Metropolitan Squash Racquets Association

HOME

THE MSRA
 Background
 Membership
 The Board
 Past Presidents
 Committees


CALENDAR
 Master
 Tournaments
 League Matches
 Board Meetings


LEAGUES
 Login or Join Now!
 League online
 Past Champions
 League Rules
 League Application


TOURNAMENTS
 Sign Up Now!
 The Season Opener
 The New York Open
 The Big Apple Open
 The Grand Open
 The Hyder
 Corporate Challenge
 National Warm-Ups
 NYC Summer Champs
 NYC Wnter Champs


AWARDS
 Edwin H. Bigelow Cup
 Eddie Standing Trophy
 Robert H. Lehman Trophy
 Fernandez Trophy
 Kate Brodsky Award
 Wedgewood Sportsman Trophy
 Board of Governers Award
 Presidents Award


USSRA RATINGS
 Listings
 USSRA Ratings
 USSRA Certifiers


MSRA RANKINGS
 Ranking Rules
 Rankings
CLUB INFORMATION
 Club Listing

SQUASH RULES
 International rules
 League Rules


JUNIORS
 Latest News
 Tournaments
 Junior Programs


NEWS
 Tournament Reports
 League Reports
 MSRA Events


MEMBERS
 Message Board
 Classifieds
 Partner Matching


SQUASH LINKS
 USSRA
 World Squash Federation
 Squash Talk
 Squash Player
 Squash Links
 Charlie Johnson
 Creative Alternatives


SPONSORS
 Sponsor Lists

The MSRA Ranking System

The MSRA Ranking System is designed to objectively rank MSRA members' performance and activity in the singles game for the 2003-2004 season.

The MSRA designed the system to be transparent and accessible. Every effort has been made to make the system simple and straightforward while retaining sufficient intricacy to properly reflect a player's season.

Any player should be capable of plotting and calculating their MSRA Ranking points throughout the season. As such, each player will be able to know how they are doing along the way, and what they need to do in the future to improve their MSRA ranking.

MSRA Ranking Divisions

Players will be ranked in one of five Men's and Women's singles divisions.

An MSRA member who participates in the minimum number of tournaments in a given division will be eligible for a ranking. The divisions, and how they relate to the skill level system, are shown in Table 1:

The MSRA actively supports the Skill Level System, and all MSRA tournaments will be based on the skill level system. However, the MSRA recongnizes that a player's skill level is often a snapshot in time of that player's actual level, and he or she may progress or regress during a particular season. Therefore, to accommodate natural movement, the MSRA has retained the broader Ranking divisions.

The MSRA Ranking

An MSRA ranking has four components. These components are:

•  The player's Final Tournament Achievement Average (the dominant component of a player's ranking);

•  The player's Tournament Bonus;

•  The player's US National Championships Participation Bonus; and

•  The player's MSRA League Performance Bonus.

These four components will be combined to determine a player's total number of MSRA Ranking Points. In order to qualify for an MSRA ranking, a player must:

•  be an MSRA member in good standing, and

•  play a minimum of three MSRA Ranking Events over the course of the season (October and through mid-May).

The following describes each of the four Ranking Components, and how players' performance and activities will affect their final MSRA Ranking Points, and associated Ranking.

Ranking Component 1: Tournament Achievement Average:

There are four components to a player's Tournament Achievement Average:

• The Tournament Placement Points (TPP) for each tournament in which the player participates;
• Application of a Tournament Weighting Multiplier (TWM) reflecting participation in the MSRA premier events; and
• Application of a Ranking Division Skill Level Multiplier (SLM), reflecting participation in a higher skill division within the same Ranking Division.
• If a player participates in 6 or more MSRA Ranking Tournaments during the season, that player's worst result will be eliminated for calculating his/her Tournament Achivement Average.
  

Turnament Placement Points (TPP)

Tournament Placement Points are allocated to each player as follows, in conjunction with their final placing in tournaments. The TPP allocation is shown in Table 2:

Tournament Placement Points are the same for all tournaments, not including round robins and Invitationals with 8 or fewer participants. See Appendix 1 and 2 for placement points for those types of events.

For tournaments with 32 participants. A loser in the first round of the Main Draw, and the Consolation, would achieve 10 Tournament Placement Points – no points are awarded for losing in the round of 32 Main Draw, since their final placement in the tournament is all that goes to determining their Tournament Placement Points.

Tournament Weighting Multiplier (TWM)

The Tournament Weighting Multiplier is used to modify the Tournament Placement Points for participation in MSRA premier events. MSRA Ranking Tournaments fall into two categories: One Star, and Two Star events. The TWM for events is shown in Table 3.

Ranking Division Skill Level Multiplier (SLM)

The Skill Level Multiplier is used to modify the Tournament Placement Points, for participation in a higher skill division within the same ranking division. Within each Ranking Division there are two skill levels, the Higher Skill Level (all the X.5 levels), and the Lower Skill Level (all the X.0 levels), as shown in table 1. For example, the A Ranking Division contains the 5.5 (higher skill level) and the 5.0 (lower skill level) Skill Levels. The SLM is shown in Table 4.

Calculation of Tournament Achievement Average

The Tournament Achievement Average is the average Modified TPPs achieved by the player in all MSRA ranking tournaments throughout the season. If the player participates in more than 5 events, that player's lowest Modified TPP total for one tournament will be dropped for calculating the Tournament Achivement Average.

The remaining three components of the ranking system (Tournament Bonus, US National Championship Bonus, and League Performance Bonus ) are added to a player's Tournament Achievement Average to provide a player's MSRA Ranking.

