This week in our Corporate Partner Profile, we feature one of the newest supporters of Squash Ontario in 2019-20, Forthlane Partners. When Martha Simmons agreed to sit on the SO fundraising committee, like all of it’s members, she brought with her a passion for growing the sport and also financial resources to back it up.

Next up in our tour of new squash clubs to introduce to Ontario, we head east to the city of Brockville, where resident real estate rep Matt Boyd took a leap of faith and spearheaded the creation of the Brockville Squash Club which opened its doors in 2019.

This past weekend was scheduled to be the 2020 Canadian Junior Closed Championships in Victoria, BC where many Ontario juniors would have secured National podium finishes to end their seasons. Instead, over 100 junior families and coaches spent their Saturday evening attending the first-ever virtual Junior Awards Banquet, Presented by the Jesters.

Late in 2019, Squash Ontario received a phone call from Melissa Goldmintz-Shah looking for squash equipment to borrow to help with her newly renovated and re-launched gym that had one squash court in the Blue Mountains. This was an exciting phone call to finish off the 2019 busy squash year and to welcome a new club into the Squash Ontario family before year’s end.

As we step away from the courts, we wanted to remind the squash community that there are plenty of ways to stay engaged with sport and the below listings are tailored to athletes - any age and skill level - introducing opportunities off-court. Tap into these resources to help start your next season off stronger.

Dream team duo of actor Ryan Reynolds and hockey sensation Hayley Wickenheiser have partnered to spotlight the Conquer COVID-19 organization that sprang up quickly to help supply healthcare and front line workers with equipment to limit the spread of the virus.

Our “We The North” series continues this week with an inspiring story from Timmins, where local pied piper Clifford Lamming literally took matters into his own hands and built the community a new squash court. Partnering with Northern College and their athletic complex, the court has spawned incredible activity and momentum by an enthusiastic and passionate group of players.

As we step away from the courts, we wanted to remind the squash community that there are plenty of ways to stay engaged with sport through online programming, receive Professional Development credits towards your certification and to get a head start on completing some courses you may need to do in the future!

In the summer of 2017 Squash Ontario was slowly and steadily growing and developing its programs when a group of visionary business leaders came together to form the inaugural SO Fundraising Committee. This passionate and energetic committee dramatically accelerated the organization in a few short months and kick started Squash Ontario 2.0 as we now hurl towards a very promising future.

This week we profile the Jesters of Ontario as we continue to recognize the corporate partners and individual donors that are making a difference in our sport. With decades of support, over $250,000 in financial contributions, passionate enthusiasm and a strong vision for growing the game, this group is the single largest driver of our sport this century.