Squash SA Board

August Board Meeting

2010-08-26T19:26:00.002+09:30

New Performance Pathways Model
We are just about ready to announce the new Pathways Model to the wider squash community. The Pathways program will support SA squash athletes to acheive their full potential at a Local, State, National and International level. The program replaces the existing SAAS program and addresses the issues raised with the SAAS program such as general lack of knowledge of the structure of SAAS and how the scholarship and funding works, lack of transparency around funding, and shifts to focus more on grass roots to grow the talent pool At this Board meeting the Board agreed on the final paperwork and the model will be made available and communicated personally to the juniors on 1st Sep and to everyone at the AGM at the end of September.

National Junior Series (NJS) Review
SA held the NJS earlier this year over a split venue (Karadinga and Ingle Farm) because we lack the facilities here to hold the competition in a single venue. The event was largely a success and this review was undertaken to determine what could be improved and whether a split venue will also be suitable for the Australian Junior Championships (AJC) being held later this year. The review showed that we still need better communication during the event. It also determined that a split venue was not suitable for holding the AJC, and that we should allow another state to hold the event unless a suitable facility becomes available. We are still keen to hold the event and the new courts going into the Barossa multifunction facility are a possibility. We will have to see how the Barossa development goes.

AGM
The Squash SA AGM is approaching soon (end of Sep)! This will be a great opportunity for the Board to go through what has been achieved over the past year. On the face of it, there may not seem to have been much action but I can tell you that it has been flat out for the Board members and staff completely re-focussing and re-structuring the organisation, hiring amazing new staff, doing sorely needed reviews and putting together the plans for the future of squash in SA. We did not want to rush in and change things without the facts, but we are finally at a stage where the research and planning is being put into practice. Squash is finally starting to get some media coverage, a new Pathways Model is about to be released, the new Development Officers are out in the schools and clubs building grass roots support, clubs and players are being offered a new kind of membership to Squash SA with great benefits. All of these great new ventures will be presented at the AGM.

Committees
I know you're wondering when all the committees are officially going to come back online. Well we're almost there. We have some good nominations but we are working on a committee 'code of conduct' to ensure a constructive and fair environment on the committees.

Barossa Valley Recreation Centre
The Board has reiterated its commitment to provide $200,000 to the project in order to get 6 ASB (movable wall) squash courts into the centre. Can you imagine getting a little B&B for the weekend, playing some squash and sampling a few wines... pure heaven!

Port Pirie YMCA
It has come to the Boards attention that Port Pirie YMCA (which includes squash courts) is selling and will likely lose those courts. The Board will have the Country Development Officer get the status of the sale and negotiate with the purchaser to see if the courts can be retained. Squash SA will also lobby the Port Pirie council to ensure squash is included in any new multi-function sporting facilities built in the area.

Membership Categories
Patti Wilson our Membership Services Manager presented the new membership strategy to the Board. The strategy includes different membership categories for players and clubs (currently only clubs can be members of Squash SA) and some exciting benefits to becoming a member. Patti has worked hard to put together a compelling package for Squash clubs such as providing public liability insurance, access to the Facilities Enhancement Grant and coaches.

Campbelltown Leisure Centre
The Board has recently received criticism for not being more open in its discussions with Campbelltown Council with regard to providing funding for the Campbelltown Leisure Centre redevelopment, where there is potential for 6 new courts. Squash SA has so far only given 'in principle' support to the project, which has so far failed to get the federal funding it needs to progress. The Board will put together a business plan and do further analysis into the viability of funding new courts in the Campbelltown region if and when the project moves forward.

Other News

The Board will put together a Board Travel Policy that will outline accommodation, entertainment/meals entitlements when representing Squash SA on intrastate and interstate travel.
Squash SA will now be putting its minutes on the website for everyone to view.
Sports SA Awards Night: Squash SA has nominated two squash legends for the Sport SA Hall of Fame: Vikki Cardwell and Chris Dittmar. Good luck!!
State Women's comp will have a staged fee increase over 3 seasons to bring it back up to break-even. Squash SA had been subsidising the comp over the last few years to the tune of $1000/season.
Racquets SA carpark development update: Demolition of the surrounding houses is set to begin on 24 Aug.
Amendments to the Racquetball Bylaws were approved by the Board.
Amendments to the Squash Bylaws were approved by the Board.

July Board Meeting

2010-07-26T17:41:00.001+09:30

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

2010-07-14T09:26:00.000+09:30

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.

June Board Meeting

2010-06-28T20:46:00.001+09:30

So what have the Squash SA Board been up to this month? Well we have updates on the Facility Enhancement Grant (I know the court owners have been hanging out for this one), new Membership Categories for players and friends of squash, interviews about to happen for the much anticipated Development Officer positions and some exciting opportunities to promote squash on Web TV.

