Evesham Rowing and Racquets Club in Worcestershire is breathing new life into its squash facilities after securing its future through fundraising.
A ‘Race to the North Pole for Christmas’ fundraising challenge late last year (completed on rowing machines and on the water) pushed the club past its £90,000 target to purchase the freehold of its riverside boathouse home on the banks of the River Avon.
Buying the boathouse secures the club's future, allows vital upgrades to the building and equipment and kickstarts the development of new sporting and community assets.
Part of that project is rejuvenating activity on the club's three squash courts, which have been under-utilised for many years.
Evesham's squash Chair, Wendy Souness, told Squash Player: "There's huge potential here. Racket sports are on the up at the moment and there's no reason why squash shouldn't be joining in with that. We've got to get rid of this fuddy-duddy cloud that's been hanging over it.
"I really think there's an opportunity for squash to have a big drive and become as popular as pickleball and padel. Squash is an all-body and mind workout. It's a brilliant, brilliant sport and can be played inside when it's raining, as it is rather a lot at the moment!"
As she makes plans for Evesham's squash renaissance, Wendy has picked the brains of Richard Vitty, whose schools programmes have been so successful at Northern Squash Club in Newcastle.
She has also mined the expertise of Chris Ryder, the England Squash national junior coach and former world no.33, who is head coach at Solihull Arden Squash Club in Birmingham.
Ryder recommended a young coach called Tom Watkins, who Wendy immediately appointed. At the time of writing, Tom is on week four of a new weekly junior programme at Evesham. The sessions already have six juniors taking part and three new adult members have joined the club.
"It's a fantastic business opportunity for a young coach like Tom to come in and build it up exactly how they want," said Wendy.
"The previous coach left before Covid which led to a downturn. I knew we needed to get juniors involved again. Juniors are the secret to everything."
Wendy used to play squash at Coolhurst Squash Club in north London before moving to Worcestershire a decade ago. She was dismayed to find "nothing was really happening" on Evesham's squash courts and didn't join the club.
Ten years on, her children started tennis lessons at the club and she revisited the squash courts to find that nothing had changed.
"Even the notices on the noticeboard were the same!" she says. "Nobody was booking courts and the third court had been taken over by the rowing section using it for fitness."
Prompted by the club's successful fundraising campaign, music teacher Wendy has now taken the reins of the squash section by appointing Tom as coach and kickstarting junior sessions. There's also racketball training, one-to-one and group coaching and club night on Thursdays.
"It's about getting new members through the door, because if you've only got the old members it soon gets very stale," commented Wendy.
"You have to get the juniors in, then new members will come. For that you need a coach.
"With squash coming into the Olympics, it's an ideal time to get kids out of school, off their screens and on to the squash court."
