The National Squash League (NSL)–a new team and city based league similar to other major league sports in the United States–is set for a player draft to determine six teams ahead of the inaugural season Saturday, March 2, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Founded in part by Team USA’s Timmy Brownell and Spencer Lovejoy with Fernando Valdizan and supported by a passionate base of squash communities around the country, the NSL aims to revolutionize the professional live squash experience with an innovative, first-of-its-kind team scoring format.
United States vs. The World Exhibition
The NSL format will be showcased in an NSL-style exhibition between the United States (Timmy Brownell, Andrew Douglas, Spencer Lovejoy) and the World (Victor Crouin, Youssef Ibrahim, Ramit Tandon) Friday, March 1, at 6pm ET. Watch a special broadcast of the exhibition below:
The Format
The competition consists of a 3 vs 3 team match played over 3 periods of timed squash, the first two periods being 20 minutes in duration and the third and final period being 30 minutes. The first two periods are worth one point each and the 3rd period is worth two points. In the event of a tie, one five minute overtime period is played. During each of the first 2 periods teams can make 2 substitutions at any time, and in the third period each team will have 3 substitutions. Each team can also call one, two-minute Power Play in each period, and an additional one-minute power player play in the third period. Only the team on Power Play can score points for the duration.
The regular season will be contested in a group stage format consisting of two groups of three teams in a North and South division. The winner of each group will compete for the first ever NSL Championship in one final match!
The Draft
The draft pool is set for the upcoming 2024 NSL Draft in Nashville, Tennessee. Players, fans, and ownership groups alike will make the journey to Music City On March 1st for a weekend of events, centered around the Live Draft on Saturday night. The player pool is now set with 40 players eligible for selection as teams plan their potential picks to build their rosters. Each team will select 3 starters and 1 reserve player in a 4 round snake draft format. In total, 24 players will be drafted to compete in the first ever season of the National Squash League. See the full list of draft eligible players and highlighted profiles here.
The Teams
NSL North: New York Knights, based at Nicol Squash and managed by Peter Nicol MBE; Chicago Grizzlies, based at the University Club of Chicago; Newport Dragons based at St George’s School.
NSL South: Nashville Crushers, based at at Montgomery Bell Academy; Louisville Colts based at the Collegiate School; Atlanta Tornados based at Atlanta Community Squash.
For more information including match tickets, draft coverage and the inaugural season schedule, visit nslsport.com.
