CODE OF CONDUCT

APPENDIX B – WSF CODE OF CONDUCT (Notes: Words importing only the masculine gender shall be interpreted to include the feminine gender, Championship shall be taken to mean a WSF World Championship). 

ARTICLE 1. Introduction The WSF is responsible for all disciplinary matters associated with or arising from the arrangement and playing of squash games, matches or related practices on squash courts at approved WSF Championships and/or events conducted under WSF auspices and all other incidents or issues that may bring the sport into disrepute or affect the integrity of the sport, its governing bodies or commercial partners. This Code covers: (a) any individual attending a Championship and/or events/conferences conducted under WSF auspices e.g. player, referee, official, trainer, coach or other person connected with a participating player or team, or other involved person; (b) any Regional Federation, Member Nation or any individual who is associated with the sport of squash as a player, administrator, referee, coach or otherwise. For the purpose of this Code, a player is any individual involved in a Championship or an event conducted under WSF auspices; and an official is any individual in attendance at a Championship as a referee, official, trainer, coach, health professional or anyone who is otherwise connected with a participating player or team or with the organisation of a Championship. Offences The following offences may be subject to penalties under Rule 17 of the International Singles Game of Squash and of the International Doubles Game of Squash, and/or be subject to disciplinary action by the WSF Disciplinary & Appeals Committee (DAC). All fines are to be paid in Pounds Sterling (GBP). These may be payable by the player, but where appropriate by their nation (including individual events where players are entered by the member nation). A match referee, Championship Referee or Championship Director, promoter, Regional Federation or Member Nation employee or officer, and any WSF official/representative may initiate action under this Code by referral to the WSF President or Chief Executive.

ARTICLE 2. GENERAL BEHAVIOUR A. Public Relations No individual, Regional Federation or Member Nation shall at any time give, make, issue, authorise or endorse any public statement which will have, or is designed to have, an effect prejudicial or detrimental to the best interests of WSF, a championship or the sport of squash. Any breach may result in a fine of up to £1,000 GBP and suspension of up to 1 year at the discretion of the DAC. B. Disrepute No individual, Regional Federation or Member Nation shall engage in conduct contrary to the integrity of the game of squash or which brings the game, its governing bodies or commercial partners into disrepute. If an individual is convicted of the violation of a criminal law of any country, the punishment for which includes possible imprisonment for more than 1 year, he may be deemed by virtue of such conviction to have engaged in conduct contrary to the integrity of the game of squash. If an individual, Regional Federation or Member Nation has at any time behaved in a manner severely damaging to the reputation of the sport, he/it may be deemed by virtue of such behaviour to have engaged in conduct contrary to the integrity of the game of squash and have brought the game into disrepute. Any breach may lead to a fine up to £10,000 GBP and/or to suspension from play in championships and other squash events for a period up to 3 years.

ARTICLE 3. WSF CHAMPIONSHIPS: HOTEL AND FUNCTIONS A. Hotel Accommodation The good name of squash and the competitive preparation of players should not be compromised by players or officials causing damage, inconvenience to other guests or boorish, rowdy behaviour in official hotels or other accommodation. Such behaviour may result in the WSF disallowing a player or official from residing in official hotel accommodation and may result in further action under the Code. A player or official must officially check out of the hotel when involved in a Championship and must pay his room bill (if applicable) and his own hotel extras (e.g. phone, drinks, food). He will be liable for a fine up to £500 GBP failing to settle a room account and for a fine up to £250 GBP if he should leave the hotel without paying all his hotel extras.. B. Functions The failure by a player or official to attend a mandatory Championship function may result in a fine of up to £500 GBP.

ARTICLE 4. WSF CHAMPIONSHIPS – ENTRY OFFENCES A. Late Withdrawal Withdrawal by a player without notice or acceptable reason after the closing date for entries may lead to a fine up to £500 GBP and may result in the player being found to have engaged in “Aggravated Behaviour” as defined in Article 7D). If a medical reason is given, this must be supported by an official medical certificate.

