Last year was the 30th Anniversary of Title IX, the constitutional law that prohibits discrimination based on gender in athletics and academics. Massive, yet still controversial progress has been made in equalizing opportunities in athletics for girls and young women. More opportunities to compete in college have driven incredible growth in the number of girls participating in sports at a younger age. However, according to many female sports figures, and certainly many WSA players, the fight for equality is far from over. The U.S. Open in tennis led the way by offering parity in prize money more than 30 years ago, yet this continues to be a widely debated move and some other Grand Slams have only recently followed.

Given how far equal rights and opportunities have come in the US, not only in the most basic differences between genders and races, but also in disability, sexual orientation, and national origin, from a certain perspective, it is surprising this is still an issue at all. The fact that it is, makes actions such as offering equal prize money, which is both fair compensation, and a social cue as to what is acceptable, all the more important and relevant.

This may explain this reaction of sports icon and social justice pioneer Billie Jean King to our announcement, 鈥淎ny time you can achieve equality in any field of endeavor鈥攂e it in sports or in life鈥攅veryone wins. This announcement is so much more about the message than the money and I am thrilled another U.S. championship event has stepped up and done the right thing.鈥�

To this day real disparities in rights and opportunities for women and girls continue in the US, and even more so internationally. For recent unequivocal evidence, look no further than Maria Toor Pakay, the Pakistani squash player who, fearing the Taliban and the consequences of continuing to play and train, was forced to flee her country and move to Canada, where she is now flourishing under the tutelage of Jonathan Power. In a 21st century world with few boundaries, the messages we send, large and small, overt and subtle, matter.

Meeting recently with international leaders of women鈥檚 squash, we discussed two central components to presenting squash as both competition and entertainment. First is that people are more interested in a close contest between competitors, regardless of gender, and second, the more you know the people, the more interesting the competition becomes.

I was on a plane several years ago, watching an in-flight program about a regional high school track and field event. Although it was documenting a fairly average athlete鈥檚 personal struggles, I was gripped. The people鈥檚 stories were interesting, their struggles real, and the competition close. As the program culminated in the final race to determine who would move on to the next level, my heart raced with anticipation and anxiety. I was totally spellbound…about a person I didn鈥檛 know, from a place I had never visited, and by a sport I鈥檝e never watched.

Some will argue, though they will do so in the shadows, that women on the tour should earn the same as men only when the playing level of their matches equals that of the men. Others will highlight the appearance that the women鈥檚 tour currently has less depth than the men鈥檚 tour worldwide. Both of these arguments completely miss the point of offering equal prize money. As King points out, it鈥檚 about the message it sends, it鈥檚 the right thing to do, and lastly, it鈥檚 about opportunity.

As the profile and exposure for squash continues to increase, and our ability to tell stories about the players improves, these factors, combined with increased opportunities for girls and women around the world to play, will allow even more female squash players to compete at the highest level and to their full potential. Whether it鈥檚 two women playing, two men, or the increasingly possible match pitting a woman versus a man, what I am really looking for is a close match, and I have no doubt I鈥檒l get my money鈥檚 worth.

The site is currently averaging approximately 50,000 unique visitors per month and delivers live streaming of hundreds of squash matches from dozens of pro events throughout the year. In doing so, it also provides the live and tape delayed feed for distribution to broadcasters in dozens of countries around the world, with a potential household reach of 323 million. Just the other week, the World Series Final was being shown live on BSkyB in the UK. Sky is the largest pay-TV broadcaster in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 10 million subscribers.

PSASQUASHTV.COM also has built up a significant catalog of past matches from dozens of tournaments including all the World Series events. The site offers daily, monthly and annual subscription rates and with a U.S. SQUASH membership, you can enjoy a promotional discount. Look for emails sent to members for the code to enjoy your discount, to get access to outstanding streaming and commentary, and to support what is likely the most important initiative for squash. To offer some perspective, in 2009, before the advent of Squash TV, 9000 people logged on to watch the live stream of the U.S. Open finals in Chicago, which at the time, was being hailed as a landmark number. This past October, the U.S. Open final in Philadelphia was loaded over 732,000 times. Squash is small, congratulations and thank you to the PSA for making the best case for not keeping it that way.