THE Guyana Squash Association (GSA) will this year be looking to attract new faces in the discipline with the launch of a junior programme at the Georgetown Club and the National Racquet Centre, situated on Woolford Avenue.According to the Association’s president and former national hockey player David Fernandes, the GSA has embarked on two junior programmes that are being conducted at the Georgetown Club courts on Saturdays and at the National Racquet Centre on Fridays. Both programmes are conducted in the afternoon.

The two programmes, Fernandes said, are being held during the school term to cater for school-aged children who want to get involved in the sport and it is open to anyone free of cost.
The GSA head said his association is targeting school-age persons in order to maintain/enhance the association’s pool of junior players.
According to Fernandes, the junior programme will be of one-hour duration at both venues.
He said he is pinning his hopes on Guyana’s national boys and girls teams at this year’s Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) championships, billed for Barbados in July.
The team he said will be looking to win Guyana’s 11th successive overall team title at the championships.
It is Fernandes’ hope that Guyana will field a team of boys and girls to contest the United States and Canadian open tournaments during the month of December.
According to Fernandes, Guyana has reaped much success at these two tournaments. Roger Arjoon won the Canadian tournament a few years ago and women’s International Squash Players Association number 21-ranked Nicolette Fernandes placed second in the girls’ category.
Among plans for the year, the GSA will engage clubs that have squash courts to resuscitate the sport in their communities.
He stated that apart from Georgetown, there are clubs in Linden, Berbice and Essequibo that have squash courts and once the sport is resuscitated, it will help the game to spread. “The more courts there are, the more persons will get involved in the discipline,” Fernandes stated.
Meanwhile, the GSA’s 2015 squash season will serve off on March 2 with the annual Bounty handicap tournament.

(By Michael DaSilva)