New Year, New League System!

You may recall that back in August we asked for volunteers to try out a new league system from www.squashlevels.com to see if it offered any benefits over the current in-zone system we currently use to run the league.

We ran the trial with 23 players and the result was that the new system, whilst slightly different, offered everything we have in the current system plus a couple of features which would help us run the league or would be nice to add.

So, from 5th January 2019, we will be using the new system to run the league.

What You Need To Know

You may recall that back in August we asked for volunteers to try out a new league system to see First of all, the website url for the league will not change (http://maidenheadsquash.wixsite.com), however you will notice that the league tables themselves will look a little different from this:

To something like this:

Aside from a change in design/ style there are a few differences which I will try and explain below:

Logging In

Your current log in for the league system will not work in the new system. If you already have a Squash Levels membership then you can log in as normal and use the league. If you are not a member you can use a generic league log in which we will send you when the league goes live in January.

To get your own personal SquashLevels log in, you can sign up for £5 per year which gives you full access to the site. You can do this here: https://www.squashlevels.com/register.php? But if you get stuck just give me a shout and I can talk you through it. Please note, there is no requirement to become a member to use the league system or participate in the Maidenhead League!

Your Details

We will transfer your email and telephone number into the new system for you. Due to GDPR you should give your permission to do this but we can use your 'implied permission' - basically as you gave permission to use your details in the current system, we can assume permission to put your details in the new system.

Obviously, if you have any concerns or questions just contact us and we'll be happy to discuss further with you.

The League

The layout of the boxes are slightly different to our current system but are pretty straight forward. You will see the players name followed by the players Squash Level (more of that below) and then contact details.

The way match scores are displayed is slightly different. The table now shows the actual match score (e.g. 3-1) rather than the points for the match (5-2) . The total points in the final column for each player are calculated automatically and are the same as the current way we do it

Contact Players

To contact an individual just click on their email address which should open a new email in your email app. Alternatively, you can email all players in your box by clicking ‘Mail all in box’ at the top.

Entering Results

To enter results just click on the ‘Enter Results’ link for the player you have played and you will see a screen where you can enter your score:

This system allows two ways of entering results:

1. You can enter the actual score for each game in the relevant boxes (e.g. 15-7, 15-10, 15-10 in the example above); or

2. you can just enter the games won in the last 2 boxes shown above (e.g. just enter 3-0 in the final two boxes).

Either is fine but be aware that entering the actual scores from games will mean your squash level will be more accurate (See below).

Note also that the system allows ‘English’ scoring to 9 as we use in the main league or ‘American’ scoring to 15 as shown in the above example. The Maidenhead League will continue to use English scoring to 9 as we use now, so no change to match scoring.

Squash Levels

Next to your name in the league table you will see a column called 'Level'.

For those who aren't familiar with Squash Levels, this is a ranking system which gives all player a score based on their results against other players: essentially the higher your score, the better.

If you see TBD next to your name it is because you haven't played any games yet against a player with a Squash Level. The system will start calculating your squash level when you play your first game against a player with a squash level and can work out what yours should be.

Squash Levels is quite popular as a measure to see if your game is improving over time and also to get an idea of how good your next opponent may be!

If you click on a players name in the boxes you will see a list of their recent results and how their squash level has changed over time.

Next Steps

We will be updating the 'How To Use' page (http://maidenheadsquash.wixsite.com/magnet-squash-league/league-tutorial) in time for January explaining exactly how to use the new system so you will have a reference until you get used to the new system.

You can also read more about Squash Levels at: https://www.squashlevels.com if you want to know more about it before we go live. More about the League system can be seen here: https://www.squashlevels.com/boxes.php?help=1 and more detailed information about the Squash Levels ranking system can be seen here: https://www.squashlevels.com/doc.php?doc=about_squash_levels.htm

I am also running the new system alongside our current system so it is ready when January comes and this is also helping calculate Squash Levels for all players. If you are interested, you can see the new system with current league scores here: http://maidenheadsquash.wixsite.com/magnet-squash-league/squashlevels

Questions?

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us through the website http://maidenheadsquash.wixsite.com/magnet-squash-league/contact