Tuesday, November 26, 2013

To Claim or Not to Claim a National Championship

Bates College and Bowdoin College are approximately half an hour from one another in southern Maine.

Both are members of the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference).

Both have competitive squash programs.

Both have won three Kurtz Cup Championships (which means they finished 9th in the final Women's College Squash Association standings).

Only one called it a national championship.


Women’s teams ranked ninth through sixteenth compete for the Kurtz Cup, a permanent trophy presented to the winners of the B division of the National Team Championships.
The Kurtz Cup is named for Aggie Bixler Kurtz. While working under Betty Richey at Vassar, Kurtz organized the first women’s national intercollegiate individual tournament, which was held at Wellesley in 1965. Kurtz went on to start a women’s squash team at Dartmouth in 1972 and was a long-time contributor to the development of the College Squash Association and one of its predecessors, the United States Women’s Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association. Kurtz was inducted into the College Squash Hall of Fame in 1996 and the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame in 2005. She received the College Squash Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
KURTZ CUP WINNER (COACH):
- See more at: http://collegesquashassociation.com/champions/womens-championships/kurtz-cup/#sthash.IUnyKlXT.dpuf

Women’s teams ranked ninth through sixteenth compete for the Kurtz Cup, a permanent trophy presented to the winners of the B division of the National Team Championships.
The Kurtz Cup is named for Aggie Bixler Kurtz. While working under Betty Richey at Vassar, Kurtz organized the first women’s national intercollegiate individual tournament, which was held at Wellesley in 1965. Kurtz went on to start a women’s squash team at Dartmouth in 1972 and was a long-time contributor to the development of the College Squash Association and one of its predecessors, the United States Women’s Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association. Kurtz was inducted into the College Squash Hall of Fame in 1996 and the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame in 2005. She received the College Squash Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
KURTZ CUP WINNER (COACH):
- See more at: http://collegesquashassociation.com/champions/womens-championships/kurtz-cup/#sthash.IUnyKlXT.dpuf
Women’s teams ranked ninth through sixteenth compete for the Kurtz Cup, a permanent trophy presented to the winners of the B division of the National Team Championships.
The Kurtz Cup is named for Aggie Bixler Kurtz. While working under Betty Richey at Vassar, Kurtz organized the first women’s national intercollegiate individual tournament, which was held at Wellesley in 1965. Kurtz went on to start a women’s squash team at Dartmouth in 1972 and was a long-time contributor to the development of the College Squash Association and one of its predecessors, the United States Women’s Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association. Kurtz was inducted into the College Squash Hall of Fame in 1996 and the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame in 2005. She received the College Squash Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
KURTZ CUP WINNER (COACH):
- See more at: http://collegesquashassociation.com/champions/womens-championships/kurtz-cup/#sthash.IUnyKlXT.dpuf
Women’s teams ranked ninth through sixteenth compete for the Kurtz Cup, a permanent trophy presented to the winners of the B division of the National Team Championships.
The Kurtz Cup is named for Aggie Bixler Kurtz. While working under Betty Richey at Vassar, Kurtz organized the first women’s national intercollegiate individual tournament, which was held at Wellesley in 1965. Kurtz went on to start a women’s squash team at Dartmouth in 1972 and was a long-time contributor to the development of the College Squash Association and one of its predecessors, the United States Women’s Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association. Kurtz was inducted into the College Squash Hall of Fame in 1996 and the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame in 2005. She received the College Squash Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
KURTZ CUP WINNER (COACH):
- See more at: http://collegesquashassociation.com/champions/womens-championships/kurtz-cup/#sthash.IUnyKlXT.dpuf
Women’s teams ranked ninth through sixteenth compete for the Kurtz Cup, a permanent trophy presented to the winners of the B division of the National Team Championships.
The Kurtz Cup is named for Aggie Bixler Kurtz. While working under Betty Richey at Vassar, Kurtz organized the first women’s national intercollegiate individual tournament, which was held at Wellesley in 1965. Kurtz went on to start a women’s squash team at Dartmouth in 1972 and was a long-time contributor to the development of the College Squash Association and one of its predecessors, the United States Women’s Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association. Kurtz was inducted into the College Squash Hall of Fame in 1996 and the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame in 2005. She received the College Squash Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
KURTZ CUP WINNER (COACH):
- See more at: http://collegesquashassociation.com/champions/womens-championships/kurtz-cup/#sthash.IUnyKlXT.dpuf
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Thursday, November 21, 2013

Elm City Squash Reinvigorates Camp Model

Elm City Squash at Yale, directed by Yale Associate Head Coach, Pam Saunders, is constantly looking for new ways to enhance the camper experience. 

