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    County Association Update from Keir Worth, ES CEO

    Update from Keir. Posting so we can all see what's going on from ES' perspective and how the counties fit in to it.

    Note the club suvery. Please persuade your club to participate.

    Feedback welcome. We can pass it back.

    Cheers,

        Richard

    Hi all

    The latest update comes a little later than normal – my apologies, it’s been another busy month. As ever, I hope you find this snapshot of progress interesting and valuable.

    Driving Participation

    The number of players participating in the England Squash programmes, who are registered on the App, continues to increase and we are making progress towards our Sport England targets. As shared previously, the big challenge remains getting coaches to register players onto the App and we continue to provide support and encouragement to facilitate this change in behaviour (e.g. the Squash 101 Champions & Club Grants programmes). There are signs that some Regional Forums are beginning to generate some traction in promoting the App and getting players and sessions registered, which is very encouraging.

    The current position is as follows:

    • Junior 101 – 4,410 (which is beyond the current Sport England target)
    • Adult programmes, including Squash 101, Squash Girls Can, Squash 57 – 1,950 (which is approx. 25% of the way to hitting our Sport England target for 2021)

    In other news:  

    • This year’s ‘Club Support Days’ with Mick Todd have begun & 40 have been planned over the coming months - the initiative has proven very popular and Mick will be sharing his reflections at Council
    • We are hosting a Higher Education Conference this week with 18 institutions in attendance – it is a good opportunity to connect, develop relationships and promote programmes and initiatives
    • We are currently developing a new Higher Education Squash 101 Champions programme, to be launched in September, ready for the new academic year

    Coach Development

    Coach development remains an important aspect of England Squash’s drive to develop participation. Over the last 12 months, 133 Leaders have been trained, 235 coaches have passed the Level 1 course, 102 have achieved a Level 2 qualification, and we also have 23 new Level 3 coaches.

    Over recent weeks:

    • The Level 2 has been re-shaped (in light of improvements to the Level 1) and piloted – strengthening the content around developing participation
    • Coaches Club membership numbers continue to rise and feedback has been very positive on the extent and quality of online content - there are over 350 resources to help coaches with their development
    • There has been a sharp increase in the number of coaches who have responded positively to notifications about missing / out-dated certifications i.e. safeguarding, DBS and first aid

    Membership & Affiliation

    We continue to make good progress with regards the numbers of affiliated clubs, listed club members and website sign-ups.

    • The number of affiliated clubs has increased by nearly 50%, since April 2018 (to 614 clubs)
    • The number of listed club members has risen by 10% since April 2018 (to almost 27k)
    • Website sign-ups have increased by more than 8k in the past year
    • The new England Squash Magazine has been launched to members – early feedback has been positive

    Talent & High Performance

    It has been a successful few weeks for England:

    • European Team Championship – Men (gold) & Women (silver)
    • u19 European Championship – Gold (team event), silver & bronze (girls individual)
    • u17 European Team Championship – Gold
    • u15 European Team Championship – Gold
    • u13 & u15 ‘5 Nations’ Championship – Gold in both age-groups

    Competitions & Events

    In his new role, Paul Walters has been developing his understanding of England Squash competitions and events, speaking with a range of stakeholders about the current level and nature of provision across the game, from the Allam British Open, Premier Squash League, National Championships & Inter-County Championships through to introductory junior competitions for young players. It is an enviable, but demanding portfolio of competitions & events and Paul is leading on devising a plan and building a team capable of delivering more effectively over the coming seasons.     

     In Other News

    • There is a club survey which is live and seeks to help improve our understanding of some of the challenges clubs face and will help England Squash to make improvements to club support initiatives - please do share with clubs in your county, as this is an important piece of work
    • Congratulations to Edgbaston Priory Club, on winning both men’s and women’s titles at the National Club Championships – Edgbaston have also done a fantastic job of driving this event forwards over recent years and we are very grateful for their hard work
    • Congratulations to Shropshire Squash Club for winning the latest Club of the Month Award

    Looking ahead, we have the Council meeting during the Allam British Open (papers to follow later this week), when we will be sharing more detail on progress and challenges, whilst in June we have a formal Sport England Review against key measurement outcomes.  

    I look forward to seeing many of you either at Council or at some point during the week of the Allam British Open.

    Best wishes

    Keir