Northerns Squash Association · 2026 Season
These are the official Northerns Squash Association (NSA) By-Laws that govern league squash for all member clubs, including Harlequin. They are reproduced here for easy reference by our players and captains. In any conflict, the official NSA document and the NSF Constitution prevail.
The essence of successful squash matches is fair competition. We cannot hope to encapsulate all the nuances of what is required to achieve fair competition in the By-laws, nor adjudicate with wisdom the many disputes that arise if the spirit of fair competition is not part of our philosophy. In this light, each Club and player is strongly encouraged to endorse the following principles:
There is a very important spirit to this game of ours, which we need to cherish, as we do compete on the same side of the "net."
1.1 "Association" or "NSA" means the Northerns Squash Association represented by the duly elected Management Committee.
1.2 "Arrangements" means telephonic or verbal communication between two players where actual consensus has been reached. One-way SMS, WhatsApp or voicemail are excluded.
1.3 "Club Captain" means, over and above the Club chairperson, the person who represents the Club from a league perspective.
1.4 "Federation" or "NSF" means the Northerns Squash Federation, to whom the NSA is affiliated.
1.5 "Match" means the contest between 2 players; the best of 5 games. To win, a player must win 3 games.
1.6 "Fixture" means 4 matches (best of 5 games) played between the players of two teams, on the date, time and venue stipulated in the approved fixture list or as arranged under these by-laws.
1.7 "League round" means a round wherein all leagues each play one fixture, usually starting on a Wednesday and ending the following Tuesday. The round number is shown on the league admin system.
1.8 "Written" means correspondence of which proper proof of sending and receiving can be produced (e.g. email with proof of receipt, registered mail, or hand-delivered mail with proof of receipt).
2.1 These By-laws apply to the league played by member Clubs and include the Blitz League by-laws (Annexure G). Amendments take effect only after approval by the Association and the NSF Board.
2.2 Each Club must nominate a Club Captain whose duty it is to learn and understand the by-laws and assist team captains with queries or disputes.
2.3 NSA League stewards are appointed annually and are on call every league night to handle queries or disputes. Club captains will have the stewards' cell numbers.
2.4 Where these By-laws conflict with the Constitution of the Association, the Constitution prevails.
Deadlines are midnight on the date indicated and are set each season in line with the calendar:
3.1.1 04 February (Wed): Winter League team applications
3.1.2 10 February (Tue): Blitz League commences
3.1.3 11 February (Wed): Club Transfer — signed by all 3 parties
3.1.4 04 March (Wed): Winter League commences
3.1.5 01 March (Sun): Provincial Transfer
3.1.6 31 March (Tue): M&R (Marking & Refereeing) qualification
3.1.7 01 April (Wed): SportyHQ registration
3.1.8 01 May (Fri): NSA affiliation fees
3.1.9 01 June (Mon): League ball switch — 18h00
4.1 The Northerns league consists of the Men's league and the Ladies league.
4.2 Each consists of numbered leagues from 1 to n, where n is determined by the entries received from Clubs for that year.
4.3 Each league has a maximum of ten (10) teams, unless the Association approves fewer under extraordinary circumstances.
4.4 Players per team: 4 players play each fixture, with at least 1 reserve.
5.1 Clubs submit league-team applications in writing by the listed deadline, including the leagues applied for and the preliminary Club ladder.
5.2 Allocation is by promotion and relegation.
5.2.1 Teams ending 1st and 2nd may, on application, be promoted; teams ending 9th and 10th are relegated.
5.2.2 If a Club waives promotion, only Clubs accepting promotion may be promoted. The 3rd-placed team may be promoted at the Association's discretion with written motivation.
5.2.3 Clubs are restricted to two sides in a league, unless the Association approves more under extraordinary circumstances.
5.2.4 The Association may accommodate a Tertiary Institutional team in the 1st league.
5.3 If the same team wins the same league two years running, it must take promotion (unless impossible due to already having 2 teams in the higher league).
5.4 An allocation list is circulated within 7 days; final allocations are targeted by 21 February.
5.5 Clubs must only apply for leagues for which they can field the necessary strength and number of players to play competitively in all fixtures.
6.1 A player is eligible to play for a Club's team only if:
6.1.1 registered as a playing member of that Club for the current year before playing any matches;
6.1.2 registered once-off on the online NSA admin system (receiving a lifelong NSF number);
6.1.3 registered with Squash South Africa with the annual fee/levy paid before playing any matches each year;
6.1.4 in good standing with the Club, the NSF associations and Squash SA (not under suspension or owing money).
