Susan Meadows ended her hectic nine-month reign as Interim Chief Executive of England Squash and Racketball with a warning for her full-time successor, Keir Worth, that there are “many challenges” facing the organisation.
Writing in Squash Player magazine, she says: “Despite the fact that squash is a hugely successful sport in terms of winning medals at major events, there are many challenges facing ESR. We have to compete with other sports for funding from Sport England and meet targets for increasing participation, as well as elite success. Participation in our sports has declined steadily over the last 10 years and this has led to significant funding cuts for ESR.
“There are gaps in our junior talent pathway due to inconsistent development of juniors over the last 10 years and over 80% of squash and racketball is played outside the club sector on a pay-as-you go basis, which is one of the reasons for the decline in ESR membership.
“These are some of the significant issues facing ESR that need to be addressed if we wish to see our sport flourish and benefit from future growth.”
However, Meadows – who has travelled “the length and breadth” of England talking to many committed club players, county representatives and court providers – has been “amazed” by the enthusiasm people have for squash and racketball, and by the volume of suggestions at how the downward trend in participation can be reversed.
“I am delighted that many of these are being incorporated into ESR’s strategic plan,” she adds.
“I have become acutely aware that the role ESR needs to play is about providing business advice and knowhow to providers of courts operating in the leisure and fitness industry, alongside supporting the dedication and commitment of volunteers and those working within the traditional, committed club sector.
“I have a strong belief that by working together we are capable of developing an intelligent system with sufficient capacity to respond to all segments of the adult and junior player market.
“By creating different offers for different market segments and opening doors to welcome new players from diverse backgrounds with different needs and aspirations into our sports, we will be able to collectively grow our businesses and increase the ‘breeding ground’ for potential future elite players.
“This will, however, require many of us to suspend our current beliefs in order to envisage different platforms for our sports and let go of ingrained ideas about how our sports should be run and developed.”
Meadows now resumes her position as a Non-Executive Director on the ESR Board.
Report courtesy of EnglandSquashandRackets.com