By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
England Squash has published advice for the game on how best to proceed during the period of mourning for Her Majesty The Queen, who died on Thursday.
The bulletin shares the guidance from the UK Government and Sport England that sporting activities and events may continue to take place during the period of National Mourning, including the day of the State Funeral.
Monday September 19 has now been confirmed as the date, which will become a public holiday.
In a statement on its website, the squash governing body said: “England Squash joins the nation in mourning the loss of Her Majesty The Queen. The Queen had a profound impact on the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the World, and was a great ally of sport.
“The UK Government and Sport England have issued guidance that sporting activities and events may continue to take place during the period of National Mourning including on the day of the State Funeral.
“Based on this guidance, we can provide the following advice for squash clubs, venues, coaches and players:
“There is no obligation to cancel or postpone community squash, events and competitions, friendlies or training, or to close your club/venue.
“As a mark of respect, clubs and venues might wish to consider cancelling or postponing events or closing their venue on the day of the State Funeral.
“However, clubs and venues are under no obligation to do so and this is entirely at their discretion.
“If squash competitions and events are planned for the day of the State Funeral, clubs/venues may want to adjust the event timings so they do not clash with the timings of the funeral service and associated processions.
“As a mark of respect, and in keeping with the tone of national mourning, organisers may wish to hold a period of silence and/or to play the National Anthem at the start of events or competitions, and players may wish to wear black armbands.”
In Doha, PSA players gathered on court for a minute’s silence ahead of the QTerminals Qatar Classic semi-finals in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Malaysia’s eight-times world champion Nicol David posted her own tribute to Her Majesty on social media.
Writing on Facebook, she said: “In 2002 during the Commonwealth Games in Manchester I had the honour to meet Her Majesty The Queen.
“A few athletes were chosen to have lunch with her. I was very nervous and especially after I realised I was sitting in the same table directly in front of her.
“I barely ate because I was afraid of doing anything wrong. She was so gracious and approachable. She asked me my name, my sport and my country and when I mentioned I was from Malaysia she said how she knew that Malaysians loved their football … especially the Premier League and how many Manchester United fans our country had.
“Truly a special moment I will keep in my heart and memory. May you rest in peace now after all you have given back.”
Squash and The Royals: Our recent series on squash’s links to the royal court