ARTICLE 5. WSF CHAMPIONSHIPS: ON-SITE OFFENCES A. Non-appearance If a player enters a Championship and fails to withdraw or fails to inform the WSF Office or the championship organisers of his withdrawal, he may be fined up to £1,000 GBP. A second and any subsequent offences in any 12 month period may be regarded as aggravated behaviour as defined in Article 7D. B. Punctuality Any player not ready to play within 15 minutes after his match is called may be fined up to £250 GBP, unless the Championship Referee has allowed a discretionary relaxation of this time limit, in which case the penalty may be waived. For a second and any subsequent offences in any 12 month period, the player may be fined up to £500 GBP for each offence. C. Dress and Equipment On-court: Players shall dress and present themselves for play in a professional manner wearing clean and customarily acceptable squash clothing which conforms to the standards defined in World Championship Regulation L, and using equipment which conforms with the WSF specifications. Any player who is in breach of this rule may be ordered by the Championship Referee or WSF Technical Delegate to change his clothing immediately. Failure of a player to comply with such order may result in immediate default and may result in a fine up to £250 GBP. For a second and any subsequent offences in any 12 month period, the player may be fined up to £500 GBP for each offence. Functions: Players and officials must be smartly dressed for official functions as stipulated in the regulations for the event e.g. Team or WSF uniform. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to £250 GBP. D. Leaving Court A player shall not leave the court during a match without the permission of the referee. Breach of this rule may result in a fine of up to £250 GBP. For a second offence in any 12 month period, the player may be fined up to £500 GBP for each offence. E. Best Efforts A player shall use his best efforts to win a match when competing in a Championship. Breach of this rule may result in a fine of up to £500 GBP. For a second and any subsequent offences in any 12 month period, the player may be fined up to £1,000 GBP for each offence. F. Failure to Complete Match A player must complete a match in progress unless he is unable to do so for an acceptable reason. Breach of this rule may subject a player to a fine up to £500 GBP and may be considered as “aggregated behaviour” as defined in Article 7D. A second and any subsequent offences within any 12 month period will be regarded as “aggravated behaviour”. G. Media Conference Both players, if requested, must attend the post-match media conference organised immediately after or within 15 minutes of the conclusion of their match unless such time is extended by the Championship Director or if injured and physically unable to appear. Breach of this rule may subject a player to a fine up to £250 GBP. For a second and any subsequent offences in any 12 month period the player may be fined up to £1,000 GBP for each offence. H. Ceremonies A player participating in a medal match of a Championship must attend and participate in the medal ceremonies after the match unless he is unable to do so for an acceptable reason. Breach of this rule may subject a player to a fine up to £500 GBP. For a second and any subsequent offences in any 12 month period, the player may be fined up to £1,000 GBP for each offence. I. Audible Obscenity Players and others present shall not use audible obscenities within the Championship precincts. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to £500 GBP for each violation. In circumstances that are egregious and particularly harmful to the success of the Championship, a single violation shall also constitute the major offence of “aggravated behaviour” as defined in Article 7D and shall be subject to the additional penalties set forth therein. For the purpose of this rule, audible obscenity is defined as the use of words commonly known and understood to be profane and uttered clearly and loudly enough to be heard by the referee, spectators or media audience. J. Visible Obscenity Players and others present shall not make obscene gestures of any kind within the Championship precincts. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to £500 GBP for each violation. In circumstances that are egregious and particularly harmful to the success of the Championship, a single violation of this section shall also constitute the Major Offence of “aggravated behaviour” as defined in Article 7D) and shall be subject to the additional penalties set forth therein. For the purpose of this rule, visible obscenity is defined as the making of signs by a player with his hands and/or racket or ball that commonly have an obscene meaning or import. K. Abuse of Ball Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger, hit, kick or throw a squash ball within the Championship precincts except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to £250 GBP for each violation in the match. For a second and any subsequent offences in any 12 month period the player may be subject to a fine up to £500 GBP for each offence. For the purpose of this rule, abuse of a ball is defined as intentionally hitting a ball out of the enclosure of the court, hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting/throwing a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences. L. Abuse of Racket or Equipment Players and others present shall not violently, dangerously or with anger, hit, kick or throw a racket or other equipment within the Championship precincts. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to £250 GBP for each violation. For the purpose of this rule, abuse of rackets or equipment is defined as intentionally, dangerously and violently destroying or damaging a racket or equipment or intentionally and violently hitting the walls or floor of the court during a match out of anger or frustration. M. Verbal Abuse Players and officials shall not at any time verbally abuse any official, opponent, spectator or other person within the Championship precincts. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to a £1,000 GBP with the possible suspension of the player or official for up to 12 months. In circumstances that are egregious and particularly harmful to the success of a Championship, a single violation shall also constitute the major offence of “aggravated behaviour” as defined in Article 7D and shall be subject to the additional penalties set forth therein. For the purpose of this rule, verbal abuse is defined as a statement directed at an official, opponent, spectator or other person that implies dishonesty, is derogatory, is insulting or is otherwise abusive. N. Physical Abuse Players and officials shall not at any time physically abuse any official, opponent, spectator or other person within the Championship precincts. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to £1,000 GBP and the possible suspension of the player of official for up to 12 months. In circumstances that are egregious and particularly harmful to the success of a Championship, a single violation shall also constitute the major offence of “aggravated behaviour” as defined in Article 7D and shall be subject to the additional penalties set forth therein. For the purpose of this rule, physical abuse is defined as the unauthorised touching, by hand or by use of an object, of an official, opponent, spectator or other person. O. Unsportsmanlike Conduct Players and officials shall at all times conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner and give due regard to the authority of officials and the rights of opponents, spectators and others. They must also act in a way that cannot be construed to be in a manner that could bring the sport of squash into disrepute by virtue of any actions, comments, writing or other means. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to £1,000 GBP and the possible suspension of the player or official for up to 12 months. In circumstances that are egregious and particularly harmful to the success of a Championship, a single violation shall also constitute the major offence of “aggravated behaviour” as defined in Article 7D and shall be subject to the additional penalties set forth therein. For the purpose of this rule, unsportsmanlike conduct is defined as any misconduct by a player or official that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport but which is not covered by any on-site offence contained herein. In addition, unsportsmanlike conduct shall include, but shall not be limited to, the giving, making, issuing, authorising or endorsing any public statement having or designed to have an effect prejudicial or detrimental to the best interests of the sport, the Championship and/or the officiating thereof. P. Defaults A player may be defaulted from a Championship by the WSF Technical Delegate or CAP for any violation of this Code. If a player appeals against such default then the decision may be overruled only by the WSF Chief Executive or a WSF elected Officer provided either can be consulted within 2 hours of the default. Any player who is defaulted as herein provided may be fined up to £500 GBP in addition to any or all other fines levied with respect to the offending incident. The player involved, however, may still appeal to the DAC after the Championship. Q. Cumulative on-site Offences If any player or official has received fines for two or more offences within a 3 year period totalling more than £1,000 GBP, the DAC may impose a further fine of up to £500 GBP – such fine to be in addition to the fines imposed for the individual offences.

