Dear Canadian Squash Community,
With the arrival of September, squash players from coast to coast are beginning to come out of hibernation and return to the courts for the 2025 – 2026 season. We kick off the upcoming campaign with unprecedented momentum in our sport globally, nationally, and locally as our LA 2028 Olympic dream comes into focus.
With the future in front of us, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on last season and what the next quadrennial has in store for our diverse, dynamic, and dedicated community. 2024 – 2025 wrapped up with record membership, doubling since 2021 and is now 30% above pre-pandemic high water marks. This is largely due to the hard work being done by our Provincial/Territorial Associations and their coaches, volunteers, athletes, officials, and staff who serve as the lifeblood of the sport and who continue to drive the sport at a local and regional level.
Behind the scenes, Squash Canada continued to underpin its key principles of Communication, Sport Safety, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility and Governance, transitioning to the new Canadian Safe Sport Program (CSSP), formalizing a standing IDEA committee and updating our by-laws to comply with the Canadian Sport Governance Code.
With Olympic inclusion, the organization’s focus will now narrow on athlete development and high-performance excellence. We approach this challenge with strong building blocks in place – Canada’s 2024 junior women’s team achieved its first podium in history, while our senior women, and junior and senior men all held steady for an aggregate world ranking of #7.
In the coming weeks, you will see the formal launch of our Road to the Podium LA 2028 Fundraising Campaign, which will provide critical resources to expand centralized training hubs and increase individual athlete funding: two critical components of being a world leader in our sport.
Looking ahead, the stage is set for an exciting upcoming season, culminating with hosting the 2026 World Junior Squash Championships in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. In addition, Squash Canada will introduce CANSquash, a grassroots curriculum to support our ongoing efforts of attracting and retaining new participants to our sport and the expansion of the Jesters Post Secondary national program.
As my 5- and 7-year-old daughters enter their local squash programs next week, I have never been so excited about the future of our sport. With our unique, united and ubiquitous community, we will rise and meet the Olympic challenge in front of us and take our sport to the heights it deserves.
I look forward to seeing you all on the courts very soon; happy squashing and thank you for doing your part to making our sport community so truly special.
– Jamie Nicholls, Squash Canada CEO