Facilities Enhancement Grant
First up we had Patti Wilson (Member Services Manager) present to us on the new grant system we are putting into place to assist court owners in the upkeep of their courts and facilities. At the moment Patti is in the process of nutting out the details in terms of compliance for the grants and drafting up guidelines which she will circulate to the Board for approval. She told us that we have the ability to work in with other grant programs to increase the funding available. The grant system will allow court owners to put forward their request for funds up to a maximum amount, with funds to be matched by court owner contribution. We will likely have several deadlines per year for the grants where submissions entered before the deadline will be considered for that round of funding. Each application will be considered on its own merits and there will be guidelines drawn up for what kinds of improvements/works that will be considered for funding. We are aiming to have the program ready for release in August and posted on the website.

Membership Categories
Next up Patti presented to us the brand new membership categories she is proposing for players and friends of Squash SA.

Premium - Annual Membership (for pennant players with extra benefits)
Pennant - 6 month (for pennant players)
In-house/Country/Junior - Annual membership
Friends of Squash SA - Annual membership (non-players)

The different membership categories come with whole host of benefits including discounted meals at Racquets, personal accident insurance, monthly squash eNewsletter, Tournament alert emails, member-only discounts at participating venues.

Pathways to Success

John Cranwell (Pathways Manager) presented on the outcomes of the recent SAAS Review and the new proposed program 'Pathways to Success' for taking our young talented players to the elite level. The SAAS review found that many people, even those closely involved with the program did not have a good understanding of how the program worked. This was important feedback and we will ensure that when the new program is released that all information is readily available on the website. We are also determined that any changes will not interrupt the training of our current juniors. There is a plan in place to ensure a smooth transition takes place. I can't give away too many details of the program at this stage as it is still being worked on but I can say that there will a big focus on Grass-Roots participation, juniors will be encouraged and rewarded to stay with their clubs and there will be a team of coaches all aligned to give our players the best chance to develop.

Development Officers

The highly anticipated Development Officer roles are just about to go through the interview process. The DO's will be the people on the ground helping with the delivery of programs in schools, clubs, country areas. They will be the ones implementing all the great ideas and strategies the Board has developed over the past 9 months. We've had 7 very good responses, even one from Egypt! So these are certainly coveted positions. We will have Phil Sinnott (General Manager), John Cranwell (Pathways Manager) and Cheryl Johnstone (Board Member) on the interview panel. Stay tuned for results of the interviews because we want to get the DO's up an running as soon as possible.

Web TV

Okay, so this item is a bit of a teaser as the full presentation had to be deferred to the next Board meeting. But the brief we received from Jane Intini (Marketing Manager) is very exciting. Jane is putting together a business case for creating a full 12 months worth of weekly episodes on the Web TV channel Australia Live TV. Yes, we will have our own squash show! You can check Australia Live TV at http://www.australialivetv.com/. They already host several sporting shows. More on this next month...

New Board Member

At the last Squash SA AGM there was a seat on the Board left vacant when Mark Goldstone became President. That seat has now been filled. Welcome to the Board Sam Abishara. Sam comes from the Racquetball side of the sport and has performed the role of Racquetball development officer in his own time for the last few years. Sam will bring a valuable new perspective to the Board.

Other News:

Finances are tracking well however gaming has not experienced any growth.
Committee expressions of interest are being actively flagged on the matrix and promoted to anyone the Board can get hold of :) Come and join a committee and support your sport.
Squash SA has bought a Ford Territory which will be badged up with the Squash SA logo once the new logo has been finalised.
A formal agreement is being drawn up to provide a loan to Impact Squash Courts. Squash SA also recently extended a loan to Whyalla Squash club.
Mark Goldstone (President) attended the President's dinner held by new Squash Oz president. It was a good opportunity to catch up the with other states' presidents in an informal setting and build rapport.

May Board Meeting

2010-05-29T07:50:00.000+09:30

What a busy month May was for the Board. Not only were we looking at the possibility of purchasing a substantial sporting facility site, but we also had the 6-month strategy presented by Squash SA's new staff - very exciting stuff!

Okay so I'm sure you're keen to hear about this sporting facility now that I've mentioned it. Len Atkins (Life Member) advised the Board that the ICA Sporting facility in Salisbury was up for sale and that we should investigate it. The facility had been on the market for about 12 months and the price had reduced significantly to around $2 million. The Board members went to inspect the site and discuss the options. The site itself is a bit run down and would have to be re-developed for a squash or multi-function sporting facility. The real questions we had to consider were: can we afford it? Is it a good investment? And does this fit with the strategic plan?

