Seattle Squash: the AGM on September 30, the Freeze, city league dates and a club-by-club guide.
AROUND SEATTLE SQUASH
📅 September 30 — SSRA Annual General Meeting
7:00 PM · Seattle Athletic Club – Downtown
Join us for the SSRA Annual General Meeting! The meeting is open to the entire squash community — players, pros, coaches, club representatives, and anyone interested in supporting and growing squash in our region.
Come hear what’s ahead for the season, connect with the SSRA Board, and share your ideas for the Seattle squash community.
🙋 Join the SSRA Board
We have two open board positions and would love to bring some new voices onto the team.
📣 Digital Communications Director. Help coordinate SSRA’s digital presence across Instagram, Facebook, and other communication channels. This board member will work with the team to streamline communications and promote tournaments, leagues, events, programs, and community news.
🤝 Board Member at Large. We’re also looking for an additional board member to contribute across a variety of SSRA initiatives based on current priorities and the member’s interests and strengths.
Interested in getting involved? Come to the AGM or reach out to a member of the SSRA Board.
🏆 City League Is in the Works!
The 2026–27 City League season is right around the corner! Here are a few important dates and updates as we get ready for the season:
📝 October 4 — Early bird deadline. $350 per team if paid by October 4, $400 after. Registration closes Sunday, October 11.
👥 Monday, October 12 — Captains meeting. At Seattle Athletic Club – Downtown. Time to be confirmed.
🎾 Tuesday, October 20 — League play starts. Three divisions, running through March 2027.
📣 Referee clinic — early in the season. A great opportunity to dust off your refereeing skills and get ready for league play.
THE SEATTLE FREEZE
Squash-a-Palooza Weekend — April 18–19 recap
In our last newsletter issue we told you that Seattle’s first professional squash team was coming home. You showed up!
On April 18–19, 2026, Seattle Athletic Club – Downtown hosted the Seattle Freeze’s first-ever home match in the National Squash League (NSL) — and a full weekend of squash built around it.
Saturday: Clinics and the Reverse NSL. The morning started on court with the pros from the Freeze and the Lake Erie Beacons, in small-group clinics led by coach Vicky Lust. In the afternoon the roles flipped: amateurs were drafted into teams and played an NSL-format match with a world-class pro in their corner calling the shots.
Sunday: The Real Deal. In front of a packed gallery, the Freeze beat the Lake Erie Beacons 4 – 0, led by World No. 10, Tinne Gilis. If you missed it, then rewatch on YouTube.
A huge thank you to the weekend’s sponsors — Elbaz Family, Elevate, Seattle Squash Racquet Association the NSL, and Seattle Athletic Club – Downtown — and to everyone who volunteered, billeted a player, or rattled the glass on Sunday morning.
An inaugural season to be proud of
The Freeze entered the NSL as the league’s first and only West Coast franchise, one of six teams in the women’s league. Year one included an away match at the Sono Sharks in Norwalk, CT on February 28, and ended with a playoff berth — the Freeze reached the semifinals before falling to the New York Queens.
2026/27: Two teams, one weekend you don’t want to miss!
The Freeze is growing. This season Seattle fields two teams — one women’s and one men’s.
Key dates (opponents and dates may still shift):
- October 29, 2026 — Freeze Women @ Philadelphia Freedom, Arlen Specter US Squash Center
- October 30, 2026 — Freeze Men @ Philadelphia Lightning, Arlen Specter US Squash Center
- February 5–7, 2027 — Squashapalooza II, Seattle Athletic Club – Downtown
- February 6 — DC Inferno vs. Freeze Women
- February 7 — Greenwich Panthers vs. Freeze Men
Squashapalooza II — February 5–7, 2027
April 2026 was the warm-up. Squashapalooza II puts a full amateur tournament alongside both home NSL matches, plus clinics, across one weekend at SAC Downtown. Expect a weekend full of absolute top world level squash!
Registration is planned to open in December 2026 and will close about two weeks before the event — no late entries, so mark your calendar.
Stay up to date at seattlefreezesquash.com, NSL and on Instagram at @seattlefreezesquash.
A word from the founder
The Freeze is the work of founder, owner and general manager Ali Piyarali. When Seattle joined the NSL, Ali put it this way: “This is an opportunity to give back to Seattle, the city where my children grew up and where I’ve built deep friendships over the decades. I’m thrilled that we’ll be the first and only NSL team on the West Coast, establishing Seattle as the premier destination for professional squash in the western United States.”
SEATTLE SQUASH SCENE AT A GLANCE
Our club-by-club look at where the region plays squash, from Seattle and the Eastside to Tacoma and Portland.
