US Squash Junior Development Background and Process Information

US Squash Junior Development Background and Process Information May 29, 2019

Executive Summary As US Squash announces enhancements to the junior tournament structure, rankings and process/qualification criteria, this document provides contextual information on the current state of competitive junior squash. The planned changes enhancements are designed to allow us to continue to fulfill US Squash’s core goals of providing a safe, fair, inclusive and balanced environment for the junior squash community.

US Squash’s mission is to lead squash’s growth and development by increasing access and awareness, supporting meaningful lifelong engagement in the sport, and encouraging sportsmanship while achieving competitive excellence at the highest levels.

• US Squash junior programs support the core goal of providing access to the sport to children of all ages, backgrounds and levels of play.

• Sportsmanship and excellence are also heavily impacted by the junior squash program’s policies and programs.

Junior squash participation has expanded rapidly in the United States in the last decade, in some areas the growth has been five-fold or more. Thousands of children participate in a variety of activities and competitions including tournaments, leagues and after-school programs across the nation.

There are several pathways for children to engage in US Squash junior programming: • Entry to elite level tournaments including Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Junior Championship Tour (JCT) levels; • US Squash National Championships; • Middle and high school (scholastic) team leagues and championships; • High performance development including Regional and National training squads, the US Squash Academy and international competition for Team USA.

Junior Squash Enhancements for 2019-2020 Season

Junior Squash Program Goals While junior squash covers many aspects, the goals for the competitive structure are to be safe, fair, inclusive and balanced.

Safe – The entire community has a role to play in creating a healthy setting in squash. To help in this, US Squash engages the U.S. Center for SafeSport which seeks to enable every athlete to thrive by fostering a national sport culture of respect and safety, on and off the court. The Center for SafeSport has jurisdiction over misconduct and abuse for US Squash and the national SafeSport initiative helps raise awareness about misconduct, promote open dialogue, and provide training and resources. Injury due to unsafe play or incorrect training or overuse are also areas of concern and focus. US Squash also has a responsibility to create competition structures that encourage healthy levels of participation and to work with players, families, and coaches to avoid injuries and promote healthy habits wherever possible.

Fair – Fairness in squash includes how the rankings mechanism and competitive structure works, to reinforce inclusivity and equality at a fundamental level while also supporting ranking accuracy and merit-based mobility. Sportsmanship and a shared understanding and belief in the rules of the game and the Codes of Conduct plays an important role in fairness too. The sport must also be clean, and as such US Squash partners with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on their TrueSport and CleanSport initiatives that seek to ensure a positive youth experience. TrueSport provides responsibilities for parents, coaches, and athletes to promote a healthy and safe environment for any sport. CleanSport allows athletes and coaches to publicly pledge to be clean from performanceenhancing substances, as well as share their reasons why competing clean is important to them.

Inclusive – The sport must offer a welcoming, affordable and appropriate entry point for children who are newly interested in competitive squash and access to varied opportunities from entry level to high performance development. These opportunities must be available regardless of location or socioeconomic background.

Balanced – The structure must be balanced in a way that stimulates growth in participation nationally and offers accessible pathways to high performance development opportunities. Growth increases the number of children benefitting from participation in squash, and at the same time expands the pipeline of potential national and international-caliber players, fostering excellence and making the country more competitive internationally.

Page 2 of 8

Junior Squash Enhancements for 2019-2020 Season

Process for Evaluating Progress v. Goals US Squash staff reviews data and conducts analysis on an ongoing basis, in addition to seeking input across a wide range of constituent groups: • The Teaching Pro Advisory Panel (TPAC) provides regular feedback on the current junior squash structure and makes suggestions for improvements.

• The Junior Squash Advisory Panel (JSAP), made up of US Squash Directors with a connection to junior squash, also provides direct input and feedback to staff regarding the current state of junior squash and anticipated changes to allow the structure to continue to develop to meet the evolving needs of the junior squash community.

• US Squash staff hosts sessions for coaches and parents at tournaments to provide in-person feedback and to engage in direct conversations regarding the junior squash experience.

