Growing squash (Not the vegetable, the sport)

By ALAN THATCHER

As someone who has worked in London for more than 25 years, and played squash for much longer, I have an admission to make.

London is no longer a squash city.

All of the big, thriving clubs have gone. Some have been wiped off the map as their prime city-centre plots have spawned new office blocks or apartment buildings. Others have fallen victim to the rape of our sport by the health and fitness industry, with ugly treadmills and gym machines replacing the courts.

The decline of London squash is in contrast to the growth of the sport in North America, and my two favourite squash cities in the whole world are New York and Toronto. In both cities it seems that you are never more than a block or two away from a squash club.

As this is my first trip to Chicago, I am looking forward to adding the Windy City to my list. I have heard great things about the squash scene here, and all of the club professionals are to be congratulated for their pioneering spirit in developing the sport.

Squash in general is expanding steadily throughout North America, and has a longer history than many imagine, with a handful of clubs more than a century old.

The evolution of American squash has seen a power-shift unfold during the past few decades, with hardball gradually giving way to the international game.

However, hardball maintains a solid presence in the sport thanks to doubles, and here's a further admission: I'm an absolute convert to hardball doubles. It's so much fun and the tragedy is that there is only one hardball doubles court in the whole of Europe (at Edinburgh Sports Club in Scotland). Shame I have to travel so far for a game.

My informal research yields the result that doubles courts are often the busiest in North American clubs, with a variety of age-group demographics unfolding throughout the day (as well as some interesting body shapes among my fellow veterans).

Mentioning Scotland adds a further trans-Atlantic dimension to this article. When the 9/11 terrorist attacks destroyed the World Trade Center, one of the victims was a young Scotsman called Derek Sword. He was a former junior international team-mate of Peter Nicol and Martin Heath and he moved to New York to work for investment bank KBW.

Derek was the squash champion at the New York Athletic Club, which lost many members on that tragic day. Derek was so popular on both sides of the Atlantic that a group of friends decided to do something special in his honour, with an event that would also provide tangible benefits for the game of squash. Hence the creation of World Squash Day, which also features an annual match between teams from London and New York who compete for the Derek Sword Trophy.

The 2001 US Open, then staged in Boston, was one of the many sports events postponed because of 9/11. When the tournament was rescheduled for early the following year, many of the world's leading professionals flew back from Boston to London to take part in the inaugural Derek Sword Trophy match at the imposing Lamb's Club, which has sadly been demolished.

Peter Nicol, who had won the title the previous day, was joined on the red-eye flight by great entertainers John White and Paul Price, who are now both based here in America, White coaching and Price combining his hardball doubles commitments with a new career as a singer-songwriter.

Their appearance at the Derek Sword Trophy, together with Peter Marshall, the former world No.2 who struck every shot with a unique two-handed style, clearly demonstrated the bond that exists between squash players of all ages and abilities, and the respect and passion for their sport that burns through the heart of every professional squash player.

I believe these traits, coupled with a phenomenal work ethic, make squash ideally suited to the American psyche.

Professionals like Julian Illingworth, Chris Gordon and Gilly Lane are flying the U.S. flag on the PSA world tour and Natalie Grainger has struck a purple patch of form to reach No.2 in the WISPA rankings, including a recent win over Malaysia's Nicol David, who has held the world No.1 position for more than three years.

With an excellent coaching structure in place here in the USA, many more professionals seem destined to follow them.

The growth in the number of North American clubs has been matched by the development of the U.S. College Squash Association, with an increasing number of major educational establishments now boasting multi-court complexes featuring all-glass showcourts.

These colleges are also attracting many of the world's leading coaches to America and offering scholarships to talented teenagers from all over the globe in a highly competitive recruitment process.

Trinity College's long unbeaten run has generated a phenomenal level of publicity which can only help to raise the profile of the sport.

North America has already produced one individual who was able to generate a steady flow of media coverage. In fact, Canada's Jonathon Power was a one-man headline factory thanks to the McEnroe-like histrionics that matched his genius with the racket.

Power was North America's first world champion and entertained audiences wherever he played. In typically unpredictable fashion, he retired from the sport three years ago having regained his world number one ranking.

I bumped into him last year at Niagara-On-The-Lake, where he came out of retirement to win the Canadian Nationals at a breeze.

By the way, if you fancy somewhere special to stay then I would happily recommend the White Oaks resort at Niagara, a five-star hotel with ten squash courts, including one showcourt with a glass front wall in addition to the back wall.

The fact that White Oaks recently removed a tennis court to make way for more squash courts is a sure sign of the sport's solid standing and popularity in North America.

Long may it continue.