With the 2019/2020 season nearing ever closer the world of squash has been busy with exciting developments both in the UK and abroad.
On the plus side, this month was National Fitness month and England Squash excellently produced an infographic promoting 10 reasons to play squash:
Credit: England Squash – Twitter (@englandsr)
Now if this does not get people playing squash at their local club or joining a meet-up group, then there needs to be more encouragement by the local sports development department to inspire people of all ages and abilities to take up the sport.
In terms of our top five stories news in the world of squash, here they are:
UK Ladies no.1 becomes head squash coach
Now we have a lot of admiration for Laura Massora and were pleased to hear that she taking up a squash coaching role with Lancashire Junior Squash and working with her husband Danny at David Lloyd Chorley, but she is going to mentor to next generation of squash players too. In our opinion, she deserves a New Year’s honour come 2020.
Click here for the full story
Seventh grader become a squash player in Cincinnati
In the US, a young up-and-coming squash player name Bienvenue from Rwanda did not know much about the sport and thought it was fruit.
He joined the Cincinnati Squash Academy and discovered squash is not a fruit but an actual sport. He is now a national squash champion title and is looking to use his success to obtain an athletic scholarship and go to College.
Credit: CPS Athletics – YouTube
Growth in Live action Squash TV
Photo credit: World Squash Federation
Now as corny as it sounds, Squash fans will be able to watch over 500 live-action tournaments via the SQUASHTV, Eurosport Player (Europe only), DAZN (Japan only), and also the PSA World Tour official Facebook page.
This is good for the sport globally, but for fans, there is could demand for the sport to be shown on a free-to-air channel.
Click here for more details on the 2019/2020 broadcast announcement
Egyptian ladies do battle in 2019 China Open final
Nour El Tayeb, won the 2019 J.P. Morgan China Squash Open of the PSA World Tour Gold tournament after defeating the world’s top-ranked player Raneem El Welily.
With Nour, she is ranked number no.5 in the world and played a great match against her fellow champion.
Local Squash duo break longest non-stop squash rally
In Montrose, a town in Scotland two squash players broke an existing record at the Montrose Sports Centre, for the longest non-stop squash rally by reaching 3,606 strokes in one hour 16 minutes which surpassed the previous record by 198 shots, which was held by a fellow player at the same venue.
One of the exploits of the players helped raise money for Nyumbani HIV children’s charity in Kenya.
Click here for the full story
Final Thoughts
Now, these news stories about demonstrate how the sport is doing good and change the opinions of people who have less understanding of the sport in general.
Without sounding too soap-boxy, it is good to see Laura Massora giving back to the sport, in the form of coaching and mentoring. In addition, Bienvenue’s story will serve as a catalyst to inspire children from Rwanda to take the sport in the country.
Overall, these stories can serve as an inspiration for getting people into the sport regardless of their cultural background.
