25 June 2012
- In a bid to help its younger members gain valuable world ranking
points, the Professional Squash Association (PSA) is introducing a new
category of Closed Satellite events that will cover National Junior
Open tournaments.
The new initiative has evolved following discussions between the PSA
and the European Squash Federation. The ESF will co-ordinate the
registration of the National Junior Open events in their region, which
are expected to number more than 20.
"There have always been incredibly competitive juniors in squash, ever
since the days of Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan through to James
Willstrop and Ramy Ashour," commented PSA CEO Alex Gough. "But we now
want to encourage a broader base of juniors to kick start a potential
professional career in the sport.
"By having a presence at the top level junior events around the globe,
there will now be valuable world ranking points available to the junior
players and they will then obtain that all-important world ranking,"
added the former world number five.
The new initiative comes into effect from 1st July 2012. Tournaments
will need to be fully registered at least one month in advance of the
start date of the event.