Commentary on PAR 11

by Doug Steinberg

When Par11 was rolled out as the standard scoring system for squash a few years ago, I was very concerned that the change would make a great game less attractive.  The Olympic Committee had instructed the World Squash Federation that the general public would not accept squash as an Olympic sport without a scoring system that was uniform across all abilities and ages. WSF jumped on board and mandated this change for all players. So, for the good of the Back the Bid Movement, I gave PAR11 a chance.

Well, it's late 2013, and I am proud to say that I am now reaping benefits that have been raining down on the sport since the scoring change. For those skeptics who believe that the change hasn't helped the game, I submit the following advantages to PAR11:

·  I don't have to be fit anymore to win.  Watching Duck Dynasty is now my between match training regimen.

·  When planning and scheduling a junior tourney, 15 to 20 minute slots for matches make the tournament so much easier to run.

·  During last year's Collegiate women's individual tournament, I no longer had to be worried about being distracted and losing track of the match at hand, because the matches were usually over within the time frame of a Spongebob Squarepants episode -- the length of my attention span and apparently that of all squash players.  Under PAR11 we can now retain focus for an entire women's collegiate match.

·  I can now play a match, not be tired or sore, and still devour a big meal like I used to, because technically, a match was played and the USSRA site says 5 games is worth 1000 calories...and the best part is that my friends and I get to shop for new clothes because we are continually growing out of our old ones now. 

·  We are helping to save the environment due to the short matches resulting in not having to wash clothes after a match.

·  Since the game is now standardized, it has opened the door to a great new trend of not wearing eyewear anymore.  Since we are all taking our cues from PSA pros -- who uniformly disdain the use of eyewear -- we no longer need to wear eyewear. Most people have an extra eye anyway so what's the big deal?

·  I hit many fewer balls on the tin. The pros use a 17" tin and not the 19" tin that was standard for the amateur game. Again, since the game is now uniform between pros and amateurs, us amateurs don't need to worry about the top two inches of the 19" tin anymore. It would be so confusing if the pros and amateurs used different heights of tins. Thank goodness for this change as I have many fewer balls hitting the "real" 17" tin that would be down on the old 19" tin.

·  The "extra" games that we are now encouraged to play after the extremely short real match ends are so much more fun than the real match itself. The natural reduction in intensity that occurs after a match ends allows me to "play" and simultaneously contemplate what I am going to eat for dinner while in games 7, 8, 9, 10, 11....

·  The new, exciting strategy of passing on the serve if you win the spin is now in play!

·  We are finally getting rid of those pesky less well off  kids who enter junior tournaments as the 15 minute matches just don't justify the expenses of entering and traveling to a tournament. If you're not a "one percenter", there's probably a local dodgeball tourney in your area that'll help get your kid into a more than adequate state school.

·  Epic comebacks are no longer possible, thereby reducing my overall stress level.

·  Turning squash from a marathon into a sprint will allow future generations of players to be fatter.

·  The best benefit is obvious...the standardized scoring helped with a fabulous million dollar presentation to the Olympic Committee that almost got us into the Olympics.  Seriously, whenever I walk off the court now after my mini PAR11 workout, I say to myself, "I am contributing to squash almost becoming an Olympic Sport."  

It has taken me some time, but I get it now. I am so pleased that I jumped on the PAR11 bandwagon.