Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Disappearance of Pro Scoring

Time was when squash was played to 9 and you won a point only on the serve. The system was called Hand In-Hand Out (Hi-Ho) scoring.

When Point a Rally (PAR) scoring to 11 was introduced, early adopters called it 'pro scoring' to indicate that it was not appropriate for amateurs.

PAR matches are noticeably shorter than matches played under Hi-Ho scoring.

In the current issue of Squash Player Magazine, the man who made the decision for the pros to switch writes:

"PAR 11 is neither a suitable nor a necessary system to impose on the club player. So why have we sacrificed a time-honoured perfectly good scoring system for the recreational player with something that is not fit for the purpose?"
 

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Flashback:

In October 2008 the World Squash Federation decided to make the Point a Rally (PAR) scoring system universal.

In an August 2008 article, Squash Player Magazine's Editor Ian McKenzie addressed the debate about making the scoring change universal and said:

  • The arguments for a unified scoring system are unsound.
  • What those officials pushing for change do not realise is that they will not just be changing a scoring system; they will be changing the way the sport is played, changing its very nature.
To read Squash Player Magazine's initial article, please click here.


2 comments:

  1. Hi, I have been playing competitive squash(city league ) for 38 years in Ottawa, Canada. I remember when you got two servers, that got changed to one(good change). The comment made by someone at Squash Ontario, which I fully agreed with. The scoring to PAR 11 should only be for the PROS, other wise to PAR 15, that is already shorter than the old way to 9. It is a different game to only PAR 11 and our club is struggling with what to do. The div. 1 players only go to 11, and not all are liking it. It does not affect me because I am usually in div. 2 or 3. I hope that there is more solid direction from Squash Canada and the like to have us all stick with the PAR 15. Most of the tournaments are at the PAR 11 already, please change it to 15.
    Thanks, Rex Jung

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  2. I agree I think PAR 11 only makes sense at the pro level…either PAR 15 and Hi-Ho but not the way it is now.

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