February has been a very quiet month for Squash, but it could be down to the reopening of the world following of end Government imposed restrictions on socialising and everyday activities.
Either way, there have been some interesting developments in the Squash community that is showing the growth of the sport.
With just five months to go until the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the organisers of the event are showing great support in helping boost awareness of Squash in the form of ad-hoc Squash in Birmingham New Street station.
Credit: PSA World Tour
Developments like this show the UK is working due diligently to improve participation in Squash in one of the UK’s major cities and inspire other places to make the sport a priority activity, in addition to a legacy after the commonwealth games.
In light of this, there are some interesting developments in Squash throughout February:
Meet Bromley’s Squash star Gina Kennedy – the UK Squash newest star
Any news of a new Squash star is good for the sport, however, comparisons to Squash’s racquet cousin Tennis make for good reading. GIVEMESPORT, published an article on Gina Kennedy on her rapid progression from a world ranking of 167 to the top 10 is excellent for the sport.
Gina Kennedy (Photo credit: Squashsite)
As we all know, the success of Emma Raducanu at the US Open in 2021 was good for UK Tennis; however, news of Gina Kennedy’s success in Squash is a lot better, why? Well in the last 20 years, Squash has produced far more champions in individual and team competitions than Tennis.
So what makes news of Gina Kennedy good, well it has put the London suburb of Bromley (aka Kent) on the map for racquet sport, in terms of producing great talent.
If you are a Bromley resident then seriously, need to take Squash or in fact introduce your child to the sport – as just like Emma, Gina is too from Bromley.
Obviously, there are comparisons between the two; however, Gina has shown more potential to become another Squash champion from the UK and the first from South London.
Time to revive Squash in Pakistan
If you are a child who grew up in the 80s, you are old enough to know that Pakistan was one of the major forces in Squash, with the likes of Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan dominating the sport which was the golden era of the sport.
Sadly, Squash in Pakistan is in need of a revival according to The News, one of the country’s leading news outlets.
In our humble opinion, what needs to be done for the sport in Pakistan is more media coverage of the sport and someone to lead the way in developing a new approach to bringing the sport back to the forefront of the public.
Squash to make a push for Brisbane Olympics inclusion after a resurgence
In two years’ time, Australia will be hosting the 2024 Olympic Games in Brisbane – however, it has been a mission now for the organisers to ensure that Squash is going to be a part of it.
Just like Pakistan, Australia was once a major force in Squash – but other sports such as basketball have taken over in terms of popularity amongst the youth.
Now in an effort to boost popularity amongst the youth, an article on ABC News highlighted that governing body is working hard to revive the sport by reaching out to schools across Australia in delivering taster sessions.
So far, the impact has been reasonable and could truly be the catalyst to Squash being part of the 2024 Olympic Games.
Local corporate back Grantham Squash juniors
In past, we have often said it would beneficial for local businesses to get behind the grassroots sport, in terms of boosting the local activities to keep healthy and active – well in a town in Lincolnshire, specialist gypsum and plasters have lent support to junior Squash players.
Grantham Squash Club – Junior Team (Photo credit: Grantham Journal)
The junior Squash team at The Grantham Squash & Fitness Club have received backing from Saint-Gobain Formula (former BPB Formula) for when they play in local friendlies and competitions.
Not only is this good for the local Squash venue, but also shows how local businesses can help young people in sport in terms of support and community cohesion, by helping save Squash provision for young people to gain access to the sport and more.
Guyana Squash junior gain home advantage in hosting CASA
For the first time since 2017, Guyana is hosting the Caribbean Area Junior Squash Association (CASA) in July, following St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the original hosts opting out – which is a shame to many expecting to see their junior team do well.
Seeing the CASA Junior tournament back on is good news for grassroots Squash of the Caribbean following a restriction on competitive Squash amongst the islands.
For the tournament, participants and their families need to show evidence of being fully vaccinated; plus there is to be a managed ‘bubble’ at the Georgetown Club Courts and the National Racquet Centre.
David Fernandes, Vice-President of Guyana Squash Association, thanked the partners in the private sector along with the Guyana Olympic Association for continuing their support of the Association for the event.
Barbados Junior Squash Team – 2017 CASA Champions
When Guyana last hosted Junior CASA in 2017, they relinquished their 12-year stranglehold on the title, and since then has come up second to Barbados.
Final Thoughts
With restrictions now easing up, this is a good opportunity for sports development units to collaborate with Squash in the form of creating more opportunities for young people to learn more about the sport in their local community.
Now, this may sound be a bold statement, but there is no reason why we as a community of Squash can make it happen.
To sum up, the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham is the one thing that is on the mind of many Squash fans (especially our founder, a one-time resident of the great city) and it is going to be interesting to see what other new developments are going to happen soon in the final months to the event.
Let us hope that 2022 is going to be an epic year for Squash and much more.
