Chris Lark, on the left, believes that computers are the main reason behind the decline of Squash. Photo: Dylan Lauritsen
?by Dylan Lauritsen
In the early 90s, squash went from the after dark pastime of sporting Australia to the obscure sport society knows today and while no one can ever be sure about what caused the immense shift in popularity, Chris Lark, the current third seed in Western Australia and owner of the Belmont Squashworks attributes it to a culture shift and the rise of alternative sports. This culture shift, he believes, was the growing computer culture.
His views are backed by a large number of professional and industry figures as well as an overwhelming number of studies, the most troubling of which, came in 2009 and indicated that less than 25 per cent of children participated in more than two hours of organised sport a week.
This research came as no surprise to those who follow the sport as they had been watching participation rates slowly decline since the availability of computers became commonplace. What is perhaps more startling is the number of children who spend time watching television for more than 20 hours a week. The number has increased from close to 50 per cent in the mid to late 90s to 80 per cent after 2000.
It is apparent that one of the main problems that squash faced in its dark days was the lack of publicity. The sport was no longer televised, results were being shown less on the news and squash clubs themselves were forced to undertake the nearly impossible task of self-promotion, which, when combined with the downturn in profits, meant that any advertisement had to be minimal or increasingly local. When combined with soaring retail prices and a dramatic rise in rates, many squash courts had no option but to sell to developers, intent on using the land for housing or office space.
While it has never received that same level of publicity, the re-emergence of the sport in the 2000s, and the popularity it has with adults, has created a whole new wave of media coverage and interest. The ABC began intermittently covering results as recently as this year and the Exercise, Recreation and Sport survey released in 2011 by the Australian Sports Commission, highlights the revival of the sport amongst Australians with close to 270,000 people participating in organised and non-organised squash matches in 2011/2012. Whether the Olympics boosts this number is yet to be seen, however when asked about squash as an Olympic sport, Lark was quick to correct assumptions that it was a recognised sport, a fact he lamented. Mr Lark was adamant that it should indeed be an Olympic sport, a view that is shared by the majority of the international squash community and headed by the International Squash Council.
The International Squash Council launched bids for Squash in the 2012, 2016 and 2020 games and a grassroots campaign that has been titled, World Squash Day, has this year seen close to 100,000 participants worldwide.
The event, created by Alan Thatcher, is a tribute to a young squash player who died in the terrorist attacks on September 11 and hopes to draw the international media eye and raise the profile of the sport. Each year a theme that promotes the sport is chosen for the day and participating clubs are encouraged to embrace the push. There have been three Olympic bid themes, a ?women in squash? theme as well as 20/10, which asked clubs to recruit 20 new youth players and ten new senior players.
This year?s theme, as it is an Olympic year, was the 2020 games bid theme. The bid has many supporters including Nicol David, the Malaysian born Australian Open Squash Champion and current world number 1 seed. The Malaysian genius told Alan Thatcher she would swap all of her six world titles for Olympic gold. Squash enthusiasts anticipate public support for the bid will continue to grow as the sport continues attract more attention, though in recent years the development of technology and online experiences has led to a severe drop in the number of youths playing the sport and an increase in levels of obesity in children.
These apartments used to be a popular squash centre. Photo: Dylan Lauritsen
The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare released recommendations for healthy levels of activity in children, which suggest that more than two hours of non-educational screen time is detrimental to the health of young people. They found that in students between the ages of 13 and 17, 71 per cent exceeded the recommended two hours on weekdays and 83 per cent exceeded it on weekends.? The same research revealed that only four in ten young people did equal to or more daily exercise than was recommended.
While the research has little implication on the development of squash in youths, Mr Lark has taken that measure into his own hands. Setting up a junior competition on Fridays and travelling to schools with an inflatable squash court are two of the ways he is aiming to grow the sport in young people. Though these programs have only recently commenced, Mr Lark still believes that he has been a rise in the number of youths participating in the sport over the last ten years.
?We have been going out to school with our inflatable squash court and as a result there have been a lot more junior players in the past two years than there has been in the past ten.?
This is a positive result for the sport as it will continue to gain increased publicity as the young generation matures.
As squash continues to make its ?comeback? into mainstream public awareness, the sport will continue to grow. A major win for the sport would be acceptance into the 2020 Olympics and with dedicated and hardworking members like Chris Lark, the sport could not be in better hands. His efforts to introduce the sport to Western Australia?s youth will broaden and develop interest in the game of squash and positively impact on the future of this great game.
Belmont Squashworks is located at 144 Robinson Avenue?Belmont WA 6104
Phone: 9227 6673
http://squashworks.com.au/
Alan Thatcher is on Twitter @HotBalls5th
The International Squash Council website is www.worldsquash.org
The World Squash Day website is www.worldsquashday.com
?Source: http://www.murdochindependent.com.au/cant-squash-it/
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