Squash Ireland has published the 2025/26 international season selection policies for senior and junior players. The selection panels are seeking to select the strongest possible team for international representation. Here is an overview:
Junior Selection Policy
The selection panel consists of the Head Coach, Junior Performance Coach and Junior Development Coach.
There is no requirement to have competed on the Irish tour for two or more seasons to be eligible for selection.
The U23 National Championships has been added to the compulsory tournament list for U19 players seeking World Team Championship selection. This provides the selection panel with an opportunity to assess the players’ form closer to the World Championships.
Playing up an age group is again permitted. However, it will require written permission from the selection panel. The selection panel has a strong desire for players to compete within their own age group, so the number of players permitted to play up will likely decrease.
Senior Selection Policy
The minimum age for selection to a senior team has increased from 14 to 16 years of age. While there is no specific minimum age for squash at the Olympic Games, this change aligns with Olympic selection policy norms.
The number of compulsory domestic tournaments for top-ranked PSA players has been tiered depending on PSA ranking. Top 100-ranked players are only required to compete at the National Championship, for example.
This encourages top-ranked players to prioritise improving their PSA World Ranking and is aligned with the High Performance Strategy. Essentially, we want more players ranked inside the top 100 of the PSA World Rankings and are encouraging players to pursue this.
The Head Coach has been added to the selection panels and will chair both the men’s and women’s selection panels. Other members of the panel remain unchanged.
(Various sections have been added and updated, including anti-doping, communication to be directed to staff, and reasons for de-selection. These are largely mirrored in both the Junior and Senior policies)
