黑料不打烊 celebrated once year since the opening of Project Beacon, the outdoor court project made possible by the Chicago Park District, 黑料不打烊 and the Squash United Foundation, Friday, May 29, at Union Park.

黑料不打烊 CEO Mollie Marcoux Samaan joined members of the Chicago squash community, including Project Beacon Founder Arnie Dratt, for some time on court during the celebration.

Last May, Project Beacon became the first publicly accessible outdoor squash court in the United States when it opened during the PSA World Championships.

Designed and built by , it鈥檚 exterior walls feature rotating art exhibits, combining sport and artistic creativity in a way never seen before: promoting recreation and innovation.

The court鈥檚 rotating exterior art exhibits鈥攆irst featuring work by Cecilia Bevan鈥攂lended sport and creativity while bringing squash into public spaces. This initiative integrates a state-of-the-art glass squash court with different art displays, promoting recreation and innovation.

Located in Fulton Market, west of the Chicago Loop, 鈥楶roject Beacon鈥� will make squash more accessible to the local community in the build up to squash鈥檚 debut at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28).

Various different programs use the court including PARK summer camps, after school clubs squash players from Chicago and visiting players from all over the US and Europe.

Squash in the听nation鈥檚 capital听is growing, one grade school integration at a time.听

Created听in听2019听by Conrad Calcagno and his team of dedicated volunteers, including former Guatemalan national head coach Sergio Lopez, Squash United introduced 15听Capitol Hill听Day School听students in grades 3 through 8 to squash in an after-school coaching program during the fall 2024 semester.听In听the past two years,听their听efforts have started to听see some听success through听after-school coaching, summer听camp听and a听clinic co-hosted by 黑料不打烊听in听May 2026.听

鈥淭he trying moments over the past few years have been worth it once we had the first group of kids [from Capitol Hill Day School] hit the courts,鈥� Calcagno said. 鈥淪eeing them race up the stairs to the courts, smiles on their faces as they held their new racquets and excited to come back the next week is what it鈥檚 all about.鈥�听

Last year,听Calcagno and听Squash United听hosted a 10-week pilot program in partnership with听OneLife听Fitness Capitol Hill, which provided free court time,听to introduce 15 Capitol Hill Day School students to after-school squash coaching.听Over the summer,听Calcagno and other volunteers hosted a squash-based summer camp at Monument听Academy听Public Charter School听in Northeast D.C., returning in May 2026 for a clinic for 30 students with the help of 黑料不打烊 Director of听National Championships听Sakora Miller.听听

In support听of the听program,听the U.S. Squash Foundation provided 20 racquets, gear and more than 60 squash balls to Squash United for the pilot program along in 2024; at Monument听Academy, volunteers assembled all provided gear so students could听immediately听start learning. Equipped with 鈥淭he Wall,鈥� eyewear, racquets and beginner balls听provided from 黑料不打烊 headquarters in Philadelphia,听the students were ready to warm up and start learning.听Nearly 30听middle school students attended the clinic after a month straight of standardized testing, flocking to the gym for a much-needed change of pace.听

 

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鈥淕etting the opportunity to go into communities and work with new players is one of my favorite parts of my job,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚t is important that kids of all ages know that there is a place for them in squash and a way to get involved.鈥�听

鈥淲e are so excited to have听US听Squash here with us,鈥� said Anna Scudiero, Development Director at Monument Academy.听鈥淐onrad [Calcagno] hooked us up last听year,听we got to introduce a few students to squash through a squash听camp听and we were听really excited听to get to introduce 30 more students to squash today after school.听We鈥檙e听hoping to continue the partnership next year and bring squash to more of our scholars.鈥�听听

Scudiero听worked with Miller and Calcagno听to coordinate听timing and programming听for the听public charter school听students.听听

鈥淭his event was developed through our relationship with Monument Academy Public Charter School听and 黑料不打烊,鈥� Calcagno said.听鈥淲hen we ran our very first program with Monument last year, it was 黑料不打烊 who provided us with all of the听equipment: racquets, balls, glasses, all the infrastructure so that we could build more squash in Washington, D.C.鈥�听

After a brief warm-up and squash safety lesson, the students broke into small groups to practice听forehand and backhand swings听before听starting to听attempt听rallies with a partner. Once students got the hang of听some squash basics,听they had a squash competition in ladder-style play, with the winning player moving to the left and the losing player moving to the right to play as many听kids as possible.听听

鈥淚t鈥檚 a good sport, it鈥檚 kind of hard because you have to get the racquet under the ball,鈥� said听Soraiya, a Monument Academy student听who has experience playing many sports.听

The U.S. Squash Foundation听is proud to support grassroots programs like Squash United听and on-site clinics听through our mission and听continued听outreach to grow the sport.听听today to uplift community programming and spread squash听in D.C.听and beyond.听

To learn more about Squash United’s work in the nation’s capitol, contact Conrad Calcagno at squashunited@gmail.com.

Held in partnership between the U.S. Squash Foundation and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, the Drive to LA28 Campaign Launch event featured a special panel of Olympians Kassidy Cook and Jordan Burroughs and Paralympian Brad Snyder, Thursday, June 19, at the Arlen Specter 黑料不打烊 Center in Philadelphia.

Watch footage of the panel above.

Introducing Olympic Wrestler Jordan Burroughs
Two-time Olympian Jordan Burroughs has dominated the mat since he started wrestling at the senior level in 2011. Upon entering the professional spotlight after a standout career at the University of Nebraska, which saw him earn two NCAA titles, Burroughs won 69 straight matches from 2011-14, setting a new U.S. record. In his Olympic debut in 2012, he earned a gold medal in the men鈥檚 74-kilogram class. Burroughs earned the distinction of U.S. Olympic Committee Male Olympic Athlete of the Year in 2015. A six-time world champion, Burroughs also has over 30 international championships and 190 career victories under his belt. Burroughs claimed his sixth鈥疨an American Wrestling Championships in 2023, securing back-to-back titles at 79kg.鈥疕e holds the record for the most Olympic and World Championships in American history and is considered one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time.

