Just my 2 cents of news...

I think schools might start climbing again over the next year or 2 (in NSW) due to that inflatable squash court being taken to schools and squash is being introduced to them at younger ages. They might come back and play later.

As for Talent ID.. There isn't much of that goin around in squash. Any funding/training camps for juniors I have found to be very limited. You cant get one with any institute of sport as you need to be playing a top state level or national ranking from a young age. I would love to be training more with an institute or under a scholarship or something, But I'm not quite at that level yet. I beleive I If I could get some assistance I'd be well on my way to some good national rankings eventually.

I know NSW squash have occasional camps.. but the key word there is occasional.. and thats what they are... far and few inbetween and when they do happen there doesn't seem to be much follow up.

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Mike, it is probably the chicken and the egg.  We had numbers, and we sort of took that for granted some years ago, and then times changed with a lot of in-house competitions being organised by the court operators, who in turn did not affiliate their players.  Affiliation fees from interclub players was/is  the main income stream to develop the sport.  Any cutting of staff means less official coaching programs, less referee seminars, less travel to country areas, so a "rot" sort of starts to set in.  Funding is mostly given on a 50/50 basis, and for a National or State event may be assisted more depending how convincing the proposal is to the Dept of Sport for events like State titles, Aust Open, Masters Games, and special Govt initiatives, eg Women in Sport, Disabled, for one off grants, etc. When the income starts to dry up the stake holders go into a sort of survival mode and start penny pinching and arguing about the rules set in place, eg payment/collection of affiliation fees, running of the club, collecting of the bar profits, all the things that enabled the sport to have Development Officers, Referee Education, Talent ID Programs, Elite Squads, Junior Coaching, etc..

 http://www.squashgame.info/squashforum/2104

http://www.squashgame.info/squashforum/3468

http://www.squashgame.info/squashforum/747

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So does that all stem from low general participation in squash? Or a lack of funding, or something else?

I'd like to know what the main differences are between here and England. England have 4 in top 10, and a fairly constant stream of players right through the rankings.

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Yeah Mike, the Aussie players are hanging by a thin thread and it probably is not going to get much better, if ever.  We do not have the talent squads, junior tournaments, schools playing, junior club players, coaches out there working, etc. all of which helped form the breeding ground. Pity.

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Hopefully Palmer can hang in the top 10 for a while longer (at least until Pilley can get there). He's been there for so long, continiously, it'd be odd to see him out of it.

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