How the ladder works

Short version: challenge someone up to three above you, play within ten days, report the score.

BEFORE3Maya4Jonas5You6Chenchallenge→ win 3–1AFTER3You4Maya5Jonas6ChenMaya and Jonas each drop one place.
Win a challenge against someone above you and you take their exact position.

How the ladder works

  • The ladder is one ranked list, position 1 at the top. Sign up with your INSEAD email and you join at the bottom immediately. There is no approval step or fee, and each person may have one account.
  • You climb by challenging players above you and winning. Beat the player you challenged and you take their position; they and everyone in between drop one place.
  • Everything on the site updates the moment a result is confirmed.

Challenging

  • You may challenge any player up to three positions above you.
  • You can have one outgoing and one incoming challenge open at a time.
  • The player you challenge has 3 days to accept or decline. If they don't respond, the challenge expires.
  • An accepted challenge must be played within 10 days.

Scheduling & courts

  • Once a challenge is accepted, your opponent's WhatsApp number and preferred play times unlock on their profile, so you can agree a slot directly.
  • Book a court through the campus sport facilities as usual; the ladder doesn't reserve courts for you.
  • Cross-campus players: play when you're on the same campus, or agree to postpone. Just say so rather than letting the challenge expire.

Scoring

  • Matches are best of five games, point-a-rally (PAR) to 11. At 10–10, a game runs until one player leads by two clear points.
  • Either player reports the result. The winner's games always 3, loser's 0, 1 or 2. Per-game points are optional but appreciated.
  • The opponent then has 48 hours to confirm or dispute. Untouched results confirm themselves after 48 hours.
  • Disputed results are frozen until a committee admin resolves them.

Forfeits & inactivity

  • Declining a challenge without a reason twice in a row drops you one place. The site warns you before it happens.
  • If an accepted match simply never gets played by the deadline, the challenge expires and no positions change.
  • Players who haven't played for over 21 days show in amber on the ladder. The committee may remove long-inactive players; everyone below moves up.

Etiquette & safety

  • Protective eyewear is strongly recommended because squash is played at close quarters with a fast ball.
  • Play lets and strokes honestly: if you're in the way, offer the let; if the ball would have hit the front wall, concede the stroke. When in doubt, replay the point.
  • Warm the ball up properly, bring a spare, be on time, and shake hands after. Report the score the same day; ghosting the ladder is worse than losing on it.

Seasons

  • The ladder runs in seasons that follow the academic year. The committee closes a season, crowns the standings, and opens the next one.
  • Open challenges are cancelled when a new season starts. Positions carry over unless the committee announces a reset.