As we start June, I am happy to say we have some better news on the return of squash, with some centres already open, others returning in the next weeks and pennat competitions from July.
This return is however under restrictions with a limited number of people allowed in the building at one time, with the development and compliance against a COVID-19 back to work plan managed by a responsible back to work coordinator.
At the start of the crisis I outlined three key areas for our plan in this period:
First on finance, like many in the industry at Squash Australia we have had to slash our cost base, reduced staff by an average of 30% and focused on attaining the various government stimulus funding packages. This will put us in a good position for the future and we have been able to help the State and Territory Associations by reducing membership fees by 50% for the year, which in turn will help them help the clubs, leagues and wonderful volunteers so we can get through this next difficult phase and get people back on the courts. We have also been able give each centre that helped with the early financial impact data request $500 in free equipment to help with the initial campaign to get people on the courts.
I hope it has been clear that communication has been a main driver for us at this time. In the first week of the crisis we set up the /COVID19 web page on the Squash Australia website to collate and transcribe all the relevant COVID-19 information for our members. We also started a weekly crisis management group Officers to help collate and collaborate on the strategies to best represent sport at this difficult time and get players back on the court safely.
From crisis comes opportunity and we have ensured that we have adapted to the new environment to keep connected with the player base and grow our game.
You would have all seen the #StreetSquash viral campaign and I hope everyone will enjoy the new virtual education platform on Cahoot which is another big step forward in our education delivery.
For the foreseeable future the sport will be different ad we need to ensure we are flexible to adapt to these challenges.
Next month I hope I can continue the good news and I look forward to seeing everyone back on the courts. Please reach out if there is anything the team or I can do to help.
Read the latest piece on Cahoot - Squash Australia Launch New Cahoot platform