(pictured above from left to right: Jesters Bert Keene and Tony Altilia, Dylan Deverill, Rob Brooks, Guest Speaker and Olympian Martha McCabe at the 2018 Junior Awards Banquet)
This week we profile the Jesters of Ontario as we continue to recognize the corporate partners and individual donors that are making a difference in our sport. With decades of support, over $250,000 in financial contributions, passionate enthusiasm and a strong vision for growing the game, this group is the single largest driver of our sport this century. Led by recent chairman Bert Keene and his team including junior coordinator Jeff Deverill and University commissioner Alex Carter, the Jesters contributed $29,000 during the 2019-20 season to support a variety of critical programs.
With the impact of their efforts touching all aspects of the game, the most prolific success story is the Jesters University League, which was created a decade ago in place of the fledgling Ontario University Athletics program. It began as a grassroots movement designed to bridge the gap from junior to senior and slowly but steadily grew to a 24 team league with over 350 players, with equal men's and women's teams in 2020.
The Jesters provide a 12 match schedule at no cost to participating teams, help develop new programs including most recently York, Guelph, Carleton, Laurier and Ottawa, and most importantly provide competition opportunities for athletes at the post secondary level. In addition, the Jester’s have been long time supporters of junior development, contributing financially to the Junior Gold, Silver and Grand Prix circuits in order to increase participation. They have also recently funded a travel program to support juniors from Ottawa, Southwestern Ontario, Niagara and Northern Ontario to attend these tournaments. And if all that was not enough, behind Bert and Jeff’s vision, the Jesters now support the annual Junior Awards Banquet which is a highlight of the season, recognizing the season’s junior achievements combined with guest speakers like Olympian Martha McCabe and Trinity College Head Coach Paul Assaiante.
The Jesters are an international club of squash players founded in 1929, with headquarters in London, England. The club is dedicated in large part to the organization and promotion of squash throughout the world and the encouragement of the game at its most sporting best. Our Ontario chapter joins Equity Builders, Slaight Music, Travel Edge, and YDC Pro as our 5 Pillar Platinum Corporate Partners that contribute a minimum of $15,000 annually to our sport. They are joined by Gold Partners Forthlane Partners, Harrow, Mortgage Company of Canada, the Toronto Center of Medical Imaging as well as dozens of silver sponsors and individual donors that drive our sport in the province. You can find more information about the Jesters and it's rich history at the link below.
Squash Ontario sincerely thanks the Jesters for all they continue to do for our sport and for their passion and dedication.