7 with
loads of free parking.
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Squash is an excellent way to
keep fit and is relatively inexpensive.
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Wellington Scottish club is
friendly and family-orientated.
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You can be as competitive as
you want to be.
Please contact Peter Robinson for any further information
or for a tour of the facilities on 915-6114 (W), 386-4015 (H), 021-770875 or probinson@paradise.net.nz.
How to play the game
What you need:
a squash court
two squash racquets
eye guards (recommended)
two people
non-marking shoes
a squash ball
How to begin:
Decide who serves first with the spin of a racquet or a
coin toss.
How to serve:
With one foot inside one of the small service boxes on
either side of the court, strike the ball so that it hits the front wall above the red line that is about half way up and, if
allowed to drop before your opponent returns it, lands in your opponent's back quarter of the court. (see figure A)
The return:
After the serve, the receiver has to return the ball
anywhere to the front wall above the tin (the tin is the part below the bottom red line. It
is made of tin, and makes a loud bang when the ball hits it, so you can easily tell it was out). The ball does not have to bounce before being returned, but can't bounce more than once. On the return, the ball can
hit any walls, but must hit the front wall at least once.
Continuing play:
The players keep alternating shots that can hit any wall,
but hit the front wall at least once. Any time the ball bounces twice, is hit out of bounds (ie.hits the tin or is hit on or
above the red lines circling the top of the room) or does not hit the front wall on a return, the rally ends.
How to score:
Only the server can earn a point. If the server wins a
rally, he/she gets a point and continues to serve alternating serving boxes after each rally. If the server loses the rally,
he/she gives serve to the opponent. The first person to score nine points wins the game. The
first person to win three games wins the match.
Note: For
safety reasons, if your opponent is in your way, DO NOT hit the ball. STOP and
RE-SERVE.
Some squash lingo
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Angle
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A shot played to the front off the side wall - also referred to as a boast.
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Appeal
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A player's request to the referee to consider an infringement that may result in a "let" or "stoke"
being awarded. The correct form of appeal is "Let, please."
If there is no referee, the player may stop and appeal in the same manner to his or her opponent.
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Attempt
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An attempt is made when, in the opinion of the referee, the striker has moved his racket towards the ball from the back
swing position.
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Backhand
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The opposite direction of swing to that in which you would normally through a ball.
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Backswing
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The space taken by the racquet in preparing for a shot
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Board
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The lowest horizontal marking on the front wall of the court, usually a red line drawn across the top of the
tin.
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Boast
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A shot played to the front off the side wall - also referred to as an angle.
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Box
(Service)
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A square area in
each quarter court, bounded by part of the short line, part of the side wall, and two other lines. The server serves from
within this area.
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Cross Court
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A shot played directly off the front wall to the side that is furthest from the striker.
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Cut
Line
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The middle line on
the front court, six feet from the floor, also referred to as the service line; the serve must hit the front wall above this
line.
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Down
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The expression used to signify that a ball has hit the "board" or "tin."
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Drive
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A shot to the front corner, directly off the front wall.
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Drop
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A soft shot to the front corner, directly off the front wall.
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Downswing
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The area of swing from the start of its downward journey until the point of impact.
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Follow
Through
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The area of the swing after
impact with the ball.
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Forehand
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The direction of the swing after impact with the ball.
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Game
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Part of a match, commencing with a service and concluding when one player has scored or been awarded nine
or ten points
(in accordance with the rules).
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Game
Ball
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The state of the score when the
server requires one point to win the game in progress. "Game ball" is also used as a Marker's call.
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Half
Court Line
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A line set on the floor
parallel to the side walls, dividing the back of the court into two equal parts and meeting the short line at its midpoint to
form the T.
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Hand
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The period from the time a player becomes a server until he becomes receiver.
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Hand
Out
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The situation when a change of
server occurs.
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Kill
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A hard shot to the "nick."
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Let
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A let is an undecided rally. The rally in respect of which a let is allowed does not count, and the server serves again
from the same box. A player can appeal for a let if they could not make an attempt
to hit the ball because their opponent was in the way.
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Lob
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A soft shot struck with enough height to clear the opponent and his or her racquet and finish in the back corner of the
court.
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Match
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The complete contest between two players, commencing with the warm up and concluding when both players have left the
court at the end of the final rally.
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Match Ball
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The state of the score when the server requires one point to win the match. "Match ball" is also used as a
Marker's call.
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Nick
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The corner between the side, or back wall and the floor.
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Not
Up
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The
expression used to indicate that the ball has not been struck in accordance with the rules. 'Not up' applies when:
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The ball is not struck correctly by the server or
striker.
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The ball bounces more than once on the floor before being struck by the
striker.
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The ball touches the striker or anything s/he wears or carries other than his
racket.
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The server makes an attempt but fails to strike the ball.
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Out
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The expression used to indicate that:
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The ball has struck the out line, or a wall above
the out line, or the ceiling, or any fitting
attached to the ceiling and/or wall above the out line.
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The ball has passed through any fitting attached
to the ceiling and/or wall above the out line.
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In
addition to the above, on a court which is not fully enclosed, the ball has passed over the out line and out of the court
without touching any wall, or, if no out line is provided, passed over the wall and out of the court.
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Out Line
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A continuous line comprising the front wall line, both side wall lines, and the back wall line. It also marks the top
boundaries of the court.
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Rally
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A series of strikes of the ball - a rally commences with a serve and concludes when the ball ceases to be in play.
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Short
Line
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A line set out on the floor parallel
to the front wall and 18 feet from it. The serve must clear the short line before
bouncing.
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Striker
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The player whose turn it is to hit the ball after it has hit the front wall.
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Stroke
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The gain achieved by the player who wins a rally, either in the course of play or on award by a referee, which results
in either a point or change of hand. A player can appeal for a stroke if they
believe they could have made a shot that was not out but didn’t because their opponent was in the way.
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T
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Midpoint of the court where the court marking meets to form a T.
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Tin
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The "tin" is situated between the board and the floor and is constructed in such a way to make a distinctive
sound when struck by the ball. The ball is "out" when it strikes the
"board" or "tin".
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Trickle
Boast
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A soft
boast at the front of the court.
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Volley
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A ball that is struck before bouncing on the floor.
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Wallbanger
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A squash player – from the common problem of failing to anticipate the exact position of the wall when attempting to
reach ball. |
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