In order to answer these questions the Board members and Squash SA staff including our Auditor Rod Shearing went away and performed analysis on our cash flow, loan servicing repayments and our ability to still implement other initiatives that are part of the Strategic Plan. The results showed that we don't have the capacity to service the loan for ICA and still implement our 2010 strategic plan actions like hiring squash Development Officers and upgrading the Racquets carpark. It would financially tie us up for 10 years so we would be putting all our eggs in one basket instead of being able to invest in the creation of multiple set of courts around SA by joining in with multi-function sporting facility projects. We decided that building more courts in population hubs around SA is better than building one mega-facility. I know this may be disappointing to some but think about this - if we can successfully get government grants to help us with the building of new squash courts in the multi-function facilities we may be able to support as many as 2 new sets of 6-courts built every year. Imagine how many new courts we will have in 5 years!

Okay so next we had the presentations from the new staff at Squash SA. They have put their heads together and come up with a 6-month strategy that they want to implement going forward. Here are some of the main points from their presentations:

Jane Intini - Marketing Manager

Upgrade the font on the logo to make have more youth appeal
Get into Social Networking in a big way eg. Facebook, Twitter
Upgrade the website so its fun, interactive, up to date, uses podcasting, court booking online, members only pages.
Raise the profile of squash: create heroes, get corporate sponsors, re-engage with the media.
Refine our brand and brand everything
Ideas: Exhibition matches to show off our SAAS players, put inflatable courts in unusual public places to attract attention, prize money for junior events.

Patti Wilson - Membership Manager

Re-establish relationships with clubs
Improve standards of clubs - affiliation standards
Create Member Benefits Scheme - develop reasons to become a member, what we have to offer.

John Cranwell - Pathways Manager

Formalise and initiate agreements with focus schools/clubs - targeted squash programs
Review schools program - evaluate current programs with participants, research why kids do/don't transition to senior squash.
Build Junior Club Programs - assist the clubs, develop a pool of coaches.
Focus on grass-roots participation and retention.
Pathways Planning Workshop

Tanya Virgens - Competition and Administration Manager

Will Gray - Pennant Registrar

Allow individual players to nominate for pennant instead of in a team.
Review the length of the pennant - consider shorter seasons.
Improve communications with players: email, website, social media
Matrix - the new system is coming soon, players can update their own information and nominate for pennant and tournaments online, increase "in-house" competitions on the matrix, amalgamate junior and senior rankings.

As you can see the new staff are full of great ideas and are very motivated. This is going to be start of a new era of squash in SA. I can't wait!

Other Items:

Mark Goldstone (President) will be attending the National President's Dinner for Squash Oz in June.
The Board has resolved to make itself more visible and approachable by attending as many squash events as possible.
It was proposed that Grant Norman perform a 2-month contract to research and create a country development strategy that will address the needs and challenges faced by country squash.
Expression of Interest for the Development Officers will be out very soon.

April Board Meeting

2010-04-19T07:50:00.001+09:30

SAAS Update
This month we had Geoff Davenport (SAAS Head Coach) attend the Board meeting and he gave us an overview of the SAAS (South Australian Academy of Squash) program and squads. Geoff reported there has been an increase in the number of nationally ranked players this year from 8 to 16 and that overall SAAS is stronger but that we have to keep working on talent identification. The introduction of sports psychology assistance has made a big difference to the players. There is definitely a need to increase numbers in all age groups and Geoff is looking forward to the restructure improving the numbers in SAAS.

Geoff also gave us a round up of the performance of our players at the National Junior Series (NJS) held here in Adelaide. The boys improved their rankings and performed well. The girls' suffered a bit from nerves and stress and were not able to put in their best performance. Geoff commented that maturity plays a big part in the outcome and that players are improving as they get older and with sports psychology coaching. Some valuable feedback was that holding the event over two venues was problematic from a coaching perspective. Constantly having to rush backwards and forwards and not being available all the time. This was a problem not just for coaching but for the parents as well, especially if they had more than one child competing - they might be at two separate venues. The Board took note of this feedback and has resolved that holding the Australian Junior Series in Adelaide (proposed for later this year) will have to be postponed until we have a suitable venue that can accommodate the entire competition.

Committees - We want YOU!
The committees are all done and we are now calling for members to apply! It seems that not all members and court owners have received the invitation to join a committee so the invitation will be put up on the matrix and a short newsletter/flyer sent out to bring members up to date with the changes and re-circulate all committee invitations. Come on and get involved. This sport is made great by the fabulous efforts of our volunteers. So give something back to your sport and put yourself down for a committee.

New Squash SA Staff
Thanks to the efforts of Board members and Phil Sinnott (General Manager) for interviewing and selecting our new staff! We had quite a few good applications but these guys and girls were the standouts. And here they are:
Tanya Virgins - Administration and Competitions Officer (Full Time)
Patti Wilson - Membership Services Manager (Full Time)
Jane Intini - Marketing Manager (Part Time 20hrs/week)
John Cranwell - Pathways Manager (Full Time)

Please make our new staff welcome as they ramp up into their roles. They have a fantastic level of enthusiasm and will be the people to help bring about the change in Squash SA that we've all been working towards.

