New York Metropolitan Squash Racquets Association
The New York Metropolitan Racquets Association(more commonly known as the MSRA) is an 80-year old New York City-based volunteer organization which organizes squash events in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization’s membership base covers players in the five boroughs of New York, Nassau and Suffolk Counties in Long Island, Westchester County and Fairfield County in Connecticut. The MSRA supports the many variants of squash racquets but the majority of its efforts are focused on the game of individual squash singles. The MSRA is one of 36 regional squash racquets associations (SRA) in the country and operates as in tandem with the US Squash, the United States national body. The MSRA’s mission is to further the development, progress, and establishment of the game of squash in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area and to be “New York’s Source for All Things Squash”.
Organization & Membership
The MSRA is run by an eight member board of directors and is also aided by a paid logistics coordinator who meet at least monthly and as needed throughout the year to plan and organize events. At approximately 2,200 total current members, it is by far the largest SRA in the country and the only one to have a paid employee. The MSRA’s board works in tandem with the squash teaching professional’s at clubs within its membership area to either run MSRA events or to aid the pros in promoting or running their own events. The MSRA’s membership is approximately 75% male and 25% female.
MSRA Squash Tournaments
During the course of the typical squash season (September through May) the organization holds squash tournaments, team and individual leagues, instructive and training clinics, exhibitions and social events.
The Season Opener - The Season Opener is a one-day squash tournament held in September and is designed to start the Winter Squash Season. The format is based on round-robin play (as opposed to an elimination bracket format) in order and uses a best of 3 rather than a best of 5 game system used for more formal squash tournaments. Additionally, unlike the MSRA’s other tournaments, the Season Opener is held one day rather than three days. The 2009 event was held at the S.L. Green Squash Facility in Manhattan and attracted 55 players and was organized by skill level into 10 groups of 5 players.
The Grand Open – The Grand Open began in 1994 and is run as a three-day amateur tournament generally held in January with matches held at a variety of Manhattan area squash clubs. The tournament is held over three days (Friday to Sunday) and involves several men’s and women’s skill level divisions using a double elimination bracket format. The Grand Open is held the same weekend as the Tournament of Champions, a weeklong professional squash tournament that features some of the world’s top male players. Players entering the Grand Open’s amateur draws receive free admission to attend some of the Tournament of Champion’s match sessions in Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.
The Hyder Trophy – Founded in 1969 at the New York Athletic Club by Dr. Quentin Hyder, the Hyder Trophy is longest continually running softball tournament in North America. It is held in May of every year and is meant to cap the end of the competitive squash season. Similar to the Grand Open, the Hyder is held over three days and involves co-ed and women’s divisions playing in double elimination. The Hyder incorporates co-ed draws for both men and women and also a men’s professional draw that offers a total purse of $7,500. Like the Grand Open, it is hosted a number of Manhattan squash clubs, which this year included the Sports Club LA, the Harvard Club of New York, the Princeton Club of New York and the Yale Club of New York. The 2008 edition attracted a record number of players and had a men’s pro draw highlighted by a win by then world #5 player, David Palmer.
Winter Team Leagues
Rather than tournaments, which feature players competing individually, the MSRA’s Winter Team Leagues involve teams competing across a variety of skill level divisions. While there is currently no universally accepted method for judging amateur individual squash skill level, commonly accepted practices recognizes a range from beginner players (2.0) to professional (6.5). Teams are drawn from a host of MSRA member clubs which may field a number of teams at several skill levels. Starting the week of November 2 2009, matches are played each week through the end of April and culiminate in a season-ending playoff and championship.
The Winter Leagues are based on a season that runs from November through the end of April and involves teams from various Manhattan squash clubs and skill levels playing in weekly competition. Each team has 7 to 15 players and each club may field several teams at a given skill level. Matches are played at the individual clubs and are rotated such that each team in a given division is a variety of clubs are able to host matches during the course of a season. As follows from the size of the MSRA member base, the MSRA team leagues are the largest team leagues in the country.
Facts on the MSRA 2009-2010 Winter Team League Season 18 Squash Clubs: The CityView Racquet Club, New York Sports Club (NYSC) Cobble Hill, The Eastern Athletic Club, The Harmonie Club, The Harvard Club of New York, The Heights Casino, The New York Health & Racquet Club, NYSC Lincoln, New York University, The Princeton Club of New York, The Printing House, The Sports Club/LA, StreetSquash, The Union League Club , The University Club, NYSC Uptown, West Side Y and the Yale Club of New York. Eight Skill Level Divisions: Coed 5.5, 5.0, 4.5, 4.0, 3.5 and 3.0. Women’s 4.0 and 5.0. Teams and Players: 74 total teams and 660 players.