Growing the game
Coaching and Development
Running on empty: Sport England figures show further squash decline
Squash participation in England has fallen by just over 10% since the year before the pandemic, official figures reveal.
Statistics in the latest Sport England...
Growing the game
Public courts bring squash back to North Devon
Organisers have hailed the only publicly available courts in North Devon, in the UK’s south west.
The Atlantic Racquet Centre in Bideford has opened two...
Coaching and Development
Club file: Nick Clifford working wonders at Wigginton for 40 years
Nick Clifford lives 200 yards from the front door of his beloved Wigginton Squash Club and has given it 40 years of devoted service....
Coaching and Development
How Open Squash is igniting New Yorkers’ passion for the sport
The key to turning a non-squash player into a passionate participant is to treat every potential new member of your club as “both a...
Growing the game
Club File: Welsh squash centre sees spike in new faces
A Welsh club is benefiting from its revamped junior and adult squash classes, with over 100 new faces trying the sport for the first...
Features
County Scene: ‘Squash needs to encourage and support its proactive coaches’
The modern climate in squash calls for proactive, energetic and selfless coaches. Down in Lewes, East Sussex, one club has just the cohort.
And...
Comment
That’s the pro game sorted – now what about squash’s grassroots?
The news that the co-owner of Chelsea FC and the LA Dodgers is to plunge 'significant investment' into top-level squash is a huge tonic...
Coaching and Development
Lichfield’s resurgence offers hope to ailing grassroots squash clubs
Lichfield Squash Club in Staffordshire, based at King Edward VI High School's two glass back courts, is celebrating a remarkable resurgence following the challenges...
Comment
‘How can squash survive? Courts need to be new and shiny, not old and cold’
“All the time I come across a number of people who have discovered squash late in life and they all say they wish they...
Features
County Scene: Delving deep inside the future of squash
We all know there remains a growing uncertainty on the future of squash. While the elite game forges a seemingly upward trajectory, grass roots...
Features
Forward-thinking club safeguards future after £1 purchase
It is perhaps the most astute bit of business ever done by a squash club. For just £1, Scotland’s Lockerbie Squash Club secured its...
Growing the game
Zimbabwean teen hope takes up Egypt squash tutelage
A rising Zimbabwean teen has been training in Alexandria, Egypt ahead of the World Junior Squash Championships later this summer.
Ryan Gwidzima, 17, has been...
Growing the game
New international tour gives Masters squash a major boost
A newly-expanded international Masters circuit starts in May and is set to give age-group squash a much-needed shot in the arm after the pandemic.
International...
Growing the game
Outdoor squash given fresh momentum
The concept of outdoor squash has received heavyweight support thanks to two significant recent developments in the industry.
Outdoor squash courts such as those at...
Features
5 things with Mathieu Castagnet: We have to bring squash to schools
Squash Mad asks recently-retired Mathieu Castagnet his influences and his current views on the sport
Playing for the French national team was a very important...
Growing the game
‘It really makes an impression when you see all these women on court’
In these straightened times, it is not often that Squash Mad gets to report on a boom story for our sport but that is...
Growing the game
Nicol David Organisation receives boost for squash and tutoring project
The Nicol David Organisation (NDO) has welcomed a big Malaysian sponsorship boost to the tune of RM1 million (£185,000), as the squash great’s non-profit...
Growing the game
Welsh squash club fights back after closure threats
A Welsh club says it has “risen from the ashes” following a successful squashathon after nearly being forced to fold.
Cardigan Squash Club on the...
Growing the game
‘Squash has taken Singapore to a world standard – We need new courts’
Squash Mad speaks to former Singapore No.1 on players of yesteryear and the future of the sport on the sovereign island
Zainal Abidin, a multiple...
Growing the game
How unique twists help Stockholm Squash Club sustain success
Gärdets Squashhall, the home of Stockholm Squash Club, is a three-court facility in a basement accessed straight off the pavement. Across the world, many...
Comment
‘We need answers’: Sydney squash club feels council squeeze
Former Australian world champion Michelle Martin has long since battled to save squash courts from meddling councils and developers with little interest in the...
Commonwealth Games
Mike Harris: ‘My quest to save squash left me scarred and miserable’
The immensely popular Mike Harris - AKA ‘Mr Squash’ - has opened up to Squash Mad about the toll last year took on his...