Other News:

The Board has agreed to the idea of a paid honorarium of $5000 per annum for the position of pennant registrar given that it is such a demanding and difficult voluntary position. The position of pennant registrar will be offered to all current members of the pennant committee.
Sad news - The Adelaide Shores funding application for an Indoor Sports Centre was unsuccessful. This is not the end of the road, however as we can continue to seek funds next year.
We're still keeping a keen eye on opportunities to create more courts around Adelaide. Meetings have been held with Gawler High School, State Sports Park – Gepps Cross Super School, Reynella High School. Follow up meetings to be scheduled with Mt Barker, Seaford 6-12 School and Pinnacle Investments.
PAC will be redeveloping their unused stadium and are interested in developing further squash facilities. - Maybe a new venue for future AJC events...
The Board resolved to recognise the efforts of all the volunteers and clubs involved with delivering the NJS. A formal debrief for all involved and a thank you meal will be organised.

Strategic Forum Feedback

2010-03-19T21:12:00.000+10:30

Summary of Feedback to Squash SA regarding the Strategic Information Forum

All those providing feedback largely agreed with the direction the Board is taking, however, many urged conservatism and a slower approach than the Board has indicated it will pursue.

Feedback:

· Feels that the profit figures used by the Board ought to be an ‘upper level’ and a ‘lower level’ would perhaps be 10% less taking into account, for example, a loss in gaming revenue

· Not convinced 5 Admin positions is feasible or necessary

o Recommends a staged introduction at any rate

· Thinks the current proposal is top heavy and ‘dramatic’ – urges conservatism

· Requests greater clarification of roles of each person e.g. Admin Officer, Pathways Manager

Feedback:

· Suggests an increase in primary school students being introduced to squash/racquetball

· Suggests that an improvement in facilities is necessary

· Recommends implementation of a promotion and advertising strategy for the sports

· Racquetball to be developed in new areas – Kidman Park, Next Generation, West Adelaide)

· Make racquetball a part of the Development Officer’s role also

Feedback:

· Positive about spending money but urges conservatism

· Requests greater discussion before decision made whether to knock down investment properties simply to put in more car parking for Racquets SA

· Concerned with lack of discussion of the future of SAAS/High Performance Program

· Supportive of the Bullseye Program – but urges caution, have multiple avenues of recruitment

· Organisational chart good but recommends a more conservative start

Feedback:

· Suggests a look at tennis – the systemisation of the marketing of the sport, brand consistency, email and web-centric – with consistent, professional updates

o Recommends a collation of all players’ emails so a regular newsletter about, well, ‘all things squash’ with, again, consistent branding

· Squash SA to get in contact with former Pennant players, grass roots players, and those from other sports (cross-over, squash as an adjunct to another sport)

· Need easy to access, instantaneous information on the Squash SA website for interested players

o Contact details for local clubs, coaches available etc

· Clear display of a ‘squash brochure’ at all venues – also available online for download/printing

o Note advantages e.g. all-weather sport, very good fitness training, different types of racquets/balls to cater for different standards

· Wall poster advertising squash to display at schools; small brochure with clubs listed to hand out

· Suggests a collection of information from casual discussion at venues (at supper?)

o Also the PPRA evening could allow for some feedback

Feedback:

· Suggests a ‘bottom-to-top’ approach in employ of new staff –try to get ‘club coaches’ first

o After that then look to Development Officers

· Advocates for a new Squash SA logo – professionally designed for maximum impact & exposure

· Notes there are few court owners left and suggests this instead be ‘Club Organisers’, a broader category which would include, e.g., those on the Club Board, those organising Pennant etc

Feedback:

· Concerned with the proposed expenditure: particularly with the employ of 4 new personnel for the promotion of Squash – too much, too soon, and may be insufficient resources

o Start on a smaller scale – an initial appointment, closely monitored, before others

· Notes that the game is not necessarily as beneficial fitness wise for beginners – but this applies to all sports – and also the difficulty when starting to warm up a ball

o We do have larger balls for this very purpose, all clubs to possess them, perhaps?

· Where will all the new players play given the minimal facilities currently available?

