Professional Squash Association (PSA) Refereeing Director Lee Drew has been appointed as the Head of World Squash Officiating (WSO), an organisation dedicated to the regulation and development of squash officiating worldwide

WSO – established in a partnership between the World Squash Federation (WSF) and PSA in 2019 – was created to professionalise and standardise squash officiating across the globe. WSO provides a complete pathway of globally recognised courses from the grassroots level to the pinnacle of the game with an aim of improving refereeing performance and enhancing player education. Additionally, WSO offers support to continents, Member Nations, Federations, and individuals via modular online and in-person products such as workshops, appraisals, appraiser training, mentoring, coaching, event officiating management and match seminars.

The WSO website features a comprehensive list of resources such as flowcharts for the rules, online courses, updates from recent events for referees and articles, as well as other informative content surrounding the rules. There is also a video library, which explains previous decisions made by referees at PSA tournaments. WSO will work closely with the sport’s various stakeholders – including Member Federations and tournament organisers – to ensure that WSO’s officiating standards are implemented worldwide.

Drew, a former World Tour player and England Junior National Coach who became Refereeing Director for the PSA in 2014, will spearhead WSO’s efforts to improve officiating standards across the sport, strengthen the organisation’s operational team, and hire the sport’s first full-time professional referees.

“The opportunity of evolving WSO is exciting because it can have a huge impact on officiating and the way the game is played and portrayed,” said Drew.

“It is important that we develop a consistent message and communicate it globally. WSO needs to move forward as a high-performing entity that offers world-class products and delivery. There is currently a massive disparity between money generated in the game and the money invested into officiating, and we want to begin to professionalise the sector and reinvest back into the development of officiating at all levels.

“A major goal for WSO is to introduce more people to the rules and officiating as early on in their experience of squash as possible. To achieve this, it is crucial that we get our messaging and content circulating worldwide with the support from as many squash stakeholders as possible.”

WSF Chief Executive William Louis-Marie said: “The development of worldwide qualified referees remains an important goal of the WSF and the appointment of Lee as the head of WSO will help build on the work that has already been accomplished in the last couple of years.

“We are confident that WSO will greatly contribute to the growth of the refereeing community in a more diverse and inclusive way in keeping with the universality of our sport and offer more opportunities for the international referees to officiate at all major events around the world. Lee’s input has already been visible with the recent addition of new educational courses aimed at giving all our players a better understanding of the rules of the sport.”

PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough said: “In his nine years as PSA Refereeing Director, Lee has played an important role in overseeing the development of refereeing within the professional game, and I am confident he will be a valuable asset to the WSO.

“We want squash to be an entertaining and free-flowing sport and the WSO will play a crucial role in developing referees and educating our athletes to ensure that the sport remains an engaging spectacle at the highest level.”

For more information on WSO, please visit the WSO website or follow the WSO on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. It is free to register and set up a basic account.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has confirmed that the 2026 Commonwealth Games will be hosted by the State of Victoria in Australia and that squash will be one of the initial 16 sports on the programme.

The announcement follows a successful exclusive dialogue period between the CGF, Commonwealth Games Australia (CGAus) and Victoria, where an exciting proposal to stage the major multi-sport competition across the State was agreed. 

The proposal capitalises on the 2026/30 Strategic Roadmap, which provides renewed flexibility to be innovative and creative in delivering the Games. 

In what will be a first ever predominantly regional Commonwealth Games, Victoria 2026 will be staged in March 2026 across multiple cities and regional hubs including Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland. The Opening Ceremony will take place at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. The approach will showcase the best of what the State has to offer and ensure a uniquely Victorian experience for the athletes and spectators. 

There will be a phased approach in creating the sports programme for Victoria 2026. An initial 16 sports have been put forward for the Games, with further sports to be added later this year.

The CGF, CGAus and Victoria entered an exclusive dialogue period in February 2022. A CGF and CGAus visit to Victoria took place later that month. This was followed by a Victoria 2026 delegation presenting their 2026 Games Proposal to the CGF Executive Board in Birmingham, England in March 2022. The Proposal has now been approved by the CGF Executive Board, with the Host Contract to be signed in Victoria today. 

CGF President Dame Louise Martin said: “The Commonwealth Games Federation is absolutely delighted to award the 2026 Commonwealth Games to Victoria. Commonwealth Games Australia and the Victorian Government have set out a bold and innovative vision for hosting our major multi-sport event. 

