Ontario Jesters Making a Difference
The fundraising efforts of our membership are much appreciated. The funds that we put into these programs are very well received and are truly worthwhile. We continue to build on our successes and work to find new areas to make a difference. Jamie Nicholls of Squash Ontario has acknowledged the support from the Jesters with the following statement on their website:
The Ontario Jesters Club continue to be the single largest supporter of squash in our province. The organization has once again committed significant resources for the 2017-18 season to Squash Ontario. This year you will see the Jesters supporting several important programs including starting and growing the OUAA Jesters University League. This league provides the opportunity for top junior players to stay in Canada and compete at an ever increasingly high level. The University League continues to grow annually, now including 14 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams. In addition, the Jesters continue to support the Black Knight Gold junior tournament series and the Harrow Silver and Grand Prix junior series by enhancing tournament value providing funding prizes like Harrow squash racquets for our silver champions and Black Knight accessories for gold winners.
This season, we are pleased to announce a new program called the Ontario Jesters Traveling Tour Team whose goal is to increase regional development by partnering with the Ottawa Junior Prix Series and the Southwestern Ontario Gary Waite tour to subsidize travel opportunities for aspiring junior players ready to make their first foray from regional tournament play into provincial Squash Ontario play. In addition, the Jesters have been long time supporters of doubles development, preparatory school programming and have generally been stewards of our great game for almost 100 years.
Through all of our efforts, the Jesters name and brand continue to be highly respected. The Ontario Jesters support of junior squash is currently reflected in the:
- Building, operation and financial support of a competitive University Squash League
- Facilitating singles and doubles squash fixtures between Jester members and university teams
- Financial support for Squash Ontario junior tournaments
University Squash
From the humble beginnings of this sponsorship program with Squash Ontario, we have expanded our initiatives in the past few years. A recent decision by the O.U.A.A. to reduce promotion of tier II and III sports left squash with only one year ending tournament. The Ontario Jesters have stepped in to help build, fund and operate competitive leagues for University Squash in Ontario. Jesters Alex Carter, Iain Crozier and Ryan Forster have provided the leadership to build a very viable year long league.
University Team Fixtures
The Jesters facilitate annual events to promote singles and doubles squash between Jester members and university teams.
Junior Tournaments
The Ontario Jesters Club continues to build on its 10 year partnership with Squash Ontario. Our goal has been to provide sponsorship to the junior competitive squash events held within the province. In past years, this has been in the form of prize packages for scheduled events. We work cooperatively with Squash Ontario to find the best method to provide support and also receive value for that support. The competitive program for squash runs on three levels; Gold, Silver and Bronze tournaments with provincial championships organized for each level.