The Vancouver Squash League (VSL) is BC’s largest squash league. Operated and sanctioned by Squash BC, VSL provides players in the Lower Mainland an opportunity to compete and socialize with those from other clubs in weekly match-ups. If you’re interested in participating in VSL, read on for active registration opportunities or contact vsl@squashbc.com if you have any questions.
VSL News & Updates
- Previous Season Information Session – Fall 2023
- New this year – Vancouver Women’s Squash League!
- Survey Results & January 2023 Preview
Active Session: Winter 2024
The Winter 2024 Season registration has now closed.
VSL Rules & Format
VSL is a team-based singles squash league. All rules and format regulations are available in our Vancouver Squash League – Rules and Regulations Jan 2024.
2024 Winter Season
Key Dates:
- Team Registration Deadline: January 1st, 2024 @ 1:00PM PST – Closed
- Team Registration Payment Due: February 1st, 2024 @ 1:00PM PST
- Schedule Release Date: January 8th, 2024
- First Week of Play: January 15th & 16th, 2024
- League Finals Night: March 18th & 19th, 2024
* Note that first week of play and league finals night might change depending on the number of teams registered for the 2023 season.
Team Registration
For the 2024 Winter VSL season teams can register for the season that runs from January to March. Registration Fees for the upcoming season will be $300+GST.
What does your registration fee cover?
- Teams can register an unlimited number of players on their team
- Team registration includes a box of 12 Dunlop Pro (Double Dot) balls for each season registered (Teams that register for a Full Season with receive a new box of balls for each season (box in September and a box in January))
- Prizes for division champions and finalists in both seasons
- Season-end finals night at a central venue
- Squash BC sanctioning fees & insurance for players
- League admin support
- League scheduling
- Club Locker support
- League rules enforcement
- and more
Captains are encouraged to discuss with your club administrators/pros on how the club will be handling registration for the upcoming season. Club Administrators/Pros or captains can submit a Team Registration Application Form for the upcoming season through the registration form.
An invoice will be sent in the first week of league play for all teams that have registered for the season. These can be addressed to and paid by either the Club or a team representative (captain, treasurer, etc.). Please confirm with your club administrators on how they would like this completed. Payments will be due a few weeks into the league and can be paid by e-transfer, cheque, or credit card. More details will be distributed in early January.
Team Registration Application Form
Player Spare Registration
Squash BC will maintain a list of spares that team captains can contact if they team is needed. Clubs are also encouraged to have their own internal spare lists with their club players.
Spare player registration will open soon!
Player Waitlist
Players that are not affiliated with a VSL club or those whose club does not have a team at the appropriate skill level can register for the Player Waitlist. If enough similar skill level players register a new team will be formed. If not enough players register to field a full team, VSL will contact clubs to see if they have any roster spots available on their teams (and are allowed to take in external players).
If you are looking to join a team please contact vsl@squashbc.com
Note: All players in any of the three registration methods must have a valid Squash BC membership.
Summary of 2023 VSL Updates
In January 2023, Squash BC gathered feedback through our VSL Survey, several updates have been made to VSL. See below for a summary of VSL updates:
Registration & Team Size
Team Registration: Survey respondents were in favour of moving from Individual Registration to Team Registration, with 42% of respondents favouring registering by team, and 75% of respondents either preferring that option or being indifferent. As well, individual registration has proved to be an administrative challenge for Squash BC for a program of this type, with many registrants confused about the steps required. Therefore, VSL will shift to Registration by Team for the January Session and beyond. More information on January Registration is included below.
Team Size: Survey respondents were relatively in favour of using a four-player lineup during the regular season (59%) and a five-player lineup during playoffs (63%). This format will continue into the January session.
Registration Term: As this is mid-season, no changes will be made to registration term at this point, however Squash BC intends to offer a full-season (September-April) team registration option starting in September.
