Squash360 presented multiple sides of an issue.  It often published conflicting opinion pieces and let the reader form his or her own opinion on the issue.  Occasionally, the site became a soapbox for an issue; however, its coverage of such topics as the governance of the Professional Squash Association, the Olympic movement, and Point-A-Rally scoring benefited the entire squash community.

Shawn Patton, the owner and editor of Squash360, is a very passionate and controversial individual in the squash community.  He is a squash addict from British Columbia, Canada, who is a former A level player. Alex Beam’s Vanity Fair Squash Blog recently discussed Patton:

Shawn has an operatic demeanor. He sends out a lot of e-mail blasts that can’t help but annoy the people trying to run the sport. As he admits, the squash world is so small, and so lacking in “resources” (read: money) that accusations of mismanagement and bad faith aren’t always warmly received. “I want to cover the parts of the game that haven’t been covered,” he explains. “I’m not an investigative reporter but I’m the closest thing to it. We’re not just writing puff pieces.” Like the other Web sites.

Shawn knows all the challenges squash faces in the sports world; he once organized a tournament himself, and he admits it was uphill sledding. “I really want to improve the management of our sport,” he says. “I want the pro game to be successful”

Since the beginning of Squash360, Western Mass Squash has discussed squash with Patton.  He is an individual with a truely impressive Rolodex of squash contacts.  Despite his busy schedule, his passion was obvious.  He wanted Squash360 to become the site for all squash players.

The past few months have not been ideal for squash websites. SquashNow, whose chief reporter was Colin McQuillan, closed on October 8th.  The statement announcing the closing was simple, like SquashNow’s design:

That’s All Folks…We Are Now Officially Done

SquashSite (and its French counterpart SiteSquash) announced its closure on October 19th.  SquashSite had been negotiating with the Professional Squash Association (PSA) to become the Association’s official website; however, after negotiations ended unsuccessfully, SquashSite was faced with a tough decision.

On October 19th, Steve Cubbins and Framboise Gommendy, SquashSite’s and SiteSquash’s owners and founders, explained their sites’ closure in greater detail:

For a while now we’ve been struggling to find a way to keep it going, and the conclusion is that it just isn’t financially viable – never was – so we have no choice but to close and go back to our real lives.

However, the announcement appears to have been a ploy. SquashSite reopened eight days later.  The site claims it was inundated with business propositions:

One in particular attracted our attention, from Mick Todd, Pontefract Squash Club owner and James Willstrop’s manager among other things, who made us a ‘proposition we couldn’t refuse.’

“You two just keep on doing what you are doing best, as in letting the world know about squash, and you let me handle the rest. How does that sound?”

SquashSite’s recent closure and reopening was the deciding factor in Patton’s decision to end Squash360. In Patton’s “Thank You & Good Bye” article, he makes the following statement:

SquashSite’s feigned closure, re-capitalization and re-organization has caused much soul searching and a two paths diverged in the wood moment for me and squash360.com.

It crystallized a need for Shawn and Squash360 to unequivocally either:

1. try and find partners, resources to have any hope of effectively “competing” head-to-head or becoming a credible supplement to their dominant web offering or
2. use the website as a “soap box” or vehicle to communicate some last unvarnished, uncensored ideas, concerns and then “Ride into Sunset.”

To be blunt, I have no plans, ideas, energy or interest in going cap in hand for #1 above.  This [is] against my capitalist values and would be hypocritical as I believe this was the tactic of squashsite in their announced “closure.”
…
Quite frankly I am emotionally, physically and financially spent.  I have realized with much regret, I don’t have any of the reserves necessary to be able/willing to continue the uphill battle.  The light at the end of the tunnel is quite simply not getting or likely to get brighter.

Patton promoted all levels of squash and squash websites.  On the Western Mass front, he republished and linked to articles from Western Mass Squash and Tim Bacon’s Science of Coaching Squash.

There are a limited number of quality squash websites in the world. Squash360 will be missed.

Arizona squash News:

• PAR 11 – The New Scoring System to be adopted

Tim Bacon’s Science of Squash Coaching:

• Squash Practice: The Correct Sequence of Training Components

Alex Beam’s Squash the Blog:

• We Read the Squash Blogs So You Don’t Have To
• Squash … Here At The New Yorker, Part Two
• Squash Trophy Wives and $20,000 Tables

Boston Globe (Alex Beam):

• Cutting luxuries? A nightmare!