• Finally, feedback is obtained through post-event surveys of participants of tournaments at all levels, as well as direct surveys to members of the junior squash community, players, parents and coaches alike.

These methods intersect to form the basis for recommendations and ultimately policy changes generally announced in the spring for implementation in the fall as the traditional squash season commences.

Some minor policy changes may have immediate effect.

Junior Squash Structure Overview The summary is grouped into the following sections: • Tournament Structure and Rankings • National Team Programs • Conduct, Officiating and Sportsmanship • Intersection with Education and Opportunity

Tournament Structure and Rankings US Squash accredits and supports a year-long calendar of junior tournaments throughout the country.

Scholastic leagues are also accredited. The tournament structure is separated into several levels, each designed to offer meaningful competitive opportunities across ages and levels of play.

Tournaments are divided into the following four main categories, listed in order of descending point value: • Junior Championship Tour (JCT) • Gold Tournaments • Silver Tournaments • Bronze Tournaments

Page 3 of 8

Junior Squash Enhancements for 2019-2020 Season

Additionally, players can earn points in: • U.S. Championships • Regional Junior Championships • High School League Individual Championship Tournaments All players in US Squash accredited junior squash tournaments, excluding the Bronze level, must be current members of US Squash and must have passed the correct age-specific online referee exam. In all tournaments, players must be age-eligible through the last day of the tournament in which they are competing.

To determine a player’s ranking, an average of their highest points-earned tournaments is taken and compared against the averages of other ranked players.

Competitors in accredited competitions earn points towards their ranking based on: • The type of tournament in which they play; • The finishing position they achieve in the tournament; • The size of the draw in their division; A player may enter any level of junior tournament (JCT, Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc.) regardless of his or her ranking. However, divisions in some tournaments are limited in size, and entry will be granted to the highest-ranked players that apply by the entry deadline, or in some cases by order of entry.

The tournament calendar is designed to give players of varied skill levels an opportunity to engage in competitive play. This is inclusive of scholastic league team participation. The intent of the coordinated structure is for the strongest players to participate in national championship and JCT-level tournaments with the potential of some Gold level tournaments, while advanced players still aiming to gain entry into JCT-level events will compete in Gold tournaments. Silver tournaments allow intermediate players to build a ranking and potentially prepare for entry into Gold events, while Bronze tournaments are designed for less-experienced and beginning players to gain positive competitive experiences before moving to higher-level tournaments.

The Junior Championship Tour (JCT) is designed to bring together the best players from around the country, and therefore have the highest-available ranking points alongside national championships (the U.S. Junior Open and U.S. Junior Championships). Currently, JCT tournaments are restricted to the top 32-ranked players who register in the U13, U15, U17 and U19 divisions. The U11 divisions are restricted to the top 16-ranked players who register. Entry into JCT events is determined by ranking in that age group as of the release of the cut list.

The U.S Junior Championships is considered the culmination of the junior squash season and crowns the ten U.S. Junior National Champions (five per gender in the U11, U13, U15, U17 and U19 divisions).

One weekend each season is designated for hosting of Regional Junior Championships. These tournaments are restricted to players who maintain their primary residence in the region where the tournament is hosted.

Page 4 of 8

Junior Squash Enhancements for 2019-2020 Season

National Team Programs US Squash is also responsible for managing the national teams that represent the United States in international squash competition, which includes selecting, supporting, coaching and developing the teams. The high performance development pathways have also evolved to stimulate and support the increasingly competitive junior players who will ultimately compete internationally and represent US Squash and the Team USA in competitions.

This pathway includes the US Squash Academy which takes place over the summer and is a multilayered high performance training opportunity to continue the recent progress in the world standings, combining several major components of US Squash’s rapidly evolving development programs and bringing them together. These components include the Elite Athlete Program (EAP), prospective future EAP athletes (primarily U.S. players competing in collegiate squash), the top junior prospects nationally across age divisions and the Junior Team USA players.

