The clock is (still) Ticking..."In The Nick Of Time!"
by Nick-at-Will

October 23, 2013 - Last time we talked about squash being a sport that people would prefer playing...rather than be spectators at. This is especially true (even among the most passionate) when games/matches go on and on and on, way beyond most spectator's normal attention span! We suggested that perhaps giving serious consideration to putting a "clock" on professional squash matches - and "timing" them, may just solve this attention span problem.

How does "time" currently play a part in the game of squash for the professional players!? Let's take a look!
If not on "time," being late to the court for the match, there's a penalty...or even a default! The ball warmup is "timed," two-and-a-half minutes on one side, two-and-a-half minutes on the other, five minutes of "time" total! Following the warmup, the players may not take more "time" than the two-minutes (for the pros) before beginning play. Taking a suggestion from the recently published protocol for junior squash-players by U.S. Squash, a player must take no more "time" than 15 seconds to serve following the end of a rally. And...if an injury occurs, no matter what the circumstance, there is a certain amount of "time" allowed for the injured player to recover.

So...with these five area's of squash having "time" requirements or restrictions, why not apply just one more "time" restriction, which would not only help move the game along, potentially making it less boring, but make the game much more exciting for the spectators, video and television audiences. What is this sixth "time" requirement or restriction we're suggesting!?

Just imagine, "the clock is ticking" down to a 30-second "time" limit for the rally to end...the receiver attempting to win the rally before "time" runs out, resulting in the server winning the rally. And of course, the server is making every effort to keep the ball in play, preventing the opponent from making that rally-winning shot! Exciting...we think so!

Approaching the professional game of squash using this "time" protocol would guarantee that no rally would last longer than 30 seconds. The defending player would be doing everything possible to keep the attacking player from scoring that "nick of time" winning shot! Again...we think this could bring exciting times to our great (professional) game of squash. "The clock is (still) ticking!"