The new World Squash Officiating (WSO) website – a project ran by the World Squash Federation (WSF) in partnership with the Professional Squash Association (PSA) – will launch on July 1, 2020 and will provide an unparalleled resource committed to the training, qualification, development and assessment of referees.

We caught up with WSO Director Roy Gingell – one of the most experienced referees in world squash – who explained why the new WSO platform has been created and why it is such a big step forward for the development of referees.

Q: Roy, you have been leading this WSO project, can you explain what is the purpose of the WSO platform and why it is a game changer for all our officials?

Roy Gingell: WSO reflects the WSF’s and PSA’s vision to organise the world’s referees into a single integrated unit, providing worldwide quality, service and value.

WSO is responsible for providing governance concerning all aspects of squash officiating to meet the needs and expectations of players, promoters and referees.

The purpose is to support and encourage players and the whole squash community to have a better understanding of rules and match control, to become qualified as referees and move forward along the pathway of referee improvement.

With both an up-to-date library of video resources and the modern-day refereeing ‘line of thinking’ clearly identified, this will ensure referees in every member nation will be fully aligned on rules and rules interpretations.

In this way, both the quantity and quality of referees and refereeing will grow to the benefit of the sport.

Q: What services will be immediately available when the platform goes live?

WSO Training and Education

RG: The training and education module of the WSO website web education programme for referees will initially target Level 0,1,2 and 3.

‘Want to become a referee?’ and ‘Already a Referee?’ will be sections available in this first phase.

WSO Resources

RG: WSO resources will form a key part of the provision for the WSO website to standardise and improve refereeing. It will help support both referees and member nations on this journey.

Rules of Squash

RG: The ‘Rules of Squash’ as well as an extensive video library of current clips will be available when the platform goes live.

Q: An Advisory Board has been formed to assist the WSO Management Team. What will be its role?

RG: The WSO Advisory Board is a group of individuals, representing the global squash community, who will bring unique knowledge and skills in the area of officiating, as well as assessment of officiating. They will bring support, offer recommendations and provide key information and materials in support of the WSO Management Team to deliver WSO’s strategic objectives.

For more information on the WSO, head to the WSO hub.