U.S. SQUASH announced an important change to the Regional Skill Level Championships at the 2010 Assembly in Chicago last week. For 2011, only players qualifying by reaching the finals in his or her division in a Regional Skill Level Championship will be eligible to play in the U.S. SQUASH Skill Level Championships.
One possible exception may be an on-site qualifier tournament hosted just prior to the U.S. SQUASH Skill Level Championships. The Championships will be hosted April 29-May 1, 2011 in Baltimore, at Meadow Mill Athletic Club. Billed as the “Championship of the Members,” U.S. SQUASH membership is required to compete in any Regional Championship, however players may compete in more than one Regional. Players do not need to reside in the Region to enter the Regional Championship.
The “Skill Level Series” has grown from only three of the eight Regions hosting events in 2008 to six of the eight in 2010. Previously, winners of Regionals were offered free entry into the Skill Level Nationals. This season, the winner and finalist of each division receives free entry into the U.S. SQUASH Skill Level Championships and only winners and finalists may compete in the National Championships. However, if a winner or finalist is unable to compete in the National Championships, players finishing 3rd, 4th and 5th, in that order and only to the 5th position, will be eligible to compete.
For 2011, all eight Regions will host an event. Harkening back to the “Insilco-style” B/C/D Championships of the 1980’s, the Regional Series is expected to involve thousands of players and hundreds of clubs in dozens of cities across the country competing for their chance to play in the U.S. SQUASH Skill Level Championships which will include up to 10 divisions of 16 players each, 7 for men (3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0) and 3 for women (3.0, 4.0, and 5.0).
The breakdown of the eight U.S. SQUASH Regions is:
The Central States Region AR, CO, KS, LA, NE, OK, TX
The Great Lakes Region IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, ND, OH, SD, WI, WV
The Mid Atlantic Region DC, DE, MD, NJ, VA
The New England Region CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT
The New York Region NY
The Pennsylvania Region PA
The Southeast Region AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN
The Western States Region AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY
The Regional Skill Level Championships will be the following:
The New York Area Region: Multiple Clubs (NYC), Jan. 21-23, 2011
The Pennsylvania Area Region: Fairmount AC (King of Prussia), Jan. 28-30, 2011
The Mid Atlantic Region: Meadow Mill AC (Baltimore), Feb. 4-6, 2011
The Central States Region: Life Time Fitness (Houston), Mar. 25-27, 2011 (tbc)
The Southeast Region Life: Time Fitness (Atlanta), Mar. 25-27, 2011
The Western States Region: Pacific Athletic Club (Redwood City), Mar. 25-27, 2011 (tbc)
The Great Lakes Region: University Club of Chicago (Date TBD)
The New England Region: TBD
