President of the Jamaica Squash Association Karen Anderson has welcomed the return of the region’s top competition the Wata Senior Caribbean Squash Championships to Jamaican shores and is confident the event will have a lasting impact on the sport among local players and supporters.

Anderson, who also underlined the importance of a strong Jamaican challenge for the team championship, which climaxes today at the Liguanea Club, is hoping that the island’s upcoming talent will be encouraged to greater success as a result of being exposed to this level of competition.

“This is a significant tournament for us. We haven’t had it here since 2007, and, in fact, the last time we had it here we had to abort it because of a hurricane. It’s important for us because, you know, we need to have people see the tournament, our youngsters need to be able to see the tournament and people playing at the highest level so that they can know what they can aspire to,” Anderson told the Jamaica Observer.

Anderson, a champion herself at both the national and regional level, reflected on the impact the championship had on her own career.

“So we haven’t had squash at this level here for a long time and, you know, all of us growing up who played when we were youngsters saw the best of the best playing here and it had a significant impact on us, so that’s what we want to see happening here as well so that the ones who are playing now or getting introduced to the sport through a wider audience through our Sportsmax coverage will also get to see the sport and get their eyes on the sport and know what the sport is about,” Anderson stated.

She noted that the proximity of the championships to the Commonwealth Games and the cost of travelling have had their effect on the tournament.

“I think really what has affected us mostly is the pandemic. We are just coming out of the pandemic and this is the first senior championships in three years, and so, you know, airfares are high, the cost of everything has tripled and so that is really what has impacted some of the numbers that we’re experiencing,” Anderson said.

“It’s really been the cost of travel to get here that has affected us the most, and so that and the fact the tournament is also a week later than normal because of the Commonwealth Games. But, you know, I think the ones who are here have made the commitment to come here and they’re having a great time, and we’re seeing some good level of competition and that’s what it’s about,” Anderson added.

Going into the championship Anderson believed the hosts had the opportunity to win their first team title since 2003, but with the women struggling heading into yesterday’s penultimate day of action, Jamaica will be hard-pressed to come out on top over their Caribbean rivals.

Anderson, however, highlighted the wide participation of Jamaicans in the tournament as a positive effect of hosting and was also pleased with the level of support given by spectators.

“This year we’ve given ourselves a chance to push for the team title and that’s important, in that you have to field a full team in order to do so,” said Anderson. “In terms of the support that we have been receiving, it’s been fantastic. We’ve been putting out the messages and getting people out, and we have had really good crowds coming to watch the matches. I think everybody was very happy at the level that they saw play and the support from our sponsors and our supporters have been amazing.”

In the men’s division, Jamaica defeated Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 and got the better of the Cayman Islands 4-1, and sat atop the standings ahead of yesterday’s contest against Barbados.

The Jamaicans have had a tough start in the women’s competition, losing 2-3 to Barbados and 1-4 to the Cayman Islands. They were scheduled to play Trinidad and Tobago yesterday and favourites Guyana today.