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12/04/2008
WORLD DOUBLES NEWS
Chennai To Host World Doubles Championships In December
Chennai To Host World Doubles Championships In
December
The 2008 World
International Doubles Squash Championships, which will be staged in India in
December, will be the first international tournament to feature the new wider
doubles court.
The 4th staging of the Championships, which were inaugurated in 1997
in Hong Kong, will take place at the ICL Squash Academy in Chennai,
from 15-20 December.
Following a thorough review of international Doubles Squash - initiated by a
Task Force set up by Squash New Zealand - a proposal was accepted at the
2007 World Squash Federation (WSF) AGM in Bermuda to increase the width
of a Doubles court by 80cm (from 762 to 842cm).
Further rules changes were also approved, including Point-A-Rally Scoring to
nine points per game (with PARS to 15 as an alternative); removing the 'setting'
requirement at the end of games, thus making it 'sudden death' at 8-8; the
introduction of a 'stroke'; and the change of terminology from 'sides' to
'teams' to designate two partners.
Squash Australia
also played
leading role in the appraisal, using the new court for the first time in the
nation's recent National Doubles championships and formulating revised rules and
assisting with implementation of the changes.
The new format is being tested at the 2008 World Championships as the sport
prepares its focus on the doubles presentation at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
in India.
"The prime objective of the new initiative is to make the elite international
doubles game more exciting for athletes and spectators alike," said WSF Chief
Executive Christian Leighton.
"We look forward to the Chennai presentation fulfilling our aspirations for
doubles squash, which will then be staged in this new format two years later at
the Commonwealth Games in Delhi," added Leighton.
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