On December 11th at The Club at White Oaks in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, a new era of Canadian Squash was ushered in with the dedication of Squash Canada’s new all-glass exhibition court as the “Power Court”. The court naming is designed to both honour Canada’s past, including the only Pan-American World Champion, Jonathon Power, and to inspire future generations to continue our tradition as a global squash power.
The Power Court, housed in its own portable trailer, will be employed across the country as a powerful tool to grow squash both at a grassroots and high-performance level in Canada.
The court, featuring the iconic JP “diveguy” logo pays homage to a golden era of Canadian squash and to the Power family’s contribution to our sport including John Power, Sr., one of the great builders in our history. “Our family is honored to have the new Squash Canada court named on our behalf and we are excited to see it inspire the next Canadian World Champion” said Jonathon Power “The court will give our top athletes critical glass court experience but also it can be erected in public places which will expose thousands of new people to the sport and generate the type of excitement the sport deserves”.
The Power Court dedication concept was created and funded by its benefactors Ash and Mona Singh of Syra Holdings, which is named after their children Syan and Raya. “Syra’s vision is to honor Jonathan Power’s achievements and his relentless pursuit of excellence to become world #1. Coming out of the pandemic, it will be even more important for young Canadian athletes to have inspiration through sport as we fight back against physical and mental health pressures”.
Syra and the Singh family network have generously contributed $150,000 to the Power Court cross country program, bringing their total commitment to the sport over $250,000 since 2016. “Our family has benefited from the incredible squash community and also the important life lessons of work ethic, discipline and commitment the sport has to offer our next generation. We encourage all stakeholders to join us and work together as one organization to help grow this amazing sport for the future.”
“Squash Canada thanks Syra and the Singh family for their unprecedented commitment to the sport,” said Squash Canada Director of Athlete Development Jamie Nicholls. “The Power Court will be a critical vehicle for our athlete development program from grassroots to high performance. It will allow us to bring the sport into the public, increase sponsorship and media opportunities, and inspire our juniors to achieve excellence internationally”.
“It was very special to have the Power family at the induction ceremony and we thank them for their role in Canadian squash along with our contributing corporate partners Airsprint Private Aviation, AMJ Campbell, Oxford Properties, Slaight Music, Altas Partners, Bank of Montreal, Dunlop, Forthlane Partners, Geotab, Mortgage Company of Canada, YDC Pro and Government of Canada. We are thrilled to usher in a new era of Canadian Squash with this increased level of support and return Canada to it’s rightful place as a world leader.”
To view a stirring video tribute to the Power Court dedication including messages of thanks and inspiration from former World Champions Amr Shabana, Gregory Gaultier and World Junior Champion Diego Elias (see below) and for a video of the dedication ceremony itself (see below).
The Power Court will be made available coast to coast to showcase and promote our sport through National Championships, International Events, Professional tournaments and community programming. Please reach out to Jamie Nicholls for more information or to become a glass court corporate partner. In the meantime, the search for the next Canadian World Champion begins now!