Joey Barrington is turning his attentions from the PSA Tour to squash's grassroots in a bid to lift junior participation in England and invigorate a 'hidden gem' of a squash facility.
Barrington, who has been lead commentator and pundit on SquashTV since its inception over 15 years ago, took on a role with England Squash as Membership & Commercial Partner in 2023.
Since starting that role with the national association, he has successfully resurrected the former Premier Squash League (PSL) into the rebranded Optasia Squash Super League, which is now into its second season.
His next project is launching the Winchester College Junior Squash Open, a new bronze-level event for U11, U13 and U15 age categories at the renowned independent boarding school for boys in Hampshire.
The six squash courts at Winchester College are something of a sleeping giant for the sport in England.
The facility is known as the Albert Gordon Squash Centre, and was funded by the Albert Gordon Sports Fund when it opened only two years ago.
Albert Gordon was an American businessman whose sons both went to Winchester College. His grandson is former US national champion Chris Gordon, who is still playing on the PSA Tour aged 39.
Housed in an impressive sports centre featuring gym, sports halls, fives courts, a dance studio, dojo, viewing gallery and seating area, the college's six glassback courts have up to now only been used by the college's pupils and public pay-and-play. They are empty for extended periods.
Barrington, a former squash scholar at Millfield where his legendary father Jonah later coached, now has a vision to maximise the Albert Gordon Squash Centre's potential as a competition venue.
He told Squash Player: "There aren't many courts being built around the country at the moment — in fact some are decaying or being knocked down — but under our noses we've got this complex which looks like something out of America.
"I thought, 'How can we get some exposure for this facility that's going under the radar? Let's do a junior tournament!'"
To do so, Barrington is teaming up with Jeremy Colton, England High Performance squash coach and head coach at Ashtead Squash & Tennis Club, who began coaching Winchester College pupils last year.
"There's never been a stand-alone tournament at the school before," explained Barrington. "We've organised this tournament to get exposure for the facility and to give younger players a first step into the competitive circuit.
"It's a bronze level event for a reason. Why shouldn't kids who are at the base of the pyramid get the full monty with proper officiating, goodie bags and prizes?
"This competition will feed into the game's grassroots. These kids are just finding their way into our sport. This will give them a place on the England Squash ranking list and give them experience of playing in a state-of-the-art arena.
"School staff will be there watching and, who knows, they may be looking out for young talent who can earn Winchester College scholarships."
The Winchester College Junior Squash Open will take place on 21-22 March. Entries are now open.
More info: https://wcjnrsquashopen.wixsite.com/wcjnrsquashopen
