Exciting Events for the 2024/2025 Squash Season!

The new 2024/2025 squash season is fast approaching and we have some exciting upcoming events!  Please get out your calendars and be sure to read this entire email so that you don’t miss out.  

Upcoming Events at a Glance

  • Provincial Singles Championships & Harvest Hit Tournament:
    October 25-27, 2024
  • Monday Night Singles House League:
    Starts September 16th, 2024
  • Doubles House League:
    Starts Week of September 16th, 2024
  • Fun Round Robin & AGM:
    Tuesday, September 24th, 2024 at 6:00 PM
  • T&D and OSDL Leagues Registration Deadline:
    Approaching Soon
  • Junior Squash Clinic:
    Weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays
  • Friday Morning Drop-in Doubles Round Robin:
    Fridays, 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM
  • Instructional Clinics:
    Various Dates – Contact for Details

See below for more details.

Provincial Singles Championships and Harvest Hit Tournament combined!!

Oct. 25th-27th 2024

Yes, you read this right!  We will be hosting the Ontario Singles Closed Championships (Oct. 25-27th) which will include Men’s and Women’s Open, A, B, C, D, E draws.  This means everyone can play! 

At the same time, we’ll also be running our annual Harvest Hit doubles tournament, including Men’s and Women’s B and C draws, plus a Mixed B draw. Women can participate in both the women’s and mixed doubles events, subject to court availability.

Be sure to find yourself a partner for the doubles event. 

How to Register:

Sign up for both tournaments (listed separately) on the Squash Ontario website here. Don’t forget—register early to secure your spot and take advantage of the early bird discount for the Provincials!

Looking for sponsors and volunteers

We would like to make the Provincial Championships a huge success and we need sponsors!  Your sponsorship will go towards mandatory prize money for the open players, a doubles pro exhibition match (if we raise enough money), and providing pizza for all the players on Friday night.  

Any donation amount would be really appreciated.  Tax receipts are available for all sponsorships. Sponsorships over $1,000 will get your company logo on the tournament shirts.

We also need volunteers to help with Saturday’s lunch service. If you can assist, please reach out!

Monday Night Singles House League

Starting Sept. 16th

Our Monday night singles house league kicks off on September 16th. Sign-up sheets are on the board across from Court 4. If you can’t make it in to sign up, email Nicole, and she’ll add you to the list. Please note, all players must have a Chestnut Hill Developments squash membership and be a member of the Pickering Squash Club ($40 fee—see our membership form).  

Doubles House League

Starting week of Sept. 16th

We’ve posted the sign-up sheet for the doubles house league (all levels) in the doubles court area. Depending on your level, you’ll play on Monday (Div. 1), Tuesday (Div. 2), or Wednesday nights (Div. 3). You’ll need to find your own partner, or if you sign up solo, we’ll place you on the sub list so you can still get plenty of playing time.

Fun Round Robin and AGM

Tuesday Sept. 24th 6:00pm

Join us for a fun round-robin on both singles and doubles courts on September 24th at 6:00 PM. This is a great opportunity to meet other players, sharpen your competitive edge, and have some fun! We’ll start with a short AGM in the doubles court area to update everyone on club events and gather input on future plans.

We encourage everyone at all levels to come out for a fun evening of squash followed by a fun social. 

Join Our Executive Team:

If you’re interested in joining the executive team, please let us know. We’re always looking for passionate members to help shape the future of the club.

Bring Non-Perishable Food Items

We will also be collecting non-perishable food items for the Pickering Food Bank that same evening.  

T&D and OSDL Leagues – For competitive players

The T&D/OSDL league registration deadline is coming up soon. Nicole needs to submit our teams in the next couple of weeks, so please let her know if you’d like to be on a team this season.

Junior Squash Clinic

Our junior clinics are a great way for kids to learn and improve their squash skills in a fun environment!

The beginner players will learn the basics of squash including proper technique, footwork, rules, scoring and how much fun this sport can be!  Intermediate players will learn more advanced techniques to continue improving their skills through drills, fitness, and strategic play.  

  • Beginners/Intermediate (Ages 7-12): Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30 PM
  • Teen Beginners (Ages 12-16): Tuesdays, 4:30-5:30 PM
  • Lil Ones/Novice (Ages 4-8): Saturdays, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM

Contact Nicole for more info or to register.

Friday Morning Drop-in Doubles Round Robin (F55)

Join us Friday mornings- 8:30am – 10:30am

Contact Nicole for more details.

Instructional Clinics

We offer a variety of clinics for adults:

  • Beginner Clinics (Wednesdays)
  • Women’s Daytime Clinics (Thursdays)
  • Competitive Group Lessons (Book a 4-week group clinic with Nicole and/or Sameer—first come, first served)

Contact Nicole for upcoming dates and to secure your spot.

Membership Form

To participate in any club activities, you must be a member of the Pickering Squash Club and have a squash membership at the recreation complex. The PSC membership form is available on our website and is easy to submit. After completing the form, you can e-transfer your $40 fee. Contact Nicole or anyone on the executive team for the email address to send it to.

