WSF Court Material Approval Scheme

REGULATIONS
1.	Any application for WSF Approval must be endorsed by the national association for the country in which the manufacturer has his registered office.
2.	The WSF, on application from a manufacturer endorsed by the appropriate national association, will assess the product in question against its agreed standards. It may make, or cause to be made, such investigations as appear desirable.
3.	In assessing an application for approval, the WSF may at its discretion seek the views of additional national associations, for example countries to which the product in question is already exported and representatives of the Player's Associations, but will retain final discretion over whether WSF Approval is granted.
4.	When the results of its investigation are available, the WSF may if it sees fit issue WSF Approval and Certified endorsement for the product or component in question. This Approval may be subject to whatever conditions may be thought to be desirable.
5.	Any material or component granted WSF Approved and Certified endorsement may be advertised as such for the period specified in the approval providing the manufacturer has paid the appropriate Approval fee to the WSF. (Note: The normal Approval period will be one year).
6.	Any product granted 'WSF Approved and Certified' endorsement may be advertised as such, using a standard symbol to be owned by the WSF, in all or such countries in the world as may be specified by the WSF.
7.	At the end of each Approval period, the manufacturer may apply to the WSF for renewal of the application providing that the application is endorsed by the appropriate national association. The WSF may then, if it sees fit, renew the Approval for a further period of not more than one year.
8.	The Approval Scheme will be administered on a day-to-day basis by the WSF Technical Committee in association with the Executive Director.
9.	The final decision on whether to grant Approval for a particular product or component will be made by the Officers of the Federation.
10.	Manufacturers may modify and improve Approved products, but any improvement may invalidate the Approval. Accordingly, manufacturers must inform the Executive Director of any changes to Approved products in order that the WSF may determine whether the Approval remains valid for the improved product.
11.	The WSF will take action against any manufacturer who falsely advertises a product as WSF Approved.
12.	The WSF will contact or convene a meeting annually with the manufacturers of Approved products to exchange views and review the operation of the game.

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OUTLINE OF TEST METHODS
1.	This Appendix summarises details of the test methods proposed for court materials and components
2.	Court Walls (including doors) The following tests will be undertaken on court walls: (paras 6 to 13 below)
	2.1	Amount and consistency of ball/surface rebound resilience
	2.2	Structural strength and stability
	2.3	Coefficient of Friction
	2.4	Reflectance
	2.5	Dimensional Accuracy
3.	Court Floors The following tests will be undertaken on court floors: (paras 14 to 19 below)
	3.1	Amount and consistency of ball/surface rebound resilience
	3.2	Structural and stability
	3.3	Resistance to Set
	3.4	Coefficient of Friction
	3.5	Reflectance
	3.6	Dimensional Accuracy
4.	Lighting The following tests will be undertaken on court lighting: (paras 20 and 21 below)
	4.1	Intensity of Illumination
	4.2	Consistency of Illumination
5.	Heating and Ventilation The following tests will be undertaken on court heating and ventilation: (para 22 below)
	5.1	Temperature in relation to external (ambient) conditions
	5.2	Humidity in relation to external (ambient) conditions
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Court Walls (including doors) Amount and consistency of ball/surface rebound resilience
6.	Impact rebound test using a Building Material Test Hammer, Pendulum Type (Schmidt Hammer) with an impact energy of 0.09 mkg. This device consists of a pendulum which falls through a standard arc in order to impact the surface being tested. The amount of rebound is measured on a scale which allows different materials to be compared. Schmidt Hammers are readily portable and may be used for testing both walls and floors.
7.	The wall is to be tested in accordance with the hammer manufacturers instructions at a spacing of 200mm in both directions over sufficient of the wall to ensure that its characteristics are fully assessed. In the case of panelled courts, this means that not less than the whole area of a typical panel must be tested on each of the front and back walls plus at least one side wall. For a wall finish to be acceptable, the following results must be achieved.
	7.1	The average rebound must be not less than two-thirds of the reading for a brick wall not less than 200mm thick.

