Karen Anderson, the two-term president of the Jamaica Squash Association, was recently elected as regional vice-president – Caribbean for the Federation of Pan-American Squash board during a vote in Santiago, Chile, recently.

Anderson, whose four-year term began earlier this November, is welcoming the opportunity to make an impact on the association for the betterment of the sport locally and regionally.

“It’s a true honour to serve the Caribbean on the Federation of Pan-American Squash board. We shall be directing policy for squash in the region over the next four years which is a great opportunity and great time as Olympics is in that five year window, so it really will shape and determine the policy for squash in the region,” she said.

“It will factor and feature in a number of things such as refereeing [and] coaching, so we are very excited and looking forward to see how we can forge some partnerships with our other counterparts in the region to really grow and strengthen our governance structure and our competitiveness in the region but on an international scale as well. So [I am] really looking forward to the next four years as regional VP for the Caribbean on the Federation of Pan-American Squash board,” she added.

Anderson is an accomplished squash player who represented Jamaica up to recently. As a professional player she attained a career-high world ranking of 94 in 2005. She joined the Women’s Squash Players’ Association in the same year. She is also a squash coach locally and has guided many players to national and regional representation.

Anderson is also well-known for her role as a sports administrator. Among her credits, she served as general manager for Netball Jamaica for a number of years and is currently leading the charge for the Jamaica Squash Association to attain full charitable status and be known as Jamaica Squash.

Anderson has the full support of her father Don Anderson, who has served various sporting organisations in Jamaica, including the Jamaica Olympic Association where he was a vice-president for many years. He also served as chef de mission for three Olympic games.

The only other Jamaican to serve on the Federation of Pan-American Squash board is Douglas Beckford.