“In Victoria, we believe we have found the perfect partner for the next stage of our journey.

WSF President Zena Wooldridge said: “This a very special moment for the Commonwealth Sport family and on behalf of the entire Movement, I would like to congratulate Commonwealth Games Australia and Victoria on their successful Games submission. 

“We now look forward to a bright future as we work together to stage a Commonwealth Games like no other.”

The 2026 Games will be the 23rd edition of the major multi-sport competition, which first began in Hamilton, Canada in 1930. 

Victoria is a world leading major events and tourism destination. The State has a strong track record for staging high profile sporting competition including The Australian Open tennis grand slam, the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup. Victoria also regularly hosts elite cricket, golf and Australian Rules Football competition.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be staged in Birmingham, England from 28 July – 8 August.

World No.1 Paul Coll, who is playing in the WSF World Doubles Championships, recently caught up with the Olympic Channel about the value of putting yourself in uncomfortable positions. 

"I'm a big believer in putting yourself in uncomfortable positions"

Get into the mind of the world number one squash player @paulcollsquash! We spoke to the Kiwi superstar on the eve of the @WorldSquash World Doubles Squash Championships.@TheNZTeam

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) April 5, 2022

Watch the full interview here.

Following recommendations made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Squash Federation (WSF) and Professional Squash Association (PSA) will exclude athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus from taking part in all officially sanctioned squash events until further notice.

This follows the decision of the WSF on the 25th of February to relocate the 2022 WSF World Junior Squash Championships from St Petersburg and the suspension of all PSA tournaments in Russia and Belarus.

The ban on Russian and Belarusian players and officials includes the three WSF World Championships taking place in August and December 2022, as well as all tournaments on the PSA World Tour, PSA Challenger Tour and WSF & PSA Satellite Tour.

The WSF and PSA are united in strongly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both parties are committed to promoting peace and unity through sport and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine alongside the unprecedented response of the international sporting community.

Whilst the WSF and PSA are sympathetic to the situation that individual athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus find themselves in, the decision is fully aligned with the policy of the IOC as well as the vast majority of national governments and international sporting federations, who have all imposed similar sanctions upon Russia and Belarus in a unified approach.

The WSF is in regular contact with the Ukrainian Squash Federation and with affected players to provide support. The WSF would like to thank those Member Federations and individuals that have expressed a desire to help members of the Ukrainian squash community impacted by the conflict, and both the WSF and PSA will shortly announce how donations can be made to provide direct assistance to those affected.

Outdoor squash was top of the agenda as many of the world’s leading professionals took to the court to support the 20^th anniversary edition of World Squash Day on Saturday. 

The 2017 World Champion and current World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy, from Egypt, joined Joelle King (New Zealand), and Indian stars Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa for a special day at the open-air steel court in Queens, New York. 

After a mixture of singles and doubles, the players were full of praise for the way the court played and offered their backing to ideas for outdoor courts to make the game more visible, affordable and accessible.

Ghosal said: “We didn’t know what to expect in advance, because we’ve never seen anything like this, but we were all pleasantly surprised. This is a nice court, it plays superbly, and we need to thank those responsible for making it happen.”

ElShorbagy added: “Like Saurav said, we did not know what to expect but you could actually play a tournament on this court.”

The crowd laughed when he added: “The difference is when you play on a glass court in the morning you can’t see the ball, but on this court you can!

“Thanks to everyone who had this idea and worked so hard to make it happen. It’s a unique court. What a great occasion, to have this on World Squash Day, and developments like this mean a lot to the players.”  

PSA Foundation Head Adriana Olaya told guests at courtside: “Jeff Anschlowar and Robert Gibralter were the visionaries who had the idea to create this really cool place. 

“This is the future of squash: outdoor courts in urban locations, and inclusive for everyone to come and play. This is what we want. 

“Our thanks go to these amazing pros who have come here to support the project and help us to gain more visibility for outdoor squash. 

“This is just the beginning of what we want to do with the PSA Foundation. We currently support 11 outreach projects in different countries, and we have different outdoor court projects all over the world helping the game to grow.”

Elsewhere in the ‘Big Apple’, the Open Squash club chose World Squash Day to hold a tournament for players from across the city to celebrate their rebranding from the Manhattan Community Squash Center.

Spokesman Cleve Miller revealed: “The name Open Squash better captures our mission of making squash accessible to all and ‘open’ to everyone. We’re open to everyone in every community.”

