13 Reasons Why SquashLevels Is A Game-Changer

It’s the global rating system for squash players of all levels

One of the great things about SquashLevels is that all players of any standard can get a rating. This means a beginner can have a level under 50 whereas world number one, Ali Farag, has a rating of nearly 80,000. Everyone else is somewhere in the middle. Our aim is to create a truly global rating system that allows everyone to take part. 

Think of it like a golf handicap combined with Strava…

When considered in this way, the opportunities are enormous. Players can travel anywhere in the world and ask a potential opponent what their level is. If they are within 20% of each other they can be all but guaranteed to have a good game! 

With regard to international junior and masters events, much of the ambiguity around seeding can be removed simply by ensuring that recent results are fed into the SquashLevels platform.

Squash’s first social network

The platform is designed to foster community. It’s no surprise that during the global lockdown we turned our attention to creating a social network that ensured squash players could remain connected with their friends and teammates, as well as keeping an eye on what potential opponents were up to. 

We’ve developed a number of social features on the platform which is really only getting started. At present, you can follow other players in the system and are able to keep up to date on their recent results and performances. Should you wish, you are able to share your recent test results to your feed and receive feedback from other players who are following you.

This is a chance to celebrate wins and achievements, as well as recognising great performances and improvement.

As we evolve, we plan to add the ability to add a comment on someone’s activity as well as direct messaging, which will open up the door to finding new players to practice and play with. 

Squash clubs have always been about community and we want to build on that sense of companionship and competition amongst teammates by providing tools to interact with each other, as well as creating the opportunity for some friendly banter along the way. 

It’s the best rating system in the world

Ok, this might sound like a big statement but we wouldn’t put it out there unless we genuinely believed it to be true.

The rating system itself is a product of 10 years of hard work. It’s fundamentally based around the idea that if you score twice as many points as your opponent you are twice as good as them. Put simply, this means that if someone has a level of 1,000 and they are playing someone who is 500, they should win approximately 11/5 11/6 11/5.

Of course, there’s much more to it than just this alone. Richard has spent many hours discussing the finer points of how matches are played and has now factored in a huge amount of behavioural modelling into the system. For example, a PSA player will often give a lower-ranked player a run around when playing in a county league. This means his or her level shouldn’t be impacted when playing weaker opponents. This is just one of many examples that have been tirelessly thought through to develop the most accurate and robust system in the world.

SquashLevels looks at you and your opponent’s levels and then makes a calculation based on the game scores to figure out the level you were actually playing at. 

No other rating system has scrutinised the data to the same extent. The ranking lists that have been produced are trusted by many clubs and counties throughout the UK and many teams are picked based on the SquashLevels algorithm.

It’s an inclusive system that wants to work with existing tournament and league management tools

SquashLevels is connected to many different results system providers which automatically get added to SquashLevels once they are played. This means that players do not have to manually add results to the system, they can simply log in and see the key stats around their performances. 

The list of connections is increasing all of the time! Whether it’s a local box league provider or international systems that work at the federation level, it’s easy to get connected.

The power of community

One of the most exciting features of the new SquashLevels platform is the community feature. Whether it be your local club, the national federation, or favourite squash brand, you can join a range of communities and keep up to date with all the latest information.

Many communities are auto-generated and provide clubs, counties and other organisations the chance to communicate with their members and followers in a more impactful way. Players receive notifications when a new post goes out and can easily keep up to speed with the latest news and updates.

They are also packed full of great features such as rankings, leaderboards, player of the week, monthly challenges, and match round-ups that create a natural buzz within each community.

We’ve got big plans to develop these further as we look to create dynamic, and interactive environments for players to interact with each other, whilst keeping up-to-date with the latest goings on. 

All your squash related data in one place

SquashLevels is your one-stop shop when it comes to keeping track of your match results. Many players will play in different leagues and tournaments using different systems. SquashLevels is able to bring that data into one place and make sense of your performances.

Not only does SquashLevels offer up your match stats, but it also allows you to take squash and fitness testing on the platform and chart your improvement over time.  We’ve looked at the data closely and have been able to understand what scores you could be expected to hit based on your playing level, which in turn allows you to identify your strengths and weaknesses.

