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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/

 

 

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COVID-19 Restriction Update – Effective 8 am 27 April -11:59 pm 20 May

With the premier’s announcement of updated rules for sport in the province today, there are some changes to what squash operations can take place between 8 a.m. Tuesday Apr 27  to 11:59 p.m. Friday May 21  2021.

For facilities and within the HRM (Halifax, Guysborough, Hants and Lunenburg Counties)  the following changes are in effect:

    • Squash clubs cannot operate.
    • Competitive play is not authorized, i.e. no organized matches, ladders, leagues or tournaments can take place..
    • Squash training programs cannot take place
    • Travel into or out of the HRM for sport purposes is prohibited.

For facilities elsewhere in the province the following restrictions remain in effect:

    • Squash clubs can operate at 50% capacity.
    • Competitive play is  not authorized, i.e.  organized matches and internal club ladders, leagues and tournaments (max 60 people inclusive of players, staff, spectators coaches and officials) can take place..
    • Squash training  and practice programs can take place limited to a maximum 10 people including, participants, coaches and volunteers.
    • Spectators are not permitted.
    • Within the context of minimizing individual social contact circles, players should restrict their playing/practice group to 3-5 players.
    • Inter-community sport related travel is prohibited.

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
    • 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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COVID 19- Restriction Update for HRM Between 23 April – 21 May 2021

With the premier’s announcement of updated rules for sport in the HRM  today, there are some changes to what squash operations can take place between 8 a.m. Friday Apr 23  to 11:59 p.m. Friday May 21  2021.

For facilities and within the HRM the following changes are in effect:

    • Squash clubs cannot operate.
    • Competitive play is not authorized, i.e. no organized matches, ladders, leagues or tournaments can take place..
    • Squash training programs cannot take place
    • Travel into or out of the HRM for sport purposes is prohibited.

For facilities elsewhere in the province the following restrictions remain in effect:

    • Squash clubs can operate.
    • Competitive play is  authorized, i.e.  organized matches and internal club ladders, leagues and tournaments (max 60 people inclusive of players, staff, spectators coaches and officials) can take place..
    • Squash training programs can take place limited to a maximum 25 people including, participants, coaches, volunteers and any parents and guardians that need to be present.
    • Spectators are permitted.
    • Within the context of minimizing individual social contact circles, players should restrict their playing/practice group to 3-5 players.
    • Inter-region or inter-provincial travel competitive sport related travel is prohibited.

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
    • 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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Congratulations to Ashley Cullis – The Team Manager for the 2023 Canada Winter Games Squash Team

The Board of Directors of Squash NS are pleased to announce that Ashley Cullis has been selected as the Manager for the 2023 CWG Squash Team for Nova Scotia, joining Head Coach Josh Rudolph.

Ashley Cullis has been playing squash for 19 years and credits her passion for the sport to the inclusive and social squash communities on the East Coast. She started playing in Mill River, PEI in 2002 but has been playing out of Halifax, NS since 2008, with a few years spent in Ottawa and Vancouver.

Ashley is currently ranked No. 10 in the Nova Scotia Women’s Rankings.  She represented Nova Scotia at two national tournaments and has been involved in various volunteer roles locally and with Squash Canada. A highlight of hers was serving as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Women’s World Team Championships in 2014. She was the recipient of the 2019-2020 Support 4 Sport Senior Female Athlete of the Year award for squash.

Ashley brings her professional experience in Human Resources and Operations management, primarily in start up environments, to the team, which will help document and build the processes and policies for the team.

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Intro to Squash 57 Webinar


A Must-See Webinar!

Attention Squash Pros, Coaches, Club Owners, Juniors, Singles/Doubles Players and Organizers. Don’t miss this upcoming FREE Squash Canada webinar that will introduce you to Squash57, an extremely popular version of squash that can drastically increase participation, extend playing longevity, offer alternative teaching tools, provide additional training options and more!!

Squash57 (originally known as UK Racketball), was often confused with the North American game of Racquetball (which is played on a court with different dimensions, no tin, a different ball, and different rules), so the name “Squash57” was coined to differentiate itself (the ’57’ relating to the diameter of the ball – 57mm).  There are many tangible benefits to this variation of squash that will be fully explained in the webinar. England Squash has over 20,000 Squash57 members alone, and they are keeping squash courts busy.

Details:
Date: Tuesday April 6, 2021
Time: Noon to 1:15PM
Location: via GoToMeeting (Webinar Online only – attendees must have access to a laptop, tablet, etc.)
Registration Deadline: Tuesday April 6, 2021 at 9AM EST
To Register: CLICK HERE

Note: This webinar is part of the Squash Canada Coach PD Webinar Series – NCCP Certified Coaches will receive 1 PD Point towards their Maintenance of Certification.

