National Capital Squash (NCS) presents awards each year to recognize the achievements of juniors who have excelled in US Squash-sanctioned play during the previous year. Awards are usually presented between late April and mid-June at a special ceremony.

To be eligible for any junior award a player must be a member of NCS and have no serious on- or off-court conduct violations. Players must have played in at least three tournaments in the previous year or for a high school varsity team at a boarding school away from the NCS district. Players must also have passed at least the required US Squash age-specific online referee exam. Rankings are generally based on the first ranking run after the National Silver and Bronze Championships, except as noted below. For players who age out after the qualification date for the national championships, the age eligibility date for the Junior Silver/Bronze Championships national championship may be used.

Most Valuable Players: This award is presented to players who had a national ranking from #1 to #16 (top 8 for U11) between February 1 and after the end of the U.S. Junior Silver Squash Championships, finished in the top 16 (top 8 for U11) at the U.S. Junior Squash Championships, or was ranked in the top 25 in the US Squash High School rankings. No award is given if no player qualifies under the above criteria in an age group.

All Stars: This award is presented to players with a national ranking of #17 to #32 (#9 to #16 in U11) between February 1 and after the end of the U.S. Junior Silver Squash Championships, was accepted to play in the U.S. Junior Squash Championships, reached the final at the US Squash Silver Championships, or ranked in the top 35 in the US Squash High School rankings.

Second Team All-Stars: This award is presented to players who meet any of the following criteria:

• had a national ranking of #33 to #64 (#17 to #25 in U11; top 50 in U19) between February 1 and after the end of the U.S. Junior Silver Squash Championships;
• finished in the top 16 in the U.S. Junior Silver Squash Championships (except top 8 for U11 or top 12 U19); or
• ranked in the top 50 in the US Squash High School rankings.

National Team Awards: This award is presented to U13 to U19 players who meet any of the following criteria:

• reached a quarterfinal in a draw of 32 or more at the U.S. Junior Bronze Squash Championships (or a semifinal in a draw of 16 but less than 32);
• had a national ranking of #65 to #100 and was ranked in the top 50% of nationally-ranked players after the end of the US Squash Silver Championships;
• gained entry in the US Squash Silver Championships, where he or she won at least one match and was ranked in the top 50% of nationally-ranked players after the end of the US Squash Silver Championships; or
• ranked in the top 150 in the US Squash High School rankings.

Rookie of the Year Awards: To be eligible, a player must receive one of the above awards. Also, the junior must have played in no more than five junior tournaments before April 1 of the previous year. This award will be based on the first rankings calculation after the US Squash Silver and Bronze Championships. For players who age out during the national championships, a ranking between February 1 and the beginning of the US Squash Silver Championships may be used.

Up to four Awards may be presented, two for boys and two for girls. One pair of awards may be given for age groups up through U13 and another for U15 through U19. The award will go to the player with the best relative ranking on a percentile basis, allowing a comparison between age groups. Discretion may be used to award a player if he has played in four tournaments and aged out from one division to another during the season. In that case, the final national ranking (if based on at least three tournaments) before aging out may be used. Additional awards may be given if two or more players, in the opinion of the Junior Committee, were very close to each other.

Most Improved Player Awards: One award may go to a player in each age group by age and gender from U13 to U19, or may be combined into four groups as follows:

Boys U13 and U15
Girls U13 and U15
Boys U17 and U19
Girls U17 and U19

This award will be based on a comparison with the rating (not ranking) in the first ranking run after the National Silver and Bronze Championships compared to the rating from the ranking run during the last week of March from one year prior (or the closest date where NCS has access to historical data). A player must have a rating that was not provisional and based on at least four tournaments through March 31 of the prior year to be considered for this award. If no player in a group improves by at least 0.35 rating points, then no award will be given for that group. If a player has a ranking in two age divisions, he or she is eligible to win the award for either division but not both.

NCS reserves the right to change the criteria from year to year to account for changes in the US SQUASH ranking system or other factors.

You can view the  criteria used pre-2020 here.