July Board Meeting

New Logo
Jane Intini (Marketing Manager) was very pleased to present the new Squash SA logo for consideration by the Board. The new logo has a real tough, 'action' feel and is designed to appeal to the younger generation. The Board absolutely loved it so the new logo will be seen on all Squash SA media very soon. Here's a sneak peek of the logo:

Web TV
Another exciting media strategy proposed to the Board at this meeting by Jane was Web TV, a live-to-air weekly variety show all about squash. The show would air online at Australia Live TV every week and could be downloaded, podcasted or streamed at any time after airing. The show would consist of 2 hosts (both under 30 and both social squash players) and a rotating host who could be an ex-player or celebrity. Jane is in the process of putting a pilot episode together and getting sponsors lined up for the program. Any one in the world will be able to access this show online which gives this project global exposure. Jane already has a list of famous comedians and celebs to come and co-host the show. What an exciting opportunity to promote squash and get the attention of Gen Y's and show them that squash is not just a sport their parents play.

Millicent Open Proposal
Mike Corren and Ben Werchon have decided they want to give something back to the region they grew up in and have proposed that a regional closed championship be created. They would run the tournament and stay for 2 - 3 days after the tournament to provide coaching for players in the region. In addition to this a PSA could be held at the same time with $5000 in prize money to allow regional players to gain exposure to high-level squash matches and players. Squash SA is looking at possible ways to fund part of this venture in conjunction with finding local sponsors. At present there are some potential sponsors at Millicent.

Other News

• The Board adopted 8 newly developed OH&S Policies in response to the recently conducted OH&S audit. The policies will be available on the Squash SA website.
• The Facility Enhancement Grant was formally adopted by the Board and will now allow courts and clubs to apply for grants to assist in the upkeep of their centres.
• The Board ratified the members of the new Junior Coordination Committee so that they can start working towards the upcoming Australian Junior Championships.
• Squash SA has nominated Chris Dittmar and Vicki Cardwell for the Sports SA Awards.

July Special Meeting

Pennant Committee Update

The new Pennant Committee has just met and has come up with a series of By-law changes that will make life easier for players, especially when hunting for reserves.  They have reviewed the Pennant Player Referee Accreditation (PPRA) initiative and believe that the concept of having all players up to date with the rules of squash is still a valuable concept, however the delivery and content of the accreditation needs to be  addressed. The committee is looking at getting the accreditation set up on-line so it is accessible any-time and including videos of let calls to help give players a better understanding. The set up could take some time so the new system may not be set up and running by next season, an in the meantime we will stick to the current system. However the Pennant Committee is committed to not having a repeat of the situation last season where many teams were not qualified to play the finals.

Facility Update

The Barossa Valley council has just secured an additional $2M for the re-development of the Tanunda Recreation Centre. This centre is now fully funded and going ahead. Squash SA is in the process of  negotiating the inclusion of 6 courts at the facility (2 sets of 3 state-of-the-art ASB multi-use courts with fully movable walls) for a contribution of  up to $300K by Squash SA. In this arrangement, we will own the courts and they will own the building. This is great news but there was some discussion about our ability to fund the creation of other courts going forward if we commit $300K now. From our budget we have $400K every 4 years that we can contribute to new courts. In effect, we would not be able to commit to any more new courts in the next 3 years. There are still projects in Campbelltown, Adelaide Shores, Noarlunga that are in the works. We came to a compromise: because the Barossa project is definitely going ahead we should contribute towards getting courts in there, however we will go back to them with an offer of $200K where they will own the courts but we will negotiate access to hold tournaments there. This will free up some more cash to put towards facilities projects in the near future.

New Development Officers Appointed

The long-awaited Development Officer positions have now been filled! We had a very good response with many high-grade applicants from around Australia and the world. But there were two who just blew us away with their enthusiasm, experience and vision for the future of squash. Our two new Development Officers are Danni Rogers (Davis) and James Rogers. They are both coming from the USA and will be set up and ready to go by 2nd August. They will be joining Des Panizza to create a team of 3 Development Officers (DOs) with to take care of the North, Central and South regions in SA under the management of John Cranwell (Pathways Manager). 

Squash Australian Open

This year's Australian Open in Canberra (10-15 August) is shaping up to be an incredible event. If you want to catch the very best squash players in the world working their magic on the court then Canberra is the place to be in August. Squash SA will be sending along a few Board Members so we will see you there. You can find out the latest news and buy tickets at http://www.australiansquashopen.com.

New Board Member

There's a new Board Member on the block: Sam Abashira. Sam has just been accepted to fill the vacant position on the Board. Sam has a background in Corporate Super and started playing squash when he was 14 years old. However after an injury that prevented him from continuing with squash he started playing Racquetball and has been playing ever since.  Sam moved to Adelaide in 2004 and has been on the Racquetball pennant committee for the past 4 to 5 years. Sam sees Racquetball as a sport that is easier on the joints than squash and is often perceived as not being as serious as squash. He says that while pennant numbers have decreased the in-house competition numbers have increased. Sam is keen to see more kids getting involved in Racquetball and sees it as a great way for kids to get started.