Growing the game
“Don’t listen to the doom-mongers – US squash is in rude health”
Robert Gibralter – pioneer of the famous steel squash court in New York and recently appointed Director of Growth at the Squash and Education...
Growing the game
James Willstrop helps Mark Fuller to continue surge in squash at University of Nottingham
By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
Former world No.1 James Willstrop has joined Mark Fuller to beef up the coaching team at the award-winning University...
Growing the game
Mohamed ElShorbagy caps his first appearance for England with a Nations Cup win alongside Sarah-Jane Perry
‘The new scoring system is edgy and we didn’t know what to expect – but I loved it,’ says Kiwi Joelle King
By ALAN THATCHER...
Growing the game
Hurricane halts World Squash Day in El Salvador but the rest of the globe kicks up a storm of energy
Outdoor venues and clubs with interactive courts join forces for a fun day to promote the game
By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor and Founder...
Fun Stuff
Nick Matthew leads a day full of fun as Crowborough celebrates the launch of interactiveSQUASH
By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
Nick Matthew is travelling from Yorkshire down to Sussex today to spearhead the launch of interactiveSQUASH at Crowborough Tennis...
Growing the game
Squash makes a big splash in Singapore with some creative marketing
By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
We saw plenty of graffiti around the glass court in Nantes last week for the Open de France inside...
Growing the game
Nouran Gohar the top earner as PSA World Tour prize money hits record heights
By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
The PSA World Tour is hoping that the new season will result in an increase in the record prize...
Growing the game
World Squash Day teams up with interactiveSQUASH to attract new players and support Ukraine
By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor and World Squash Day Founder)
World Squash Day has announced an exciting partnership with interactiveSQUASH as today (Friday August...
Growing the game
Feeding off the energy and passion in Birmingham, World Squash Day teams up with SquashLab to grow the game
‘Teaming up with World Squash Day is a natural extension of our whole ethos, which is about helping squash communities to grow across the...
Growing the game
Millie Tomlinson beats Grace Gear as Canterbury Women’s Open attracts 41 players to the UK’s first all-female graded event
By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
World No.60 Millie Tomlinson of England battled past compatriot Grace Gear (World 59) to take the inaugural Canterbury Women’s...
Growing the game
Squash Australia aims to revive the sport with four-year plan to develop ‘a strong and sustainable’ future
Focus on four pillars: participation, performance, profile and facilities
By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
Squash Australia, in partnership with its State and Territory Members, has...
Growing the game
Snorkelling, cliff jumping and a party on a pirate ship: Adam Murrills on making squash grow in the beautiful British Virgin Islands
‘Staging the Carey Olson Tortola Classic was a dream come true after rebuilding the club following the wreckage of Hurricane Irma’
By ALAN THATCHER (Squash...
Growing the game
Squash Levels partnership with WSF aims to unite players across the globe
By JANE BALL (Squash Mad Reporter)
The World Squash Federation (WSF) and SquashLevels have agreed an exciting new partnership to deliver the official World Squash...
Growing the game
Behind the scenes with Omar El Sherbini, a man with a passion and vision for squash
Founder of InSocial says: “We are building ideas to market squash on a worldwide basis”
INTERVIEW by ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
Everyone in squash knows...
Growing the game
Lee Witham, Part 9: My final point is to stress that technology is the key to building squash’s future
‘We need a fresh approach in a post-Covid world and that begins with understanding costs and how to make squash more visible’
By LEE WITHAM...
Growing the game
Lee Witham, Part 8: How clubs can improve their business performance, and make their venues more attractive to young adults
‘Technology is the way forward to create a new generation of squash players’
By LEE WITHAM (Squash Mad Special Correspondent)
I cringe when I hear volunteers...
Growing the game
Lee Witham, Part 7 on Recreational Squash: Why do so many clubs ignore 95% of their members?
‘Do they care about the recreational player? Of course not. Do they care about the fact that most players are using the wrong ball?...
Growing the game
Tomorrow marks 100 days to go when the sport unites for World Squash Day 2022
‘Covid challenged people to create ways of playing outdoors and we look forward to seeing lots of fun events in streets, playgrounds and parks,’...