Events, Headlines, Juniors

2019 High School Team Scholarships Deadline Dec. 31, 2018

National Capital Squash (NCS) is pleased to announce a scholarship program to encourage high school varsity or club teams to participate in the US SQUASH 2019 National High School Championships.

The High School Championships offers divisions for teams at all skill levels.  Even if your team has never played in a team tournament, you will be placed in a division that should provide good competition.

There are up to two scholarships for up to two teams.  Each scholarship would be for up to $1500 to pay for entry fees and a portion of other expenses.

Here are the eligibility requirements:

  • The school has not sent any team to any prior US SQUASH High School Championship.
  • The team must have played team matches recorded in the US SQUASH database against other teams (ideally, at least four such matches prior to the seeding of the High School Championship).
  • A team must have at least seven players.  The players do not all have to be of high school age, but must be enrolled at a school that has a high school with a team, as is the case at many private schools, or feeds into a high school with a team, as at many public schools.
  • Teams may be varsity or club teams.
  • Teams must be eligible under US Squash rules for the event.  (See the rules tab.)
  • All players on the team must be US SQUASH – NCS members (membership in US SQUASH provides automatic NCS membership) prior to entering in the tournament.
  • All players on the team must be a US SQUASH certified “club level” referee prior to the US SQUASH regular entry deadline.  Certification is done through an online referee exam, which is an open book test.

Entry fees are $700 per team with an early registration discount (fees are refundable prior to Jan. 3, 2018), otherwise the fees are $750 for the championship tournament.  You MUST enter the event by Jan. 3, 2018 at 12 Noon. Additionally, teams usually need to stay in a hotel for two nights, and there are other travel expenses.  The 2018 championship will take place in the Philadelphia, PA area.

Application procedure:

Teams must apply at least by Dec. 31, 2018 at 11:59 PM. Please fill out the online entry form.

Scholarship award criteria:

The scholarships, if any are awarded, will be awarded based on the strongest applications.  The decision will be made by a panel that consists of the National Capital Squash Executive Committee and the NCS Vice President for Juniors and Vice President for Membership.  NCS reserves the right to not award any scholarships.

Applications will be based on the following criteria:

  • The number of nationally ranked players on the team roster.
  • The number of players with skill ratings on the team roster.
  • The ranking or skill level of the players on the roster.
  • Evidence indicating the team has secured or has a sound plan to secure additional funds necessary in order to compete at the tournament, transportation plans and adult supervision for the trip.
  • A description of the team’s progress this year and its plans to increase participation in squash at its school.
  • A team’s plan for competing at the national championship in future years.
  • The number of players on the roster who have referee certification prior to the application deadline.
  • How early the application has been submitted.
  • Whether the team has paid the entry fee by the early registration deadline (all but $20 of the  fee is refundable up to January 4, 2019 at Noon).

If after submitting your application, you wish to revise it, just apply again.  The last application completed before the deadline will be the one we will evaluate.

We plan to announce the winners of the scholarships by January 2, 2017 at 10 PM.  However, if we believe the application is strong, we may announce a scholarship award at any time. Early applications are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED.

If your team is awarded a scholarship, your team will have until January 4, 2019 at Noon to enter the event.  Please be sure that at least seven team members have US SQUASH/NCS membership and are certified referees by this scholarship deadline for entering the tournament.  If your team fails to enter the tournament according to our rules prior to the deadline, we reserve the right to cancel your scholarship and/or award it to a wait listed team.

National Capital Squash will reimburse up to $1500 for the following expenses: entry fees; travel expenses (train, bus or up to $0.50 per mile for up to two vehicles); and hotel accommodations for up to five rooms per night at up to $130 per night for two nights.  Receipts must be provided in order to receive reimbursement.  No other expenses are eligible for reimbursement.  If a team does not use the full scholarship amount, it may apply the balance toward its participation in the 2020 championship.