As well as announcing a subsidised membership scheme to make squash affordable to those on lower incomes, Open Squash also confirmed that former Harvard scholars Ali Farag and Georgina Kennedy would act as touring professionals and community ambassadors.

The club added: “Open Squash’s mission is to grow the sport and make squash accessible to everyone – at every level and from all walks of life. We’re thrilled to announce our new Open Squash Touring Pro Program.

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“The goal is to provide support to touring squash professionals who want to give back to the sport by participating with Open Squash in programming designed to create a thriving squash community that is open to all.

“Not much needs to be said about Ali’s place in the sport; he’s World No.1 and already has a place in history as one of the all-time greats.  We feel incredibly lucky that he believes deeply in our mission of broadening access to the sport and is excited to join our community and help drive the mission forward.

“Gina is just starting her PSA career after a ridiculously successful college career. Gina has already posted some impressive PSA tour victories. We have high hopes for her pro career and wish her every success.

“But just as important, Gina, like Ali, is excited to become part of our community and is committed to our goal of growing and opening up squash for all.

“Ali and Gina have committed to visiting Open Squash whenever they can and participating in our programming. Ali and Gina will be promoting the Open Squash brand by wearing it on their shirts when they are competing in tournaments. Additionally, Gina will be with us for at least two weeks during the summers to be a lead pro at our summer camps.”

Further north in the USA, young England star Sam Todd held a World Squash Day coaching clinic at the Cleveland Skating Club on quarter-finals day of the $30k PSA Cleveland Classic, won by fellow Englishman Adrian Waller. 

England’s World No.7 Sarah-Jane Perry endured a nail-biting journey home from competing in the US Open to reach Birmingham in time to support World Squash Day. 

She had to switch her transatlantic flight from Philadelphia to New York and made it back home just in time to join England team-mate Alison Waters to welcome newcomers on the mini court set up at the University of Birmingham Sports Centre, which will be the host venue for next year’s Commonwealth Games. 

Sarah teamed up with the Commonwealth Games mascot, also called Perry, for some fun on the mini court, made of Perspex.

Further south in England, brothers Joe and Charlie Lee joined Jasmine Hutton and Emily Whitlock on court for a fun mixture of coaching and exhibition play at Reigate Squash Club.

Joe and Charlie’s father Danny Lee, head coach at the St. George’s Hill Club in Weybridge, hosted a team event. Danny played former pro Dominique Lloyd Walter on the glass show court where the club hosts the popular Channel VAS tournament.

Squash Australia and the World Squash Federation would like to wish squash powerhouse Heather McKay a happy 80th birthday.

McKay ranks amongst the most successful squash players in the history of the sport and is one of Australia’s greatest athletes. She dominated the women’s game in the 1960s and 1970s, winning 14 consecutive Australian titles (1960-1973), 16 consecutive British Open titles (1962-1977) and two World Championships (1976, 1979).

Heather wasn’t only a squash sensation, but has considerable achievements in hockey, tennis and racquetball.

Squash Australia CEO Rob Donaghue said that McKay’s accomplishments across all four sports are unparalleled, but it is her dedication to squash that inspired the next generation of squashies.

“Heather’s dominance of the sport is unmatched. To think that she lost only twice over the course of a 20-year-long career is hard to fathom and a testament to her remarkable talent, her relentless perfectionism and a lifelong commitment to squash.

“For her to then come back and work with the Australian Institute of Sport to impart her knowledge and mentor the next generation of players was pivotal for the development of squash in Australia. We’d like to wish her all the best as we celebrate this important milestone, and are grateful that with her example she inspired so many squash players in Australia and all over the world,” he said.

World Squash Federation President Zena Wooldridge OBE also lauded Heather’s extraordinary legacy on the sport. “Heather is an absolute legend in an era when squash exploded in popularity. Her achievements are phenomenal and an inspiring role model to the generation of players who followed. On behalf of World Squash, we’d like to wish Heather a very happy birthday.”

World Squash Federation Vice President and five times World Open Champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald AM is one of those next generation of world-leading players to be inspired by Heather’s achievements.

“Heather was every young Australian players’ idol with a record to aspire too. I was fortunate to not only have coaching by Heather but have her as my training partner and mentor. I just hope I can be as active and fit as Heather still is when I hit my milestones. Have a wonderful birthday Heather.”

Squash was one of the sports showcased in Birmingham city centre at Centenary Square as part of the One Year to Go event ahead of the start of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The celebratory event was open to the public to come along and try out a number of sports and meet the professional athletes that will compete at the Games, with squash being one of five sports to go on a year-long series of community engagement roadshows in the lead up to the Games.

