2017/18 ANNUAL REPORT England Squash National Squash Centre Rowsley Street Manchester M11 3FF T: 0161 231 4499 F: 0161 231 4231 ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 CONTENTS Chair’s Foreword 03 Chief Executive’s Introduction 04 Increasing Participation In Our Sport 05 1.1 Club Support 06 1.2 Universities 06 1.3 Participation Programmes 06 1.4 Public Facilities 06 1.5 Workforce 06 1.6 Regional & National Forums 07 1.7 Junior Participation 07 1.8 Facilities 07 Developing Talent & Improving Performance 08 2.1 Team England 09 2.2 World Rankings 09 2.3 England Academy 09 2.4 England Development & England 10 Potential Programmes 2.5 Junior Performance 10 2.6 Coach Education & Development 10 Marketing & Promoting What We Do 11 3.1 Technology 12 3.2 Membership & Affiliation Review 12 3.3 Commerical Development 12 3.5 PR & Communications 13 Competitions & Events 14 4.1 Junior Focus Group 15 4.2 Competition Calendar 15 4.3 Sanctioned Events Application Windows 15 4.4 Levels of Competition 15 4.5 Inter-County Championship 15 4.6 Allocation Of Major Events 16 Financial Review 17 2 ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 CHAIR’S FOREWORD The organisation has made good progress this year, continuing to adjust to the changing landscape for national governing bodies of sport in England. A major milestone for the organisation was meeting the requirements of the new Code for Sport Governance, a real accomplishment and one that received overwhelming support and approval from the England Squash Council last November. Looking ahead, we will do more to enhance governance and the England Squash President, Paul Millman, has agreed to lead a working party to review the ‘squash system’ and culture, to drive the highest standards of governance and decision making across the organisation. The Board has continued to both support and challenge the executive team, in equal measure, to deliver our strategy, which is about to enter its second year. In addition to governance, our focus has been on creating a better delivery model for England Squash programmes across participation, the squash workforce and competitions, and delivering an enhanced member benefits package. I am proud that the staff have continued to deliver positive results across all areas of the business. Within the organisation itself, a further reduction in staff (now 15 full-time members), has placed additional stress on the remaining team and I remain grateful to the executive and staff for their commitment and professionalism under continually difficult circumstances. To be successful, we need to ensure that all stakeholders within the squash community work together for the benefit of the sport. Progress has been made in this vein and enhancing relationships with County Associations will remain a priority. Whilst change is ever-present, whether forced or by choice, I am optimistic that there will be a period of stability to allow us the opportunity to focus exclusively on the work that is necessary to develop the game across the country. I remain confident that with Sport England’s backing and the support of key stakeholders, including county associations, clubs, coaches and volunteers, that England Squash will fulfil its strategic aspirations. As I highlighted last year, the Board remains confident that we have the best possible team to deliver on the strategy and to impact positively on the sport. The forthcoming year should be one of further progress. Finally, I would like to add my sincere thanks to Paul Millman (England Squash President), Nick Donald (Senior Independent Director) and the Board for their expertise and continued hard work. Joy Carter Chair 3 ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 CEO INTRODUCTION It has been a year in which England Squash has continued to develop and make progress despite the continued challenges affecting the sporting landscape. In response to the direction set by Government and Sport England, our strategy for the current funding cycle (2017-21) launched and I am pleased with the progress that the team have made towards achieving the key performance indicators that will lay the foundations for success over the next 3 years. There are obstacles for the organisation and sport to overcome, including pressures on staff capacity, the threat of facility closures, ensuring the game remains relevant in a changing world and the self-imposed difficulties associated with delivering the breadth and depth of our strategy. The opportunity however, to create a network of partners who share our aspirations is exciting and will drive us forward. We are committed to developing both the organisation and the game by supporting partners, stakeholders and the countless individuals within the squash community who make the sport so unique. Aligning and working together with a united approach, must be central to all that we do. Other priorities over the coming year include the launch of the England Squash App that will transform the way that we engage with leaders and coaches and significantly improve