It has been said that if you give all you can as a volunteer, it can never be too little. Jim Kenward is the embodiment of that adage. He started squash in England in 1941, and found success, playing in British Junior Nationals and the Army Championship.
After obtaining a CA designation, Jim emigrated to Montreal in 1959, and moved to Ottawa in 1977. There, while still an active player, his interests turned to administration and archivism. He became an active member of the Ottawa & District Squash Association, as editor of the region’s newsletter, coordinator of the city league, and ultimately as President (1984 – 86). During this time he was a valued and frequent contributor to both Squash Ontario and Squash Canada periodic publications.
From 1979 to 1985, At the behest of Squash Canada, he created and edited their Annual Handbook. This publication was an important promotional and historical vehicle for squash associations throughout Canada. It reported Canadian individual and team involvement at International, Canadian and Provincial championships, past and present, as well as listing current Squash Canada, Provincial and Territorial Boards of Directors, Committees, Coaches and Officials, Rankings, Tournament schedules and other general information.
Jim’s curiosity about squash enticed him back in 2009, for further research into the game’s history, and to digitalise previous content. Mining information, from scrapbooks, trophies, publications, filing cabinets, club basements, and human memories, etc., he has singlehandedly built the “History” section of Squash Canada’s website, and is currently playing a large part in populating Squash Ontario’s “History” section. Some Canadian results go back to 1912, and Ontario results to 1933, while Canadian/US team rivalries are chronicled back to 1922.
Information retrieved from the Ontario Squash Hall of Fame