Harlem’s StreetSquash earned the program’s seventh high school boys title, while the Bronx’s CitySquash successfully defended their high school girls title at the Squash & Education Alliance Team Nationals, February 10-12, at the Arlen Specter 黑料不打烊 Center in Philadelphia.

More than 450 players representing 22 programs from across the country competed in the nineteenth staging of the SEA Team Nationals across seven high school and middle school divisions. View all results on the . View tournament photography by Rob White on the .

Both High School A division finals were determined by narrow 3-2 scorelines. In the girls final, top seeded CitySquash defeated two seeds Squash Haven with wins from Ashanti Amastal, Zoe Liu and Ariana Michaca.

The boys high school division A finals included first-time finalists Mission Squash from Houston, who upset two seeds CitySquash in the semifinals 3-2 courtesy of wins at the top three positions. In the final, it was the top seeds StreetSquash who took the title with wins from Thomas Overton III, Alassane Diakite and Mohamed Diakite.

Philadelphia’s SquashSmarts won the program’s first division A title in the Middle School girls division A. SquashSmarts, the top seeds, defeated Squash Haven 4-1.

CitySquash earned another title in the Middle School boys division A, defeating surprise finalists SquashDrive from Oakland 3-2.

Last week Apple TV Plus released the first season of听Little America, an anthology television series that looks at the unexpected lives of immigrants in America. There are eight half-hour episodes in the first season. Episode two, directed by Aurora Guerrero and called “The Jaguar,” is based on Reyna Pacheco.

A member of Access Youth Academy, the urban squash program in San Diego, Pacheco grew up as an undocumented immigrant. She played and then on the pro tour, reaching world No. 70.

The series has received tremendous coverage across the world, with the squash episode receiving attention in , the and on Scott Simon鈥檚 鈥淲eekend Edition鈥� on . Richard Roeper in the听听said that the episode “is highlighted by a powerful and lovely performance by Jearnest Corchado as Marisol, a whip-smart but hard-edged and troublesome teenage daughter of an undocumented Mexican housekeeper.” Roeper concluded: “As is the case with every episode, ‘The Jaguar’ has an epilogue with images of the true-life people who inspired the story, and updates on their lives. The continuation of Marisol’s journey is so uplifting and triumphant, there’s enough material to fit the classic sports-movie formula. It’s the听Rocky听of squash.”

鈥溾�橳he Jaguar,鈥� in particular, would one million percent be a smash Sundance sensation if developed into a feature,鈥� wrote Gregory Lawrence in . 鈥淚t鈥檚 an underdog sports story with a fierce, star-making lead performance (Jearnest Corchado), a delightfully eccentric supporting performance (John Ortiz as an unpredictable coach), a warmly non-confrontational political subtext (Corchado and her family are undocumented immigrants) and exhilarating action (who knew squash could be so cinematic).鈥�

You can watch the episode .

In March 2020 a book听Little America: Incredible True Stories of Immigrants in America听will be published. These are the original stories, including Pacheco鈥檚, that ran in听Epic Magazine听and upon which the television series is based.

Abby Markoe will be awarded the Feron鈥檚 Wedgwood Sportsmanship Trophy at the 2018 FS Investments U.S. Open. The ceremony will be on Tuesday October 9 as a part of Character in Sports Day.

Markoe (pictured above, center) is the executive director of SquashWise, the urban squash program in Baltimore.

A lifelong player, Markoe captained the team at George Washington University during their inaugural year as a varsity program in 2002-03. She now is an avid league player in Maryland and each fall plays in the Howe Cup, the national women鈥檚 team tournament. For a half dozen years she has directed the Lacy Cup, the annual women鈥檚 match between Baltimore and Washington and more recently has led Baltimore鈥檚 Howe Cup team. She also annually organizes a Women鈥檚 Squash Night at Meadow Mill as a part of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 global initiative Women鈥檚 Squash Week. Last year, in response to low squash participation among girls, Markoe launched the Girls Excellence Initiative. This project works to inspire girls to commit more deeply to their athletic development through mentoring events, team-building activities and squash tournament opportunities.

