WSA Marks 30th Anniversary by Howard Harding 26 February 2014
- The Women's Squash Association (WSA) is marking the 30th anniversary
of its formation this week with celebrations at the British Open in May
and the US Open later in the year.
Founded in February
1984 at the Belfast Boat Club in Ireland, the originally-named Women's
Squash Players' Association (WSPA) boasted 23 members and elected New
Zealander Robyn Blackwood as its Chairwoman and Australia's Rae
Anderson as Secretary/Treasurer.
The first WSPA World
Ranking list was topped by New Zealand's Susan Devoy - who went on to
achieve an unprecedented 105 months as the women's world number one.
The Association later
changed its name to the Women's International Squash Players'
Association (WISPA), before being re-launched as the Women's Squash
Association (WSA) in 2012.
Over the past 30
years, the Association has attracted some 5,000 players from all
corners of the globe who have competed in more than 1,200 events on the
international Tour.
12 players - from six
countries (New Zealand, Australia, England, USA, Netherlands and
Malaysia) - have topped the world rankings over the three decades, with
reigning world number one Nicol David having held the title unopposed
since August 2006!
The 29th WSA World
Championship will be held in David's home city of Penang next month,
when the 30-year-old Malaysian is set to extend her remarkable record
to eight titles.
Founder Chairwoman
Robyn Blackwood was delighted to hear of the Association's latest
milestone: "Thirty years ago there was a groundswell of support from
players for a professional association and importantly, a world ranking
system for women squash players that was current," said the former
world No3.
"It was a buoyant and
exciting time in squash with significant numbers of professional
players and circuits around the world to compete on. The establishment
of WSPA was the next logical step. We established the world rankings,
and the associated systems, very shortly after our inaugural meeting at
the Belfast Boat Club.
"It is great to hear
that WSA is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Congratulations to all
those who have been a part of its success."
Current WSA President
Kasey Brown added: "All professional women squash players should be
proud of the growth that the Association has achieved over the past
three decades and we are indebted to players like Robyn and Rae for
their foresight back in the 1980s.
"WSA boasts some of
the fittest athletes on the planet, competing day in day out on a
flourishing WSA World Tour which is active on all continents - from
traditional squash nations like England, Australia and the USA, to
newer territories like Mexico, China and Malaysia," added the world
No13 from Australia.
"I am delighted to be
part of a new WSA board which is determined to grow the Tour over the
coming years, led by the WSA vision to Inspire; Empower; and Entertain:
Inspire future female generations to embrace squash as a professional
sport; Empower girls and women on and off the court; and Entertain the
world."
