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Lee Drew Appointed Head of World Squash Officiating |
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Lee Drew Appointed Head of World Squash Officiating
Professional Squash Association
(PSA) Refereeing Director Lee Drew has been appointed as the Head of
World Squash Officiating (WSO), an organisation dedicated to the
regulation and development of squash officiating worldwide.
WSO - established in a partnership between the World Squash
Federation (WSF) and PSA in 2019 - was created to professionalise
and standardise squash officiating across the globe. WSO provides a
complete pathway of globally recognised courses from the grassroots
level to the pinnacle of the game with an aim of improving
refereeing performance and enhancing player education. Additionally,
WSO offers support to continents, Member Nations, Federations, and
individuals via modular online and in-person products such as
workshops, appraisals, appraiser training, mentoring, coaching,
event officiating management and match seminars.
The WSO website features a comprehensive list of resources such as
flowcharts for the rules, online courses, updates from recent events
for referees and articles, as well as other informative content
surrounding the rules. There is also a video library, which explains
previous decisions made by referees at PSA tournaments. WSO will
work closely with the sport’s various stakeholders - including
Member Federations and tournament organisers - to ensure that WSO’s
officiating standards are implemented worldwide.
Drew, a former World Tour player and England Junior National Coach
who became Refereeing Director for the PSA in 2014, will spearhead
WSO’s efforts to improve officiating standards across the sport,
strengthen the organisation’s operational team, and hire the sport’s
first full-time professional referees.
“The opportunity of evolving WSO is exciting because it can have a
huge impact on officiating and the way the game is played and
portrayed," said Drew.
"It is important that we develop a consistent message and
communicate it globally. WSO needs to move forward as a
high-performing entity that offers world-class products and
delivery. There is currently a massive disparity between money
generated in the game and the money invested into officiating, and
we want to begin to professionalise the sector and reinvest back
into the development of officiating at all levels.
"A major goal for WSO is to introduce more people to the rules and
officiating as early on in their experience of squash as possible.
To achieve this, it is crucial that we get our messaging and content
circulating worldwide with the support from as many squash
stakeholders as possible."
WSF Chief Executive William Louis-Marie said: "The development of
worldwide qualified referees remains an important goal of the WSF
and the appointment of Lee as the head of WSO will help build on the
work that has already been accomplished in the last couple of years.
"We are confident that WSO will greatly contribute to the growth of
the refereeing community in a more diverse and inclusive way in
keeping with the universality of our sport and offer more
opportunities for the international referees to officiate at all
major events around the world. Lee’s input has already been visible
with the recent addition of new educational courses aimed at giving
all our players a better understanding of the rules of the sport."
PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough said: “In his nine years as PSA
Refereeing Director, Lee has played an important role in overseeing
the development of refereeing within the professional game, and I am
confident he will be a valuable asset to the WSO.
“We want squash to be an entertaining and free-flowing sport and the
WSO will play a crucial role in developing referees and educating
our athletes to ensure that the sport remains an engaging spectacle
at the highest level.”
For more information on WSO, please visit the
WSO website or follow
the WSO on
Twitter, Facebook
and YouTube.
It is free to register and set up a basic account.
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