New York Times:

• Time Out For Tension

Squash360:

• Squash in the Olympics – Latest News
• Q&A with … Julian Illingworth
• Squash Uncomfortable Question of the Day – Olympic Efforts

SquashSite:

• SquashSite…Back Online

SquashTalk:

• Boston University forms newest CSA squash squad
  
• So what’s the fuss all about?
• Egyptian Junior Nour Bahgat Now at Trinity College

World Squash:

• Ramachandran Succeeds Jahangir Khan

James Zug’s The Direct:

• 98-0
• Gala Grand Slam

Tim Bacon’s Science of Squash Coaching:

• Practical Leadership Tools for Squash Coaches
• Do Squash Coaches Need a Nutritionist’s Help?
• Free Newsletters (Good Ones!) for Squash Coaches

Alex Beam’s Squash the Blog:

• The Greatest Place to Play Squash
• Was That Stedman I Saw at the Squash Courts?
• Is Squash Ruining the US Economy?
• Was There a Squash Court in the White House?

CNN:

• Egyptian Squash Mania (Video) – Video about Egyptian squash and world number one Amr Shabanam

Squash360:

• The First Word – Cold
• Princeton Squash Legend Betty Constable Passes Away
• How the Best of the Best Get Better and Better

Squash Site:

• Changing the Scoring

SquashTalk:

• Power Squash Fantasy Camp Launched
• New “Openness” Movement for US Squash Launched

US Squash:

• US Squash Offers Level 1 Coaching Course This October
• US Squash To Launch New Web Presence in October 2008

James Zug’s The Direct:

• Santa Fe and the Bulldog
• Crazy-Quilt Stargrown

Beam hints at the future of “Squash the Blog” in the first post:

Where is this blog going? Wherever squash takes us! I’ll cover a few of the basics, for those of you who still confuse Donald Rumsfeld’s favorite sport with the mouth-watering delicacies of genus Cucurbita. We’ll look in on the Olympics, of course (not), where squash has been cruelly neglected, in favor of Mama’s-boy sports like flatwater rowing.

Vanity Fair is estimated to have approximately two million readers.  That is a lot of potential people being exposed to the sport of squash.  Beam’s blog could truly benefit squash in the United States and beyond.

WesternMass-Squash.com would like to thank Squash360.com for alerting us to this new blog.

Hand-in-hand-out (International) Scoring: The server, on winning a rally, scores a point; the receiver, on winning a rally, becomes the server. Games are usually played to nine points; however, if the game is tied at 8-8, the receiver may decide to play the game to 9 or 10.

Point-A-Rally (American) Scoring: The winner of each rally earns a point. Games are usually played to fifteen; however, there are complex tie breaker methods. According to the North American Singles rules, at 13-13, the first player to reach 13 chooses one of the following options:

• Set to 5 points (18 points for the winner)
• Set to 3 points (16 points for the winner)
• No set (15 points for the winner)

At 14-14, presuming the game never reached 13-13, the first player to earn 14 points chooses one of the following options:

• Set to 3 (17 points for the winner)
• No set (15 points for the winner)

Professional Scoring: In 2004, the Professional Squash Association adopted point-a-rally scoring. Games are usually played to 11; however, at 10-10, a player must win by two points. Until June 2008, the score of tie-breakers was reported in a questionable manner. If the tie-breaker game ended 15-13, the score was reported as 11-10 (5-3). Now, the score is reported as 15-13. Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (WISPA) will begin using Pro Scoring in July 2008.

Are we confused yet?

Most recreational and tournament players use the hand-in-hand-out scoring method. This scoring method allows for long games in which players are content to trade serves without feeling immediate pressure.

PAR scoring is played with a sense of urgency. Games and matches may end extremely quickly. More tournaments are being played with Pro scoring. The quicker games allow for easier match scheduling. In addition, many players believe the shorter games in a tournament are easier on their bodies. According to the May 2008 edition of Squash Magazine, the World Squash Federation is conducting a feasibility study for developing a single scoring system. The magazine states that matches are around 30 percent shorter using Pro Scoring.

Squash needs to pick a scoring method. The same scoring method is needed for the PSA, WISPA, colleges, prep schools, and recreational squash. James Poole’s recent piece (“What’s the Score?“) discusses the Olympic implications of a consistent scoring method and consistent tin height. From a common sense point of view, a single scoring method would only have positive implications. If recreational players cannot explain or understand the scoring method used in professional or international play to a novice, how can squash be taken seriously?

Poole’s theory about consistent tin heights between the PSA and the WISPA has merits, but squash is not the first sport to have different size equipment. For example, men’s and women’s basketball have different size balls and rims. Yet, all basketball is scored by the same method. In addition, the inconsistency between the size of basketballs in the men’s and women’s game may be attributed to the average size of men’s and women’s hands. In squash, a consistent tin height should be established, but a consistent scoring method should be the top priority.

Will squash choose a single scoring method anytime soon? It is doubtful. The different national associations (US Squash, Squash Canada, etc.) must all decide to adopt a single method. Only then will squash become easier to understand for the casual fan. The Olympics may be out of reach without a unified scoring method.

For more information and tickets to the Players Cup, visit the event’s website.