Feedback:

· Happy with the focus on junior development, and urges focus on keeping them as they progress to seniors

· Urges caution in employment of coaches/development officers

· Suggests keeping all former players ‘in the loop’ regarding Squash – ‘opt-out’

· Concerned with minimum requirements for committees: difficulty in filling spots

Feedback:

· Predominantly supportive of the direction of the Board

· Notes there is significant alignment with the core KRAs/Strategic Directions

· Suggests that given marketing will have its own role within the new employment structure, that it ought to be a separate criterion within the Strategic Plan, not immersed within all other areas

Feedback:

· Would like a long-term commitment from the Board to stay on the Board long term (if re-elected) to see this plan (hopefully) come to fruition

· Suggests a 2-3 city-country split of Development Officers instead of a 1-4

o Concerned that 1 D.O. will not be able to cover the entire state

Feedback:

· Wants greater expentidure on development and marketing

o Ladies Pennant Competition in need of desperate, immediate attention

· Ensure all development is in full communication and cooperation with existing clubs/coaches

Feedback:

· Endorses having multiple professionals employed within pre-defined zones

· Suggests that there also be a combined zone to ensure cohesion within all groups

· Suggests we phase in all the Development Officers –employ 1 on a 3-6 month performance based contract (conservatism)

o Can study all successes/failures within that role before employing next one

· Suggests that, instead of an annual $50’000 expenditure ‘facilities’ grant, the Finance Committee investigate low/interest-free loans to clubs in a secured loan

o The $50’000 could be retained as an indication of lost interest

· Review of PPRA sessions – look for a ‘multimedia resource’ which can use actual game footage i.e. contextual learning – see let/stroke calls, equipment issues, behavioural issues

Feedback:

· Raise demogrtaphic profile e.g. profile pieces in Messenger, placement on TV show e.g. Home & Away

· Promote ‘as much as’, or ‘in conjunction with’ racquetball

· Make it easier to participate socially...and to just ‘turn up’ and play – e.g. via social events?

o Play free if bring new member to social event

o Ladies only nights to bring women back into the game

· Take out cheap ads in sports pages – seek all players, including out of season athletes

· Use entertainment book e.g. 1 free session, 20% off etc – Squash SA could subsidise this

· Actively promote Pennant reserving at all courts

o Charge nominal fee – we pay to do other sports!

· Have a centralised PennantMembership Co-ordinator

o Reserves data-base, calls from interested players, organisation of reserves

· Consider modification of Pennant structure...Quads, Triplets or Pairs

o From a personal perspective, a pairs competition would need to be run as a North/Metro/South type competition as while people will not travel 30-45 minutes for 2 games of squash, they will travel under 15 minutes. If it were run in the same manner as Masters this could be a very good social event!!

o People may play a second night with this structure

· Abandon the process of paying for finals – I believe the Board has already arranged for this

· Offer different nights – i.e. not always Tues/Wed – if sufficient interest

o Get expressions of interest for this. Perhaps trial pairs comp in this format with different starting times and see what is most successful

· Run a mixed team competition akin to masters for players - an environment within which to meet people

· Corporate Cup? Lunchtime competition, charity events etc

o Identify structural groupings, and publish standings in the Messenger

o Also encourage such places to nominate a Pennant team – their team name could be their company for a slightly extra fee – useful advertising!

· Consistently encourage players to encourage friends and family to participate

· Seek as much volunteering as possible - especially in marketing the sport!

Feedback:

· Concern with lack of juniors within the game

· A need to expand the Bullseye programme – as well as to develop other like programmes for K-2 and Year 8-12 students to be more demographically appropriate

· Ought to be, where possible, going to a school within SA every day of every term

· Produce statistics on the success of the programme! Compare and contrast where possible.

· Focus needs to descend with age – to a strong but lessened focus through high school and so on

· Look for government support in taking squash to schools

· We must follow up those who compete in the Inter-School Competition – provide details of local centres, costs, available coaches etc - let’s keep them in the game

· When students finish Year 12 – encourage them to reserve or compete full-time in Pennant

· Concerned with the current format and administration of Pennant

· Suggests greater communication between Squash SA and players

· Need for a truly representative Pennant Committee i.e. on gender, age, ability etc

· Allow clubs to nominate players instead of teams, then have a ‘Pennant Administrator’ (PA) organise all teams – should help avoid uneven divisions and BYES

· PA needs to understand how the matrix and Squash work – e.g. note that juniors improve rapidly! They will also take pressure of clubs to hastily arrange teams

· Require effective communication inter- and post- season, what the players think is a top priority. Implement some of the suggestions for the next Pennant on some level and investigate their success – the only way to discover how we can improve is to test it

· A significant effort should be made to entice University students to play – a Club at each Uni with half-price Pennant on offer etc could be very successful! Encourage Uni Adelaide and Uni SA to build some courts – valuable on both a social and competitive level.

· Create a DIVISION 5 – fits in well with enticing new players to the game, book out 3-4 courts at a centre at a time where this is feasible, have it serve as the opposite to Masters, under 30s only

· Praises SAAS, Geoff and the High Performance Program

· Need to have some ‘home centres’ for SAAS players – they will enjoy playing in a team together

· An internal SAAS/Elite Junior competition on Friday nights, perhaps, would be fantastic

o Young students more likely to be allowed out late on a Friday night

· Urges the necessity of a super-centre, with a full-time coach a necessity

o Look at Badminton HQ at Lockleys for a good example of a ‘State facility’

· Also need to look at pushing for all gyms to build squash courts, even if only 2, it may not be a big money spinner but it is a niche market

· The same applies to Community Rec Centres, look at the success of Turramurra!

