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2009 Tournament Information for Coaches and Athletic Directors
This document contains entry information for the 56th Annual New England Interscholastic Squash Championships, to be held February 27—March 1 at Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts (Class "A"), Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts (Class "B"), and Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut (Class "C"). All tournament materials have been posted as PDF files below, so that they are optimized for printing. Please review the following information carefully so that you can return all entry materials in time for the Executive Committee's seeding meeting. Because we have been recording results all season online, there is no formal entry form this year. But I need to know immediately if any school is not planning to participate in this year's tournament. In keeping with our established policy, the Executive Committee will use its ranking system to determine the 16 strongest teams to compete in the Class "A" division at Deerfield. We also will identify eight schools to compete in the new Class "C" division, which will be played at Suffield. The remaining NEISA teams will compete in the Class "B" division at Groton. I expect the final groupings will be made no later than February 19, though I should be able to send information about likely placements and bubble teams in the next 24 hours to help your planning. We plan to start first-round play in the "A" division promptly at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The "B" and "C" competitions will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday. At all three venues, matches will be scheduled to afford teams traveling greater distances slightly later start times, but we expect all competitors to be on site and ready to play by 7:00 p.m. Friday in the "A" tourney and 11:00 a.m. Saturday in the "B" and "C" events. We aim to conclude the tournament no later than 3:00 p.m. on the 1st of March at all sites. First match starting times will be posted on the NEISA website by the evening of Thursday, the 26th. Athletic trainers will be available at all three sites during competition. In accordance with NEPSAC rules, individual competitors must have been 19 years of age or younger on September 1, 2008. USSRA rules will be observed. Note that USSRA rules require protective eyewear designed for athletic competition with polycarbonate lenses; no competitor will be allowed on court with prescription eyeglasses that do not meet this safety standard. The notice regarding suitable eye protection posted below can be posted in your squash facility. Individual trophies will be awarded to the champions, runners-up, and third-, fourth-, and fifth-place finishers in each of the seven flights. Plaques will be given to the top three teams in each class. Team sportsmanship trophies will be awarded to one school from the northern/eastern division and one from the southern/western division. These awards are meant to recognize those squads upholding the highest standards of fair play and sportsmanship in the course of both the regular season and the New England tournament. Ballots will be distributed at registration. The ballot is based on the principle of approval voting, so each school may vote for as many teams as it deems fit. The Committee urges coaches to discuss the award with their players and decide as a team how to vote. The Brandes Trophy will be awarded to the New England prep school team posting the best regular season record. Note that for the purposes of these awards, we are interested only in results involving regulation match play between NEISA varsity teams; in other words, we do not want you to include information from scrimmages and play days or from matches with college squads, prep school JVs, or school teams from outside New England. The Committee will use the team records online to determine the Brandes winner. Seeding will be based on the individual player records entered online at the U.S. Squash NEISA League pages. Please be sure all your results are accurate and complete. By Friday the 20th, coaches should e-mail me (tournament@neisa.org) the names of seven players plus an alternate in order of team position so I can prepare the entry list before the seeding meeting. Players should be entered in flights in order of ability. In the event that one of your top seven players is unable to play at the start of the tournament, you have the option of either replacing the missing player in the event by allowing an alternate to play in the #7 flight and moving the other players up OR leaving your team's entry vacant in a particular flight, thus keeping players in their respective flights for the tournament (assuming that they had played at least 50% of their matches in those positions during the regular season). If you know of any change in your line-up in the days immediately preceding the tournament, please call me so that adjustments in the draw sheets can be made. Such changes can be accommodated by calling me before 6 p.m. on Thursday the 26th. The Executive Committee will meet via teleconference on the evening of Tuesday, February 24th, to seed players and create the draws in each of the seven flights in each of three tournament divisions. (Those seeding will be provisional until after Wednesday's results have been posted and the Committee may revise decisions before posting the draws on Thursday.) All draw information will be posted on the NEISA website (http://www.neisa.org) by Thursday evening. The 2008–2009 fee for NEISA dues and tournament entry for each school is $325; checks should be made payable to "Choate Rosemary Hall." ($25 of the total fee is allocated toward annual NEISA dues; the remainder covers tournament costs, including balls, trophies, athletic trainer coverage, custodial and other facility costs, supplies, U.S. Squash team memberships in lieu of sanctioning fees, and assorted odds and ends). Schools with both boys' and girls' teams should pay $650, as we have centralized billing now that the two associations are coordinating tournament venues and expenses. Among the forms below there is a formal invoice which should satisfy your school's business office. All entry materials should be returned to: Ned
Gallagher, NEISA In the meantime, should you have any questions, please e-mail me. Good luck with the remainder of your season!
2009
Tournament Entry Materials Dues/Entry Fee Invoice NEISA
Safety Notice
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