These details come from club websites and from the squash community, so some of it may be out of date or simply wrong. If you have better information about your club, please send us a message.
Seattle Athletic Club – Downtown
2020 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 · (206) 443-1111 · sacdt.com
Courts: 9 international, including the ASB ShowGlassCourt, which converts from singles to doubles width
Coaches & Pros: Vicky Lust, Director of Squash · Zane Lowdermilk, Assistant Squash Coach · Laila Sedky, Assistant Squash Coach · Mahdy Karam, Assistant Junior Squash Coach
Book a lesson at (206) 443-1111 or vlust@sacdt.com.
The region’s largest squash facility, with 500+ active squash players. Coming up: the Seattle Open, October 9–11, and Squashapalooza II, February 5–7, 2027, with both Freeze home matches. Downtown teams made up more than half of last season’s 22 city-league teams.
Seattle Athletic Club – Northgate
333 NE 97th St, Seattle, WA 98115 · (206) 522-9400 · sacng.com
Courts: 3 · Round robin: Mondays & Thursdays, 5:30 PM, year-round
Coaches & Pros: Adnan Khan, Squash Coach (akhan@sacng.com)
Adnan brings a strong competitive playing background to the Seattle squash community. Originally from Gilgit, Pakistan, he helps develop and support the club’s active squash community.
Washington Athletic Club
1325 Sixth Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 · (206) 622-7900 · wac.net
Courts: 2 international · Members can add their name to the club’s “find a squash game” list and book courts through the WAC app.
Coaches & Pros: Darin Barr heads the squash program (dbarr@wac.net)
Latasha Khan, squash pro, gives lessons here.
Downtown Seattle YMCA
909 Fourth Ave, Seattle, WA 98104 · (206) 382-5010 · seattleymca.org
Courts: 1
Coaches & Pros: Tatu Murronmaa
Seattle Tennis Club
922 McGilvra Blvd E, Seattle, WA 98112 · (206) 324-3200 · seattletennisclub.org
Courts: 2 international
Coaches & Pros: Patrick Kirk, Fitness Director, oversees squash
Latasha Khan offers lessons here.
University of Washington
IMA, 3924 Montlake Blvd NE, Seattle, WA 98195 · recreation.uw.edu
Courts: 6 (4 international, 2 North American/hardball) · Husky Squash: Wednesdays, 6–8 PM at the IMA
Bay Club Bellevue (formerly PRO Club)
4455 148th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98007 · (425) 885-5566 · bayclubs.com
Courts: 9 international
Coaches & Pros: Azam Khan · Shabana Khan
Azam joined what was then PRO Club Bellevue as a squash professional in 1991 and has been a major force in Eastside squash ever since: the program has grown from roughly 10 players on converted racquetball courts to more than 900 players and nine dedicated squash courts. He was the first member of the U.S. Junior Men’s Team to go on to represent the U.S. Men’s Team, which he did for eight years. Shabana, his sister, is a former professional who reached a career-high world ranking of 23 in January 2000 and was U.S. champion in 2001.
Bellevue Club
11200 SE Sixth St, Bellevue, WA 98004 · (425) 455-1616 · bellevueclub.com
Courts: 2 squash
Coaches & Pros: Latasha Khan
Latasha has coached in Seattle for more than 20 years. A seven-time U.S. national champion with 10 professional tour titles, she is the sister of Shabana Khan at Bay Club Bellevue. Lessons are open to all ages. She also coaches at the Washington Athletic Club and the Seattle Tennis Club.
Columbia Athletic Club – Juanita Bay
11450 98th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98033 · (425) 821-0882 · columbiaathletic.com
Round robin: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 4:30–7 PM
Coaches & Pros: Pat Jameson
Private lessons with Ariel Labra, and quarterly beginner clinics with Ralph Colin.
Tacoma Center YMCA
1144 Market St, Tacoma, WA 98402 · (253) 597-6444 · ymcapkc.org
Courts: racquetball/squash courts, included with Y membership · Ages 15+ (adults-only community center)
The Tacoma Center has fielded winter league teams and hosted the Washington State Open and the Seattle City Championships. The 2026–27 winter league starts Tuesday, October 20, and there’s room for a Tacoma team: it needs a captain and some court time, and SSRA can help recruit.
Multnomah Athletic Club – Portland
1849 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR 97205 · (503) 223-6251 · themac.com
Courts: 6 (4 international singles, 2 doubles)
Coaches & Pros: Werner Hergeth, Squash Manager
Have news from your club? Get in touch for the next issue.