With news of significant investment from Sport England to boost Squash in the UK, available post-Commonwealth Games in Birmingham is going to be a great thing for young and old people to take the sport.
The funding is as part of England Squash’s plans to deliver a new initiative called Uniting the Movement, the governing body is going to receive an investment of £7,351,682 from the government and National Lottery funding from Sport England.
Now this is great news for the sport, but in local communities in parts of England with squash provision, notably ones with a strong fan base.
At present, most people living in the UK are facing a high cost of living crisis the funding could help young people gain access to Squash provision, in addition, keep active and hopefully empower older people to take the sport to swap their gym gear for a Squash racquet and socialise with other people from their local community.
Universally, the funding is going to help shine a different light on Squash in the UK from two perspectives in growing the participation levels too in the community.
Making Squash diverse
With Squash, we all know it is truly a diverse sport – but there have been some stories about Squash players from BAME encountering racism in the sport.
Squash Coaching at Gidea Park (Credit: Racket Academy)
Now with the funding, it was good news to see that England Squash are going utilise the funding to tackle inequalities, and enhancing the diversity of the sport are at the heart of England Squash’s strategy, Squash in a Changing World.
Let us not forget Squash is one of Sport England’s priority sports, hence the governing body’s investment is going to enable England Squash to achieve its strategic priorities around increasing participation, enhancing diversity, and nurturing talent.
A quote on tackling diversity and getting people active in sport from Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said:
“Sport England’s goal is to get everyone active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is. But we know that certain groups – like women, people from ethnically diverse communities, and people with a disability – are more likely to be inactive.”
According to a press release by England Squash, Birmingham, our second favourite city (2022 Commonwealth Host) is one city identified as needing the most support, where inequalities mean that activity levels are often below the national average.
Coaching session – (image credit: Squashmad)
There are other areas in the pipeline, but it is going a great thing to see areas with strong Squash communities.
Obliviously, as a company we are thrilled to hear this, however, we believe England Squash need to bring recruit more Squash coaches from BAME backgrounds and highlight the talent demographic too, in order to encourage young people to take up Squash at their local club.
Lasting health impact
When it comes to leaving a legacy in any sport is important for future generation, so now because of the funding; Squash is going an excellent legacy, especially when it comes to health and wellbeing.
With great work currently done so far by Squash United, to promote the sport in the West Midlands, the lead to the Commonwealth Games has truly shown how Squash can make a difference in the community.
Photo: Squash United Coaching Demo in Birmingham
For instance, Mr. Squash showed a video of him playing Squash in the Grand Central platform of Birmingham New Street with a homeless man – now seeing shows that the sport is going to help people get back into shape and have a mindset of getting their lives in order.
From a grassroots perspective, some schoolchildren were able to play Squash too on the Grand Central platform of Birmingham New Street – this is going to be a wonderful memory for the young children who took part and potentially see take up the sport too.
Overall, the indoor Squash court at the Grand Central platform of Birmingham New Street is a legacy that is going remembered for ages.
Final Thoughts
In the past, we have said funding is going to be important for Squash – but hearing the announcement of a multi-million pound investment from Sport England and the National Lottery is a welcome boost for the UK provision.
Without telling England Squash how to spend the money, it would see the resurrection of some Squash venues that closed down because of the pandemic and a fund to help venues that have historical value.
Photo credit: England Squash
It would be good to a roll-out of more outdoor Squash provisions too; especially in schools and an outdoor squash court in a park – just saying!
To sum up, the funding for England Squash is going to help make bring about healthier communities, and tackle the sport inequalities too – remember Squash is the healthiest sport in the world and let us hope everyone can reap the benefits of the sport in their local community.