· Use a Yearly Survey to review all aspects of Squash – always look for improvement in all areas – take criticism in stride and look for any common elements to the criticism

Feedback:

· Supportive in principle of the new direction, and urges the need for quick results

· Supports the concept of a ‘grants program’

· Notes the need to provide transport to and from centres

March Meeting

2010-03-12T21:01:00.000+10:30

We have received some very valuable feedback from the Strategic Forum. We are grateful to those that took the time to comment on our strategic plan and put forward some great ideas for growing squash in our state. See next post for a summary of the feedback.

The newly structured committees are ready to go and will be advertised to all clubs and players. The committees will have at least one Board member on them so we can keep in touch with everything that is going on. Plus it means we get to join in the fun of dreaming up and implementing new squash initiatives.

Some of you may have noticed that the pennant results have been going on the matrix a little late. Squash SA has been under pressure trying to find temporary support to fill the admin role until the formal position is filled. Please bear with them during this transition period. The results were late during round three in order to hold the rankings for the re-rank at round 4.

Glass Court update: We have decided to seek expressions of interest for the glass court.

Recruitment update: We’ve have over 40 applicants for the four positions we have advertised with some promising candidates. Interview panel will consist of Lynn James (HR consultant), Mandy Neller, Richard Tisher, Cheryl Johnstone, Phil Sinnott, & Jack Wass. Now we’re getting all these new staff… where are we going to put them? The Board has been investigating several options such as upstairs at South Adelaide, Tennis SA (North Adelaide) or some other centralised location.

Facilities Update: Mark Goldstone (President) and Phil Sinnott (General Manager) have been busy drumming up interest for new squash courts all over Adelaide. They have met with the education department, the principles of the super schools, State Sports Park and the City of Playford, all with positive results. The Campbelltown Leisure Centre upgrade is looking good having now received state support. We have also been invited to talk to the architects regarding the squash court requirements. The first draft of the Adelaide Shores Complex is now available. Port Augusta is also a big sports development. There are so many opportunities, it’s very exciting!

Other Items

The Board has given in principle support to Roxby Down squash club’s request for assistance for a new junior fitness program.
The Board will support the new banded fee structure proposed by Squash Australia (this is the fee paid by Squash SA to Squash Australia for membership). The new fee structure is designed to make things easier for the smaller states to raise the money required.
In response to concerns raised by the squash community, Squash SA will formulate a policy that applies to the sale of squash equipment by Squash SA staff.

Going Forward with a Plan

2010-03-06T21:16:00.000+10:30

Strategic Forum
It was a big month for us in Feb. All the hard work, analysing and planning the Board has been doing for the past 4 months was unveiled at the Strategic Forum on the 15th Feb. This was our big chance to present our new Strategic Plan for the next 5 years of squash to the community and make sure that we're on the right track. 34 people attended and it was great to see a range of interested parties from players to court owners, Life Members and representation from Squash Australia. Big thanks to everyone who took the time out to come along and give us their thoughts.

Our President  (Mark Goldstone) and General Manager (Phil Sinnott) gave a great presentation of the plan which is available on the Squash SA website as is the full Strategic Plan - Be sure to check it out! We received some valuable feedback on the night and in emails and letters in the following weeks. The main gist of the feedback has been that the new direction and focus areas are on track. People are happy that we are spending more money on squash, however there is some concern that we may be spending too much if we go ahead and hire all four of the proposed new Development Officers straight away. I'll get back to addressing this concern a little later. We also got some good feedback from Squash Australia to say that our strategic direction is a good fit with the Squash OZ Strategic Plan. It's good to hear that we will be heading in the same direction. We also received some great ideas from the squash community about how to increase participation. Keep those ideas coming.

Board Meeting
Ok so back to that point of worry from the Strategic Forum - too many staff straight away. Well, we heard your concern and spent a good while going over all the numbers again in the Feb Board Meeting (projected cash flow, staffing structure, future project cost etc...) What we ended up with is a more conservative Organisational Chart that drops two of the Development Officers (we will start with just North and South) and reducing   the Marketing Manager position to a  part time role. We also made a few tweaks to the way we run the Racquets SA business to make some savings. The result was a budget that covers the new organisational structure and leaves room for the carpark upgrades at Racquets SA and future investment in new squash facilities, and takes into account conservative gaming trends. We are now in a great position to move forward with recruiting. And yes recruiting has begun for the Marketing  Manager, Membership  Services Manager, Pathways Manager, and  Competitions / Administration Officer.