The squash showcase included two quarter-size perspex mini squash courts and a Batak wall for passers-by to come and try out the sport, some for the first time, with professional players such as English duo Declan James and Millie Tomlinson in attendance, along with Welsh pair Tesni Evans and Joel Makin.

The demonstration was co-ordinated by Squash United, the brainchild of West Midlands-based squash enthusiasts, clubs and organisations with the aim of building a lasting squash legacy from the Games.

Squash United is also recognised by the Birmingham 2022 Legacy Programme and comes with the full backing of England Squash, the World Squash Federation, the Professional Squash Association and Rackets Cubed.

“We’re putting together a programme to invigorate squash in the West Midlands and across the country,” said Mike Harris from the Squash United programme.

“We can’t take a full squash court out to the community, so we brought the mini squash courts here and to take to schools, festivals and hopefully to the Commonwealth Games itself. We got the idea to build them and on a day like today when it’s raining, it doesn’t matter because all the sports are out here having fun.”

James, a 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, added: “One of the good things about the sport is introducing new people to it, kids even more so because you can see the enthusiasm they have for it.

“It’s great to have an opportunity like this to showcase the sport and the perspex courts are great, I’ve never seen anything like that before. It’s great to see kids being passionate about something.”

Tomorrow will mark one year to go until the 2022 Commonwealth Games gets under way in Birmingham, England.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games will feature 25 sports – including squash – and will take place between Thursday July 28 – Monday August 8, 2022.

Squash joined the Commonwealth Games programme in 1998 when Scotland’s Peter Nicol and Australia’s Michelle Martin took gold medals in the men’s and women’s singles events, respectively, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Since then, England have enjoyed the greatest success at the Games, winning 38 medals in total, with Australia (33 medals) and New Zealand (13 medals) also proving to be prolific.

All three nations tasted success at the most recent edition of the Commonwealth Games, which took place in 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia. England’s James Willstrop beat Kiwi Paul Coll to win gold in the men’s singles, while the result was reversed in the women’s singles as Coll’s compatriot – Joelle King – overcame English No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry.

Australia’s Zac Alexander and David Palmer prevailed in the men’s doubles, while Donna Urquhart and Cameron Pilley won gold for Australia in the mixed doubles. King picked up her second gold of the 2018 Games when she teamed up with Amanda Landers-Murphy to win the women’s doubles.

The squash programme at the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held between July 29 – August 8. The squash events will take place alongside hockey at the University of Birmingham, with medals on offer across the men’s singles and doubles, the women’s singles and doubles, in addition to the mixed doubles event.

There will be a one year to go celebration held tomorrow on Centenary Square in Birmingham between 10:00-18:00 GMT+1. Squash United by Birmingham 2022 aims to grow the sport and leave a lasting legacy after the Games and is supported by the World Squash Federation (WSF), as well as England Squash and the PSA Foundation.

A mini perspex glass court will be erected on Centenary Square, and fans will be invited to take part in a longest rally competition, while some of the leading British squash players – such as Joel Makin, Tesni Evans, Declan James and Millie Tomlinson – will take part in a pro demo of the sport to showcase squash to a wider audience.

“The Commonwealth Games is a unique opportunity for players to showcase their incredible skill and athleticism not only to a large live audience in the main squash arena, but also for squash to reach vast new audiences via the Games’ broadcast across the Commonwealth,” said WSF President Zena Wooldridge.

“I am sensing this will be a very special games for squash, with fans keener than ever to support the event and the players, with a number of the top players now based in Birmingham.

“It also seems likely that more nations than ever are keen to enter this year and enjoy the vibrancy and warm welcome of the host city and the fantastic venue at the University of Birmingham.”

Kenilworth-based Perry – who lives less than 25 miles away from the host city – is looking forward to an exciting week at the Games and said:  “Winning silver in 2018 was amazing. I went into the games with my sights set on a medal, so even though at the time losing the final was extremely disappointing, I had achieved my main target.

“Having been born in Birmingham and lived so close by my whole life, the reality of the Commonwealth Games coming to Birmingham in the prime of my career is something so incredible I struggle to find words to convey. With just one year to go it feels closer, and more real, every day and the excitement of competing in front of so many of my family and friends is definitely building as well.”

For more information on The World Games 2022, visit the competition website or follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.