1. You may challenge the player one, two or three positions above you on the ladder. When you join the ladder you may challenge any player at any position on the ladder for your first challenge.

2. All games should be played within two weeks of a challenge being made (unless there are extenuating circumstances) otherwise the challenger wins.

3. You should play your game at a mutually convenient time. Court bookings for Hillside are made through Ferndale Sports booking: 08451308998 (requires credit or debit card). Booking for matches involving players under 16 years of age are free, but they should still book by phone to secure the reservation.

4. If the person being challenged offers 3 different 'compulsory match times' (on different days) and the challenger cannot make any of them, then the CHALLENGE is VOID.

5. If the person being challenged cannot offer 3 different 'compulsory match times' (on different days) then the CHALLENGER WINS by default.

6. If either party is more than 20 minutes late in attending an agreed match then the late or non attender loses the match.

7. If you make a successful challenge you swap your name with the person you beat. Therefore you may jump (or drop) up to two positions at a time.

8. All ladder matches should be 10-game 'pro-sets': first to ten games, to win by two games (e.g. 10-8, 11-9), or a 13-point tie-breaker at ten-games all. PLEASE stick to the 10-game format as this will allow the clever rating system to give personal ratings based on margins of victory/defeat. Players can choose, by mutual agreement, to play 'No-Ad' scoring, which proceeds as in regular tennis scoring, but if the score reaches deuce, then the winner of the next point, the seventh in the game, served to the deuce court, wins the game. This is a quicker game and may be used if players are short of time (or energy ;).

9. If the challenged person (challengee) wishes to forfeit the challenge they can record this within the challenge and grace period and the game is won by the challenger by forfeit.

10. Other rules can be added here. Suggestions to administrator welcome.

Tennis Lessons

Tennis lessons are available from LTA registered coach Eduardo Flores. Eduardo has taught juniors and adults in the park for the past ten years and provides individual and small-group coaching throughout the year. His contact details are posted in the park.

If you have never played in a tennis ladder before it's a great way for new players to get started. Here are the basics... No matter where you start on the ladder, after a period of time you will end up playing games with people of similar ability. If you improve, you are likely to go up the ladder but you will then be playing against harder opponents. If you wish to take a break from the ladder (e.g. you are away for 6 months) then you can do so by clicking on 'take a break' from the admin page (you need to be logged in to access this page). When you are ready to make a challenge, go to the rankings page (you must be logged in first). Then click on the player you wish to challenge and follow the instructions. The ladder rules are below.

You will have noticed a points score appear next to player names on the rankings page (if logged in). This is a trial points rating system based on the classic Elo system. Players will be awarded points for winning and lose points for losing depending on how difficult the system calculates your opponent to be. It will take a few games to settle down the scoring system. Currently the rating is displayed for information purposes only but in future it will be possible to arrange the ladder ranking system around this points score.

This software is provided free of charge. To support further development of the ladder please consider making a donation. Thank you.

The ladder is hosted on a not for profit basis by squash-ladder.net. The data held is not processed for any purpose other than to allow individuals to participate in the ladder. The information held is Name and Email address. It is your choice if you wish to include any further contact details. They are stored in a password protected database. Your password to access the site is stored in the database in an encrypted form. The data is relatively safe but no guarantee is made regarding security. It is believed that these uses do not necessitate that the database and squash ladder be notified under the Data Protection Act, UK. Your ladder operator may need to register as a data operator depending on their country of operation. If you have any concerns about data protection or data security please discuss this with your ladder operator.

Technical Information