ARTICLE 6. ANTI-DOPING OFFENCES This Code of Conduct also embraces the WSF Anti-Doping Code which may be found on the WSF website. Any breach of the Anti-Doping Code is considered to be contrary to the integrity of the sport and shall be treated as an offence under Article 2(b) of this Code.

ARTICLE 7. WSF CHAMPIONSHIPS: MAJOR OFFENCES A. Applicability This Article shall apply to all players who commit to enter or who enter Championships, along with accompanying officials. B. Wagers No player or involved official shall wager, cause to wager or benefit from the wagering of anything of value in connection with any squash event. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to £10,000 GBP and/or suspension from play or officiating for a period up to 3 years. C. Bribes or Other Payments No player or involved official shall offer, give, solicit or accept or agree to offer, give, solicit or accept anything of value to or from any person with the intent to influence any player’s efforts in any squash event. Breach of this rule may result in a fine up to £10,000 GBP and/or suspension from play or officiating for a period of up to 3 years. D. Aggravated Behaviour No player or official at any Championship shall engage in “aggravated behaviour” which is defined as follows: 1. One incident of behaviour that, in the opinion of the DAC, is egregious and particularly harmful to the success of a Championship;. 2. A series of two or more breaches of this Code within a 12 month period which singularly do not constitute “aggravated behaviour” but, when viewed together, establish a pattern of conduct that is collectively egregious and is detrimental or harmful to Championships or the integrity of the sport of squash. Aggravated behaviour may result in a fine up to £10,000 GBP and suspension from playing or officiating in WSF Championships for a minimum period of 30 days and a maximum period of 1 year commencing on the day after the expiration of the time within which an appeal may be filed or, in the case of appeal, commencing the day after a final decision on appeal.