	7.2	The consistency of rebound must be within 20% of the average rebound over the whole area of the wall.
	7.3	The wall finish must not be damaged by the hammer.
Structural Strength and Stability
8.	The structural strength and stability of walls will be tested in accordance with the requirements of the paragraphs 6.5 to 6.7 and 7.5 of the WSF Squash Court Specification., derived originally from British and American standard test on glazing. This entails an impact from a lead shot and sand filled sack with a mass of 100kg and a coefficient of absorption of 47% (ie 53% of the impact is transferred to the wall) trvelling at the moment of impact at a speed of 4.5 metres per second and striking the wall at right angles over an area of not more than o.25 square metres at a height to the centre of the impact area of 1.47 metres in the middle third of any panel of the wall. This impact was calculated to approximate that likely to result from an overweight player running into a wall or falling against it. The illustration shows a test in progress. The striped sack (filled with lead shot and sand) is suspended ready for the impact test. The "X" on the glass is the point of impact.
9.	Any walls deflecting following the impact must return to their original static position within one second of the impact and must suffer no permanent or temporary damage as a result of either the impact or deflection.
10.	If a finger trap appears around the edge of the court door following the impact, the deflection relative to the adjacent wall must not exceed:
	10.1	the thickness of the wall or door finish plus 2mm at an impact speed of 3 metres per second
	10.2	the thickness of the wall or door finish plus 12mm at an impact speed of 4.5 metres per second.
Coefficient of Friction
11.	The Coefficient of Friction of a wall will determine the extent to which the ball 'skids' when striking it. An inclined plane test will be used to assess the coefficient of friction of a sample of the wall finish. This test can only be calibrated by acceptance to an acceptable wall finish and so it is proposed to adopt a standard of plus or minus 33% of the coefficient of friction of a Prodorite plaster wall, this being the most common wall finish universally accepted by most players.
Reflectance
12.	The test for reflectance will be carried out by using a light meter.
Dimensional Accuracy
13.	Dimensional accuracy will be checked using a steel tape and steel straight edge. Acceptable tolerances are given in the WSF Squash Court Specification, paragraph 4.
Court Floors Amount and consistency of ball/surface rebound resilience
14.	The rebound resilience will be tested in a similar manner to the same properties for court walls: Schmidt Hammers may be used for both horizontal and vertical surfaces. For a floor finish to be acceptable the following standards are proposed:
	14.1	The amount of rebound must be within 10 and 20% of the rebound from a tarmac roadway.
	14.2	The consistency of rebound must be within 50% of the average rebound.
Structural Strength and Stability
15.	The floor must be capable of carrying a live load of 200kg distributed over an area of not more than 150mm square without permanent deflection or damage.
Resistance to Set
16.	The floor must show no permanent deformation or other damage after being loaded for 30mm with a static load of 5kN over a circular area of 70mm diameter.
Coefficient of Friction
17.	The floor must have a coefficient of friction in the range 40-60% when in a dry condition. The coefficient of friction may be measured using an inclined plane and a sample of the finish.
Reflectance
18.	The reflectance of the floor will be measured using a light meter.
Dimensional Accuracy
19.	Dimensional accuracy will be checked using a steel tape and steel straight edge. Acceptable tolerances are given in the WSF Squash Court Specification, paragraph 4.
Lighting Intensity of Illumination
20.	The intensity of illumination will be measured using a light meter. The required illumination 1 metre above floor level is 500 lux.
Consistency of Illumination
21.	The consistency of illumination will be measured using a light meter. The illumination over the court at a height 0f 1 metre from floor level is required to be within plus or minus 15% of the average illumination.
Heating and Ventilation
22.	The heating and ventilation will be tested using a wet and dry bulb thermometer. The internal temperature in the court is to be within the range 10-20 degrees Celsius irrespective of the outdoor temperature. The ventilation system may be checked by calculation.