Rumour has that this is the NSRA’s 30th year. Time to do a little digging
into the mists of time: any budding archaeologists out there? We’d like
to hear the voices of the pioneers who created our league. We’ve had an
impressive run developing a league that has spurred on many players,
forged many friendships, thrown grand banquets, seen memorable victories,
forgotten ‘almost wins’, as well as the occasional clumsy referee. Every
player can think of times when they have risen to the challenge in
unexpected ways, ways that help define us. Your memories are important to
us because they are the “stuff of which we are made”.
Next let me publicly and sincerely thank Jon (Bully) Bullivant for his two
years of service as league el Presidente even though his squash activity
was increasingly being over shadowed by hockey. He and his sidekick,
Carol Cort, kept us on track out of loyalty to all of you and to the game.
I also want acknowledge the significant contributions of Maggie Steyn
(finances, plus plus plus), Scott Lapointe, Steve Kozielski (directory),
Chris Loat (fixtures) and Mark Sachvie, which are too numerous and too
beneficial to each of us to remunerate. Then there are the rest of us on
the Executive who each take responsibility for another piece of the puzzle
to ‘make it happen’. We all appreciate that this collective effort on our
behalf is what keeps this boat afloat.
Roger Booth retired this year, an NSRA veteran whose joints failed him but
he never failed us, serving on the Executive well beyond the call of duty,
and introducing the game to countless younger YMCA players. His sense of
humour, skill, and genuine commitment will long be remembered and admired.
This year, thanks to banks of stats collected by Scott “webmaster”
LaPointe, we endeavoured to balance the divisions, thereby stopping the
erosion from D1 to all the other divisions, which ultimately left no
opening for novices. It is an ongoing and politically charged struggle,
yet some success was achieved with the hope more is to come. It cannot
happen in one season, but it can over the next one or two. Then we, and
many future players, will all reap the benefits of more equal competition
(that is, better games), and the NSRA will be able to bring in novices of
any age and give them a chance to build their game, which is part of our
mission to ‘grow the game of squash’.
Great things are happening in Niagara: new facilities at White Oaks that
make our area a top destination for squash players and squash tournaments,
which is an enrichment for us all that cannot be underestimated; our
website continues to evolve, and I believe is second to none; and the
Executive is planning ways to “take it up a notch” for the playoffs and
for the awards banquet. Stay tuned.
As always, this is a ‘player’s league’, so your suggestions are always
welcome, and to that purpose the website has a comment option: please take
advantage of it. In the meantime, have a great 30th season.
Simon J. Hall - President N.S.R.A.