Each year, U.S. juniors represent Team USA at several international competitions. Positions on the World Junior Championships team are open to U19 players with the team competitions held biennially alternating between junior men’s and women’s each year, and the individual competition held annually for both genders alongside the team event.

Each summer a contingent of U17 and U19 juniors represent the U.S. at the Pan American Junior Championships, and U.S. juniors compete against Canada’s best in the U13, U15, and U17 age divisions at the Battle of the Border, now in its 16th year. As an additional development opportunity, US Squash leads a team of fifty junior players and up to ten coaches to the British Junior Open every January, which is considered by many to be the most prestigious junior event in the world.

Conduct, Officiating and Sportsmanship The US Squash Codes of Conduct exist to elevate and maintain the high standard of sportsmanship in squash competition. They have been developed to maintain enjoyment and safety at accredited events, and are aligned with US Squash values of integrity, fairness, sportsmanship and respect.

US Squash believes that being respectful of one’s opponent and the officials, courteous on and off the court, and responsible for one’s own behavior are the fundamentals of competing in a sportsmanlike manner and upholding the integrity of the sport.

In support of this belief, at all US Squash accredited junior competitions, players are responsible for refereeing their peers. The winner and loser of each match are responsible for officiating after their match. Having both players officiate together—immediately after playing against each other—enforces values of respect and cooperation even in the context of the broader competitive sports environment.

Furthermore, most tournaments will require players to have passed the correct age-specific online referee exam before entering the event and in-club clinics are available to support and improve the officiating knowledge and skills of all players.

Competitors, coaches and families are required to abide by the US Squash Codes of Conduct which establish detailed guidelines regarding sportsmanship and conduct both on and off court. US Squash

Page 5 of 8

Junior Squash Enhancements for 2019-2020 Season

recognizes sportsmanship at the national level each year across all age divisions and cites examples of observed good sportsmanship regularly.

Intersection with Education and Opportunity US Squash values the sport’s links to education and the principles rooted in being a scholar-athlete. To highlight this, the organization provides Scholar-Athlete and All-American recognition. The US Squash Scholar-Athlete Award is given to high school student athletes who achieved a Grade Point Average of 3.5 in school and participated in at least four US Squash accredited events. All-American recognition extends to players who are ranked in the top four in the U17 or top eight in the U19 divisions and those voted on by accredited scholastic team leagues and coaches.

Scholastic Squash is played at hundreds of middle and high schools across the country, with high school play organized into more than ten regional leagues. Scholastic programs have experienced growth in public schools in varied markets both on the east coast and also in less traditional centers of the sport.

Scholastic team league competition helps players establish a match record and counts towards their rating, which is used in the seeding process for the U.S. Middle and High School Championships and is the basis for high school rankings generated each season. Players competing in end-of-season scholastic individual championships for their respective leagues may also earn points towards their national junior ranking.

US Squash has a Participation Fee Hardship Waiver process to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that cost is not a barrier to participation, and uses household income requirements for the Federal Free and Reduced Meal Assistance Program and a guide to eligibility.

In addition, the national Squash and Education Alliance (SEA) is based out of US Squash’s New York City office and reserves a seat on its Board of Directors for US Squash’s CEO. US Squash supports SEA and its member programs through marketing and communications, event support and coaching expertise, inkind donations, reduced US Squash membership fees for all member program students and reduced and standardized entry fees for member program participants in all US Squash accredited activities, programs and competitions.

The College Squash Association (CSA) is also based out of US Squash’s New York City office and engages US Squash in a highly collaborative partnership in service to elevating sportsmanship, integrity and fair play and inclusive of supporting the core league and financial operations, event management and other joint initiatives to increase opportunities to compete in post-secondary environments.

Competitors at all levels of the junior accredited play have opportunities to participate in college squash, either at the varsity or club level, should they choose to pursue a post-secondary school degree. Player profiles in US Squash’s Club Locker software provides information on player results and progress over time, and college coaches use junior rankings, tournaments and league results to help identify players who would be a good fit for their teams. US Squash works closely with the CSA and coaches to support the process matching players with schools and vice versa to the mutual benefit of both and the sport itself.

