US Squash is the national governing body for the sport of

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Previously called The United States Squash Racquets Association, it is headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee. US Squash owns and licenses the U.S. Open, the North American Open, and all other U.S. championships. In 2017, the organization held twenty-one championship events for juniors, adults, hardball and doubles. The U.S. National High School Championships, held alternatingly in the Hartford, Connecticut, and Philadelphia areas, is the largest squash tournament in the world in terms of overall number of participants; in 2017, more than 170 teams comprising 1,400 players took part. The Men's National Championship (the S.L. Green) and the Women's National Championship are held every year at the National Singles. US Squash supports four national teams (Men's, Women's, Junior Men's and Junior Women's) that compete abroad in World Squash Federation and Pan American team tournaments. In 2017, the male U.S. Champion is

Todd Harrity Todd Harrity (born September 16, 1990) is an American professional squash player who reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 34 in February 2022. Currently, he is the 2nd ranked American squash player, and is also a three time National C ...

and the female U.S. Champion is

Olivia Blatchford Olivia Clyne, (née Blatchford; born January 23, 1993 in New York City) is a professional squash player who represents the United States. Career Blatchford's junior accomplishments included winning the British Junior Open Girls under-15 event i ...

. As of 2017, the organization had 21,000 members.

History

Founded in 1904 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, the United States Squash Racquets Association was the world's first squash organization. As the first association to define and regulate the sport, it set rules about play, the ball, and the court. In 1923, the growing organization began to hold an annual executive board meeting to discuss policies, by-laws and goals of the organization. In February 1924, an American Squash Racquets Singles Championship was held in Boston, Massachusetts, and was won on February 24 by

Gerald Robarts Gerald Robarts (15 April 1878 – 27 December 1961) was a British Army officer, banker, and leading squash rackets player. He was a director of Coutts & Co. until 1931. Early life Robarts was born in Buckinghamshire on 15 April 1878. He was the ...

of England, defeating William F. Harrity of Philadelphia in the final. As the 1950s approached, the organization added positions to the board positions and hired full-time executives to run it; in addition, the organization opened two subdivisions to separate the players by starting both the Junior Nationals and the Senior Nationals. In 1957, US Squash incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. By the 1970s, US Squash had helped pioneer the female surge in athletics for America. The organization had started The United States Women’s Squash Racquets Association to define and regulate the game for women the same way that the United States Squash Racquets Association did for men. The USWSRA and the USSRA merged in 1979. In 1975, when Darwin P. Kingsley became the first executive director of US Squash, there were 800 members and 40 clubs; when he left in 1992, there were 10,000 members and 250 clubs. Kingsley's successor was Craig Brand, who in his 10 years on the job helped bring the internationally popular soft ball game with the hard ball game that predominated in the United States, and helped the organization join the U.S. Olympic Committee. He was followed by Palmer Page, who brought 21st-century technology to the sport. Kevin Klipstein took over Page's position in 2004. In 2000, the organization founded the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame to honor the most distinguished players in every aspect of the sport, including hardball, softball, singles, doubles, men and women, masters and juniors, amateurs and professionals. Induction into the Hall of Fame is considered the highest honor in the sport of squash. The Hall is resident in Yale University's

Payne Whitney Gymnasium The Payne Whitney Gymnasium is the gymnasium of Yale University. One of the largest athletic facilities ever built, its twelve acres of interior space include a nine-story tower containing a third-floor swimming pool, fencing facilities, and a pol ...

. In 2006, the United States Squash Racquets Association renamed itself US Squash and moved its headquarters to New York City under the leadership of Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, who was also its first female chairman of the board. In 2021, US Squash reestablished its headquarters in Philadelphia.

Participation

Overall

As of 2017, the United States has the fastest growing squash participation worldwide, with 101% growth between 2009 and 2014 to 1.6 million squash players.

Junior

From 2007 to 2017, U.S. Junior participation grew more than fourfold. Since 2010, west coast junior tournaments have seen a 634% increase in junior tournament participation, 375% increase in the number of tournaments and a 55% increase in the average number of players per tournament. In the southeast, in 2010 there were no US Squash accredited junior tournaments. In the 2015 season there were more than eleven accredited tournaments in this area accounting for more than 500 accredited matches played. Since 2006, the U.S. Junior Open Squash Championships has increased from 271 to more than 1000 players in 2016 from more than thirty-seven countries, making it the largest individual junior squash tournament in the world.

Women

US Squash organizes Women's Squash Week to bring women players together around the world. Women’s participation has doubled since 2008, now playing more than 30,000 matches each year.

References

External links

USsquash.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Squash, U.S. Sports clubs established in 1904 Squash in the United States Sports governing bodies in the United States Sports in New York City

1904 establishments in the United States