Squash has been a somewhat niche sport for over a century now but, thanks to a boom in participation across the Middle East and Asia, the sport looks like it could explode onto the global scene over the next decade. With a target of becoming an olympic sport by 2020, there is a huge drive in Britain and abroad to raise the profile of the game. BBBG sport is on hand to give you a dummies guide to the game…
1. History
The games origins lie at Harrow School, where the younger boys who couldn’t find a racquets court outside improvised and started using rooms indoors with rubber balls instead of harder ones. The sport grew in popularity in the 20th century and in 1928 the Squash Rackets Association was formed to set standards for squash in Great Britain. Over the next few decades, squash spread to the rest of the world and now has a competitive circuit worldwide.
2.“World’s healthiest sport” (As reported by Forbes Magazine)
If you’re looking to lose weight, or push yourself to the limit of your physical potential, you’ll do well to find a better sport than squash. In one hour of intense matchplay, players can burn off up to 1000 calories whilst attempting to keep control over a tiny ball travelling anything up to 170 mph.
The front, and largest, wall has three parallel lines marked out. The out line, which runs along the top of the wall and carries on to descend down the side walls until it meets the back wall, marks the highest point in which the ball may strike. Any higher and the point is lost. The middle line and lower line (“tin”) mark where the ball must strike when the ball is served. Anything higher or lower than these will result in a lost point.
A squash court consists of a playing surface surrounded by walls on all four sides. The court surface contains a front line separating the front and back of the court and a half court line, separating the left and right hand sides of the back portion of the court, creating three boxes – the front half, the back left quarter and the back right quarter. Both the back two boxes contain smaller service boxes. The floor markings only come into play during a serve.
4. Rules
The aim of the game is to simply keep hitting the ball against the front wall until your opponent can’t return it.
To get a point underway, the server hits the ball at the front wall, making sure at least one foot is in contact with the service box. The serve must land in the opposite back quarter of the court for it to be legitimate and if the server wins the point, the players switch sides for the following point.
During play, after the serve, each player takes it in turns to hit the ball between the tin and out line, using the side and back walls if necessary. Once the ball hits the front wall, it may only bounce once before it is returned.
The winner of a game is the first to 11 points, although they must win by two clear points. The winner of a match is usually the first to three in a “best of five” format but this depends on the country you’re playing in and at what level.
5. Equipment
The basic equipment used for playing squash is a racquet, usually made of graphite, and a ball. The type of ball varies depending on the level of the competition, with a colour system used to determine which is which. Beginners will use a blue ball, which travels faster and bounces much higher, whereas players on the competition circuits will use the double yellow ball which is very slow, making it harder to play with.
6. The Future
Squash is undergoing something of a renaissance right now, and there have been persistent calls to have the sport included in the 2020 Olympics rosta. If you want to get involved in the campaign, check out squash2020.com for more details.
7.Getting involved
There are several clubs in the Lincoln area that cater for all levels of experience. For a club directory in the United Kingdom, go to englandsquashandracketball.com. Here you can find clubs, competitions or even just courts at your local leisure centre. The whole website is ideal for finding out more about the game, and is pretty much a hub for squash in the United Kingdom.
