The U.S. Century Doubles Squash Championships will forever be known as the Christopher “Kit” Tatum U.S. Century Squash Doubles Championships following a special US Squash proclamation at the nineteenth edition of the ‘Tournament of the Century’ Saturday, January 17, at the Racquet & Tennis Club in New York City.
Kit Tatum grew up in Toronto, learning squash at the Granite Club before moving to the U.S. in 1971. He spent nearly a decade playing singles at the old Downtown Athletic Club before moving to the University Club of New York where in 2008 he founded the U.S. Century Doubles. The tournament is now one of the flagship weekends on the annual squash calendar.
Requiring the combined age of each team to be one hundred years or greater, the Century Doubles creates unique bonds throughout different generations of squash players. More than 150 players competed in the 2026 Century Doubles.
US Squash President & CEO Kevin Klipstein and US Squash Chief of Sport Development Ned Edwards revealed the honor to Tatum by reading the proclamation in front of the Century Doubles community.
Read the entire proclamation below:
United States Squash Racquets Association, Inc.
Official Proclamation
Renaming of the U.S. Century Squash Doubles Championships
Whereas Christopher “Kit” Tatum has, for more than five decades, exemplified dedication, leadership, and lifelong commitment to the sport of squash in the United States; and
Whereas Tatum influenced and improved the squash community at multiple clubs in various capacities including at the Granite Club in Toronto, the Downtown Athletic Club and the University Club of New York; and
Whereas in 2008, Tatum founded the tournament that would become the U.S. Century Squash Doubles Championships, nurturing it through two years with “Nationals” status and guiding it to full recognition as a United States Championship in 2010; and
Whereas the Century Championships have since emerged as a flagship event on the U.S. squash doubles calendar, annually uniting generations of athletes and celebrating the intergenerational spirit of the game; and
Whereas Tatum further strengthened the culture and tradition of squash in 2010 by establishing the Grand Master Honor Roll, later named for A. Carter Fergusson, which recognizes extraordinary lifetime contributions and celebrates unbounded enthusiasm, sportsmanship, skill, and competitive spirit; and
Whereas Tatum, alongside longtime friend and partner George Kellner, was himself inducted earlier this year as the 20th and 21st honorees of the A. Carter Fergusson Grand Master Honor Roll; and
Whereas the United States squash community—spanning clubs, associations, volunteers, and athletes nationwide—considers Christopher “Kit” Tatum a cherished steward of the sport and a national treasure whose lasting vision continues to shape and elevate squash in America;
Now, therefore, be it proclaimed
that in recognition of his extraordinary leadership, his enduring contributions to the growth of squash doubles, and his unwavering passion for the sport and community, the U.S. Century Squash Doubles Championships shall henceforth and forever be known as the Christopher “Kit” Tatum U.S. Century Squash Doubles Championships.
So declared on this seventeenth day of January, Two Thousand Twenty-Six,
by US Squash, on behalf of players past, present, and future whose lives and memories are enriched by this tradition.
