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Ashley Smith has been crowned Referee of the Year at the 2024 England Squash Awards thanks to his impact on the refereeing community, along with his mentorship and support of clubs and new officials.
The Northampton-based official was the Lead Referee at the British Junior Championships and was involved in British University Championships, Challenger and World Tour Events this year.
A consistent official with a strong reputation within the game, Ashley has represented English referees at European Division 1, Division 2 and Club Championships, and also boasts the prestigious Commonwealth Games on his impressive CV. Having played squash since the age of six, the sport is a huge part of his life, and he is honoured to have such a prominent role within the game. He said:
“I'm very grateful to England Squash, they've been wonderful in giving me exposure to things over the last few years. I've had the opportunity to referee events that I would normally have been sitting back watching at home on TV.
“The tip of the iceberg for me was obviously when I was able to referee at the Commonwealth Games. That’s something I would never have aspired to do when I started refereeing and the fact that I got to do it is something that'll be with me forever.”
Ashley felt during his playing days he had traits that lent themselves to officiating. Reflecting on this, he explained:
“I would sometimes get irritated with some decisions that I was or wasn’t getting, but when I helped with refereeing at team matches, I actually felt some reward. It made me feel good because I believe I have a good sense of fairness.
“I enjoyed allowing two people to reach a fair outcome. Then I wanted to take it further, so I made some inquiries and then got myself into it properly.”
Alongside his own refereeing career, Ashley enjoys helping support the refereeing community through his role as a tutor and assessor. Additionally, he also helps foster the next generation of officials through Calling the Shots, the new markers awareness workshop run by England Squash which is proving popular around the country.
The workshops aim to improve participant’s understanding of the rules of squash and involve several referees visiting clubs to give players more confidence in refereeing their own events, as well as encouraging individuals to take up officiating.
This increased interest in Calling the Shots, combined with the upward trajectory of new officials getting into the game, has led Ashley to believe that there hasn’t been a better time to get involved in officiating squash.
“The door is wide open for you to get into it,” he said. “Right now, England Squash is doing an amazing job of bringing in new referees - we've had a raft of new referees coming in over the last couple of months.”
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