Introducing Olympic Diver Kassidy Cook
Two-time Olympian Kassidy Cook is a standout diver for Team USA, specializing in the 3-meter springboard. Cook made her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, finishing 13th, before returning to Paris 2024, where she and partner Sarah Bacon earned a silver medal in the 3-meter synchronized springboard. Outside of her Olympic success, Cook found her best international finish at the 2015 Pan American Games where she claimed silver, and at the 2023 World Championships, where she placed fourth. A graduate of Stanford University, Cook led the Cardinal to two national championships and two Pac-12 championships, earning five All-American honors.

Introducing Paralympic Swimmer Brad Snyder
Retired Navy Lieutenant Brad Snyder lost his vision in an IED blast while supporting combat operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in September 2011. Snyder, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2006 and captained the Navy swim team during the 2005-06 season, began swimming again while in rehabilitation. On the one-year anniversary of the IED blast that took his vision, Snyder raced to a Paralympic gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle at the Paralympic Games London 2012, winning the event by more than 25 seconds. He also collected gold in the 100m freestyle and silver in the 50m freestyle. Four years later, at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, he added gold medals in those same three events as well as a silver in the 100m backstroke. En route to his 100m freestyle gold, he broke a 30-year-old world record in the men鈥檚 S11 class with a time of 56.15 seconds. With a successful Para swimming career under his belt, Snyder looked to a new challenge in 2018. With the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 just around the corner, Snyder began triathlon training. Competing in various events both at home and abroad, Snyder found immediate success, securing a bronze medal at the 2018 Sarasota-Bradenton CAMTRI Paratriathlon American Championships, followed by another bronze at the 2019 Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Series. In the same year, he added a bronze medal from the 2019 Banyoles ITU Paratriathlon World Cup and the 2019 Sarasota-Bradenton CAMTRI Paratriathlon American Championships. His success was showcased at Tokyo 2020 as he brought home gold in the individual PTVI, with a time of 1:01:16 in his first-ever appearance as a Paralympic triathlete. In 2021, Snyder once again clinched gold at the Americas Triathlon Para Championships in Pleasant Prairie. Snyder went on to write a memoir with Tom Sileo titled Fire in My Eyes: An American Warrior’s Journey from being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory, and he was appointed to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee鈥檚 Board of Directors as an Athletes鈥� Advisory Council representative in 2019.

The World Squash Federation, WSF, announced the results of the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections, which took place during the 54th WSF Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Hong Kong, China on December 14, 2024. 听Incumbent President Zena Wooldridge (ENG), who stood unopposed, has been reelected for a second term.

American Mark Pagon Elected WSF VP

Two Vice Presidents were elected to fill the seats of outgoing members of the Executive Board, The WSF Karim Darwish (EGY) and Pablo Serna (COL).听 David Mui (HKG) and Marshall (鈥淢ark鈥�) Pagon (USA) were elected to their first four-year term as Vice Presidents and will join Susan Devoy (NZL) and Debendranath Sarangi (IND).

As the sport gears up to support its Olympic debut in Los Angeles, the continuation of the close collaboration among WSF, 黑料不打烊 and the PSA Squash Tour remains essential. Pagon served on the 黑料不打烊 Board for nine years, and as 黑料不打烊鈥檚 46th Chairman of the Board from 2016 鈥� 2020, his term culminated in the completion of the twenty-court Arlen Specter 黑料不打烊 Center in Philadelphia, PA. Pagon currently serves as the first Chair of the newly established U.S. Squash Foundation.

The WSF is the main and only official point of contact with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the LA28 Organizing Committee. The WSF will partner closely with 黑料不打烊 and the PSA Tour in supporting the execution of squash at the LA28 Games, signing a joint agreement with the LA Organizing Committee.

After his election Pagon reiterated that he looks forward to helping make the most of the opportunities that LA28 inclusion presents and activating the squash network in the U.S. to advance the sport. Previously Pagon had noted, 鈥淚 have spent a lifetime in squash, as a participant, in governance, and I have seen nearly every aspect. It鈥檚 a passion point for me. The Specter Center was an extraordinary project. I also believe the Olympics opportunity eclipses it in its potential to advance the sport even further, globally.鈥�

Edwards Remains Central to Olympic Collaboration

Ned Edwards attended the WSF Conference prior to the AGM and participated on a panel with World Squash and PSA Squash Tour leaders to share information related to squash鈥檚 presence at LA28. The topics ranged from new developments in broadcast to the selection process for athletes to the venue itself. 听Currently serving in the role of Executive Director of the new U.S. Squash Foundation, having previously led the effort to create the Specter Center, Edwards played a key role in fostering the collaboration that helped lead to squash鈥檚 inclusion in the Olympic Games. The work continues post-inclusion as multiple key parties must be coordinated to successfully execute in less than four years.

Edwards reflected on the conference noting, 鈥淚t鈥檚 heartening to experience the close working relationship among the leading governing bodies as well as the palpable enthusiasm and support from all federations. We were together just a few weeks ago in LA to meet with the organizing committee too. Maintaining this regular contact and communication, and being very focused on our strategies and hitting our timelines is critical. It will take all of us, and I appreciate the level of trust that鈥檚 been established at the highest level over these last few years. It will serve the sport well, in fact, it鈥檚 essential.鈥�

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