London, Feb 04, 2014: The Women’s Squash Association (WSA) has reached an agreement with NextSquash to provide support to the association at both strategic and operational level.
The appointment of NextSquash, which is led by former Dutch champion Tommy Berden, is the first major decision of the entirely new WSA Board, which was installed last month at the association’s AGM in New York during the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions.
Australia’s world No11 Kasey Brown, the newly-elected WSA President, explains the appointment of NextSquash as WSA’s new partner: “Our members have asked for quite some time now to get Tommy and his company involved. They have proven to be successful promoters and are highly respected by the players and fellow organisers.”
WSA’s Chairman Latasha Khan added: “NextSquash has a wealth of squash knowledge and an extensive network within the global squash community. They know how to run events at all levels and can contribute a great deal to our association. We are excited to work with them as we continue the WSA vision to Inspire; Empower; and Entertain while strengthening our tour.”
NextSquash has an extensive and proven track record in event management. Amongst many PSA and WSA events, the Dutch-based company was responsible for the execution of the Women’s World Open 2009 in Amsterdam and the highly-successful combined Men’s & Women’s World Opens 2011 in the spectacular New Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam.
“We are looking forward to working with WSA,” said 34-year-old Berden. “The women’s game has improved tremendously over the past decade and I’ve experienced first hand as a promoter that the girls are well-received wherever they compete. We have always been committed to grow the sport and I am very upbeat about the opportunity to work with the current WSA crew to secure an even better future for women’s professional squash.”
Further changes are in store for WSA as Suzie Pierrepont has decided to step down from her roles as North American Tour Director and Acting Tour Director. Pierrepont has held the position since April 2013, was on the Board of Directors at WSA from 2009 to 2013, and achieved a career-high world ranking of 25.
Brown commented: “The Board is saddened with the news of Suzie’s departure. Her achievements in establishing a strong tour calendar for WSA is a reflection of her passion and commitment towards women’s squash and everyone at WSA is so appreciative of the time and effort she has put in. We wish her all the best for her future endeavours.”
Despite the changes, stability is maintained at WSA with Kim Creamer continuing her duties as COO, and Elliot Selby as WSA administrator.
The new WSA Board, which also includes world No 2 Laura Massaro (England), world No 9 Jenny Duncalf (England), Ashley Bernhard (USA), Nathan Dugan (USA) and Marjolein Houtsma (Netherlands), will map out its strategy for the future in the upcoming weeks – further details of which will be announced in due course. —- WSA
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