COO Lee Beachill on how PSA Are Dealing with COVID-19

PSA COO Lee Beachill recently dropped in to chat to Beyond the Glass presenters Joey Barrington and Jenny Duncalf about how the PSA is dealing with the challenges thrown up by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Beachill touched on the PSA’s plans to restart the PSA Tour, how the organisation’s staff have adapted to a different way of working, and what the schedule might look like once the world returns to some form of normality.

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Joey Barrington: “Hi Lee, it’s great that you’ve joined us here. Last time I saw you was when we signed off at Canary Wharf when the suspension of the tour started, how are things going for you?”

_Lee Beachill: “Probably similar to how they’re going for everyone else, they’re very strange times. We’re having to get used to a completely different way of working and we’re trying to do everything we possibly can throughout this period to prepare for next season, whenever that is going to start._

_”We are looking at the news constantly and trying to take as much advice as we possibly can. At the moment it’s very strange and we’re having to adapt as much as we possibly can._

_”When we first went into lockdown, we had to do a full audit of our business when this became a very serious crisis. Our first priority was our staff, we’ve managed to keep on everyone who works within PSA, they’re being paid 100 per cent salary throughout this crisis and we’re very pleased that we’ve got a robust business, so we’re hopefully going to be able to ride this storm._

Jenny Duncalf: “Lee, the tour came to a halt and certain tournaments such as the British Open and Grasshopper Cup couldn’t be played. What goes on behind the scenes in terms of dealing with their ongoing contracts and when they might be played again or cancelled?”

_LB: “It’s been different for each event really, we’re working very closely with England Squash, El Gouna was obviously one of the tournaments that was postponed, so we’ve been working closely with Amr Mansi. The World Tour Finals was another event which was postponed, so it’s been very difficult to try and work towards some type of end date, it’s just impossible to know what that is._

_”We’ve put a provisional schedule in place that will see the season start as normal in September, with the addition of the major events that have been postponed, like the British Open, the World Tour Finals and El Gouna. At this moment in time, we don’t know if that’s too optimistic, or whether it’s a realistic aim or not, but we’re just trying to prepare for what we could consider to be the best-case scenario, and that is us being able to restart the season in some capacity._

_”I think the difficulty with this whole pandemic is that I don’t think there is any way that the entire world is going to open up at the same time. That’s going to cause us major difficulties with regards to international travel._

_”There will be countries that will be able to host events and countries which won’t. There will be issues with regards to travelling, quarantine, all of these different sorts of things, so it’s impossible for us to pre-empt all these things that are going to be in place._

_”We’re trying to be as nimble and as flexible as we possibly can, the promoters of the postponed events have been absolutely fantastic. They’ve been quick to re-iterate that those events are postponed, they’re not cancelled and depending on when we get the green light to responsibly resume play in some capacity, we most certainly will do so.”_

JD: “In terms of the players that aren’t competing at the moment, what are PSA doing to look after them?”

_LB: “The PSA Foundation has come into its own over the past few weeks, they’ve been pumping out some great content, they’ve been coming up with some fantastic ideas to keep players engaged, to give players ideas, to help them. Throughout the world, governments are doing their own thing to help, whether it’s financially or through other means to help people from an economic point of view to get through this._

_”In the UK, the scheme is designed to help everyone get through this until around the June sort of time. Everyone is waiting with baited breath, I think, to see what’s going to happen there. PSA are looking to put some sort of hardship fund in place with the limited resources that we’ve got._

_”As you both well know, squash is a small community, but it’s an exceptionally close community and a very well-connected community. There are a lot of people out there who want to help and it’s a case of trying to put a mechanism in place that delivers that help to the people who really need it._

_”That’s something that we’re looking closely at now. It’s difficult for us to pre-empt how long this is going to go on for and there will be differences with regards to certain countries, so we’re looking at doing everything we possibly can in a very difficult situation, and we’re trying to remain as consistent across the globe as we possibly can as well.”_

JB: “Lee, just touching on what you said about it being a world sport, with different guidelines across different countries, would there be a possible change in tournaments taking place in different countries, for example the World Tour Finals potentially taking place in England?”

_LB: “We’re looking at different scenarios, let’s say that none of them are ideal. We’re trying to work backwards from the best-case scenario and are looking at different scenarios which will allow our athletes to get playing again._

_”First and foremost, our main priority is to get our athletes back on the squash court, back competing, and back earning as quickly as we possibly can. We’ve looked at several different options, the one you’ve just mentioned, trying to compete for titles in different countries is certainly one of them._

_”The possibility of playing behind closed doors is another one. There are several ways out there in terms of getting content out, getting competitions played and players back on court as quickly as we possibly can._

_”I guess the main point at the moment is that it’s just too early for us to be making any type of what could be classed as concrete plans. We’re going to have to adapt and change, I think one of the unique natures of our sport that will enable us to do that is the fact that we can be quick, we can play anywhere and, as long as we can erect a court, we can have a competition._

_”One of the key elements that is going to affect any of that will be international travel. Once international travel starts to operate again, and depending on which countries are operating to a certain level, we’re going to look at all different options with regards to getting competitions off the ground._

_”That is going to mean some sacrifice and some compromise and a lot of flexibility both from a player’s perspective, from PSA’s perspective and everyone’s perspective. With regards to schedules, we’re looking at potentially trying to host our major events in the US in a period where it makes sense to have them all together._

_”If there is a quarantine period that’s required within the US which enables players to go there, then maybe we need to look at trying to bunch tournaments together in the US so there is a period of time when players can go there and stay over there. We just don’t know whether that’s going to be the case or not, we’re looking at a best-case scenario of trying to start the season in some capacity._

_”In some cases that’s going to be a long shot, and to see all the events that we’ve got scheduled to take place is, I think, an extreme long shot. But we’re optimistic and will keep adapting to the guidelines that are out there.”_

JB: “Best of luck with it all, and I appreciate everything you’re trying to do to get us back on track. I hope you’re training and keeping fit yourself?

_LB: “There’s not a lot else to do, is there? We’re lucky that this period of time is giving us some time to focus on things that would probably normally take place throughout the summer months when everyone is in one place._

_”We’re trying to get our heads around our new strategic framework which has been keeping us busy for the past two weeks and will be for probably the next two months. It’s given us a chance to get together as a team and try and map out the next five to 10 years._

_”We’ve just come to the end of a five-year strategic plan, so it’s now time for us to work with our board, consultants and everyone else to try and map out what the next five to 10 years of professional squash is going to look like. This is a hiccup, it’s an enforced sit down and relook, and it’s given everyone time to reflect.”_