While World Squash Day was celebrated across the world on Saturday, about 50 Grahamstown squash players attended a local event hosted at Kingswood College squash courts.
While World Squash Day was celebrated across the world on Saturday, about 50 Grahamstown squash players attended a local event hosted at Kingswood College squash courts.
Ian Knott-Craig, organiser of the local event and coach of Kingswood squash, said: “This is the first time that we have tried to encourage Grahamstown squash players to get together to celebrate this event this year" and the response had been “simply amazing”, with about 50 “keen and enthusiastic players” enjoying the day's activities, which began with a short but intense warm-up.
This was followed by an energy-sapping agility and movement course which got the heart rates up and cleared the lungs for a morning of enjoyable squash both in the singles and doubles format. Beginner players were accommodated with coaching sessions which provided the necessary guidance by qualified coaches.
All players who participated received a free T-shirt donated by an anonymous donor. Each year squash players throughout the world celebrate World Squash Day.
National Squash Federations and clubs all over the world participated. This popular annual event has taken place against a backdrop of the sport bidding for a place in the Olympic Games, endorsed by the World Squash Federation.
Unfortunately, after having had the sport’s hopes raised by the International Olympic Committee of being included as a sport by offering the 2020 Games’ hosts the chance to increase the number of sports agreed by the Buenos Aires session in 2013, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee recommended a further five – but did not include squash.
The WSF President explained that “back in 2005 the IOC membership voted us the top ‘new’ sport of the six in contention for the 2012 Games, but we lost out on a voting technicality”.
“Four years later we narrowly lost out to rugby sevens and golf, and a further four years on we were shortlisted as a ‘new’ sport ahead of rock climbing, karate and roller sports, before being sidelined again when the IOC reintroduced its ‘old’ sport of wrestling.
“It is very difficult to understand how this decision was made and very disappointing to say the least. Nonetheless, we as squash players are encouraged to look to the future,” said Knott-Craig.
“We hope to celebrate this event again next year and to get fully behind the fundraising drive of the WSF for Unicef,” said Knott-Craig.
sport@grocotts.co.za
