COURT REPORTER - Summer News!

Welcome new staff to Squash BC

Andrew Mount, Sport Development Manager   Squash has been Andrew’s passion spanning 30 years making the Sport Development Manager position with Squash BC an ideal fit. Starting as a junior at a small two-court club in rural southwestern Ontario, he has appreciation for grassroots. Competing for the University of Western Ontario at DIV 1 in Canada and USA, he can identify with the needs of high performance. For the past 15 years, his experience includes coaching, building and leading squash across multiple sectors: commercial, not-for-profit, post-secondary, provincial associations and international organizations.  Read full bio here Rebecca Anton, Member Services and Operations Manager Rebecca’s related education and job experience has led her to develop a strong passion for sport and active living. Throughout her career, she has had diverse experiences working in the sporting industry, at a variety of local, provincial, national, and international levels.  Her experiences in member relations, event management and communications will help her contribute to Squash BC’s mission of providing leadership and direction for the growth of the sport of squash in BC. Read full bio here

Summer in the Squash BC Office Summer is a busy time in the Squash BC Office! There is plenty of work to do around finances including applying for the Gaming Grant from the Provincial Government, preparing our year-end financial reports, and reporting to viaSport and other government agencies. The Calendar of Events for the upcoming season is created and finalized over the course of the summer. Squash BC uses the summer period to update any policies, lists, and documents as needed, as well as taking time to plan new and established programs for the upcoming season. This summer, Squash BC has also been busy navigating through the global COVID-19 pandemic – working hard to assist facilities and players in returning to play safely, and ensuring the continued growth of squash in BC. Executive Director, Nancy Thompson, and the Squash BC Board of Directors are looking forward to working with the new team to get the 2020-21 season underway.

COVID-19 Squash Bulletin As we here in BC continue to maintain a relatively flattened curve as the restrictions gradually loosen in BC’s Restart Plan Phase 3 (as of June 24 th ), sport is still considered to be closer to Phase 2. Most people are now comfortable with outdoor sports in open spaces, e.g. tennis and pickleball, but what about sports like squash which are indoors and close contact? Squash BC has been asked by viaSport, the provincial funding organization for sport organizations, to provide recommendations on what the transition to Phase 3 could look like. Back in the early spring we formed a COVID-19 Task Force whose first task was to develop Squash BC's Return to Squash (R2S) plan. As well we are facilitating bi-weekly coaches meetings to ensure that we have “boots on the ground” for sharing best practices, and collecting content for our responses and submissions. We also recognize that facilities across the province are at various stages/phases of re-opening and that return to squash may not be the same from club to club, or player to player. Take a look at the COVID-19 page on our website to access Squash BC's R2S plan and current information as we all contribute toward this new normal, an evolving progression that will hopefully lead back to both recreational and competitive opportunities to enjoy and grow our sport. We’d love to hear from you with your photos and videos of what you're doing to stay fit for squash!

Sport Parenting - Work with Your Child’s Coach in Partnership From Wayne Goldsmith Coaching: ...to remind you that your child’s success is maximized when parents, coach, and athlete work in partnership. Click here to watch the video!

The Psychological Implications of Returning to Sport Post-Isolation

As public health restrictions ease, athletes are beginning to return to sport in a world full of uncertainty. Have a look at this article from the Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC), discussing the psychological implications of returning to sport.

Exercising for your brain! Working memory is the ability to store and manipulate information in the moment. Check out this study from Western University that suggests exercise – 20 minutes of brisk walking in the case of the study – can compete with caffeine in terms of enhancing working memory.

...Get fit as you sit! Watch this video from ParticipACTION showing how you can stay active while sitting at a desk! Their 2-minute Get Fit As You Sit workout is a simple way to add physical activity to your day.

New Squash BC Job Posting – High Performance Provincial Coach The position of High Performance (HP) Provincial Coach is a new position for Squash BC. The HP Provincial Coach will be responsible for raising the performance of adult and junior Squash BC players in competition and preparing those identified BC athletes to become members of Squash Canada HP squads and programs and/or play in the PSA. Application deadline: July 29, 2020.

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Squash BC Tournament Update Squash BC continues to assess the state of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on squash in BC. According to Squash BC’s Return to Squash plan, we have not yet progressed to a point where interclub competitive play is possible. Therefore, it has been decided – in collaboration with host clubs – that the tournaments that would typically be scheduled in August and September will not happen. We continue to monitor the situation in relation to our Calendar of Events and we will be keeping our membership updated regularly.

Squash Court Materials Available Are you looking for a glass back wall for your court? If so, you're in luck! 3 x glass back walls are available in Victoria, to be passed on to a new owner. If you are interested, please contact the Squash BC office at [email protected] , and we can put you in touch with the correct person.

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