Post-Squash Social Activities
It is overwhelmingly clear that Post-Squash Social Activities are an important part of VSL, with 92% of respondents saying a social component should be required. Squash BC acknowledges that VSL is both a competitive and social league and we will continue to work towards making both components the best they can be.
Social Requirements: A majority of respondents were in favour of only beverages being required for post-squash social activities (59%). As well, 56% of respondents supported the home team purchasing the night’s beverages, while all players would be responsible for their own food. These requirements will continue going forward.
As well, Squash BC understands that not everyone can stay for post-squash social activities. However, as it is a key component of the league, we recommend at least two members from each team stay. Instances of an entire team leaving before post-squash social activities should be reported to vsl@squashbc.com as they will be considered when assessing registration for the following league session.
Juniors in VSL
Squash BC acknowledges that VSL in its current form is primarily an adult league. However, we do not want to discourage the junior participants in the league and want to find the best format for everyone’s participation and the league’s growth overall.
Through a divisional assessment of the leagues sentiment towards juniors, we have developed the following definition of a Junior Player for use in the following requirements, when applied to the adult divisions of VSL:
VSL Junior Player Definition: A Junior Player is defined as any VSL participant aged 11-16, with an active Club Locker rating below 4.5 (as of a specific match date).
Therefore, players aged 17 and above, and those performing at a level of 4.5 and above will not be restricted by the following requirements.
Juniors Per Match Line-Up: A large majority of respondents (72%) indicated that either one or zero juniors should be allowed in an evening’s four-player line-up. Therefore, VSL will limit the number of juniors allowed in an evening’s lineup to one during regular season play. If a team fields two or more spots with juniors, only the top match will be counted as scored. All other matches will be considered defaults in favour of the opposing team.
Juniors will be held to the same standards as adults when competing in an adult division, meaning they will be required to stay and referee. As well, a team should ensure some of its members can stay for post-squash social activities, even when a spot is filled by a junior.
Junior League: In an effort to provide a more appropriate competitive opportunity for the juniors that will be restricted out of participating in the adult divisions of VSL, Squash BC is excited to be relaunching VSL’s Junior League. More details about this league and its registration are included below.
We have included the rules above in our updated Vancouver Squash League – Rules and Regulations Jan 2024.
VSL Feedback Survey
In November 2022, Squash BC gathered data from VSL players past and present in our VSL Feedback Survey. This provided us with many valuable insights as to how to effectively progress the league forward towards growth, sustainability, and participant enjoyment. We thank everyone who participated in the survey.
A summary of results from the VSL Feedback Survey are below. We encourage you to click through the embedded interactive slide deck and use the Data Filters shown at the left side of most slides to see how questions were answered by specific division ranges, genders, and more filters. If you encounter issues with the embedded version below, you can open the slide deck in a browser here: Vancouver Squash League – Feedback Survey Results
Additional VSL Information
Squash BC Memberships:
All players will need to be active Squash BC members at the Adult, Young Adult, or Junior level to participate in VSL. Please note that the Squash BC recreational membership does not allow for participation in and insurance coverage for VSL. Squash BC Memberships turn over on November 1 each year. We encourage all VSL participants to set their membership to auto-renew in Club Locker to avoid any interruption to their standing and coverage.
REFEREEING
Both teams are responsible to referee. Please ensure every match has a referee. Home clubs are encouraged to ensure starting referees are on hand to start play. Please limit warm-up time to 5 min. and time between games to 90 sec. You can learn more about becoming a certified squash referee on our Officiating Page.
LIVE SCORING
Please utilize live scoring on your club tablet or personal handheld device. Live scoring can be viewed on Club Locker as matches are in progress. This also ensures correct calculation of nightly league results, as the actual points are required in the 4 person team format in the event of tie-break.
UNDERSTANDING CLUB LOCKER RATINGS
Learn more about Club Locker Ratings and Rankings
Vancouver Squash League Logo designed by Robert Pacey of Squash Republic