Efforts to Keep Squash Alive at an Amateur Level

Kush Mahan

The first week of April, a group of squash stars gathered in Sudbury, Canada, for the Northern Ontario Open. This usually small event somehow expanded tremendously this spring, welcoming 12 squash players who hold a ranking in the top 50 rankings in the world of squash to their local YMCA. Players from Australia, England, New Zealand, Canada, Egypt, Peru, and the United States all traveled to Sudbury in order to participate in a professional squash tour competition that was a 5-day event.

Sudbury, Canada is unique in that they have a small but lively community of squash players who support and play the sport regularly. However, many of the Sudsbury squash tycoons are concerned with the future of the sport on a level that is beneath professional. That is to say, these squash players are no professionals, yet they enjoy competing and are worried that the competition and livelihood of amateur squash may die out. Ryan Abresch, a 31-year-old native of Sudsbury is one of the area’s best players, only losing the title of the Men’s A Division title for amateur squash. Abresch began playing squash when he was ten years old with his father. He fell in love with the sport quickly, but wanted more out of it than just leisurely volleying. He wanted to compete.

In competing, Abresch enjoyed being able to travel around Ontario and play squash against other competitive players who loved the sport just as much as he did. Similarly, squash requires you to depend on yourself, rather than a team. This makes for a very unique and extremely different experience than that of playing a team sport. “In squash, it’s just you,” notes Abresch. “There’s no one else to blame. You’re playing a game against an opponent, but you’re also playing a game against yourself. That’s what I kind of love about the game.”

Abresch and his fellow squash players worry about children not even being aware about the existence of squash, saying that a number of children don’t know what squash is. They want to see more squash initiatives in the area, as well as more available coaches, in order to keep the sport alive beyond just a professional level.

To learn more about squash at an amateur level and action being taken to promote the sport, check outthis page.