To make sure Squash SA and Racquets SA are keeping up with regulations an OH&S audit was performed by Stewart Allan (Board Member). Stewart has extensive experience in OH&S as part of his day job and found a number of items that needed attention including updating the OHS policy for Squash SA, developing policies in some areas and looking at larger work areas for the staff at Squash SA. Stewart is preparing the official report and then we can get to work making the necessary changes.

The glass court has come up again in this meeting. It's currently being  hired by Canberra for the Australian Open and that is its first paying gig since it was bought. The question is - should we keep it? The problem is we no longer have a team to put it up and take it down. And getting it up in a public place like a shopping mall or Rundle Mall is logistically very difficult because of the large set-up times and other constraints on structures in public places. We could sell it and use the money to set up more permanent courts... What do you think??

Other items:
The Racquets SA car park upgrade is under way with demolition plans lodged with the council.
The 'Terms of Reference' for the committee restructure are complete and the door is open for all those who would like to get actively involved in squash by joining a committee. Of course all previous committee members are more than welcome. So get your name in and make a difference!
The Squash Facilities Study has been put on hold in view of the regional facilities opportunities.
Mark Gold stone (President) and Phil Sinnott (General Manager) will be  attending the Squash Australia AGM. This is a chance to catch up with all the other states and  attend National Workshops.
New squash court opportunities
It's amazing what happens when you start asking around. We are pursuing a number of opportunities to build new squash courts as part of multi-function sports centres. Keep in mind that these are just proposals at this stage but we are actively pursuing them.
Adelaide Shores was earmarked for a State Squash Facility but we're now looking at a regional facility shared with other sports. We are proposing a build of 6 courts with movable walls. They would provide the shell and we would do the fit out and run the squash activities.
Playford Council is renovating an existing community rec centre and they are open to putting in some squash courts - the same deal as Adelaide Shores.
Campbelltown Rec Centre is being upgraded and we have put in a proposal for courts there as well. I know Campbelltown Club would love to have some courts in their area again!

January Meeting

2010-01-18T20:31:00.156+10:30

It's a new year and we are now starting to see the results of some of the groundwork and analysis that we have been been doing over the last few months. We now have the results of the economy and efficiency audit and an updated Squash SA Strategic Plan. What this means is that we have re-focused Squash SA's direction on increasing participation at all levels young and old, looking after and expanding our squash facilities, game and player development and increasing our standards of governance and administration. The economy and efficiency audit ensures that our spending is aligned with the strategic plan.

But since the Board is here to represent the clubs, players and squash affiliates, we want to share the updated Strategic Plan with the whole squash community at a public forum and get your feedback and ideas. After all, what's the point of having a strategic plan if we don't have you're support to implement it? So we have organised a public information session of the Strategic Plan on 15th Feb. You can check out the flyer on the Squash SA website front page. Our President Mark Goldstone will be facilitating the event and we're all very excited about this forum. I hope to see you there.

The work we have been doing on defining terms of reference for the committees is almost complete and will be released for comment soon. The new terms of reference will provide committee members with a clear framework that defines their responsibilities and goals.

We are moving forward and obtaining quotes and planning permits to expand the car park at Racquets SA. This will be a big boost the the venue as it is sorely in need of additional parking space.

Big news on the glass court! It has been hired by ACT Squash for the upcoming Australian Squash Open. This is the 'maiden voyage' for our glass court as it has been used exclusively in SA since its purchase for the Commonwealth Games. This is a great development and hopefully other states will follow suit once they see what a great asset it is for high profile tournaments.

Other Items:

The Campbelltown Council is re-developing the Campbelltown Leisure Centre and Mark Goldstone (President) and Phil Sinnott (General Manager) have submitted a letter of support for the development and of course that we would love to see some squash courts go in.
An OH&S review was recently conducted by Stewart Allen (Board Member) and Phil Sinnott the Squash SA offices and at Racquets SA
In national news, the Squash Australia AGM is coming up on 21st March.

Don't forget the Strategic Plan Information Night: 15th Feb. If you're interested in the future of squash in SA then you don't want to miss it!

Marathon Meeting

2009-12-06T21:22:00.000+10:30

Well the last board meeting was an absolute marathon as we only got out of there at 10pm! First up we had a report from Damien Hill about the Racquets SA club (this is the bar/gaming/bistro establishment owned by Squash SA that provides Squash SA with its cash flow - yes very important). Everything is looking good at the club with it meeting expected budget targets. We had a discussion about a proposed improvement of creating a larger car park to enable the club to grow and better service its customers. For those that have attended the pennant awards night at Racquets SA I'm sure you can appreciate that the small existing car park fills up very quickly. Squash SA already owns several of the flats and houses surrounding the car park so we have the capacity to knock down those houses and enlarge the car park. We will be looking at the detailed costs and projected financial gains next meeting but if it all looks good we will most likely go ahead. It will also include better lighting so patrons feel safe walking through the car park at night.

