October 6, 2014
Dear Players and Friends of the SDA,
As the SDA Pro Tour enters its third full season, the Board and I would like to give all of you a quick review of the highlights of 2013-14 as well as a preview of what lies ahead.
Our focus during the last season was “more” – more ranking events, more prize money, more professional players. We wanted to build on the solid foundation that we established during our inaugural 2012-13 season by expanding the breadth and depth of the tour throughout North America.
We made good progress toward this goal. The 2013-14 season featured 18 ranking events and 3 invitationals with a total purse of $518,000. We introduced new ranking events in New York, Minneapolis, Winnipeg and Charlottesville and we increased prize money at nine of our existing venues. By way of comparison, the 2012-13 season had 14 ranking events, 8 invitationals, and a total purse of $358,000.
The SDA player roster has also expanded over the past few seasons. We began the 2012-13 season with 32 members. We had 55 members at the beginning of last season, and we are at 74 members today. It’s been great to welcome so many new players to the Tour, and even better to see many of them playing on Sundays and Mondays.
Organizationally, the SDA has also grown. Revenues for the tour increased from $93,000 in 2012-13 to $124,000 last season. More important, we operated above break-even, generating operating profits of just over $7,000 even after directing $5,000 toward the support of new events on the calendar.
The 2014-15 season is shaping up to be a continuation of the trend established during the first two years. There are 17 ranking events and 4 invitationals on the calendar already with several additional venues in the works. We expect total prize money to exceed that of last season, and we continue to add players.
Organizationally, the SDA has recently entered into a management agreement with US Squash. This agreement will give us access to significantly greater resources, allow us to better coordinate events, and lower our costs. As a result, we have enhanced our ability to support the growth of the tour in terms of both capabilities and financial strength.
As we look forward, our goals have evolved beyond the “more” of this past season to “better” – a better tournament experience for all of our existing venue partners, a better opportunity for our growing pool of member professionals, and better representation across the entire North American hardball squash doubles community. We will keep you posted on our initiatives and our progress.
Thank you very much for your interest, effort and support.
Sincerely,
Kevin Luzak
Chair
SDA Pro Tour