Page 6 of 8

Junior Squash Enhancements for 2019-2020 Season

Key Understandings from Recent Analysis Reviewing participation data across all levels from the past several years yields key insights that help inform options for improving the structure to meet the junior program’s core goals: • Top 32-ranked players generally have slightly more exposures on average than other players and come from across the country, though the average number of tournament exposures by any given player does not vary widely regardless of the player’s location nationally; • Gold tournaments generally draw players locally or from the region or state in which the competition is hosted; • Gold participation peaks in the U15 division for girls, and U17 for boys; • Except for BU17, with BU15 following closely behind, Golds do not approach filling 32 player draws which are currently offered as the standard size division; • Because Golds don’t fill, they become available to entry-level players, which in turn yields fewer local opportunities to engage in competitive junior squash, and a far less appropriate (more expensive, less welcoming) early competitive experience; • Girls’ participation in Gold level tournaments is lower than boys’ participation.

Analyzing the data on all player rankings by tournament level provides some key takeaways: • The ranking system is generally accurate; • Many players participating in Gold tournaments also compete in JCTs; • Players of just about any ranking currently compete in Gold tournaments; • Silver tournaments draw players ranked from the 40s into the hundreds; • Bronze tournaments are generally not well attended and are not making a significant impact on the ranking system.

Delving deeper into additional data at the key intersection point between JCTs and Golds: • Seeds 25-32 in JCTs don’t finish in the top 8, and top 8 seeds do not finish 25-32; • Seeds 17-24 in JCTs play equal amounts of JCTs and Golds and seeds 25-32 play in more Golds than JCTs; • 84% of players in the JCT 25-32 seeding group are ranked outside of top 32, meaning that while the JCTs tend to attract the top 16 ranked players nationally for each event, beyond this point the seedings become less correlated with the national ranking; • In JCTs there is a rating differential of 0.8 – 1.0 for all divisions except U17; • The rating differential for Golds is 1.5+; • Many top ranked players play up an age group causing some major upsets and indicating the age-up percentage is too low in certain age divisions.

Page 7 of 8

Junior Squash Enhancements for 2019-2020 Season

Additional Challenges, Opportunities and Key Considerations US Squash must balance the needs and desires of a wide variety of constituents, from children of different playing abilities to families from varied backgrounds and geographies, along with coaches, facility operators, tournament directors and more. For a relatively small sport contested nationally, this presents challenges, opportunities and highlights some key considerations when reviewing the structure and policies impacting competitive junior squash.

Challenges: • Whether or not to maintain the traditional seasonality of squash, and sports in general; • A crowded environment of available sports and activities that creates many available alternative choices for potential players and their families at an intense level for children who are younger and younger; • Whether and to what extent the requirements of individual competitions should be balanced and integrated with those of school programs; • How do policies and competitive structures align with the knowledge that children benefit in the long term from being multi-sport athletes at least until their teenage years, and how to approach or mitigate the unhealthy drive towards early specialization; • The role US Squash plays in the education of parents about the sport, athletics in general, and the risks of injury, overuse and overtraining by children; • Properly training and supporting children at every level, as well as parents and coaches in refereeing, the rules, sportsmanship and conduct; • Maintaining fair expectations of players and families for travel, expense, missed school and other costs to compete at the national level; • Funding limitations due to the size of the sport relative to larger peers, and no direct government funding (unlike that which many other squash countries receive to support growth and high performance programming); • How to achieve junior program goals in a small sport played across a large geography.

Opportunities • Leveraging the assets and characteristics of the sport to positively impact character education and values through an emphasis on sportsmanship; • Connecting experiences in officiating with other positive aspects of the sport through proper training and support; • Increasing the quality and accessibility of high performance development opportunities; • Diversity and inclusion, specifically participation by girls, minorities and those who otherwise may not have access to squash; • Increasing access to squash geographically; • Leveraging the intersection with higher education; • Filling the current gap in entry level programming, and a clear narrative for non-competitive children; • Proactively educating players, parents and coaches on the college recruitment process.

Page 8 of 8