While pursuing a PhD at Johns Hopkins in the history of medicine, Markoe starting playing squash at Meadow Mill Athletic Club. In 2008 she left her doctoral program to launch SquashWise, now one of the most successful urban programs in the country. Based at Meadow Mill, it has a 100% high school graduation rate and 80% college matriculation rate in a city where fewer than 70% of students graduate from high school and only 42% go to college. Its has five full-time staff and its annual budget has grown from $150,000 to $800,000. On October 18 SquashWise is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

The Feron鈥檚 Wedgwood Sportsmanship Trophy is 黑料不打烊鈥檚 oldest sportsmanship award. Since 1979, it has honored women who exemplify fair play, respect, courtesy and fellowship with opponents. Previous winners include U.S. Squash Hall of Famers Goldie Edwards (1980), Carol Weymuller (1988) and Demer Holleran (1989). Last year鈥檚 recipient was Hope Prockop.

Purchase tickets on .

CitySquash’s Joana Pacheco became the first player to win three consecutive Urban Individuals U19 titles, while Sebastion Paredes earned Santa Barbara School of Squash’s first U19 title in program history during the sixteenth Urban Individuals at Amherst and Williams in northwestern Massachusetts.

More than 450 students representing eighteen Squash + Education Alliance programs competed in A and B divisions across U13, U15, U17 and U19 age groups. View all A division results and all B division results .

Pacheco, a freshman at William Smith, fulfilled her top seeding by defeating Squash Haven’s Pratiksha Mishra in a four-game final. Pacheco’s third consecutive GU19 title came just one day before her nineteenth birthday on Monday, June 18.

鈥淚n all honesty, I never expected to accomplish this much,” Pacheco said. “Like who knew that my younger third grade self who missed every ball would grow up to become the first squash player to win three consecutive U19 individual titles. Not only do I have my squash coaches to thank for my achievements, but also Al Boilloit and Sarah Allen for the constant support on and off the court.鈥�

Pacheco was one of five CitySquash champions, and one of eight finalists across the eight A division finals. CitySquash Brooklyn’s Randy Guzman fulfilled his top seeding by winning the BU13 title against CitySquash Bronx’s Rios Alexis. CitySquash Bronx swept both U15 A divisions, with Maury Escalona winning his first title in the BU15 and Lizbeth Barroso claiming a third consecutive title, and first since aging up to the GU15 division. CitySquash Bronx’ Caleb Boeteng also pulled off a third straight urban individual title after aging up to the BU17 division.

In the BU19 final, Sebastian Paredes made history by lifting Santa Barabara School of Squash’s first U19 title in program history, defeating SquashSmarts’ surprise finalist Joshua Morales in a four-game final. The title marks Paredes’ second Urban Individual title, adding to his U13 title in 2013.

Almedina Velic made history for Hartford’s Capitol Squash in the GU13 division, winning a five-game final to capture the four-year-old program’s first A division title. Zeinab Bakayoko fulfilled her top seeding in the GU17 division, dropping just two games all tournament on her way to clinching the title for StreetSquash.

The Urban Individuals weekend was just as busy off the court as on court. Students were introduced to college squash coaches and admissions representatives, and celebrated academic excellence with the following awards:

Future Star Award
Karolina Majewska (CitySquash Brooklyn)

Ty Griffin Urban Squasher of the Year Award
Starnisha Ramsey (Racquet Up Detroit)
Jesus Baez (Impact 360)

Writing Contest
Under 13
Winner:听Abisola Abina (SquashWise)
Finalist: Juelz Montas (Capitol Squash)

Under 15
Winner:听Vaughn Bryant (Steel City Squash)
Finalist: Kimberly Lucero (CitySquash)

