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Congratulations to our new leadership!

On behalf of the Board and the members of Squash NS I would like to congratulate:

Dave Thomson on his assumption of the role of President of Squash NS

Marwan Abouelela on his assumption of the role of Vice President and

John MacPhail on his acclamation as a member at large.

Phil Jourdeuil on his assumption of the role of Treasurer and

Cameron Reid and Evan McNichol on their return as members at large for another two year term.

Dave and Marwan agreed to co-lead the Board after the call for volunteers and the AGM produced no candidates.  They and the Board will continue to lead the sport in its recovery post covid and will be refreshing the strategic plan for Squash NS in 2021-22.

In other news the AGM approved a restructure of membership classes and fees that eliminated the recreational class of membership and reduced membership fees. Details are here.

We are also actively planning the 2021-22 Competitive season.  We plan to restart the HSL in September and expect that Premier League will also start in the fall. I would would ask clubs/individuals who are planning tournaments to indicate their interest and tentative dates to Mallory. So far we have no news on tourney dates in the other provinces but for NS we have tentative bookings for the:

    • Cole Harbour Team Tourney – 14-17 Oct
    • NS Jr Open – 19-21 Nov
    • Dal tournament planned for 13-16 Jan
    • NS Open 24-27 Mar

Also we would like to start a four tournament Junior Circuit for new, improving and competitive juniors. With tourney dates in Sep, Oct, Jan and Feb and each held at a different club in the province.  Details of the circuit can be found here.  Again Clubs should indicate their interest to Mallory.

I would like to thank the board and the squash community for your support over the last three years and hope you will work as hard to support our new leadership going forward.

Signing off,

Phil

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Update to COVID 19 Restrictions for Squash effective 8 a.m. 30 June 2021

With the Province’s announcement that we are entering Phase 3 of the NS reopening plan effective 8:00 a.m. on June 30th 2021, the following changes to operations of facilities offering squash are approved.

To summarize facilities across the province can operate squash courts under the following restrictions:

    • Squash clubs can operate
    • Contact tracing, mask use, physical distancing and other public health measures remain in effect within the common areas of the facility.
    • Competitive play is authorized between club members  i.e. Organized matches, internal club ladders and box leagues.
    • Singles, Doubles and Cut-throat play is authorized
    • Tournaments are not authorized.
    • Squash training programs can take place limited to a maximum 25 people indoors including participants, coaches and spectators
    • Spectators are permitted within the overall indoor and program gathering limits.
    • No social activity is permitted.
    • Within the context of minimizing individual social contact circles, players should restrict their social/playing/practice group to a consistent group of no more than 25 people.
    • Inter club leagues can take place, if all of the host clubs are willing to participate and each of the divisions each stay under the 25 player cap including players and officials.
    • Players and coaches can travel within NS to train.
    • Players are authorized to travel to play remembering that they must meet any entry/re-entry requirements for quarantine of the host province and NS.

Remember that facilities will implement the changes to the rules at their own pace consistent with their approval processes and level of risk tolerance so please be patient.

Remember to practice safe sport:

    • Respect – Facility rules
    • Prepare – Book in advance
    • Screen – Don’t play if you are exhibiting symptoms.
    • Play – Wear a mask to and from the court, come prepared to play including bringing water/sports drink. Don’t wipe sweat on court surfaces during play
    • Sanitize on completion of play
    • Masked Spectators allowed to watch within the current gathering limits
    • Exit the facility after play.

For reference the general return to play guidelines for players and venues are attached  for Players and Facilities/Coaches and Organizers.

Phil Jourdeuil

President of Squash NS

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Come lead the Squash NS Team!

Hi Everyone!

All things must come to an end. After a 3 year run as your president, I am looking for an engaged person to pass the baton to. Although I will remain on the board it is time to let someone new lead our team.  The foundations have been laid. We have a great team and we need a new leader!

If you are passionate about squash please consider leading the Squash NS Board!

Please indicate your interest here! https://clublocker.com/tournaments/12577/info

Many thanks,

Phil

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Update on COVID Restrictions for Squash – Effective 8a.m. 16 June 2021

We have confirmed with the province that Phase 2 of the NS reopening plan permits competitive play within a club effective 8:00 a.m. on June 16th 2021, like has been authorized for Tennis and Golf.

To summarize facilities across the province can operate squash courts under the following restrictions:

    • Squash clubs can operate
    • Contact tracing, mask use, physical distancing and other public health measures remain in effect.
    • Competitive play is authorized between club members  i.e. Organized matches, internal club ladders and box leagues.
    • Tournaments and Inter-club and team leagues are not authorized.
    • Squash training programs can take place limited to a maximum 10 people indoors including participants, coaches and spectators
    • Spectators are permitted within the overall indoor gathering limits.
    • No social activity is permitted.
    • Within the context of minimizing individual social contact circles, players should restrict their social/playing/practice group to a consistent group of no more than 10 people.
    • Inter-club, inter-regional and Inter-provincial competitive play is not authorized, including travel to competitive events outside of your home club
    • Players and coaches can travel within NS to train.

