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Irish Squash is working withe the WSF & PSA in utilising the WSO platform to improve the standard of refereeing. There is a questions and answers section on the WSO, with our refereeing secretary Lee Healy. See below.

The World Squash Federation (WSF) and Professional Squash Association (PSA) last month jointly launched World Squash Officiating (WSO), an online education and appraisal portal designed to standardise officiating qualifications worldwide.

WSO has been launched with the aim of creating a worldwide standard in refereeing and a clear referee pathway. WSO contains a host of resources such as in-depth articles and presentations on rules as well as a comprehensive video library from the SQUASHTV archives which explains previous decisions made by referees on the PSA World Tour.

Irish Squash are already feeling the benefits of the platform and we caught up with their Refereeing Secretary, Lee Healy, to learn more about how they are using WSO.

Q: Lee, could you please give a brief description of how Irish Squash have been using WSO and future plans for the platform?

LH: We have decided that the programme will become the basis for our referee qualification system into the future. To encourage players to avail of the WSO on-line platform we have agreed to cover the fees for the Level 1 qualification. Once players and then referees experience the benefits of the Level 0 and Level 1 we are hopeful that many will continue their journey to higher levels to the benefit of all.

Q: Why have you signed up your referees to the platform?

LH: The online nature of the course allows interested players to avail of training in the comfort of their own home at at their own time so that uptake should be higher than traditionally was the case. In addition, the availability of graded videos and the ease of repeating the assessments will help candidates to succeed.

Q: What did you do to improve the standard of refereeing before WSO?

LH: Irish Squash has qualified over 40 referees in the last two seasons with person to person Club Grade Courses (the equivalent of WSO Level1) but see limitations on that model as a means of progressing.

Q: What have been the most useful aspects of WSO do you think?

LH: A single platform where resources are available is a big advance. The on-ine nature of the whole experience should add to accessibility for players and probably also reflects the expectations of the modern player.

Q: What impact do you think WSO will have on the standard of refereeing in Ireland?

LH: By increasing the number of qualified referees, especially at WSO Level 2 standards will improve as more players become exposed to the experience. Greater standardisation in decision making should also ensue.

Q: What is the standard of refereeing in Ireland like at the moment?

LH: As is the case in many countries, the enthusiasm of the players doesn’t always channel into officiating and our short term aim is to double the number of Level 1 referees and to get a more modest level of Level 2s.

Q: As a National Federation, is it encouraging to see the PSA & WSF work together on a project such as this?

LH: As squash is such a relatively small community any cooperation between organisations within the sport is to be encouraged. This is an example of perfect partnership in that it’s win-win.

Learn more about WSO by visiting the platform’s website.

This is a reminder to please encourage all our athletes, athlete support staff and all other interested squash personnel to sign up for the very important Anti-Doping Educational Webinars run by ITA; the first is on Wednesday

26th May, so please register on this link.

This forms a very important part of the WSF Anti-Doping Education Plan and we can’t stress the importance of making sure all members of our squash community are aware of Anti-Doping processes and procedures.

The Covid pandemic has limited our access to playing the sport we all love for much longer than any of us might have predicted. Throughout the past year, an Irish Squash working group collaborated with Sport Ireland to develop and refine Covid Return to Play protocols and we outline our current plans for restarting on June 7th below.

In addition, there are other very significant initiatives underway: a Single Platform and a new Strategy for Irish Squash with further enhancement of our Governance structure.

Irish Squash and SportyHQ signed a 5 year contract in April 2021 whereby the single software platform will be rolled out to affiliated members of Irish Squash over the next couple of years.

This will take place on an ‘opt in’ basis and will be provided as a benefit of affiliation to Irish Squash. The board of Irish Squash recognises that the smart use of technology will allow us to provide an enhanced service to our members and also improve general operations within the organisation.

A project team was established in July 2020 with Peter O’Halloran, board member Irish Squash as Project Lead and Rosie Barry, President Irish Squash as Sponsor. Several software providers were invited to tender for the contract and provided detailed demos to the project team. Testimonials from other national squash organisations generated useful insight and we are grateful to colleagues in Scotland, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Finland, Germany and ESF for their time and input.

