1 month ago
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THREE YEARS into her tenure as president of the Jamaica Squash Association, now rebranded Jamaica Squash, Karen Anderson continues her thrust to develop and grow the sport islandwide.
Anderson announced the rebranding of the association during the revelation of the selection of the team to the Caribbean Junior Championships. The name change also comes with a logo change, from the simple two racquets in front of the national flag to a more elaborate design comprising a hummingbird, a racquet, and the name, Jamaica Squash.
“It’s about us re-identifying and rebranding ourselves to become more of a professional organisation. We have dropped the association [from Jamaica Squash Association], so we are now known as Jamaica Squash, and we believe this will help us in being more business-oriented,” she told The Gleaner.
“Sports is business, and we take that very seriously. And so it is our role now to lead the company/organisation in that direction.
“The thrust has been for companies and sporting bodies to start operating as businesses, and that is a major thrust that we focused on when I took over.
“I really want to effect change. Make it more modern. So the logo change tells of the modernisation, and it reflects the direction of the organisation.”
When Anderson came to office in 2022, one of her mandates was to accelerate the growth of the sport across the country; however, one of the setbacks for the association is the lack of available squash courts across the country.
One of the methods that the administration is now trying in an effort to tackle the problem, is the introduction of inflatable courts, mainly for introducing children to the game.
“We really need more courts, especially islandwide. It is one of our goals to get more courts islandwide. That is why we have our inflatable courts. But we just got them to tour the island, and we are trying as best as we can to get more persons exposed to the sport,” she said.
With the junior team competing at the Caribbean Junior Championships, and with the seniors down to participate in the Pan American Games and Caribbean Championships this year, Anderson said it is important that they maintain the momentum and keep the sport in the spotlight.
“That is the only way we are going to grow. So we have put a plan in place to try and work on that, and implement it step by step as we go along. If we don’t, we are just going to stagnate.
“We have the senior [Caribbean] Championships here in November and we are very excited about that. It gives us an opportunity to showcase our athletes on local soil and really make a push to qualify for the CAC Games.
“We have the senior Pan Am Championships in August, and we have to go to that in order to qualify for the CAC Games. But if we don’t qualify there, we get another chance at the senior Caribbean Championships.
“We are excited about growing the sport. Getting it out there, getting more eyes on the sport, getting more people to play the sport, and just pulling though with our development plan.
“So it’s not good enough to just say we’ve rebranded; now it’s about taking it to the next level, and that is our goal,” she said.
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