(Updated January 15th, 2020)
In summary, this where we stand.
1) There will be no inter-state matches, so the league will be divided into 2 leagues, NY and CT. This was mandated by the governors of NY and CT.
2) NYSPHSAA and CIAC have permitted Winter sports season to start - New York Jan 4th and Connecticut Jan 19th with inter-school matches starting in early February. We are proceeding under the "low and medium risk" winter sports protocols.
3) High School programs that have announced they that running this season. New York - Briarcliff, Rye, and Bronxville, Connecticut - Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, and Westport.
4) Middle School programs that have announced they that running this season. NY - Rye, and Bronxville CT - Greenwich and New Canaan. Some teams are still to make a decision.
5) We expect the season to end in early March, depending on the school and state mandates.
6) There will be no US Squash Nationals this season or FairWest end of season event.
(Updated November 19th, 2020)
In summary, this where we stand.
1) There will be no inter-state matches, so the league will be divided into 2 leagues, NY and CT. This was mandated by the governors of NY and CT.
2) In CT, according to CIAC winter sports starts on January 19th, 2021 - we expect that inter-school matches will start on or about that date.
3) In NY, according to NYSPHSAA "low and medium risk" winter sports begin on November 30th, 2020 - however some athletic directors have opted to start in December and early January - we expect that inter-school matches will start in early January.
4) In NY middle school squash plays under "modified sports". This has been canceled for this Winter season.
5) CT middle school teams will continue with the season as planned.
6) US Squash has suspended completive play in any "red zone". We continue to monitor which towns fall into this category.
(Updated October 31st, 2020)
Last week the FairWest board met and we are happy to confirm that the FairWest League will have a season this winter as long as conditions determined by COVID allow us. Due to the limitations on occupancy and a reduced number of courts available to us in our geographic area, we will need to make some modifications to how we run the league this year. The towns will be limited on the number of teams they can field and the number of head to head matches will be reduced.
The FairWest League will start match play on the week of December 7th, 2020, and end by February 8th, 2021. We expect each High and Middle School team to play about 5 matches each - but much depends on how many teams we have in the various divisions.
Participating (both middle and high school)
Briarcliff (no middle school, start season Dec 15th or Jan 4th)
Bronxville (awaiting decision from NY State about winter sports)
Darian (cannot travel out of state)
Fairfield
Greenwich
New Canaan
Rye
Westport
Not Participating (as of now)
New Haven
StreetSquash
West Hartford
Locations
All high school matches will be played at Chelsea Piers, LifeTime, Ox Ridge, and Intensity (weekend only). These have been suggested as they have open space to separate the teams.
We should attempt live stream the matches so non-attendees can watch (Greenwich Squash live-streamed a couple of the clinics and it worked well).
Teams
Each town can enter:
2 x High School Boys/Mixed teams. Varsity and JV (or A and B teams)
2 x High School Girls teams. Varsity and JV (or A and B teams)
3 x Middle School Co-Ed teams - A, B, and C
Once we know all the teams that are known, we can evaluate if we accept more teams from other towns eg if Bronxville only has one Girls team, we can consider offering Rye a 3rd Girls team.
League Play
This season will run from early December 2020 to early February 2021 and will have a modified and reduced schedule. There will be no High School Yale event or Middle School jamborees this season. No decision has been made about the FairWest Cup end of season event and how/where we will run it.
Teams can play non-League games vs private schools if they want to organize this directly.
High School Boys/Mixed (assuming 16 teams)
Div A - Top 6 teams by average rating, play 5 in league games against each other.
Div B - The next best 5 teams by average rating, play 4 in league games against each other.
Div C - The next best 5 teams by average rating, play 4 in league games against each other.
For towns that have more than 10 players (enough for 1 team but not quite enough for 2), they should consider fielding 2 teams. The bottom of the A plays as the top of the B team. This will give more opportunities to play.
At this point is difficult to estimate how many teams there will be, so we reserve the right to change the division structure later in the ramp-up to the season.
High School Girls (assuming 16 teams)
Div A - Top 6 teams by average rating, play 5 in league games against each other.
Div B - The next best 5 teams by average rating, play 4 in league games against each other.
Div C - The next best 5 teams by average rating, play 4 in league games against each other.
For towns that have more than 10 players (enough for 1 team but not quite enough for 2), they should consider fielding 2 teams. The bottom of the A plays as the top of the B team. This will give more opportunities to play.
At this point is difficult to estimate how many teams there will be, so we reserve the right to change the division structure later in the ramp-up to the season.
Middle School (hard to estimate how many teams we will have at this point)
Div A - A team from all the town’s - 7 teams and play 5 in league games. The schedule will be adjusted so stronger teams do not meet the weakest teams in the division.
Div B - All the other B and C teams that are playing in the league. We expect that teams will play between 3 and 5 league games against each other and avoid playing teams from the same town.
For Middle School teams there will be additional court fees unless the team can host games during normal clinic times.
At this point is difficult to estimate how many teams there will be, so we reserve the right to change the division structure later in the ramp-up to the season.
We expect that when town A teams meet for a match, we will also include the B and C teams (if available) in that scheduled event.
Time Table
US Squash to load new season for our teams into their site - October 20th, 2020
Towns to advise Boys, Girls, and Middle School chairs how many teams will be fielded - November 1st, 2020
Chairs to release match schedules by - November 20th, 2020
League first games the week of 7th December 2020.
League last games the week of 8th February (some teams might have to be the week of February 1st due to winter break).
Nominations for All American’s by February 19th from Sarah and Anthony (get clarification on the number of nominees from US Squash before then)
Nominations for Bonnie Bancroft Leadership and All-League by February 26th.
Approval of League Awards (Bonnie Bancroft and All-League) and All American nominations at March 9th board meeting.
Protocols
High School - only a team of 7 players, 2 coaches and/or managers. The maximum total number of people is 20 at the event. The maximum indoor gathering in CT and NY is 25 per state mandate.
Middle School - only a team of 5 players, 2 team managers. The maximum total number of people is 15 at the event.
No spectators or parents at the events.
Players and coaches fill out COVID self-check form before each event.
Teams are separated at all times except for matches. No team introductions, no handshakes after the game.
All non-players wear masks are all times while at the events.
Teams should make attempts to practice in pods eg Varsity team practice at a different time as the JV team. This largely depends on the number of courts available to each team.
If there has been exposure to COVID in a team, please postpone the matches for the appropriate length of time - please call the opposing team managers ASAP and let the appropriate league Chair(s) know. Clubs should also be advised.
Following US Squash protocols at the time the matches are played - as they stand in October 2020.
Players must wear face coverings (not bandana, or gator) at all times while in the facility, including on-court during match play with approved eyewear. It is strongly suggested that players practice with wear face coverings to get used to playing with them before competitive matches.
The winner of the match referring and marking the next match. The home team refs and marks the first match on court. Use a spin of the racket to determine the home team.
New ball per match.
US Squash Nationals
At this point Nationals are unlikely but US Squash will keep us updated. There might be regional scholastic tournaments. Entry requirements will be modified if these events happen.