MIddlesex Leagues News
Tim Taylor,
Middlesex Squash Chair
I hope everyone is keeping fit and enjoying the Summer League squash. Please ensure all matches are completed by end of August. Registration for the winter leagues will open shortly with the aim to start in October 2024.
Winter Team Registration Fees/ES membership
As you may have heard from England Squash they are introducing a new Membership system effective from 19th August 2024. In summary all clubs will pay £75 per court to affiliate (max 6 courts) and players will need to join individually through the England Squash website (clubs will not be bulk signing up their members to ES as has been the case).
There are several levels of membership available including a free basic membership, but the "Play" category (£15 per year) is the level of ES membership required to be eligible to play in the Middlesex Leagues.
As a consequence of the reduced England Squash membership sign up the rebate the county receives from England Squash will be very much reduced. This has necessitated the Team League fees to be increased.
The proposed new Team Registration fee will be £75 (an increase of £25).
As most teams entry fees are paid for by the club - this increase is expected to be more than covered by the clubs windfall in the reduced ES affiliation fee paid by the club. Further discussion is required for teams/clubs without courts - Details of this increase will be communicated as part of the forthcoming winter league team registration. By way of background information the current team fee is £50 with a members agreed £25 contribution to Middlesex junior squash and will now include a Middlesex Squash development contribution of £25.
Middlesex Squash Activites
Some of the activities in Middlesex over the past year include:
- A large schools programme in Hillingdon involving over 2000 children (see below)
- Showcasing Squash at the London Olympic FanZone
- Promoting PSA squash at Optasia and the London Classic (Alexandra Palace)
- Middlesex Junior Squash events including hosting the English Junior Championships and running Squash in the London Youth Games (from which it has been absent for many years)
- We have also supported a schools festivals in liaison with LYG at Lee Valley and also at Gunnersbury delivered by Trevor Peynado (Middlesex Squash Schools Development officer) and his team- See also note from LSER Chair below
Tim Taylor
Chair, Middlesex Squash
Useful links:
England Squash new Membership site https://www.englandsquash.com/new-membership
Middlesex Junior Squash www.middlesexjuniorsquash.co.uk
Middlesex Squash (new web site) www.middlesexsquash.co.uk
London Squash https://londonsquash.org.uk/
Note from LSERF Chair
As Chair of the London & South East Regional Forum (LSERF) I am very proud to share the link about the Hillingdon Squash project on the England Squash website.
Hillingdon Schools Project - ES Press release
As part of the London Squash Project, (a five-year strategy to increase participation in the capital) Middlesex Squash delivered two squash festivals and more than a dozen in-curriculum taster sessions across 14 local schools throughout April and May. The project introduced over 2500 children to squash (and racket skills) by taking the sport off the courts and into local primary schools. This comes off the back of getting squash re-introduced to the London Youth games.
We now have the opportunity and network to repeat this success across 4 other London boroughs, and exposing a potential 10,000 children to the sport. Our restraint is funding, once established the local coaches and clubs take over, also the game becomes part of the schools curriculum. The above Hillingdon project cost in the region of £10k to mentor, manage and coach the introductory sessions, (mainly funded from Middlesex Squash reserves). Consequently, we need to raise similar amounts for each of the 4 other areas.