Remember that facilities will implement the changes to the rules at their own pace consistent with their approval processes and level of risk tolerance so please be patient.

Remember to practice safe sport:

    • Respect – Facility rules
    • Prepare – Book in advance
    • Screen – Don’t play if you are exhibiting symptoms.
    • Play – Wear a mask to and from the court, come prepared to play including bringing water/sports drink. Don’t wipe sweat on court surfaces during play
    • Sanitize on completion of play
    • Masked Spectators allowed to watch within the current gathering limits
    • Exit the facility after play.

For reference the general return to play guidelines for players and venues are attached  for Players and Facilities/Coaches and Organizers.

Phil Jourdeuil

President of Squash NS

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Come join our team!

Squash Nova Scotia is looking for committed and interested volunteers to join our board!  New and returning faces are welcome. All that is required is a membership with Squash NS, (although paid membership is required, given the current restrictions, we are not collecting membership payments until Aug 2021 and associate members willing to commit to becoming a paid member are eligible), and a commitment to guiding our sport forward post COVID.

Ever wanted to influence how the Squash is run, and help shape the decisions that govern our sport? Now is your chance!  Want to see what board membership entails please see the Squash NS Bylaws  and the Squash NS Board Orientation.

Squash NS is looking to fill the following positions for a two year term from 2021-2023:
1. President
2. VP
3.  Treasurer
4.  Dir Competitive Program
5.  Dir Membership and Volunteer Development
6.  Dir Communications and Advocacy
7.  Two or three Members at Large.
We also recognize that past boards have been heavily centred on HRM due to the requirements to meet in person. However, for the last two years we have offered meetings by Video teleconference and therefore we are actively seeking to broaden our reach ideally by receiving one nomination from each active club, but initially aiming to receive at least one nomination from each of the five regions in which there are active clubs:
1. Cape Breton – CBSquash
2. Highland – Highland Squash/StFX
3. Fundy – Truro (Dal AG Campus)
4. Valley – Greenwood/Kings County/Acadia
5. Central – SMU/Dal/CHP/Zatzman
Please consider joining or remaining on our dynamic team by signing up for a role at the Board nominations sign-up sheet
Where more than one person signs up for a role (except for members at large), an election will be held at the Squash NS AGM on 30 Jun 2021.
If you have any questions please contact us
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COVID 19 Restriction Update – Effective 2 June

With the premier’s announcement of updated rules for reopening yesterday, the province goes back to limited harmonized squash operations effective 8:00 a.m. on June 2nd 2021.

To summarize facilities across the province can operate squash courts under the following restrictions:

    • Squash clubs can operate with a maximum of two people on court at a time i.e. players or one coach and one player per court
    • Contact tracing, mask use physical distancing  and other public health measures remain in effect.
    • Competitive play is not authorized, i.e. No organized matches, internal club ladders, leagues and tournaments.
    • Squash training programs can take place limited to a maximum 2 people
    • Spectators are not permitted.
    • Within the context of minimizing individual social contact circles, players should restrict their social/playing/practice group to a consistent group of no more than 10 people.
    • Inter-region or inter-provincial competitive sport related travel is prohibited.
    • Players and coaches may not travel into or out of HRM or CBRM to attend or host training.

Remember that facilities will implement the changes to the rules at their own pace consistent with their approval processes and level of risk tolerance so please be patient.

Remember to practice safe sport:

    • Respect – Facility rules
    • Prepare – Book in advance
    • Screen – Don’t play if you are exhibiting symptoms.
    • Play – Wear a mask to and from the court, come prepared to play including bringing water/sports drink. Don’t wipe hands on court surfaces during play
    • Sanitize on completion of play
    • Do not wipe sweat on court surfaces
    • Masked Spectators/team members allowed to watch within the revised gathering limits (50% of the normal capacity)
    • Exit the facility after play.

For reference the general return to play guidelines for players and venues are attached  for Players and Facilities/Coaches and Organizers.

Phil Jourdeuil

President of Squash NS

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WSF Launches World Squash Officiating – the Online Officials development tool and resource kit

World Squash Officiating is the WSF officiating training and evaluation platform.  It hosts tons of easily searchable resources to develop officials in any aspect of their officiating journey as well as the courseware and evaluations to become a WSF certified official.

Currently the resource is being evaluated by the SC Officiating Committee to see how it can be integrated into the SC Officiating program.  More details to follow on this.

In the meantime, it is a great resource for every level of official!

To explore the site please visit https://worldsquashofficiating.com/