6.2 Players change Clubs only by completing the Player Transfer Form (Annexure A), signed by both Clubs' Chairperson/Club Captain.
6.2.2 No transfers after the deadline and during the first four (4) winter league rounds.
6.2.4 A player transferring after round 4 may not play for either Club for two consecutive rounds from the date the form is received (unless they had not played for 4 rounds prior, in which case they may play immediately).
6.2.5 A player is only eligible for a new Club once the Association has accepted the transfer on the admin system.
6.4 External players: a player who has represented another province at senior level and not transferred to Northerns by 1 March; a foreign national; or one residing outside Tshwane who has not advised availability for Northerns.
6.4.2 Each team must have at least 2 players eligible to represent the NSA at the Growthpoint Jarvis Kaplan Tournament. The external-player restriction applies to Men's 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Ladies 1st leagues.
6.4.3 Fielding three or more external players: forfeit positions 3 and 4 (0–3) plus 2 penalty points per external player over the limit of 2.
6.4.4 An external player must play 50% of the Club's total league matches that season, or the team forfeits all points allocated to that player (treated as a "no show").
6.6 Playing under a false name or false NSF number: that match is lost 0–3, players below also forfeit 0–3, with a 2-point penalty per transgressing player; further sanctions may apply.
7.1 Clubs must fill teams in order of player strength, according to the Club ladder (made available to the NSA on request).
7.2 Players in the SA National top 20 (Men) / top 10 (Ladies) must play strictly in national-ranking order and may not play below a lower-nationally-ranked clubmate.
7.3 The player positions in a Club's most recent league fixtures are the Club's most up-to-date ladder.
7.4 Fielding 2 teams in a league: declare the order of both teams before the first match of the season. A reserve who plays for one side must play a round for that side (or skip a round) before assisting the other side. The leapfrog rule still applies.
7.5 Ladies may play Men's league on the same basis as men; men may not play Ladies league. A lady may play Ladies for one Club and Men's for another, with written notice to the NSA by the transfer cut-off.
7.6 No player may play for two different Men's or Ladies teams in the same round; the second match is forfeited 0–3, players below also forfeit, and 2 penalty points apply per transgressing player.
7.7 Moving up the order: a player may leapfrog only one other player (who played in a round) per round, up or down.
7.8 Playing out of position: forfeit the match 0–3 with 2 penalty points per transgressing player; if an ineligible player plays in a higher position, teammates below also forfeit 0–3.
7.9 During breaks of 4 weeks or longer, players may leapfrog more than one player; changes must be sent to the NSA office before the next fixture.
7.10 Next Available Player rule: to fulfil a fixture without penalty, a Club may move players up/down using the next available (local) player, even past external players, and may return them the following week without penalty. Early play must be recorded in writing with the NSA beforehand. (See Annexure H for examples.)
8.2.3 League start time is 18h00; the first match must start no later than 15 minutes after, then play is continuous (matches commence within 10 minutes of the previous one finishing).
8.3 Rescheduling needs prior written NSA approval, only for squash commitments (provincial+ tournament, accompanying a junior to a national selection event, or managing/coaching a provincial/school team). The match must be played before the scheduled fixture.
8.3.3 With 14+ days' notice (max 30), the opponent must find a time to play or forfeit (lower players not penalised). With less notice, the opponent may decline and the requesting team must send a reserve.
8.3.8 A player may ask a specific Club to play earlier only once per season.
8.4 The home team books the courts, failing which it forfeits 3–0 each match for which a court isn't available.
8.5 Preferred order of play: 4, 3, 2, 1.
8.6.1 Each player plays one match, best of five games.
8.6.2 Men 1st & 2nd and Ladies 1st play PAR 11 (tiebreak); all other leagues play PAR 15 (tiebreak).
8.6.3 Matches are refereed per World Squash Singles Rules, Rule 18, by a member of the team.
8.7 Claiming a match: the no. 4 match may be claimed at 18h15 and the rest (3, 2, 1) at 15-minute intervals, provided your team has 4 players present and ready and the opposition is not. A completed score sheet and written explanation must be submitted.
8.8 Load-shedding / power failure: completed matches stand; incomplete matches restart from the beginning and must be finished before the next fixture; notify Northerns within 24 hours.
8.9 "No shows": fill teams from the top down; a no-show is awarded 3–0 to the opponent with a 2-point penalty. No shows are not allowed in Men's 1st — a Club must move players up from its next team.