At NGB and provincial level, SportyHQ will allow us to manage affiliations and to introduce a player rating and rankings model. We will be using SportyHQ to run our tournaments. Clubs have the option of using the platform to manage their membership payments, court bookings and run events. Players will be able to establish their own profiles on the platform and use mobile apps for scoring matches and booking courts.

The platform can also be used by clubs and provinces to create and update their websites.

Please watch our website for updates on the roll out of SportyHQ, commencing over the next couple of months!

Members of the Project Team in Phase 1 included: David Ayerst, Mark McGugan, Gerry Galvin, Brian O’Brien, Eugene Walker, Mark Gilliland, Andrew Gillespie, Gerry Callanan, Karim Singh, Anne Costello, Niall Rooney and Paul Nugent.

We are grateful to Sport Ireland for additional funding provided to us in support of this project.

All NGBs are expected to comply with the Sport Ireland Governance Code by the end of 2021.

Irish Squash established a working group to review our existing policies and introduce new ones with the assistance of solicitor Sarah O’Shea, SOS Sports Consult. A review of our board and committee structures is also underway as part of this process.

In addition, we are re-engineering our Strategic Plan and have engaged the services of Derek McGrath and John Feehan of Sport2Sport to facilitate this work. The process of consulting with our stakeholders will begin over the next 4-6 weeks. Please check our website regularly for updates and to see how you can contribute to this project.

We aim to launch our new plan in September, hopefully in tandem with the start of a season where we can enjoy competitive squash once more.

On June 7th, solo training will be permitted on squash courts and 2 household members may train together. Coaching on a one-to-one basis may also restart with social distancing observed and mask to be worn by the coach. Players should arrive at the club in their gear as changing rooms will remain closed.

Please note that we have specifically engaged with Sport Ireland regarding Covid vaccination status and access to play: there is currently NO variation in the guidelines for individuals who are fully vaccinated.

We await further clarification about the timeframe beyond June 7th for the resumption of ‘pod training’ and we are in the process of developing our plans to restart competitions as soon as public health restrictions allow.

Derek Ryan’s online training sessions for Irish Squash are extremely popular and will prepare many of us for returning to the court. For those who haven’t been able to train, check out Sport Ireland’s website for advice on returning to play after a prolonged absence from sport – the last thing anyone needs is an injury just as we can get back on court!

Please check our website regularly for further news updates and contact us on [email protected] with any queries.

Irish Squash has just learnt of the very sad passing of Jack Davies from Galway LTC. The President, Rosie Barry and the board of Irish Squash would like to pass on its condolences to Andre, Naomi & Molly.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Son & Brother Jack Davies. Jack passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on the 1^st May 2021 after a brave battle against cancer.

Jack was a relatively late starter to squash but took to it like a duck to water and thoroughly enjoyed the competition and the squash community at both junior and senior level. He played with passion and loved playing all of the venues around the country where he met some great friends, always commenting on how the squash playing community was made up of some great people.

A talented racket sport specialist, Jack played squash, tennis and badminton, all to a high level. Galway Lawn Tennis Club was like a second home to Jack where he both played and, in the past, worked. Most recently he was coaching all three sports at the club as part of his sports degree which he absolutely loved.

One of Jack’s greatest disappointments when learning of his terminal illness was that he would no longer be able to compete, such was his passion for sport. He still continued to follow all of his sporting heroes some of whom reached out to Jack with messages of support including Dominic Thiem and the great Roger Federer himself.

For those who knew Jack and his personality, you will understand there is now a void in our family that will never be filled. We can only hope that time will allow some healing and that we can continue his legacy in life and sport.

We would like to thank everyone for their messages of good will and support, it is hugely appreciated.

See all the information & centres re the Walk-In Covid-19 Testing Centres. We would ask our clubs & members to

please circulate these through your club network and on social media to support the identification of asymptomatic cases in the community.

Webinar Theme	Date	Registration Link
Introduction to anti-doping Overview of the system, rights and responsibilities, ADRVs	26 May	https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0DNnufKqRq2DB1ADGn9l7g
The Doping Control Process Includes testing procedures (urine and blood) and ABP	2 June	https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mVxy1S3pQ56QE7ov5n5lsA
Medications, Supplements, Prohibited List and TUEs Includes the Principle of Strict Liability	9 June	https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qYcysRB_RRSO9pbrUfd5wQ

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Irish Squash Utilising WSO Platform to Increase Standard of Refereeing