By Kevin Klipstein
Not to be outdone with all the talk of change in politics these days, whether it’s “change you can believe in” or “maverick change,” we wanted to outline our own dizzying pace of changes at U.S. SQUASH. The reality is, our heads are spinning nearly as much as we imagine yours to be in trying to follow the recent and upcoming changes with U.S. SQUASH.
With a three-year strategic plan in-hand, we are pursuing some of our boldest initiatives ever to drive very specific measures in membership, awareness, participation and our finances. Targeted new programs will help us achieve goals in each of these areas. The programs are outlined in our Strategic Plan, which you can find on our website under “About U.S. SQUASH.” So what’s changing?
Our Website—After over ten years with www.us-squash.org as our flagship web address, we will transition to a new web design at a new address: www.ussquash.com. Most aspects of the move will take place in phases over the next two months. The transition is expected to be completed by the end of 2008 and will provide a tightly integrated user experience. Available will be everything from tournament and league schedules, information and online entry, ratings and rankings, U.S. Championships, coaching and refereeing, and all the U.S. SQUASH junior development program information players (and parents) need to compete.
Member Benefits—Extensive new benefits to players and members are also now available, such as searchable player and club profile pages, including results from all tournament, league and team matches, and the ability for current members to contact one another via email. Added to Team and Box League products are new league options for players, including Set Leagues, Flex Leagues, Challenge Leagues and Challenge Ladders. In addition, members and non-members alike will be able to enter “friendly” match results into their profiles to track wins and losses. Although these matches will not count toward official ratings or rankings, they will appear in each players’ profile. More information on Leagues and Ladders may be found online.
New Programs—We are in the process of introducing a raft of programs to support our goals. The Squash Professionals Affiliate (SPA) Program creates a formal partnership between U.S. SQUASH and the teaching pro community. The program offers insurance, membership incentives and discounts among many other benefits to pros and coaches. In return, U.S. SQUASH receives support for our programs. The TOPS (or Top Six) Program gives insurance, funding and other benefits directly to our elite professional athletes. Their success on the professional and international stage increases the profile of squash in the U.S.
We will continue the Junior Endowment Grants which fund new junior development programs that provide squash instruction to junior players in an organized, structured manner. Added to this initiative will be our Court Action Plan (CAP), targeting the conversion of racquetball courts to squash, and supporting the initial development of programs at the converted facility. Our Scholastic Squash Program (SSP) and College Varsity Squash Initiative (CVSI) both seek to seed and nurture emerging squash programs at the high school and collegiate level respectively.
Help Wanted—Perhaps most critical to the success of many of these initiatives will be the continued support of our over 30 District Associations, and the active volunteer support the sport has experienced throughout the history of U.S. SQUASH. We continue to need your support and direct involvement. Look online for details on all of these programs, and how you can get involved this season.