So long and Thank You

The Pickering Squash Club has had a presence on the web for over 17 years. For that time, I have functioned as the WebMaster, along with my other duties in various roles on the Executive Committee. I have been an active member of the club since it’s inception in 1985 and have served on the Executive more years than I care to count.

There comes a time when one must step back from their duties even though they have been enjoyable. Today is the day that I step back from the position of WebMaster.

A much younger member of the club has stepped up to take my place. She has a background in Web content production and web development with marketing agencies, small businesses and individuals. She is competent in WordPress, which our web runs under. As well, she is extremely enthusiastic about taking our web platform to a new level.

In the few short years that she has been a member of the club, she has become an excellent squash play and represents The Club in InterClub play.

Please join with me in welcoming Jackie Ferrier as our new WebMaster and Director of Communications.

Terry Bruce

Time To Renew Your Membership

Click the picture to download the form

A new squash season is upon us!

You can now input your information directly to the PSC membership form & save it as a file to your PC’s hard drive or cloud storage.  If you are having trouble filling the form, try downloading it to your computer first then input your information. Apple products such as IPad, IPhone and Apple computers will need to download the form before filling it out.

Please note that E-transfer is the preferred payment method for your membership fee.

If you are paying by E-transfer,  please direct your payment to [email protected].  Your completed membership form can then be sent electronically to [email protected].

If you are paying by cheque, please make your cheque payable to Pickering Squash Club.  Your cheque along with a printed copy of your completed membership form can  then be dropped off with one of the following:

  • CHD Rec Complex reception desk staff
  • Nicole at the Pro Shop 
  • Any member of the PSC Executive Committee 

Thank you for renewing your membership

John K.
Membership Director PSC.

Great Party Saturday Night

What a party we had on Saturday night for our 2023 Squash Club Banquet. Everyone was dressed in their Western garb and Hootin’ up and Hollerin’ on the dance floor.

Music was provided by Ron Del and his Blue Thumb Envy Band. Have a look at this video that Ron posted today.
https://www.facebook.com/653836328/videos/231283292923777/

A big thank you goes out to our Banquet Cowgirls who put the event together and did a wonderful job of decorating Drums and Flats for the even.
Thank you Caryn, Carol, Deb, S.J. and Hazel for a job well done.


Congratulations to our two new members of the Chris Doona Award Winners, Steve Dizig and Mark Rohlehr. Well deserved Gentlemen.


Click here for more pictures.

Banquet Party and Doubles “Shin Dig” Tourney

Hi Everyone!

I am excited to announce the dates for our upcoming Doubles Parsons “Shin Dig” Tournament and our end of the season banquet party.  

The sign-up sheets will be posted soon on the boards outside the doubles courts (for the Shin-dig).  

Here are the details…

Parson’s “Shin-Dig” Doubles Tournament

For those of you who have participated in this annual event, you will remember that it is an absolute blast!  Here is how it works…

The tournament will be played on the evenings of Wed. April 26th-Sat. April 29th (daytime matches on Sat.).  The first 32 players to sign up are guaranteed a spot so sign up asap!  Once the sign up is complete, teams will be made as even as possible so that all teams have a fair shot at winning the tourney and having their names on the big trophy.  We make the teams so you don’t need to sign up with a partner.  

If you decide to sign up, please make note of the dates and have them available.  The draw and start times will be sent out the week prior to the tournament.  No doubles playing experience necessary!  I encourage all players to participate as this is a great opportunity to discover how much fun doubles squash can be.  

The Annual Squash Club Banquet is Back! YEAH!!!

Lastly, we all know that any fun event at the club requires a social night!  This year we have a themed party event that you won’t soon forget!  Saddle up everyone because we are going to cause quite the “racquet at the rodeo”!  

Here are the details:

Date: Sat. April 29th

Time: 6:00pm ‘Til the cows come home

Where: Drums ‘N Flats (California Sandwiches) Main Floor

Address: 60 Randall Drive, Ajax

Ticket cost: $30  -Ticket includes dinner, drink ticket and Live Band (Blue Thumb Envy with our good friend Ron Delavigne on drums!!)

There will also be tournament awards, prizes for best dressed and some fun games.  Please feel free to bring your significant other or a friend.  You can reserve your tickets by sending me an email.   We will need to know numbers so if you plan on coming, please send me an email and let me know!  Our whole club should be at this event so please come out and help celebrate our club.  

Dig out a plaid shirt or your best western outfit and let’s celebrate another successful season at the squash club.

See everyone on the courts,

Nicole

PSC Toy Drive 2022

On Thursday evening, the Membership got together for a great cause. Each member brought a toy (and many brought many toys) so that those less fortunate could have a Happy Christmas. They played hard and laughed. Then the majority got together at Sabina’s to celebrate the Holiday Season.

PSC Members collected Toys for the Children’s Aid Society of Durham

Friday morning, Steve D. delivered an SUV load of toys collected at the event. Very special thanks to Steve for organizing with the Children’s Aid Society of Durham Region and delivering a full load of items, and to Nicole for organizing at the club and messaging our members!

All items were very well received by the team at CAS this morning. They are extremely pleased with our donations which will go directly to children in need, prior to Christmas!

For more pictures from the evening, please view the Club Instagram at the following URL:

Check out the PSC on Instagram:   https://instagram.com/PickeringSquash