“I personally have been playing Squash57 for 12 years and I absolutely LOVE IT! Once you get past the stigma that it’s just not squash, you’ll quickly find that it’s enjoyable/entertaining and it massively reduces the skill gap between players, so you will immediately find many more people to play with/against,” stated Pete Goodings, Squash Pro at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton, AB. “You can also easily play both Squash and Squash57 – one doesn’t negatively affect the other and they actually complement each other. In the UK, Squash57 has experienced HUGE growth and I for one have witnessed first-hand how it has been the savior of many small, standalone squash clubs and in many instances, it grew the member base significantly.”

This is a must-see FREE Squash Canada webinar for everyone! You have nothing to lose and tons to gain so please join us on Tuesday April 6th at Noon EST for the introduction of Squash57. And please remember you must register in advance using the above link (space is limited to 140 attendees – first come first serve).

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Implementation of Squash NS Coach Licensing Standard

The measures outlined below will be implemented by 31 Aug 2021 as part of our implementation of Safe Sport practices and the Responsible Coaching Movement.

SC is developing a National Coach Licensing policy which will identify the standards that coaches must comply with to be allowed to coach at events under its jurisdiction or Canadian Teams under its control. In the interim, Squash NS has created its own Squash Coach Licensing Standards which were approved by the BoD in Feb 2020 and which states that coaches are required to adhere to them by 31 Aug 2021 to be licensed. The standard requires licensed coaches to:

  1. Hold a valid Squash Canada coaching certification[1]. One of or more of Intro to Squash, Squash Intro to Competition or Squash Competition Development. For more information please see https://squash.ca/coaching-program/
  2. Be registered with the Coaching Association of Canada (Free), which entails obtaining an NCCP #. Anyone who has completed an NCCP certification or a coaching course or has successfully challenged the coach certification process since 2005 in any sport already has an account at the Coaching Association of Canada and does not need a new one. Please see https://thelocker.coach.ca/account/login?ReturnUrl=%2fhome
  3. Have a current competitive membership with Squash NS, the provincial sport governing body for squash https://novascotia.clublocker.com/login. This membership provides access to screening resources, subsidized professional development opportunities and liability insurance as well as a listing as a coach on the Squash NS Website, for active coaches. Only Squash NS member coaches have the opportunity of being nominated for SC coaching opportunities, and to coach Squash NS athletes and teams in competition
  4. Meet the requirements of the Squash NS Screening Policy available at https://nssquash.ca/about/policies-and-regulations/
  5. Agree to abide by the tenets of the Responsible Coaching Movement https://www.coach.ca/3- steps-to-responsible-coaching-p161376

If a coach does not choose to be licensed, they may still assist other players in improving their game. However, they will not be endorsed by Squash NS, will not not insured and will not be eligible to offer programs in Squash NS clubs or coach Squash NS teams or athletes.  The SNS website will also indicate that any who employ unlicensed coaches do so at their own risk.

[1] Coaches who trained outside of Canada or who received certification under the old NCCP program (prior to Dec 31, 2005), or High Level PSA players seeking to challenge one or more certifications please see the revised Squash Canada Coach Challenge Process https://squash.ca/coaching-program/ for more information on how to do this.

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Squash NS Screening Policy

As part of a national initiative by Squash Canada (SC) and Squash NS to implement safe sport practices, Squash Nova Scotia recently adopted a Screening Policy modelled on the SC Screening policy for all people associated with the sport in an official capacity and are beginning its implementation. This screening policy http://nssquash.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2020-10-28-Screening-Policy.pdf applies to board members, employees, travelling team staff, volunteers, coaches, officials and players. In addition, there are a number of other policies that were approved to support a safe sport environment. They are available https://nssquash.ca/about/policies-and-regulations/

Initial Screening priorities will be for Coaches and Board members and the CG Team manager, followed by officials and volunteers.

Affected members will receive an invitation to begin the screening process in the coming weeks.

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Nominations are open for the Sport Makes a Difference Award.

Want to recognize someone who made a difference to our sport this year? Please consider nominating them for the Provincial Support 4 Sport “Sport Makes a Difference Award”

To nominate someone, enter them in the Nomination event on Club Locker and then please fill in the Notes Section by telling us who you are and why you have chosen this individual, group, organization, or committee to be your provincial sport organization recipient for the 2021 S4S Sport Makes a Difference Award. Please explain how this nominee went above and beyond the call of duty for their sport despite the challenges brought forth by the pandemic.

To be Eligible – the Nominee must be a member of Squash NS (Associate, Recreational or Competitive)

Nominations close on 26 March.