8.10 A no-show may only be over-ruled by a League Steward at the start, in extreme circumstances ("acts of God").
9.1 Point scoring follows the applicable World Squash Singles Rules.
9.2 League teams score as follows:
9.2.1 One point for each game won.
9.2.2 The team winning the most matches receives an additional bonus point for every match won.
9.2.3 If matches are equal, games won decide who gets the bonus points; if games are equal, points won decide.
9.2.5 If matches, games and points are all equal, a draw is declared and both teams receive 2 bonus points each.
10.1 Each team member acts as a referee or marker as the situation requires.
10.3 The endorsed M&R level is the online World Squash Officiating Player Courses: the Introductory (Player Certificate) level for all league players, and the Tournament level for Growthpoint Jarvis Kaplan players.
10.4 Certification is valid for 3 years from the accreditation date.
10.6 After 31 March, at least 2 members of every 1st-league team in a fixture must hold a valid M&R qualification.
10.7 After 31 March, at least 1 member of every other team in a fixture must hold a valid M&R qualification.
10.8 Non-compliant teams are penalised 1 penalty point.
11.1 The captain of either team must capture the fixture result on the online NSA admin system within 2 working days.
11.2 Both captains must ensure the result is captured and confirm it is a true reflection; if not confirmed, the captured score stands.
11.4 Both teams should keep a copy of the official scorecard (Annexure B), signed by both captains.
11.5 If the result is not captured within 2 working days, no points are awarded to either team.
12.1 A captain may phone a league steward during a match for clarification on a by-law issue (not a rules-of-squash issue); the steward decides on by-laws.
12.2 Disagreements with a steward's decision must be submitted to admin@northerns.co.za within two league weeks.
12.3 The deadline for complaints is 18h00, 14 calendar days after the infringement.
13.1 The official ball is the Dunlop High Altitude (Green Dot) for all league play.
13.2 From 1 June to the end of winter league, the Green Dot is official for Men's 1st–5th and Ladies 1st; players may agree to use the Dunlop Pro Revelation (Double Yellow Dot).
13.3 From 1 June, the Double Yellow Dot is official for Men's 6th and lower and Ladies 2nd/3rd; players may agree to use the Green Dot in lower leagues.
14.1 The home team books courts (anywhere) and supplies regulation balls. Venue changes must be notified in writing to the visiting team and the Association at least 1 week before the fixture.
14.2 League standings, team results and individual results are all published on the Northerns website.
14.6 Clothing follows WSF guidelines: men — short-sleeved shirt, shorts and playing shoes; women — a shirt with skirt/shorts and shoes, or a dress and shoes.
15 In the absence of a specific penalty for a transgression, the Association may decide on an applicable penalty, and its decision is final (see Annexure D).
16.1 Any incident requiring disciplinary action must be reported within 24 hours on the official form (Annexure C), signed by the complainant and Chairperson/Club Captain.
16.2 A Disciplinary Committee is appointed; the accused has 3 days to answer, the complainant 3 days to reply. The committee aims to finalise before the accused's next match.
16.2.5 The accused player/Club has a right of appeal to the NSF appeals board within 24 hours.
17.1 The annual affiliation fee is payable within 30 days of invoice and by the deadline in §3 (a max 30-day extension may be considered on written application).
17.2 Clubs failing to pay may not earn league points until fees are paid; points lost are not recoverable.
17.3 Only affiliated Clubs in good standing with the Association and Squash SA may play league.
Annexures A, B and C are official forms available from the Northerns Squash website (NSA → scroll to the documents list): the Club Eligibility Transfer Form, the NSF Score Sheet, and the Conduct on Court Violation Report Sheet.
Two main categories:
| Clause | Situation | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Fixtures | Not playing as stipulated by NSA fixtures | Only ½ the points awarded for the fixture |
| Court bookings | Home team — no court available | Forfeit each affected match 0–3 |
| M&R | Too few qualified markers/referees | 1 penalty point per player under the required number |
| Scores | Result not captured within 2 working days | No points awarded to either team |
Where a penalty is covered by more than one clause, it is applied only once.
The Blitz League is a warm-up league played by Men's 1st & 2nd and Ladies 1st clubs before the winter season. It is standalone with no bearing on the winter season. Up to 10 teams compete in 2 pools of up to 5; after pool round-robins, cross-pool matches are contested. Points are as in the league season (1 per game won, 1 bonus per match won by the winning team, max 16). To play the cross-pool play-offs a player must have played at least one pool match.
Where a Club has two teams and/or external players, a player who has played for one team may be replaced by the "next available" local player for the other team — even if that means leapfrogging more than one player past external players — and may return to their normal position the following week without penalty. The full worked examples (Scenarios 1 & 2) are in the official document.
No rules match your search. Try a shorter word, e.g. “forfeit” or “reserve”.