Under 17
Winner:听Ku Paw (Capitol Squash)
Finalist: Jalil Weaver (SquashSmarts)

Under 19
Winner:听Giselle Cabrera (CitySquash)
Finalist: Felipe De La Cruz (Access Youth Academy)

Art Contest
Under 13
Nakala Pierson (Baltimore SquashWise)

Under 15
Victoria De La Cerda (Access Youth Academy)

Under 17
Kariely Berdeja (Access Youth Academy)

Under 19
Ebonie Reaves (StreetSquash Newark)

View more images from the tournament on the .

More than 450 students representing eighteen Squash + Education Alliance programs are set to compete in the 2018 Urban Individual Nationals this weekend, held for the fourth year at Williams and Amherst in Northwestern Massachussetts.

Players will individually represent their programs in A and B divisions across U13, U15, U17 and U19 age divisions. View all A draws , and all B draws .

CitySquash’s Joana Pacheco and MetroSquash’s Cameron Warren both return to defend their U19 titles. Pacheco leads the GU19 draw as the top seed with MetroSquash’s Makyla Kelley predicted to meet her in the final as the two seed.

Warren enters the BU19 draw as the three seed, with Santa Barbara School of Squash’s Sebastion Paredes leading the draw as the one seed, and Squash Haven’s Frederick Cisse seeded second.

In addition to on court competition, the Urban Individual Nationals celebrates academic success off court with a full slate of awards. A champion and finalist in each age group will receive a writing award and art award following the theme: “What is one thing about yourself that you hope never changes?”

Two eighth graders, one boy and one girl, will receive Future Star Awards, recognizing students who have outstanding commitment to urban squash and demonstrates commendable effort, character, leadership and integrity. Two graduating seniors, one boy and one girl, will named the Tyler Griffin Urban Squasher of the Year, which recognizes seniors who embody the values of urban squash: sportsmanship, effort on court and in the classroom, respect and concern for others, integrity, character and leadership.

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In a first for the sport of squash, the Public Squash Foundation, ASB Squash and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation have installed the world’s first all-glass, free-to-play, public squash court. It is located in Hamilton Fish Park at 128 Pitt Street in New York City’s Lower East Side.

The court is currently open for play every day from 6am-9pm on a first-come first-serve basis with a limit of one hour of play.

After a three year process of fundraising, planning and installing, the court was officially unveiled during a special ribbon cutting ceremony on April 17. Funded by the Public Squash Foundation, the court will remain in the park until October 17 as a part of the city’s program.

“It is exciting to work with the Public Squash to bring an amenity as unique as outdoor squash to one of our city parks,” said Mitchell Silver, NYC Parks Commissioner during the opening ceremony. “Athletic activity benefits us mentally and physically; and falling in love with a sport like squash can expose us to worlds we may never have otherwise come into contact with.”

The court’s first scheduled programming, a youth clinic with beginner drills and instruction from certified squash coaches, takes place on Saturday, May 12, from 10am-12pm. For more information on the clinic, visit .

“We often benefit from new amenities and refurbishments that come to parks through the Adopt-a-Park program,” Silver said. “Young people from the Hamilton Fish rec center will be able to sign up for clinics right on this court thanks to the city parks foundation. Now a sport that is often deemed out of reach from the masses is now right here in the lower east side for the public to enjoy for the next six months.”

Since its construction, the court has generated national coverage in and . Representing New York’s 7th district, Congresswoman Nydia Vel谩zquez voiced her support for the initiative.

鈥淚 am excited any time we can encourage more physical activity and exercise among our young people and the opening of this court offers a valuable new outlet for our community,” Vel谩zquez said. “I look forward to seeing the recreational opportunities this new project affords our neighborhood!鈥�

黑料不打烊 president & CEO Kevin Klipstein believes that outdoor public squash courts has the potential to create future access to the sport nationwide.

