PSA teams up with SquashLevels
By ALAN THATCHER
The PSA is teaming up with ranking platform SquashLevels, the website that tracks results and provides a handy ranking system for players of all abilities.
SquashLevels helped to support the expansion of one-day graded tournaments that were all the rage before lockdown and allowed organisers to accurately seed players at an appropriate standard.
The platform also helps to make sure that local league teams can grade their squads in the correct order. Right now nearly all squash competition is in a state of limbo, so we look forward to the partnership blossoming once regular play resumes, hopefully next year alongside the introduction of a successful vaccine to combat Covid-19.
The PSA has signed an agreement with SquashLevels which will see the association market its OTT platform, SQUASHTV, on SquashLevels’ digital platforms as well as collaborate on web and social media content.
Headed up by avid squash player Richard Bickers and SquashSkills founder Jethro Binns, SquashLevels uses a bespoke algorithm to rank all squash players in its database using their comparative levels of performance and draws in results from events across the PSA Tour as well as WSF-sanctioned events, Premier Squash League matches, events sanctioned by national federations, local club matches and more.
Thousands of players – from professionals to amateurs – are featured in SquashLevels’ system. SquashLevels also features a comprehensive results and performance tracking system and is used by more than 25,000 users regularly each month.
“SquashLevels is a fantastic resource for the squash community and we’re looking forward to collaborating with them following the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding,” said PSA Chief Commercial Officer Tommy Berden.
“As well as providing SquashLevels with imagery of our leading players, the data that we will provide to them means that SquashLevels will have a comprehensive set of results from across the world of professional squash, enabling them to give their subscribers the chance to compare themselves against their idols on the PSA World Tour.”
SquashLevels founder Bickers said: “We are very excited to have partnered with the PSA on this initiative. We see great synergy between the two organisations and are excited about the added value that this partnership can bring to SquashLevels.
“The algorithm has been designed in such a way that it creates an up-to-date dynamic rating that gives a highly accurate picture about a player’s current form. The data contained within the system should offer new insights into the matches being played. Whether it’s match previews or post-match analysis, we firmly believe SquashLevels can help create talking points that will be of interest to fans of the professional game.
“SquashLevels is intended to be a platform that gives every player the opportunity to monitor their progress, track their performance, and compare themselves to the pros. This is just the beginning of what should be a very exciting journey.”
SquashLevels website: www.squashlevels.com