Women’s Committee

Mission

The mission of the US Squash Women’s Committee is to extend US Squash’s outreach with the purpose to grow, promote and increase women’s participation of the game of squash across the United States at every level, every age and from every background.

Structure & Responsibilities

The Women’s Committee represents all adult women.  The Women’s Committee will be composed of women representing a diversity in age, background, skill level, type of play (singles / doubles), and geography.  This diversity is core to the representation of the committee members and growing women’s squash in the United States. The Committee consists of the following positions:

1. Chair, Women’s Committee – The Chair is responsible for managing the Women’s Committee, liaising with US Squash, and working with the sub committee chairs to set and achieve goals. The Chair will organize regular meetings with the committee, fill positions on the committee as needed and fill any gaps to achieve our goals. The Chair has a 2 year term.
2. US Squash Women’s Liaison – The US Squash Women’s Liaison is a paid employee of US Squash who is ultimately responsible for the success of women’s squash in the US by growing the number of players and participation throughout the US.
3. Chair, Communications Committee – The Chair is responsible for managing the Communications Committee, recruiting members to the committee and leading the committee to achieve their goals. The Communications Committee is responsible for:
   1. Publishing the Rally Roundup Newsletter monthly
   2. Managing the social media campaigns on Instagram

4. Chair, College Transition Committee – The Chair is responsible for managing the College Transition program to connect just-graduated squash players into the cities where they are moving via our City Ambassadors. The College Transition Committee is responsible for:
   1. Connect our Varsity and Club College Seniors to the City Ambassadors for the cities they are moving to.
   2. Work with the College Squash Association on data collection to make it easier to connect with the seniors.

5. City Ambassadors – The city ambassador is the conduit from the national association to the local community. A city should seek more than one city ambassador, but one woman will be considered the lead for her city. City ambassadors are responsible for:
   1. College transition program for players moving to their city
   2. Promotion and, if needed, coordination of Women’s Squash Week in their city.
   3. Promotion and participation in Howe Cup from their city.
   4. Promotion and participation in the US Women’s Nationals.
   5. Communicating what is happening at the national level to their local community / association and providing feedback from their community to the committee for what is working, what is not, and providing suggestions for improvement.
   6. Promote and encourage participation in the National Women’s Championships. Our goal is to have 80 women playing in the tournament.

The Committee is responsible for:

1. Awards – The Committee manages the process for awarding the Achievement Bowl and the Feron’s Wedgwood Sportsmanship Trophy. The Achievement Bowl is awarded by the Women’s Committee to people who have made notable and profound contributions to the advancement of the women’s game. The Feron’s Wedgwood Sportsmanship Trophy is awarded by the Women’s Committee to players who have shown exemplary sportsmanship on and off the court. The process is
   1. January – Elicit nominations for each of the awards.
   2. March – Facilitate voting for each of the awards by all members of the Committee.
   3. April – Award the winners at the Nationals

2. Seedings & Rankings – The Committee is responsible for input into the seedings for the National Women’s Tournaments. Specifically:
   1. Review Howe Cup teams for compliance with the rating guidelines for each division and facilitate the appeals process in case of discrepancies.
   2. Engage with the Masters Committee to set up a US Squash Masters Ranking system.
   3. Review and advising on seeding for all other Women’s National Championships.

4. Howe Cup – The Committee is responsible for coordinating Howe Cup activities in association with US Squash. Specifically:
   1. Player / Team Matching Coordination. The Committee will help match players without a team to teams in need of players.
   2. City Ambassadors will be the point of contact for coordination on Howe Cup teams
5. Women’s National Championships – The Committee is responsible for promoting and encouraging women to participate in Women’s National Championships.

Goals for 2024 – 2025 Season

1. Women’s Squash Week – Our goal is to have events at 5 clubs that have not ever participated in Women’s Squash Week.
2. Howe Cup – Our goal is to have 60 teams.
3. College Transition – Our goal is to connect 50% of graduates to their new cities.
4. National Women’s Championships – Our goal is to have 100 women playing in the tournament.
5. Women’s Programming Guidance – Our goal is to work with US Squash Coaching Development programs to incorporate guidance on how to attract and retain women players.
6. Communication – Send monthly newsletter and re-energize the Instagram campaigns.

Meetings

The Committee will meet monthly.  The Chair will set the agenda and call for new topics.  The Secretary will take notes.  All Committee members are invited.

General In Person Meetings will be held at the Howe Cup in November and at the US Women’s National Championships in April.  These meetings are open to all women and will report on progress toward our goals and provide feedback opportunities from those in attendance.

General Online Meetings will be held in Q1 and Q3 via zoom.  These meetings are open to all women and will report on progress toward our goals and provide feedback opportunities from those in attendance.