Next we had Des Panizza the Squash SA Development Manager in to present on the progress of the Bullseye program aimed at getting school kids participating in an ongoing squash program. The program involves

Offer a free squash activities session at the school using the very fun (yes I've used these) inflatable courts. It's like playing squash inside a bouncy castle!
Invite the kids to a 'Smash & Bash' session at the local courts.
Promote the junior programs going at the local courts.

One of the issues Des is currently having is transporting the inflatable courts as he is the only one with towing experience so we may look at sourcing alternative transportation options for the courts. Des is also involved with the Active After Schools program doing 2 classes leading into the after school sessions. The government provides some funding for the Active After Schools program.

The tournament calendar was brought up with several changes from last year. Squash SA will now be paying better rates to courts and will also offset the cost to the players. This will make tournaments more attractive to courts and players. The locations of the tournaments will be drafted with fair and equal allocation of events to courts. We will consider the tournament draw next meeting. We had a discussion on whether the SA Open should be a PSA/WISPA event (which means more prize money and interstate/international elite players), but the general feeling was that we want to focus more on grass-roots in SA and encourage our own players. This discussion was carried over to be discussed further at the December meeting.

Squash Australia is about to unveil its national IT strategy and the Squash Links program (that will replace the current Squash Matrix). This will allow everyone to register and make payments online, rather than having to get chased by your clubs and Squash SA. Stay tuned for more details. The Board is keen to see the new system put through its paces.

Most of you probably know that we own a very nice glass show court that gets used for various tournaments. It was bought for the Commonwealth Games and was immediately hired to offset the cost. We now own it outright. Various hire deals from other state and NZ were meant to follow but fell through for one reason or another. We have been making use of it here in SA for the last three years at the Australian Open but it has mostly been sitting in storage apart from that. We would love to see this court get more action and used as a centrepiece to raise awareness of the sport. Ideas being tossed around are getting the court set up in the city (Rundle Mall??) or down the beach for a week with a bunch of elite show matches, audience participation etc. Very exciting stuff!!

On the governance side of things we are taking a good hard look at how things are run and will be approaching the Department of Recreation and Sport to assist with the cost of a governance audit and constitutional review.

And lastly the Board sends it warmest wishes for a speedy recovery to Ben Werchon, one of our star juniors who was recently involved in a serious accident. We're all thinking of you Ben!

That's all for now, if you want the full minutes from any meeting just ask your club as they are sent out every month. We also make a hard copy for those life members who haven't made it into the digital age :)

Busy times

2009-11-15T20:10:00.007+10:30

Well it has been a busy time for the Board since the AGM. So much so that we have decided to have a Strategy Session once a month in addition to the usual monthly Board meetings in order to get all the new Board members up to date and make progress on important items. So far we haven't gotten sick of each other :) In fact the Board has a very positive and progressive outlook so expect some changes over the next year.

So what has the Board been up to? Firstly, the election of Mark Goldstone to the role of President left behind a vacant 1yr term on the board. After some discussion we came to the decision that the position should be filled by someone with skills that did not currently exist on the Board, skills that would enable us to promote squash and keep in touch in the digtial domain. So we have advertised the position, looking for someone with marketing expertise and IT experience.

To get a real handle on the ins and out of Squash SA and to see where we currently stand with respect to the Squash SA strategic plan, the Board has engaged a company to perform an efficiency and economy audit. The report (hopefully out next month) will not only tell us where we are, but also how to align our programs, administration and spending with the goals of the strategic plan. We are also going to review the strategic plan to define the key areas that will be focused on for the coming years. Grass-roots support, marketing and growing participation numbers are high on the agenda. Until we get the results of the audit and have worked over the strategic plan, we decided to postpone our engagement with a marketing company. We want to get our ducks in a row before getting a marketing message out.

Facilities: The data from a survey of the squash facilities in SA are in. We now have information on where courts exist in SA, how many courts they have and whether they are a member of Squash SA.

Fit for Work: A fantastic new initiative by Masters Squash South Adelaide. They have developed an early morning 10 week program that includes on-court fitness work with an instructor, coaching and a game of squash. It that wasn't good enough it also includes a continental breakfast! Check out the flyer. We loved this concept so much and if it proves succesful at South Adelaide we want to get it going at courts all over Adelaide.

The New Board

2009-11-08T18:31:00.004+10:30

As many of you will know by now, at the last Squash SA AGM in September, four new Board members were elected as well as a new president. This was a big change for the Board. You can read about all the current Board members at the Squash SA website. One of the big promises we made to the squash community is that there would be better communication between Squash SA, the courts and clubs and the players. So this blog has been created as one of the new Board's initiaves to keep in touch with the squash community.

This blog will be updated with new posts after each Board meeting and strategy session to let you know what we are doing, thinking and planning for the future of squash and racquetball.