U.S. Squash

By the 1970s, US Squash had helped pioneer the female surge in athletics for America. The organization had started a sister organization called "The United States Women’s Squash Racquets Association" (USWSRA). The USWSRA was meant to organize the sport for women on a national level; meaning to define and regulate the game for women the same way that the United States Squash Racquets Association did for men. The USWSRA and The USSRA worked together in conjunction until 1979 when the two organizations decided to merge in an effort to help unify the sport to be a more influential advocate for squash around the country.[4]

In 1975, Darwin P. Kingsley was made the first executive director of US Squash. From there he helped bring the organization and the sport to its modern prominence. When Kingsley first took the position in 1975, there were 800 members and 40 clubs, when he left in 1992 there were 10,000 members and 250 clubs. Kingsley's successor, Craig Brand, also left behind a legacy for the game as the chief executive officer of US Squash. In the ten years Brand had as CEO, he helped the integration of the international popular soft ball game to the US (where the hard ball game had dominated). Brand is also credited for bringing the opportunity for US Squash to become a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Palmer Page's stint as the CEO of US Squash from 2003-2004 was short-lived but effective; he quickly adopted and inserted 21st century technology to help support and improve the sport's modern needs and issues. Page celebrated the end of his position with US Squash shortly after its 100th anniversary in 2004. Current CEO Kevin Klipstein took over Page's position at US Squash in 2004.[4] The organization founded the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame in 2000 to honor the most distinguished players in every aspect of the sport, including hardball, softball, singles, doubles, men and women, masters and juniors, amateurs and professionals. Induction into the Hall of Fame is considered the highest honor in the sport of squash.

The United States has the fastest growing squash participation worldwide–the Sports & Fitness Association (SFIA) shows 101% growth overall between 2009 and 2014 to 1.6 million squash players.[6]

Junior Participation has grown over 400% nationally since 2007. Since 2010, west coast junior tournaments have seen a 634% increase in junior tournament participation, 375% increase in the number of tournaments and a 55% increase in the average number of players per tournament. In the southeast, in 2010 there were no US Squash accredited junior tournaments. In the 2015 season there were more than eleven accredited tournaments in this area accounting for more than 500 accredited matches played. Since 2006, the U.S. Junior Open Squash Championships has increased from 271 to more than 1000 players in 2016 from more than thirty-seven countries, making it the largest individual junior squash tournament in the world.[6]

US Squash organizes Women's Squash Week, an initiative that has turned international with a focus on bringing women players together around the world. Women’s participation has doubled since 2008, now playing more than 30,000 matches each year.[6]