our ability to measure the success of programmes. In addition, we will engage more effectively with the delivery network to champion our programmes, launch the new Coaches Club, drive forwards with technology plans and expand & develop the wider squash workforce. Furthermore, we will also launch a new programme for referee development, update our coaching resources and continue the evolution of campaigns to promote our core programmes ‘Squash Girls Can’, ‘Squash 101’, ‘Junior 101’ and Squash 57. As ever, I am grateful for the continued effort and dedication of our team and the huge number of individuals driving the sport forward within county associations and clubs across the country. There is much to look forward to over the coming period and I hope you find this summary of our activity both insightful and encouraging. Keir Worth CEO 4 ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 1. INCREASING PARTICIPATION IN OUR SPORT 5 ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 INCREASING PARTICIPATION The Partnerships and Programmes Team continue to support partners to deliver programmes and campaigns including Squash 101, Squash Girls Can and most recently, Junior 101. There has been a significant effort to improve connectivity with key stakeholders in the game through a variety of new communication processes and engagement opportunities e.g. county engagement days. We have more initiatives planned such as Club Development Days and a new newsletter for clubs, ‘Club Connect’. 1.1 Club Support The Club toolkit has been refreshed, updated and promoted. Resources include, support materials (e.g. campaign resources), videos (e.g. club case studies, social media advice) and images to help clubs deliver England Squash programmes. We have made progress with our safeguarding policy and procedures and will continue to encourage clubs to seek further support from Club Matters, the Child Protection in Sport Unit (part of the NSPCC) and Clubmark. Several clubs expressed interest in holding a club support day with England Squash and Pontefract Squash Club’s CEO Mick Todd. The visits will take place over the summer and will provide an opportunity to develop a better understanding of the challenges faced by clubs whilst also providing them with the unique insights from one of the country’s most experienced club owners. 1.2 Universities Within higher education, 14 ‘Squash 101’ training days were delivered, with 106 leaders trained. England Squash remains engaged with higher education, both through relationships with individual universities and through BUCS (British University & Colleges Sport). We are working hard with these partners to improve our shared understanding of how students can be engaged in squash, whether playing, officiating, or volunteering. 1.3 Participation Programmes A new Squash Girls Can marketing campaign has been launched to inspire more women and girls to play the game. Female players were invited to become one of the ‘faces’ of Squash Girls Can. From the applications, 10 individuals were selected for a filming day and their stories have been shared across social media to raise the profile of squash amongst women and girls. Squash Girls Can sessions can now be added to the session map on the England Squash website, venues are joining the campaign and England Squash is working with them to offer further support and ideas. 1.4 Public Facilities England Squash has maintained partnerships with major operators that collectively manage over 150 sites. The partnerships are built on understanding the different needs of each operator and seeking to find a way to improve their understanding and use of squash, principally through the England Squash programmes (Squash 101, Squash Girls Can), and data driven campaigns targeting specific member groups. Campaigns have been developed with leisure operators and have proven useful for gathering insight, testing new ideas and developing new resources. 1.5 Workforce A new Level 1 Participation Award was launched in January with c.150 new coaches undertaking the qualification. The Squash 101 Leaders Award has continued to evolve based on feedback and examples of good practice. We have added two new courses to compliment the Squash 101 Leaders Award: a Young Leaders Award for people aged 14 to 18 who wish to support club coaches and a Schools Leaders Award for teachers and people who have a level 2 coaching qualification in squash or another sport. Looking ahead, the Level 2 Club Coach Award is scheduled to be updated as part of the continued need to enhance our coach education resources. 6 ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 A key focus is to provide a stronger, better resourced development pathway for referees. ‘Mission 2022’, an initiative to drive the development of referees, will be launched over the coming months to support this aspiration. The project will identify approximately 50 new and existing referees and will aim to develop their skills and experience in time for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.