鈥淚ncreasing access to squash will be a focus of ours for at least the next decade as we look to take the number of courts in the U.S. from 2,600 to 10,000,” Klipstein said. “The guys at Public Squash deserve credit for their innovative thinking, and ultimately for making this court a reality. Beyond access, all-glass outdoor courts have the potential to completely reshape people鈥檚 perception of the sport and to really boost awareness of squash.鈥�

The court stands at 18.5′ tall, 32′ long and 21′ wide. With no roof and open air play, the first-of-its-kind floor is made of a special elastic material with drainage capabilities for precipitation. The Hamilton Fish Park court marks the first of what Public Squash hopes to be many more courts of its kind constructed around the world.

“Bringing squash outside, and making it free to the public, is the best way to give access to all, and increase the visibility of the game,” said Ryan Wall, director of Public Squash.

For more information visit .

The fifteenth Urban Team Nationals saw first-time champions Racquet Up (Detroit) and StreetSquash (Harlem) claim the U19 division titles in what was the largest Urban Team Nationals in tournament history at StreetSquash Harlem, Poly Prep Country Day School and Eastern Athletic Club in New York City, January 19-21.

More than 500 players representing eighteen different North American programs made history as the largest urban teams in the tournament’s fifteenth year.

Detroit’s Racquet Up made program history in the BU19 division, dropping only two matches all tournament and defeating StreetSquash Harlem 4-1 in the final to claim the program’s first Urban Team Nationals title.

“This national championship, the first for Racquet Up, means so much to these young men,” said Derek Aguirre, Executive Director of Racquet Up Detroit. “After more than seven years of commitment, training, and teamwork they have proven that Detroit can compete on a national level, and that dedication pays off. This is a fitting send-off for our first class of graduating seniors, and leaves a legacy for our younger students to work toward.”

Tournament hosts StreetSquash Harlem won their third GU19 title in program history, topping defending champs Squash Haven in the round robin. Squash Haven and CitySquash dominated the U17, U15 and U13 divisions with each program claiming three titles. View all results .

“Watching students simply enjoy themselves was the highlight of my weekend,” said Jazmin Matos, SEA’s Operations and Events Director and an alumna of StreetSquash. “I remember my excitement in experiencing this tournament for the first time. It’s nice to be a part of making it memorable for the next generation of students.”

View Urban Teams images on the .

While the tournament celebrated athletic excellence on court, it also recognized academic excellence with essay contests.

2018 Urban Teams Essay Contest Awards:

U13 Finalist – Selina Hokello (Urban Squash Cleveland)
U13 Winner – Angela Wisdom (Capitol Squash)

U15 Finalist – Firdaus Shallo (Urban Squash Toronto)
U15 Winner – Thomasine Fletcher (Squash Haven)

U17 Finalist – Shaheed Muhammed (Squash Haven)
U17 Winner – Djulia Sekariyongo-Koyta (Access Youth Academy)

U19 Finalist – Kianna Robinson (StreetSquash)
U19 Winner – Antar Jimenez, Jr. (SquashBusters Lawrence)

The fifteenth annual Urban Team Nationals will attract 505 players representing eighteen Squash + Education Alliance programs from across the United States and Canada throughout the New York City area, January 19-21.

While much of the competition will take place on court across girls’ and boys’ U13, U15, U17 and U19 divisions, the students have taken part in scholastic competition through an essay competition.

This year’s essay topics include: ‘Students as Innovators’—What is a problem you’ve observed and an invention, app or or business you would design to solve it? and ‘Your Happy Place’—Where do you most feel like your authentic self? Where is your “happy place”?

Follow 2018 Urban Team Nationals results .

Urban Team Nationals rotates every year between New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.

View results from the 2017 Urban Team Nationals . View images from the 2017 Urban Team Nationals .

For more information visit .

