Somebody asks for a game
From the ladder, a player offers a few times to someone near them. The other taps one, one more tap puts it in their calendar, and the court is booked the way your club always books it.
Squash ladder
A squash ladder nobody has to keep up to date
Clayside is squash ladder software for clubs: every member on one list, a rating that moves after each match, and the board on the wall replaced by a link on their phone.
No card, no password · 14 days with everything switched on
1▲1
H. SandhuW3
26 played
1412
2
D. Mackie
22 played
1377+15 to confirm
3▲2
A. Whitworth
19 played
1341
4▼1
R. Okafor
24 played
1298
5
S. Ellery
21 played
1284
6▼2
M. Kowalski
17 played
1269
7
G. Pearseresting −30
11 played
1255
8new
J. Adeyemi
2 played
1213
Movement is places over 30 days · form is the last five · the trend line is their rating over time · purple is a score waiting on the other player, and it counts already.
How it works
Play a match, put the score in, the squash ladder moves
One of them records it
Best of five to 11, or whatever your club plays. The score counts as soon as it is in, and the opponent has a few days to say it was wrong.
Both ratings move
Beat somebody rated above you and you climb further. Lose to somebody below you and it costs more. Nobody types a position, swaps a peg or moves a card.
The rules, in four numbers
What decides a place on the squash ladder
Your club can change two of these for each ladder: the range, and how soon resting starts. The rest are the same at every club.
1200
Where everybody starts
Every new player starts here. Their first result puts them on the table.
3
Matches against anyone
A newcomer’s first three games can be against anybody at all, and they move further, so a strong new member finds their level in a fortnight rather than a season.
±5
Places apart, after that
Once placed, a match is rated when the two players are within this many places. It stops the top of the ladder farming the bottom. Your club can set anything up to fifteen, or none.
90
Days before resting starts
A member who stops playing eases down a little each month after this, never below where they started. One match ends it.
It is a rated ladder, not a challenge ladder. A win never swaps two places on its own, and nobody loses ground for turning a game down.
Beside what you already use
The squash ladder and the ratings outside your club
SquashLevels
Kept where it is
The ladder rating is your club’s own and never leaves it. Every match downloads as a spreadsheet, one row a match, to pass on. Want results sent across by themselves? Not yet: tell us and we will build it.
The old board
Pegs, cards and a whiteboard pen
Leave the board on the wall if members like it. The ladder on their phone is the one that is right tonight, and nobody has to climb on a chair to fix it.
Keep reading
More for squash clubs
Questions
What squash clubs ask about the ladder
Is there a free squash ladder spreadsheet?
Yes, for Excel or Google Sheets. Type the ladder once and each challenge as it is played, and the places sort themselves. The free ladder spreadsheet.
Can we still call it a challenge?
Yes. Asking somebody for a game is what most clubs mean by a challenge, and it works the same: pick a name near yours and offer some times. The difference is what happens after. The result moves both ratings, instead of the winner taking the loser’s place.
Does the ladder replace our box leagues?
No. Most squash clubs run both. The boxes are the monthly round; the ladder is for the member who missed it, the one between boxes and the pair who want a rematch on a Thursday.
What stops a made-up score?
The other player sees it straight away and can say it was wrong. If they say nothing it settles after a few days. The organiser can take any score off, and every rating works itself out again.
Can we run a ladder for the juniors or the women’s section?
Yes. A paid plan runs up to 8 ladders, so a section can have its own. Turn joining off and add the players yourself.
How do we start?
Make the ladder and choose whether it fills itself from your boxes. Everybody already in a box is on it from that minute, and anyone you add to a box later joins too.
Have a look
Take the squash ladder off the wall
Members find a game near their level on their phone. You stop correcting the board.
Everything a squash club runs: Squash clubs on Clayside · What it costs