US Squash marked the twenty year anniversary of the U.S. High School National Championships for girls by honoring Bryan Patterson, the founder of the event. A new permanent trophy for the Patterson Cup for the Division 1 girls’ national championship was dedicated in honor of the milestone Saturday, February 22, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.
After playing a pivotal role organizing the inaugural boys High School Nationals in 2004 with Melinda Justi, Patterson was determined to create a competition for girls teams around the country the following year in 2005. Over the past two decades, High School Nationals has grown into the world’s largest squash tournament with more than 1,600 players on an annual basis.
“If you had told me fifteen years ago that this event was going to get this big, I would have told you ‘I don’t think so. It will get big but not this big,'” Patterson said. “To reflect on the last 20 years and to see how big this event has become is absolutely amazing. It also shows you the strength of squash in the U.S. and importance of creating opportunities for girls squash.”
Watch an interview with Bryan Patterson and a video of the presentation below:
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