Last weekend, SquashBusters and Moses Brown School officially opened an extraordinary squash facility in Providence, RI. It is a twelve-court facility, with eleven singles courts and one hardball doubles court, as well as classrooms, locker rooms and a pro shop.

The facility, the Gorgi Family Squash & Education Center, is the fifth such urban squash facility to be built in the country. In 2003 SquashBusters, seven years after Greg Zaff launched the program and the urban squash movement, opened the first facility, the Badger & Rosen SquashBusters Center at Northeastern with eight courts. In 2007 the H. Chase Lenfest SquashSmarts Center opened in northeast Philadelphia. In 2008 the S.L. Green StreetSquash Center opened in Harlem. And in 2015 the MetroSquash Academic & Squash Center opened in Chicago.

Including the Gorgi Center, the urban squash movement鈥攚hich spans two dozen programs around the world鈥攃ollectively has forty-two singles courts and two doubles courts, as well as nearly twenty classrooms, under its direct purview.

The Gorgi Center is the result of a unique three-pronged partnership. It involves Moses Brown, the Quaker school founded in 1784. More than sixty MB student-athletes are now in their squash team. SquashBusters, the after-school youth enrichment program, has three branches: at Northeastern, at Lawrence, Mass and now at Providence, with a class of twenty-eight sixth graders from Del Sesto Middle School studying and training at the Gorgi Center. And the Nicol Squash Club is now based the Gorgi. Created by former world champion Peter Nicol, the Nicol operates a public club and elite-level junior academy at the Gorgi Center. Arthur Gaskin, the former world No.80 and a five-time Irish national champion, is the resident professional.

Moses Brown, SquashBusters and Del Sesto students participated in the special dedication, ribbon-cutting ceremony and squash match on Saturday.

The game of squash in southeastern Texas took a hard hit from Hurricane Harvey but has begun to recover due to the resilience of the squash community.

Mission Squash, the urban squash program in Houston Heights, has been busy with recovery efforts. Its three courts at James Hogg Middle School were not damaged because they are on the second floor of the school. But many of the program鈥檚 fifty-seven families were affected by flooding. Eleven families were seriously affected and displaced from their homes. Two of their students live in a complex that saw four feet of water come into homes. “They鈥檝e lost everything,鈥� said Nick Sutcliffe, the executive director of Mission Squash. 鈥淭hey had no renter鈥檚 insurance. One mother would not let her children inside the apartment to see the destruction.鈥�

Mission Squash has been working in squads to help families clear their homes, rip out flooring, drywall and insulation and then chemically disinfect for mold, mildew and rodent infestation. 鈥淎t one student鈥檚 house we were joined by five U.S. Marines who had traveled from Florida and Louisiana to help,鈥� Sutcliffe said. Mission Squash has also been helping students鈥� parents to understand homeowner鈥檚 insurance policies and federal aid processes; helping them fine pro bono legal advice; and to act as caseworkers to help them make claims and apply for FEMA aid. Several cases include disputes with landlords who are claiming rent for apartments that have been wiped out.

Mission Squash has launched an to help their families. All funds are managed by Mission Squash and go exclusively to replace furniture, cleaning supplies and un-insured losses, including building materials like drywall, flooring and doors. View more images .

Many Life Time squash clubs in the region were also affected. Clubs were shut for six days. Danielle Maur, the national racquet sports director at Life Time, has suspended all events that require fundraising until Houston gets back on its feet and repairs. Life Time is also supporting relief efforts like Feed Houston, as well as Life Time Lifts, a fund to support staff members impacted by Harvey with small grants for basic needs. They鈥檝e also opened their clubs to non-members for showers and food. 鈥淲e will continue to offer events and ways for players to play, as many members find squash to be their stress relievers,鈥� Maur said.

The $10,000 SOAP Engineering Texas Open, a PSA Tour event scheduled for September 28-October 1, has been cancelled. The event had been organized by Muhammed Sadiq at the Downtown Club at the Met.