Bartek Benewiat runs a marketing agency and absolutely loves playing squash. Early last year, he decided to combine his professional acumen with his hobby and start a project. The outcome has proved to be quite remarkable.
Benewiat lives in Zielona Góra, western Poland, and before March 2025, he often struggled to find squash opponents around his level. He had an idea to build a system that would give him, and all the town's players, greater choice, consistency and flexibility when it came to opportunities to play.
"I wanted to create an environment that I, as a player, would genuinely want to use," Benewiat tells Squash Player. "None of us expected that this simple personal need would grow within a year into one of the most vibrant and tightly-knit squash communities in Poland."
That community centres around the SQUASHBUSTERS League which must surely have the most impressive array of prizes in the world for an amateur squash competition.
The league has two seasons, lasting from autumn-winter and spring-summer. Players are divided into six groups based on their level and each league consists of 20 rounds, played each Monday at the town's six-court Hasta La Vista club. Each round has a promotion and relegation system, and all matches are refereed live on tablets using the BO5 platform.
Every week, prizes worth over 1500 PLN are given to winners as well as drawn randomly, including restaurant vouchers, massages, car washes, or beauty salon visits.
The culmination of each season is a grand finale with open and women's classifications. The prizes include diamond bracelets from Savicki jewellers worth 1500 PLN each, professional Kanso shoes, electric cars for the weekend from Fiat, or a spa weekend.
The whole SQUASHBUSTERS movement was the result of Bartek's desire for regular squash activity at appropriate competitive level. His marketing expertise (he founded the agency Reprezentuj.com 20 years ago) quickly ensured the project went far beyond a simple Whatsapp group.
He explains: "My mind automatically went into full branding mode: naming, visual identity, professional photography, media strategy, prizes, sponsors and a structured event ecosystem.
"I brought my agency team on board. We approached an amateur, niche sports project with the exact same precision, dedication and scale that we use for major corporate clients. That attention to detail and treating amateur players like pros made people feel like they were part of something truly special."
SQUASHBUSTERS, which has an ecosystem of over 350 active members, now comprises activity for all levels of player:
— SQUASHINTRO: Friday introductory sessions with coaches to help beginners break the ice.
— SQUASHBUSTERS League: A flexible league split into skill divisions with a supportive, judgment-free atmosphere.
— Academy & Sparring Groups: Dedicated sub-groups for continuous skill development.
— Charity & Community Events: Proving that sport is just the catalyst for building local community ties.
SQUASHBUSTERS has ongoing activity for women, children, beginners and companies and, amazingly, has over 30 partners (its slick website is groaning with corporate logos).
It is a key project under Fundacja The Winners Foundation which gives the project added credibility, allows it to scale social initiatives, and enables corporate sponsors to offer support through official foundation donations.
The sponsors are often clients of Bartek's agency and they are well rewarded for their philanthropy:
Group Title Sponsors get continuous presence in the app, on the WhatsApp group, on match shirts, and in social media for six months. Often, sponsors' employees join the matches.
Round Sponsors are given physical branding in the club on that night, plus marketing materials (photos and video), and promotion on SQUASHBUSTERS social media.
The SQUASHBUSTERS movement has the official patronage of the City of Zielona Góra and operates under the umbrella of the Polish Squash Federation. Benewiat is also building a SQUASHBUSTERS team to compete in the national Polish Squash League (PLS).
Benewiat explains: "When we pitch to corporate clients, we have a clear and powerful message: in just over a year, we built an engaged, 350-member community around a niche sport from scratch, without owning a facility. Imagine what we can do for your brand if you give us the space and trust."
Its core activities take place at Hasta La Vista in Zielona Góra but SQUASHBUSTERS owns no courts itself. Its model is essentially a "club without a club" – a brand and community-first approach independent of facility ownership.
Benewiat says: "This experience taught me something fundamental about sports marketing: people don't come for the walls or the building. They come for the people, the atmosphere, the organisation and the emotions... We've created a self-sustaining ecosystem where everyone finds their spot."
Word has quickly spread beyond the town, with players flocking from across Poland for camps, tournaments and even league nights.
SQUASHBUSTERS organises training camps with top Polish pros, including six-time national champion Filip Jarota, as well as high-level coaching for groups of maximum four players. Its brand is gaining traction, while keeping its primary focus on local players.
"Squash here got a second life!" smiles Benewiat. "Seeing how much joy this brings to people gave us the drive to keep growing it and look for opportunities to connect the project with the city, the region, and local businesses.
"Even though this is still a side project that doesn't generate profit, we just can't stop. We've built something genuinely unique, and we're excited to keep pushing it forward."
Read more about SQUASHBUSTERS at squashbusters.pl and follow them on Instagram and Facebook