The match review feature is a great tool for documenting your immediate thoughts around each performance as well as keeping notes about particular opponents. Currently, this is geared towards the individual but we have plans to expand the service and allow players to share their reports with their coaches. 

Track your progress over time

Your squash career is a journey that we are now able to visualise. SquashLevels allows players to track their performances over time and really understand their progress through the sport. You’re able to understand when periods of improvement took place and your progress against other players. Your whole squash journey can be mapped out on the site allowing you to see the highs and the lows. 

In addition, you’ll also be able to track your individual skill and fitness levels over time. 

Get an accurate and up to date picture of your current playing level

Supposedly, you’re only as good as your last result! That’s not strictly true, it’s more like your last three or four results that provide a real indication of your form. SquashLevels takes your last few match results into account when calculating your level. 

This is a living, breathing system that is constantly tweaking and updating itself dependent on the other results going on in the system. It’s totally dynamic and as such gives you an unrivalled understanding of how well you are actually playing at the moment!

Test yourself and track your progress

We built the testing component during the peak of the Covid pandemic. We wanted to give players the opportunity to remain active despite not being able to play competitively. We devised 10 skills-based challenges and 8 fitness-related tests and firmly believe that regular testing should form part of every squash player’s training regime throughout the year.

The tests have been designed in such a way that you can easily take and record each one on a mobile phone.

The squash tests have been calibrated against your playing level to create an expected score. This means you can understand how well you should be able to do based on your current level of play, and as a result, understand where the strengths and weaknesses are in your game.

Never go into a match underprepared again

One of the most attractive features of the SquashLevels platform is to gain deeper insight into your potential opponents.

Going into a tournament against a player you know little about can be a daunting prospect. SquashLevels gives players the opportunity to look up opponents and understand a bit more about their match history and even goes as far as offering a prediction based on each player’s current levels. 

Get closer to the pros

Follow your favourite pros from the men’s and women’s world tour and get a deeper level of insight into their performances and current form.

The PSA results come in almost instantly and the PSA communities are a fantastic place to keep up to date with the latest results on the tour. If you have a favourite player, make sure you follow them and you’ll get notifications every time they play a match. 

The PSA Power Ratings give an accurate, dynamic indication of the current playing level. Rather than relying on 12 months worth of tournament results the Power ratings typically reflect the last 3-4 performances and as such, provide a more accurate assessment of a player’s current playing level.

This helps create interesting talking points as well as offering useful insight for those of you who are inclined to have a little flutter…

It’s fun and addictive

SquashLevels becomes addictive! One person in the UK, who shall not be named, checked his own level 540 times over the course of a single season. That’s 1.5 times a day! 

Being able to put tangible numbers against your performances provides real insight but also deepens our connection with the sport. To say that every point counts has never been more true, and players end up going deeper within the sport as a result of using SquashLevels.

The social aspect of SquashLevels means that you can share your progress with your friends, clubmates and even see what the pros are up to. It’s something we are very keen to grow as we’ve seen how much this social interaction has helped motivate and inspire people’s training in other sports. 

Tools for federations supporting the grassroots of the game

SquashLevels is partnered with a number of major organizations in an effort to modernise the game and provide a better understanding of who is currently playing the sport. Our aim is to provide valuable insight as well as offering federations the ability to communicate effectively with players whilst they are thinking about squash.

SquashLevels can support players all the way along their journey through squash. We work with federations to deliver tangible benefits to members and provide tools to federations that help grow their membership.

It has been a tough couple of years for squash and we genuinely believe that by working together and using technology we can help the game recover and create an improved sense of community within the sport.

We are just getting started on this journey! The last two years have allowed us to focus on how we can enhance the website and we’ve got so much we still want to do. The next few years will see us build upon what has been created in an effort to make an incredible experience for squash players of all levels, all over the world.

If you are a federation or organisation and would like to get connected simply drop SquashLevels an email to understand how your results can be imported into SquashLevels.