Ranking Component 2: Tournament Bonus

The Tournament Bonus is a way of recognizing a greater certainty in a player's relative ranking the more tournaments in which he/she competes. Based on the number of MSRA Ranking Tournaments in which a player participates, he or she will receive a specific number of bonus points. The tournament bonus allocation is shown in Table 5.

Note: MSRA Ranking Tournaments are listed in Appendix 3 and also highlighted in the MSRA Calendar.

Ranking Component 3: US National Championships Bonus

The US National Championship Bonus is awarded to recognize a greater certainty in a player's relative ranking given the level of dedication and training that accompanies preparation and participation in a USSRA Softball National Championship.

Three (3) bonus points are added to the player's Tournament Achievement Average for the specific tournament in which that player participated. Qualifying USSRA Softball National Championships are:

• Howe Cup (USSRA Women's Team Championships)
• Five-Man Teams (USSRA Men's Team Championships)
• USSRA National Age Group Championships
• USSRA National Skill Level Championships

Ranking Component 4: MSRA League Performance Bonus

The MSRA League Performance Bonus is awarded to reflect a player's performance in the MSRA League. These bonus points are added to the player's Final Tournament Achievement Average, and are based on the number of league matches won during the season. For each MSRA league match won, a player is awarded 0.5 bonus points.

Factors for consideration for the MSRA League Bonus points include:

• Bonus Points will be awarded for individual Matches Won - not team.
• League bonus points will be derived from the On-line League results page. Points are awarded only if the Team Captain posts match results in a timely fashion.
• Bonus Points for League wins will only be awarded for wins in the division in which the player is eligible to be ranked. (A 6.0 player playing in the A league would not earn bonus points towards their “Open” ranking)
• League points will only be awarded if all league rules were abided by.

Total MSRA Ranking Points, and a Player's Final Ranking

Notes:

• Rankings will be automatically generated for all MSRA members who meet the ranking requirements:

1. Be an MSRA member in good standing, and
2. Play a minimum of three MSRA Ranking Events over the course of the season (October through mid May).
3. Players who wish not to be ranked should inform the MSRA by emailing squash@msra.net or call 631-421-6806.

• A player can be ranked in multiple divisions. However, to receive a ranking in any single division, the player must have played in the required number of tournaments in that ranking division (either 3.5 or 3.0 for a C ranking, for example). A player may not play within a Ranking Division or Skill Level that is below that player's level. A player may only “play up” in order to participate in multiple divisions.
• Players who default (except for extreme emergencies at the Tournament Director's discretion) will receive 0 points and the tournament will not count towards the minimum or bonus.
• Women who play the minimum required tournaments in a men's ranking division can be ranked in that men's division. Men cannot play in a women's division.
• The top 10 players ranked in each division will be subject to a skill-level review, and may be required to move up to the next skill level or Ranking Division for the following season. The MSRA will make the final determination and will inform players at the end of the season.
• Any disputes will be settled by the MSRA.
• Point allocation for non-traditional or unaccounted-for tournament formats will be determined by the MSRA.

Appendix 1: Round Robin Draws

The process of generating a Tournament Placement Points allocation is the same for a Round Robin as for a normal draw, except in the number of points for each position.

A round robin is considered to be any draw with fewer than 6 participants (with 6 participants, a tournament director may hold a round of 8 with two byes .

Round Robin points will be allocation as show in Table 6.

A tournament director may decide, with 6 or 7 players, to hold a “Pool” round robin. Two pools play round robins and then a playoff between the members of the different pools to decide final placings within the skill division. If a tournament director holds a round robin with 6 or 7 players, the final placings will be allotted as if in a round of 8 tournament had been played. Placings 1-4 will be assumed to have made the semi-finals, and placings 5-7 will have placed within the consolation draw.

Appendix 2: Invitational Tournament Draws

Invitational tournaments are not technically open to all people within a Ranking Division or Skill level. Therefore there is the possibility that players may place higher than they would otherwise, due to reduced levels of competition.

Invitational tournaments with a round of 16 draw or more will be deemed to have an acceptable level of competition, and the normal Tournament Placement Points will pertain.

Invitational tournaments with 8 or fewer players will have the same Tournament Placement Points for those who place within the top 4 placings of the tournament, as well as those who make the finals of the consolation draw (if there is one). Those who have an 0-2 match record in an 8-person invitational tournament will receive the Tournament Placement Points that would have been received had the draw been a 16-person draw, rather than 8. The same is the case for an 8-person invitational tournament with no consolation. All first round losers will receive a Tournament Placement Points allocation as if they had lost in the consolation round of 8 (quarterfinals) of a 16-person tournament. The Tournament Placement Points allocation for a round of 8 (quaterfinals) in a consolation draw is 15 points.

Invitational Tournaments on the MSRA Calendar include:

• Gold Racquets – Men's
• Yale Club – Men's
• Harvard – Men's and Women's
• Hyder 6.0

Appendix 3: MSRA Ranking Tournaments

Appendix 4: Tournament Point Allocations

Appendix 5: MSRA Ranking Worksheet

•  Determine your TPPs for each tournament in which you played.

•  Determine the SLM for each tournament played (1.0 for higher skill level, 0.5 for lower skill level). Multiply TPP by TWM and SLM for the Modified TPPs

•  Calculate your Tournament Achievement Average (TAA)

•  Determine your Bonus Points

•  Calculate the Total MSRA Ranking Points