On Tuesday November 28^th, over 30 parents joined their children on the squash courts for CitySquash’s first Parent Squash Night. Parents and team members were divided into two teams for a variety of activities: three-quarter court, offense-defense, and squash lessons. Many parents quickly realized that the sport is not as easy as it looks! In addition to learning more about squash, parents and students were also able to enjoy some snacks and socialize with other CitySquashers and their parents from all grades. Thank you to all who attended and helped out!

On November 20^th, 60 CitySquash mentors and mentees headed to the Upper West Side to Chen Wang’s Table Tennis Club for the third annual mentor-mentee ping pong event. For many of our 5th grade team members, this was the first time that they were able to meet their mentees in-person. In addition to battling it out on the ping-pong tables, our mentors and mentees bonded over pizza, and had the chance to meet the club’s owner, Chen Wang, who was a bronze medalist in table tennis in the 2008 Olympics. Thank you to all who attended and for your help in supporting our team members!

Nearly 150 CitySquash supporters, volunteers, students, and parents gathered in the Fordham Field House for the 4^th Annual Black & Orange Day. The participants were divided into two teams, Black and Orange, and competed against each other in smaller groups in Capture the Flag, squash, Moccer (soccer with a giant exercise ball), and Zoom.  The teams then gathered in their large groups once more for the final activities of the day: relay races, a dance contest, and tug of war, which solidified the Black team’s victory over the Orange team. The event was a lot of fun for everyone involved, and was a way for people to learn more about how to get involved with the program. Thank you to all who participated!

On October 1st, Emma Beddoes and Eddie Charlton traveled to the Bronx to be inaugurated as CitySquash’s Traveling Squash Professionals. Emma, the current #20 ranked player on the women’s tour,  has known CitySquash’s squash director Bryan Patterson since attending his SINCE86 Squash Camps in the UK many years ago! Both Emma and Eddie, a top-50 ranked player on the PSA, will send updates with pictures of where they are playing around the world to our Bronx team members.

As part of their visit, our pros were presented with their CitySquash uniforms which they will wear during their match warm-ups. They also toured our Bronx offices and got on court with many of our team members who were excited to hear more about life on the professional squash circuit.

CitySquashers will look forward to cheering on Emma this weekend as she competes at the Carol Weymuller Open at The Heights Casino, and Eddie next weekend when he takes on the world’s best at the US Open in Philadelphia. Thank you and good luck to Emma and Eddie!

On Saturday, March 29th, 59 team members from third through tenth grade gathered at Fordham University for the annual Project Sunshine community service project. Project Sunshine is a nonprofit organization that provides cards and craft kits for children in hospitals. The CitySquash team, which included mentors, staff, and volunteers, was provided with the materials, and students made SunnyGrams and personalized journals with encouraging messages, silly jokes, and their own artwork. CitySquashers enjoyed the opportunity for a creative outlet, as well as a lesson in the importance of giving back to the community through service. If you’d like to learn more about Project Sunshine, please visit http://www.projectsunshine.org/

Fifty- five CitySquashers travelled to Philadelphia for the Urban Team Nationals on the weekend of January 24-25. Team members were coached by the CitySquash staff, including academic directors who we’re learning a thing or two about squash themselves! The tournament was hosted by SquashSmarts, and brought together 12 of the 15 NUSEA programs. Matches were played at SquashSmarts Lenfest Center, the Drexel Daskalakis Athletic Center, and the Penn Ringe Squash Courts. CitySquash came away with a win in the BU13 division, and had finalists in the GU13, GU17 and BU17 divisions. There were many exciting and entertaining matches throughout the weekend, including a first round match up between two of the BU13 CitySquash teams, pitting elementary schoolers against middle schoolers! The students had a fantastic time at the tournament and played excellent squash. Thank you to SquashSmarts for hosting the event, and to the six families that hosted CitySquash in their homes.

On December 19^th, CitySquash families, friends, mentors and staff gathered at MS 45 for a night of singing, dancing, and new team members. The Annual Talent Show is a highlight of the year for CitySquashers, not only because students get to show off their abilities outside the classroom and the court, but also because we welcome a new group of team members to the organization. This year, twelve sixth graders and twelve third graders were named to the CitySquash team from almost 200 who tried out for the program. After three months of tryouts, these students are eager to be full members of CitySquash’s team, and we are excited to have them on board! In addition to celebrating the new CitySquashers, the talent show shows off our students interested outside of CitySquash. Fourth graders through high school seniors performed songs and choreographed dances, and were treated to a song and dance performance by the CitySquash staff. A highlight of the night was the fourth grade class displaying their geography knowledge with the “50 States Song”. All in all, it was a great celebration of our students, and thank you to all who came out!