Competition
Racquetball is a Tier Three event. Individual players are responsible for reviewing the schedule and reporting to play. The overall time commitment will be minimal. Events may require unique athletic skills or physical fitness.
The competition will run as a Challenge Ladder (a non-elimination format). Participants play matches against each other, moving up and down the rankings based on wins and losses.
Roster
All students are eligible to play. The desired roster size is two players per company. No more than six players per company may participate.
Setting the Ladder
Per the published schedule, players report to Deas Hall. Players will be randomly assigned to a tournament bracket or round-robin pool. Players will be offered two rounds (i.e., two days) to establish their starting position for the Racquetball Challenge Ladder, which will run for eight weeks, with the Regimental Racquetball Champion to be determined in mid-April.
Challenge Play
Once the initial ladder is established, challenging begins.
Upward Challenge
Players may challenge upward a maximum of four positions on the ladder.
Downward Challenge
Higher-ranked players may challenge lower-ranked players, but not more than three positions lower.
Position Changes
If the higher-ranked player wins, there is no change of position. If the lower-ranked challenger wins, they take the loser’s position, and the loser (along with everyone in between) moves down one place.
Joining the Ladder Late
New players may join the ladder by challenging anyone in any position. If the new player wins, they take the losing opponent’s position. If the new player loses, they are placed on the bottom rung of the ladder. The last day to join the ladder is the Thursday before Spring Furlough.
Challenge Guidelines
All participants must play at least one match every two weeks. Failing to meet this requirement results in a drop of two positions on the ladder.
There is no maximum limit to the number of matches a player can play.
Challenges must be accepted within a week. The match times must be convenient for both players.
To avoid excessive challenges against any single player, no player is required to accept more than one challenge per week.
Reporting Results
The player roster and challenge ladder are located in the first-floor Deas Hall Equipment Room. The winning player must report the scores within 24 hours of completing the match.
Rules
Protective eyewear is required.
Matches are best two-out-of-three games. Games 1 and 2 are played to 15 points. Game 3 (if necessary) is played to 11 points. Traditional sideout scoring applies (only the serving side can score points).
The Court
Play Wall
The front wall.
Service Zone
Bounded by two solid red lines. The Service Line is closest to the front wall; the Short Line is closest to the rear wall.
Receiving Line
The dashed red line behind the Short Line.
Serving
Play begins with the server standing completely inside the Service Zone. The server must bounce the ball once before striking it. The served ball must hit the Play Wall first and pass the Short Line before touching the floor. It may strike one side wall in flight.
The server gets a second attempt if the first serve is a fault. Serve Faults include:
- Foot Fault: The server’s foot extends outside the Service Zone before the served ball passes the Short Line.
- Short Serve: The ball hits the Play Wall and bounces on the floor before or on the Short Line.
- Long Serve: The ball hits the Play Wall and rebounds directly to the back wall before touching the floor.
- Ceiling Serve: The ball hits the ceiling after hitting the Play Wall.
- Three-Wall Serve: The ball hits the Play Wall and touches both side walls before touching the floor.
- Out of Court: The ball hits the ceiling or a side wall before hitting the Play Wall.
Receiving and Rallies
Receiving
The receiver must stand on or behind the dashed Receiving Line. They cannot cross this line with their body or racquet until the serve passes the Short Line or bounces.
Returning
The receiver must return the serve before the second bounce. The ball may hit any surface (except the floor) as long as it strikes the Play Wall before bouncing.
Rallies
Once the ball is in play, all walls and the ceiling can be used for shot variations. If a player hits the ball out of the court bounds during a rally, they lose the rally.
Hinders
A hinder occurs when a player unavoidably blocks their opponent’s attempt to see or hit the ball. In this case, the rally stops and the point is replayed.
USA Racquetball governs all other rules.