ARTICLE 8. DISCIPLINE Disciplinary proceedings initiated by the WSF shall comply with the following principles: A. Details of the alleged offence must be reported to the alleged offender as soon as possible together with a statement that the matter has been reported to the DAC. B. The DAC must inform the alleged offender that a formal complaint against him has been received, that he is invited to make a written report about the incident or incidents giving rise to the complaint within 10 days of receipt of such a request. The alleged offender must be provided with copies of all evidence to be offered against him. C. If, after consideration of any such explanation or if no explanation is received within the period of 10 days referred to in Article 8(B), the DAC will consider the written reports and, if necessary, convene a disciplinary hearing. If a hearing is called it is essential that the alleged offender be given a reasonable opportunity to attend or be represented. D. All disciplinary proceedings must be completed within a reasonable period, generally within 1 month of the alleged offence. E. The WSF Executive Board (Board) shall be entitled, subject to the procedures described in Article 8, but otherwise in its absolute discretion and in such manner as it thinks fit, to notify the Members of WSF of the decision under (C) above; and , in its absolute discretion and in such manner as it thinks fit, to notify or cause to be notified the public or any person, authority, body, commission or enquiry before which WSF has power to represent the interests of its Members of any such decision. F. The DAC shall use its best efforts to make its decision under (C) above within 30 days of the expiration of such 10 day period set forth in (B) above. Within 7 days after making such decision, the DAC or WSF Office on its behalf shall notify the offender concerned of such decision and of the grounds upon which it has been made by written notice sent by hand, email or by first class post with recorded delivery. Such decision shall be brought into effect at the expiration of 15 days from the date on which, in all the circumstances prevailing at the time, such notice would reasonably be expected to have been delivered to the offender unless an appeal has been lodged by the offender within such 15 day period in accordance with paragraph (G) below. G. Any offender who is to be disciplined in accordance with the Code above may appeal against such decision to an Appeal Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) to be appointed in accordance with Article 9 (B) provided that such appeal is made within such 15 day period. H. Any fine imposed pursuant to these rules must be paid in full to WSF within 30 days of notice of imposition of the fine, unless an extension of time is granted by the WSF Executive Board. If a fine is not paid within the 30 day period (unless extended by WSF Executive Board) then an additional sum of 20% of the fine shall be added to the fine by way of penalty and interest shall accrue on the total of the fine and penalty at the rate of 2% per 28 days from 28 days later than the 30 day deadline until payment is made. In addition, the WSF Executive Board may, at its discretion, request that the player associations and national federations act to prevent the player participating in any of their competitions until payment in full is made. If the overdue fine has been imposed on a national federation or its appointed official, a match official or any other person or body then the WSF Executive Board may take further action in respect of non-payment, at its discretion, including for a national federation determining that entries from that national federation may not be accepted for WSF Championships, and any entry already accepted for a WSF Championship may be rejected while the debt and penalties remain outstanding. I. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein contained, the WSF may make by-laws, rules or regulations in relation to the Code. J. The DAC may delegate all of its functions and powers to a Championship Adjudicating Panel (CAP) appointed by the Board to enable it to deal with any issues under this Code of Conduct during the course of a Championship.

ARTICLE 9. APPEALS A. Any offender who wishes to exercise a right of appeal given by these Articles shall notify the WSF Office of his desire within the 15 day period for appeal. The notice of appeal shall be in writing signed by or on behalf of the appellant, shall indicate the grounds on which the appeal is made and must be delivered to the WSF Office. B. On receipt of the notice of appeal, the Board shall appoint up to three persons to form the Tribunal to hear the appeal. C. The offender may appear and be entitled to be heard at the hearing. Both the offender and the Board may be legally represented at the hearing. D. An offender may produce new evidence to the Tribunal at the hearing. Otherwise the Tribunal will rely on the evidence presented to the DAC. The Tribunal may confirm, vary or reverse the decision of the DAC and may take any action which the Board could have taken at the time it endorsed that decision; and may give such directions as it thinks just for the payment of costs or expenses by any party to the appeal. E. The Tribunal shall state the grounds for its decision and shall give written notice thereof to the parties to the appeal within 7 days of the conclusion of the hearing. F. Subject as aforesaid, the Tribunal shall determine its own procedure. G. In the case of an appeal against a decision to discipline an offender in accordance with the Code, such disciplinary measures shall not take effect nor be publicised unless the Tribunal has upheld the decision. H. In the case of any decision to fine an offender, such fine shall be paid within 15 days after receiving notice thereof under Article 8 (F); where a person has appealed against such fine, such person shall pay any fine levied by the Tribunal within 15 days after receiving notice therefore under Article 9 (E).

ARTICLE 10. INTERPRETATIONS A. Any person or entity subject to this Code may file with the WSF office a request for an interpretation or clarification of the Code and/or its applicability and effect on a particular Championship or arrangement. Upon receipt of such request, the Board shall place the same on the agenda for consideration at the next meeting of the Board. If a decision is necessary for the interim, the Chief Executive may render a decision upon which the requesting party may rely pending final disposition by the Board. 

ARTICLE 11. NOTICE A. Any written communication required or sent to the WSF should be addressed as follows, unless notice of change is subsequently published:

World Squash Federation 25 Russell Street Hastings TN34 1QU United Kingdom Tel: +44 1424 447440 Fax: +44 1424 430737 Email: wsf@worldsquash.org Website: www.worldsquash.org

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