Last month saw two of the Squash powerhouses come together, the World Squash Federation (WSF), and the Professional Squash Association (PSA) to launch SquashFORWARD.
The members’ only initiative is designed to engage players in the U23 category to have their say on the development of the sport.
Ironically the initiative coincides with Olympic Day, which is envisioned to encourage young people to move, learn and discover new sports; let’s don’t forget the 2018 Youth Olympic Games taking place in Argentina this October.
Stronger links between grassroots and governing body
From the outset, the programme will have the top eight young Squash aged below 23 years old of equal numbers both male and female. The first eight young players from the U23 ranks, which have been elected as members to be on the initiative are:
SquashFORWARD Line-up (Photo credit: World Squash)
- Victor CROUIN (France, 18)
- Diego ELIAS (Peru, 21)
- Nour EL SHERBINI (Egypt, 22)
- Eain Yow NG (Malaysia, 20)
- Marina STEFANONI (the United States, 15)
- Dimitri STEINMANN (Switzerland, 20)
- Nadia USENKO (Ukraine, 18)
- Satomi WATANABE (Japan, 19)
Both, Nour El Sherbini from Egypt (World No.1) and Diego Elias from Peru (World No.11), will be the co-Chairs of the initiative. Having the perspectives of the young players will help shape the future of squash as a vibrant and healthy sport.
Together the eight players-will conduct research, which will bring their own perspective on the future of their sport, as well as become global ambassadors of thousands of young players internationally and inspire the dreams of their generation, by engaging with other young players.
Different from other programs
The SquashFORWARD initiative sounds like a great way to keep the junior Squash players from grassroots programs engaging in the hope of becoming a World Squash Champion and even playing (hopefully) at the Olympic Games.
To the outside world, it may sound like a government Think Tank, but this one has the foundations to see other young Squash players have their voices heard and make the sport a more truly engaging world sport, even more than its racquet cousins – Tennis and Badminton.
Having the two Squash powerhouses – the PSA and World Squash Federation, collaborating together will show that the sport is working extremely hard to keep sport relevant, with the input of younger players.
Truly, the SquashFORWARD program will allow the sport to be sustainable and more innovative, with input from younger players to bring the Squash community together.
