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!

This year, CitySquash has 16 boarding school students and 14 college students playing squash for their schools. At Saint Lawrence, senior Chris Fernandez and freshman Kingsley Amoako are having a very strong season with the Saints. The team is on a 7-0 winning streak and has jumped to 4th place nationally, and neither CitySquasher has dropped a match yet! Other undefeated players include Jesse Pacheco, #2 and co-captain of the Cornell women’s team, and Katiria Sanchez, sophomore at Trinity playing #7/#8. Bates Men’s and Women’s teammates Darrius Campbell (freshman) and Myriam Kelly (junior) have each only dropped one match with their teams, to squash powerhouse Trinity College. Freshman Andrew Cadienhead at Middlebury, our first Panther, is already having a strong season in the top three positions, with a 5-2 record so far. Boarding school seasons just began in December, but already we have seen great results. Westover senior and captain Jocelyn McKenzie led her team to victory over the Kent School at the #1 position. Sophomore Jeremy Carasquillo will also be playing #1 for his team, Suffield Academy. Our new freshmen at Taft, Maria Serrano and Billy Fleurima, have each won their first boarding school matches against Groton and Brunswick, respectively. We are cheering for all of our boarders and college students this season, and can’t wait to see how they will do in the new year!

On Friday, November 8th, 30 family members of CitySquash’s boarding school students gathered at the home of Julie Burke in Rye, NY to make care packages for their loved ones away at school. Co-hosts Julia Burke and Cassie Robbins compiled snacks, school supplies and dorm supplies to stuff the care packages and all of the family members made cards and other arts and crafts projects. Care Package Night is a CitySquash tradition that our students and families look forward to all year. We currently have 16 students placed at boarding school, including 2 seniors and 4 first-years. Our first-years Billy Fleurima (Taft School), Alexandra Limas (Canterbury School), Joana Pacheco (Westover School), and Maria Serrano (Taft School), bring our total number of students placed in competitive private schools to 46. Thank you to all who helped make this night a success for us!

CitySquash is proud to be a community charity partner of the 2013 ING NYC Marathon, and this past Sunday eight runners finished the race on behalf of our organization. For all of the runners, it has been a multi-month commitment, training to run 26.2 miles and simultaneously fundraising for CitySquash. In total, the group raised over $24,000. Thank you to our fundraisers and over 275 donors!

On race day, CitySquash staff and students traveled to mile 21 to support (and high-five) our runners in their CitySquash orange as they came by. Seventh graders Alexander Lorenzo and Brandon McKenzie even got a chance to cheer on their respective mentors, Brian Cady and Ben Newton. CitySquash would also like to give special shout-outs to our fastest runner, Nick Synan, who completed the course in 2:56, and to our top fundraiser, Steve Carey, who raised over $6,000!

Congratulations to all of our runners: Brian Cady, Steve Carey, Ben Newton, Dylan Patterson, Valentin Quan Miranda, Tertius Raubenheimer, Corey Rosen, Nick Synan, and thank you for your hard work on behalf of CitySquash!

After 11 years, CitySquash’s Executive Director prepares to step down and Terence Li will assume leadership of CitySquash. Below is the letter that Tim sent to supporters in October.

———————————————————————————————————————————————

October 2013

Dear Friends,

Eleven years ago last month, on a bright Saturday morning, CitySquash held its first tryout at Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus in the Bronx. The expressions of excitement on the faces of the Middle School 45 sixth graders that day were inspiring, and in many ways captured the enthusiasm that I felt about the opportunity I had been given to help launch the organization. I did not know how long I would work for CitySquash, but I believed in the mission and knew that we could make a difference.

I write today to let you know that this will be my last year with CitySquash. In 2012 I took on a part-time position as the Executive Director of the National Urban Squash + Education Association, the umbrella organization for the country’s 15 accredited urban squash and education programs, and I will make a full-time commitment to NUSEA beginning next summer. I look forward to drawing on the lessons I’ve learned in the Bronx to support urban squash across the country and beyond.

When I step down, CitySquash will be in the capable hands of Terence Li, who returned to CitySquash last year as our Program Director. Terence previously worked at CitySquash from 2005 to 2007 as our Assistant Program Director, and we began recruiting him to come back the moment he left for graduate school. For the past year, Terence and I have worked side by side, leading CitySquash together, and he has done an exceptional job. He has the character, skills, and drive needed to take CitySquash to greater heights, and he will do just that. We are very fortunate that he will be our next Executive Director.

CitySquash has wonderful partners and a loyal community of supporters, and it is because of you that the organization’s future is promising. We are also fortunate to have the steadfast support of our Founder and Chair, Sanford Schwartz, our Board President, Kim Huchro, and the 13 others who serve on our Board of Directors. I will remain a Board member, and over the next eight months will work with Terence and the Board to develop a long-range strategic plan that will enable CitySquash to expand enrollment and strengthen the organization.

In May I attended the Wesleyan University commencement and watched Tanesha Jackson, one of the sixth graders who made the team in 2002, become the first member of her family to graduate from college. I sat in the audience with her mother, other members of her family, and a group from CitySquash that included current and former staff, a longtime volunteer, a Board member, and Tanesha’s mentor, who had traveled to the occasion from California. It was a special day, a reminder of how far Tanesha has come and of the role CitySquash has had in her life. It made me think of what our students often say: that CitySquash is like a family.

CitySquash will continue to make a difference long after I’ve moved on, but working here over the past 11 years has been a singular privilege. I am grateful to have had the chance to work with you, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting our students.

Sincerely,

Tim Wyant
Executive Director

Over 130 CitySquash students, parents, mentors, current and new volunteers headed to Fordham on Saturday, October 28 for a day of sports, competition, and fun at the 3^rd Annual Black & Orange! The Black and the Orange teams competed on the squash and basketball courts, in relay races and giant soccer, and on the dance floor. Additionally, teams showed off their creativity and engineering prowess in the Marshmallow Challenge, tasked with building the tallest possible structure out of dried spaghetti, tape, and string that would hold a marshmallow on top- without toppling over! The field day is a fun way to bring together all types of CitySquash supporters, and especially, introduce new volunteers to the organization! Photos from the day can be found in the gallery. Thank you to all who participated for making the event a great success, and congratulations to this year’s winners, the Orange team!