This site has up until now focused on Rule 5. The goal has been to understand what the rule says and see how that plays out on court. Rule 5 is a cornerstone of hardball doubles squash. Rule 5 should and could be improved. Formatting is a key area that should be improved. A goal should be concise statements. Individual points should be teased apart for clarity. As with all laws and rules, a balance of concise statements and being inclusive of all important aspects is a challenge. An end goal is rules that are complete enough to be allow players and referees to manage a match effectively. Yes, some supplementary material may be helpful to fully understand the intent of the rules and special considerations.

Although the postings here have focused on just one type of interference, ball flight, the entire Rule 5 will be examined here.

First, here is Rule 5 as stated in the 2022 version.

2022 version of Rule 5

Here are my recommendations to improve the above:

  • Change the multi-level list labels to the commonly used decimal system.
  • Tease apart the content into clear separate items.
  • Discard gratuitous opinions or incorporate pertinent content as an item.
  • Incorporate key information that is not in the rules but found in supplementary documents.
  • Lead the reader to pertinent supplemental materials.

As the old adage recommends, say what we mean and mean what we say.

Here is a sample of implementing the above recommendations. The aim is not to change the game but to better align how the game is played and what the rules state.

  1. Right to play the ball.
    1. Immediately after he or his partner has struck the ball, each player must get out of his opponents' way and must:
      1. Give his opponents a fair view of the ball.
      2. Give his opponents a fair opportunity to get to the ball.
      3. Give his opponents a fair opportunity to strike at the ball.
      4. Give his opponents freedom to play
        1. a shot directly to any part of the front wall and
        2. a simple viable boast off
          1. the back wall,
          2. the near side wall,
          3. the far side wall.
      5. Refrain from creating a visual or audible distraction.

The title focuses on the striking team, but the rule describes what the opponents must do to give the right to play the ball. The striking team has:

  • the right to a fair view of the ball,
  • the right to get to the ball,
  • the right to strike the ball without interference,
  • the right to play any viable shot, and
  • the right to be free from distracting behaviour by the opposing team.

The stem of the rule is a strong statement. “Must” is definitive. The clearing team will not be able to meet these demands all the time, even with their best effort to do so.

The striking side may ignore interference, or they may request a let. Once the let is requested, play stops, and the referee is charged with deciding if there was interference worthy of an awarded let or point.

5.1.1 probably needs supplementary discussion. Referees differ on whether the incoming team has a responsibility to position themselves so they will have a fair view.

5.1.2 only applies when the striker would have been able to reach the ball had the opponents cleared.

5.1.3 covers a lot of ground. The opponents must provide space for the complete execution of a stroke. That includes back swing and follow through. Crowding, touching, or otherwise hindering a fair opportunity to move into position and then strike the ball is interference.

5.1.4 assumes the player is well enough positioned to strike the ball. It is assumed that the striker would be able to make a fair shot directly through the position of the interfering opponent to the front wall. The referee must judge if an intended boast would reach the front wall fairly. Only those boasts which would reach the front wall fairly are eligible for an awarded let or point. Again, the referee is judging if the shot would go through the position of the interfering player to a wall and then fairly to the front wall. Notice that there is no mention in this revision of the back third of side walls. That intent is replaced by “simple viable boasts”.

5.1.5 is clear enough when players deliberately distract opponents by waving arms, stamping feet, or shouting. It is problematic when players give audible directions to a partner. Players often assume that if a player says something it is a request for a let. Or, in friendly matches calling a ball down or out. Players are expected to stop play when an official call is made.

If there is to be an assumption that the rule should not apply when the striker is poorly positioned, then that should be stated. As it stands, if the striker is scrambling to the back to strike the ball, the obligations of the clearing team stand, as stated. The referee has the duty to judge if the striker had a safe and viable play on the ball and whether the opponents were interfering.

Guidelines 5, 6, and 7 will be left for now. But they are worth looking at to see if there should be modifications to 5. Right to Play the Ball.

Some content has been deleted and the intentions of those comments could be better addressed in rules 6 and 7. The motivation of a player requesting a let does not alter the fact of an opponent interfering.

A side note or two. These articles use the English measuring system, that is feet, inches, etc. Original court dimensions were in feet and inches. The USA uses feet and inches. Most living in Canada are comfortable with feet and inches. And to address another topic, these articles consistently use the male pronouns. That is not the current trend, but the official documents for hard ball doubles squash do so. It may well be the singular “they” will be adopted but in the meantime he, his, him will be used.