3.

(a)

The following shall be eligible to play for a club or other organisation:

(1) A member liable for, and paying the full subscription for squash rackets.

(2) A life member elected and paying the full subscription for such membership.

(3) An honorary member elected by their club or in such special circumstances as the Surrey Squash Rackets Association may approve.

(4) Surrey Veterans League:  Men must be over 45 on the day of the match or 40 in the case of ladies.

(5) Surrey Vintage League:  Men must be over 55 on the day of the match or 50 in the case of ladies.

Note: A person being eligible to play for their club does not necessarily allow them to do so for a particular league. See rules below.

(b)

No player may represent more than one Club during the same season in each Competition, except with the prior approval of the relevant Competition Secretary.  Such applications shall be in writing. Where approval is granted, a player may not play again for the original club during the same Competition.

[It is perfectly acceptable for a player to be a member of two clubs, and indeed to play Surrey Cup for one club and Vets for another, for instance.]

(c)

Only players named on the nomination list for the relevant period may play in any matches, except as stated below for the bottom team in a club. Initial nominations must be received, prior to the start of the competition, with subsequent nominations as required under the rules. The nomination list for any team must contain at least as many players as make up a side for the particular league.

For the bottom team ONLY in a club, any eligible member (see Rule 3a) is deemed to be ‘playable’, even if not included in the current nomination list for that team. This allows the team to use players in the bottom team only to “make up the numbers” where injury or holidays would not otherwise allow a full team to be available. However, once played, they are automatically added to the bottom of the nomination list and from then on, normal playing order rules apply.

[Players added this way can only play for the bottom team.]

(d)

All players are restricted to playing in the team for which they are currently nominated or in a higher team, as allowed under the rules.

[You may not under any circumstances play in a lower team than that for which you are currently nominated.]

(e)

A player who plays for a higher team(s) than that for which they are currently nominated, has “played up” and there are limits associated with the following competitions:

Surrey Cup: Limit of playing up twice per half.
Vets: Limit of playing up three times per half.
Vintage: Limit of playing up three times per half.

Any player who “plays up” more than the limit, is deemed to be “team tied” to a higher team, and cannot then play in any lower team for the rest of the season.

[A player team tied in the first half can remain nominated in their original team for the second half, although cannot actually play in that team. This allows the order of relative strength of players to be maintained]

The team to which you are tied is considered as follows :

1) If at least one of your "play ups" is to the team immediately above that for which you were originally nominated, then you are tied to that team. (eg: if nominated for the 3rd team in Surrey Cup and you play up twice for the 1st team and once for the 2nd team, you are tied to the 2nd team.)

2) If none of your "play ups" were for the team immediately above that for which you were nominated, then you are tied to at least two teams above. (eg: if nominated for the 3rd team in Surrey Cup and you play up three times for the 1st team, you are tied to the 1st team.)

3) If at the point of being tied to a particular team, any of your "play ups" were to a team above that to which you have just been tied, then those "play ups" remains against you for the rest of that half. (eg: if nominated for the 3rd team in Surrey Cup and you play up twice for the 1st team and once for the 2nd team, then you are tied to the 2nd team, but if you then play up once more into the 1st team, then you are immediately tied to the 1st team.)

(f)

All players must play in the order as given on the appropriate nomination forms. However one interchange of players may be allowed from that declared on the current official nomination form by no more than one interchange of players and shall be restricted to those in consecutive positions on the relevant nomination form.

[Note this refers to nominated order. Just because two players happen to be playing one below the other on the night, does not allow them to swap, unless their actual nomination order is also one below the other.]

(g)

No player from a lower team may play above a player nominated for any higher team.

(h)

Match cards giving the names of all players in team order and including current nomination status as declared on the official form, shall be exchanged by team captains or their deputies present prior to the commencement of the match.  The cards may not be amended thereafter and shall be signed by both captains at the conclusion of the match as confirmation of the results recorded.

[Initial exchange of nomination list is usually ignored in any but the top divisions, but it is to stop any sharp practice should a player not turn up and all teams should be encouraged to adhere to it.]

(i)

Only two nominations are allowed per season, one for each half of the season, with each being received before the first week of each half.

[The old concept of a re-nomination no longer exists. In addition, new members can only be nominated through the two allowed nominations. If a new member joins after the start of the season, they cannot play until the second half and if they join after the start of the second half, they cannot play at all.]

(j)

No player re-nominated for a lower team may subsequently play for any higher team.  A player re-nominated for the same team may play in a higher team only if remaining eligible under Rule 3(e), “playing up”.

(k)

Surrey Cup (Winter) only:  Players shall be required to play for their club in the Surrey Cup on a minimum of four occasions before the 6th fixture of the second half matches (ie. you must have played 4 times to be able to play in the last 3 matches). Players not so conforming shall be ineligible to represent the club after that in the same competition. This restriction does not apply to the bottom team in a club as allowed under Rule 3(c).

[ This rule, while it may on occasions be tough for clubs trying to encourage young players who are not always available, is nevertheless a fair way to prevent teams from bringing in last minute players against the spirit of the leagues. Note that where a tie is rearranged as allowed under Rule 4(f) this does not bypass the need to have played 4 matches – you cannot play the 6th fixture of your nominated team unless you have played 4 times before. Period.]