Contents
The age categories, from 3 to seniors
The top structure is uniform: U11 · U13 · U15 · U17 · U19 at the WSF, FFsquash, Swiss Squash, Belgium, the DSQV and the ÖSRV. France extends downward with Mini-Squash (ages 3–6) and the École de Jeunes (7–10). One French particularity worth knowing: age is measured at the date of the season's finals (« Moins de X ans »), not at a fixed birthday — a child stays in their category all season.
| Federation | Categories | Below U11 |
|---|---|---|
| WSF / ESF | U11 · U13 · U15 · U17 · U19 | — |
| FFsquash | U11 → U19 (age at the finals date) | Mini-Squash 3–6 · École de Jeunes 7–10 |
| Swiss Squash | U11 → U19 (the SQUASH!T junior series) | — |
| Belgium (SQV) | -11 → -19 / -23 | — |
Paak's bands (u9 / u13 / u17 / sen) are a product grouping — no federation publishes them. Every band straddles at least one official category; the mapping is always shown with « ≈ ».
The ball ladder — the real age adaptation
In squash, the youth adaptation is the ball, not a shrunken court. The dot ladder runs slowest to fastest: double-yellow → single-yellow → green → white / red / blue. The youngest need the bounciest ball — otherwise the rally dies before it exists. A u9 drill that silently assumes the competition ball is a pedagogy error, not a detail.
| Band | Default ball | Why |
|---|---|---|
| u9 | Blue or red dot, or an oversized intro ball | A lively bounce keeps the rally alive for a small hitter — never the double-yellow |
| u13 | Red → single-yellow, progressing | The ball climbs the ladder as control grows |
| u17 | Double-yellow | The competition ball |
| sen | Double-yellow (single-yellow fine for returners) | The competition ball |
France has made this ladder a testable programme: FFsquash's nine Les Balles levels (Pastille bleue → bleue/rouge → rouge → rouge/blanche → blanche → blanche/jaune → 1 pastille jaune → 2 pastilles jaunes → Balle blanche), continuously assessed with published pass thresholds (8 out of 10 for blue/red, 10 out of 12 for white/yellow). The ball a child uses is tied to a graded, tested competence — not a marketing colour.
Eyewear: squash's safety mandate
Squash's signature injury is the eye injury — from the ball or the opponent's racquet (see Physical preparation & safety for the numbers). The federations' answer is a certified-eyewear mandate, whose scope varies:
| Federation | Mandate | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| WSF | Mandatory | All doubles + all sanctioned junior (U19) events; recommended everywhere else |
| US Squash | Mandatory — the strictest | ALL players AND coaches, all accredited play, warm-up included |
| Squash Canada | Mandatory | All juniors |
| Belgium (SQV) | Mandatory (specific case) | A U19 junior in a senior tournament wears goggles |
| FFsquash · Swiss Squash · DSQV | WSF-aligned | Doubles + junior events; no broader mandate located to date |
Two details that matter: a lensless frame does not protect (only certified eyewear — ASTM-class standards — is associated with zero injuries in the literature); and a 17–18-year-old is still a WSF junior (U19) — the mandate covers them, even when they train « with the adults ».
Frequently asked questions
Which ball for an eight-year-old?
Is eyewear mandatory at club practice?
When should a player move to the double-yellow?
Sources
WSF — junior categories and the eyewear mandate (rules and specifications, equipment appendix); US Squash — the all-accredited-play mandate; Squash Canada — the junior mandate; Squash Vlaanderen — the U19-in-senior-events rule. · FFsquash — Mini-Squash, École de Jeunes, the Les Balles ladder (nine levels, 8/10 and 10/12 thresholds), age measured at the finals date. · Paak's squash corpus, files 02 (age structure and the safety gate) and 06 (equipment) — verified September 2026. The u9/u13/u17/sen bands are a product grouping, flagged as such.