First, the program offers the lowest coach to camper ratio in the market, and for the 2014 camp season, instantaneous, in-depth video analysis of all sessions will be offered. 

By investing in technology such as iPads, wide angle lenses, and video breakdown software, Elm City Squash will provide players with a DVD of their coaching feedback at the end of the week.

This movement, tactical, and technical feedback can be brought home and used with other coaches or on one's own.

This summer, Elm City Squash will offer three weeks of camp, featuring 12 teaching professionals for each session.  These are professional coaches, not college students, representing institutions such as Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Haverford, Penn, Vassar, and Yale.   

Each week of camp has a different focus, from game tactics to training and season preparation. Players learn the science behind training and reaching their maximum potential during the long squash season.   

In addition, campers can sign up for extra sessions within the week that address sport psychology, nutrition, yoga, and training concepts.

Week 1 will take place from 6/23 - 6/28
Week 2 - 7/6 - 8/11
Week 3 - 7/20 - 7/26.   

For more information please visit www.ElmCitySquash.com or email pam@elmcitysquash.com.
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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Commentary on PAR 11



by Doug Steinberg
When Par11 was rolled out as the standard scoring system for squash a few years ago, I was very concerned that the change would make a great game less attractive.  The Olympic Committee had instructed the World Squash Federation that the general public would not accept squash as an Olympic sport without a scoring system that was uniform across all abilities and ages. WSF jumped on board and mandated this change for all players. So, for the good of the Back the Bid Movement, I gave PAR11 a chance.

Well, it's late 2013, and I am proud to say that I am now reaping benefits that have been raining down on the sport since the scoring change. For those skeptics who believe that the change hasn't helped the game, I submit the following advantages to PAR11:

·  I don't have to be fit anymore to win.  Watching Duck Dynasty is now my between match training regimen.
·  When planning and scheduling a junior tourney, 15 to 20 minute slots for matches make the tournament so much easier to run.
·  During last year's Collegiate women's individual tournament, I no longer had to be worried about being distracted and losing track of the match at hand, because the matches were usually over within the time frame of a Spongebob Squarepants episode -- the length of my attention span and apparently that of all squash players.  Under PAR11 we can now retain focus for an entire women's collegiate match.
·  I can now play a match, not be tired or sore, and still devour a big meal like I used to, because technically, a match was played and the USSRA site says 5 games is worth 1000 calories...and the best part is that my friends and I get to shop for new clothes because we are continually growing out of our old ones now. 
·  We are helping to save the environment due to the short matches resulting in not having to wash clothes after a match.
·  Since the game is now standardized, it has opened the door to a great new trend of not wearing eyewear anymore.  Since we are all taking our cues from PSA pros -- who uniformly disdain the use of eyewear -- we no longer need to wear eyewear. Most people have an extra eye anyway so what's the big deal?
·  I hit many fewer balls on the tin. The pros use a 17" tin and not the 19" tin that was standard for the amateur game. Again, since the game is now uniform between pros and amateurs, us amateurs don't need to worry about the top two inches of the 19" tin anymore. It would be so confusing if the pros and amateurs used different heights of tins. Thank goodness for this change as I have many fewer balls hitting the "real" 17" tin that would be down on the old 19" tin.
·  The "extra" games that we are now encouraged to play after the extremely short real match ends are so much more fun than the real match itself. The natural reduction in intensity that occurs after a match ends allows me to "play" and simultaneously contemplate what I am going to eat for dinner while in games 7, 8, 9, 10, 11....
·  The new, exciting strategy of passing on the serve if you win the spin is now in play!
·  We are finally getting rid of those pesky less well off  kids who enter junior tournaments as the 15 minute matches just don't justify the expenses of entering and traveling to a tournament. If you're not a "one percenter", there's probably a local dodgeball tourney in your area that'll help get your kid into a more than adequate state school.
·  Epic comebacks are no longer possible, thereby reducing my overall stress level.
·  Turning squash from a marathon into a sprint will allow future generations of players to be fatter.
·  The best benefit is obvious...the standardized scoring helped with a fabulous million dollar presentation to the Olympic Committee that almost got us into the Olympics.  Seriously, whenever I walk off the court now after my mini PAR11 workout, I say to myself, "I am contributing to squash almost becoming an Olympic Sport."  

It has taken me some time, but I get it now. I am so pleased that I jumped on the PAR11 bandwagon.
 

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Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Refereeing Discussion

In the November 7, 2013 edition of the Squash Ezine, we posted several videos on refereeing.

Here is a link to the Ezine: Nov. 7, 2013 Squash Ezine
.

Please feel free to send us any feedback/comments on the decisions.
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