Our 5th Annual Junior Academy Awards night was a night of celebration for the achievements of our Squashers over the 2025-26 Season. We are so proud of all our Squashers from the Green, Blue and Red teams for their efforts this season.
Our night started with an opening speech from Head of Junior Development, Josh Easdon in front of a packed crowd of Juniors, parents, siblings, caregivers, friends, and our staff. Our coaching team sat amongst the awards on our glass court, and spectators were packed into the gym, pooling into court 2 also! What a testament to the growth of our academy over the past 5 years!
We all watched the annual Junior Academy slideshow, a collection of pictures from the season and a wonderful reminder of the breadth of participation in our academy. Those who wish to see the slideshow can do so here: https://youtu.be/AhdzzB4rtKk?si=07HTVqAcVpeyOF0C
We began with awarding our youngest Squashers, our Mini Green class, who are as young as 4 years old! After receiving their certificates and a huge round of applause, we moved onto awarding our Club Championships podium-placers, with divisions separated by team, location and gender.
Squashers had their photos taken with their awards by our photographer, Eliza Kommer. If you wish to purchase or view your Squasher’s pictures, you can email eliza.kommer@gmail.com for more information.
Our Solo Level Sheet awards were given out to our Squashers who completed 10 level sheets for their respective level, which is something Squashers do in their own time to work on their skills. The higher the level, the bigger the trophy! We had a record of 38 Squashers completing their Level Sheets, going as high as Level 8!
After recognizing our Open Squash Mentors for their hard work in helping out with Green Team and camps, and learning how to coach, we moved on to our special category awards. Our coaches handed out awards for categories such as Best Serve, Court Rat, Most Improved, Tournament Play, etc. We loved seeing our excited Squashers receiving their awards!
In a very special moment, Sean K was given the ‘Open Squash Ambassador’ award, a new award given to a player who represents a high level of squash, sportsmanship on court, and a good citizen of Open Squash community. We are so proud of you, Sean!
Before we recognized our 4 graduating seniors, one of them, William J, came up to speak on his experience at Open Squash and to thank the staff and coaches for everything they have done for him. We are so lucky to have been a part of your journey, Will. We will miss you!
In a full circle moment from our Mini Green to our graduating Seniors, we recognized Maya W, Theo L, William J, and Zeineddine Z with plaques to honor their hard work and dedication at Open Squash. We will miss you all, and good luck in your future endeavours!
Before we wrapped up the night, all of our Squashers were given a mini keychain version of our mascot, Squashy, along with a t-shirt, and we took our annual Junior Academy photograph. We ended the night with food and drinks in the cafe. Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with us!