The Professional Squash Association (PSA) reports "overwhelming response" to the scheme introduced at the beginning of the year to help younger players earn ranking points on home soil.

On 1 January 2007, PSA introduced a new category of Closed Satellite tournaments, giving rankings points to series of national events run by approved promoters.  The change had great potential benefits for aspiring professionals and National Squash Federations, which can now mount a series of events in their own country and give their young players the chance to earn a place in the PSA rankings without having to make the huge financial and personal commitment to world travel. 

"The response to the scheme has been overwhelming, with 89 events played in the first six months and a minimum of 124 scheduled for the whole year," said PSA Marketing Consultant Ted Wallbutton. 

"18 nations have staged events - the main take up being in Hungary (11), Netherlands (10), Germany (8), New Zealand (7), UK (7) and five each in Serbia, Greece and Austria.  115 players have earned ranking points and the number of PSA members has risen by 25% in 6 months!"

A PSA survey of National Federations and other promoters shows that the events have given a unique new opportunity to acquire sponsorship and showcase up-and-coming national talent.  The Netherlands Squash Bond has joined forces with Belgium and Luxembourg to create 16 events in the 2007-8 season, under the Saxon and Dunlop banners, while the British Squash Professionals' Association has run all its HEAD Grand Prix events as Closed Satellites.

Similar initiatives have been mounted in India, New Zealand and other countries whose players usually have to undertake exhaustive and expensive travel to gain a foothold on the rankings ladder.

PSA Chief Executive Gawain Briars commented:  “Although our main focus has always been on the top end of the professional game, we also have a responsibility to encourage new players to make Squash their career.  This new programme has achieved everything we hoped for and the feedback from our promoter partners has been almost universally positive.

“We have carried out a review of the structure after our experience of the first six months and will be making some minor changes for 2008.  A minimum prize fund level is being introduced; the maximum number of events in which a player can earn points has been set at five; and the level of points on offer has been reduced to avoid artificial inflation of rankings.

"I am convinced that with these positive changes we can carry the overall format into the future and maintain our development programme to attract and encourage new professional Squash players,” Briars concluded.