Revival of Squash
SLIGO Squash Club which has been in existence since 1982 is seeing a resurgence in numbers lately.
There has been a bit of a lull in numbers over the years but that is now changing.
Shay Coyne, Captain, said that earlier in the year the aim was to bring 40 more members on board and they have surpassed that, with 52 new faces at the club.
He said: “We are part of the Sligo Tennis Club complex and we have four squash courts.
“Two of these are glass backed. “At one stage we had over 180 members playing the sport at a time when the sport was enormously popular throughout the country.
“However, the sport went into decline over the last 15 years or so, but thankfully it is now increasing in popularity throughout the country again.
“Last December the number of members playing the sport in Sligo was down to about 12.”
The club decided to go about improving the number of people playing the sport locally.
Shay added: “It was time to take immediate action.
“We formed a members committee with the aim of revitalising the club.
“We put together a three year plan to promote the club and we set ourselves a target of 120 new members.
“We had a very successful open night launch in September.
“On that night alone we reached our membership target for the year.
“As part of the promotion we offered new members a 6 week coaching program.
“This proved to be very popular and successful.
“The standard of play has improved week on week.
“Every week we have three orgaised nights Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday for ladder matches coaching and training.
“On December 18th we had our first Team Competition kindly sponsored by Burke’s Life Pharmacy, Wine Street.
Shay said: “This was a huge success, with a great atmosphere and fun, with a great competitive edge.
“It was really encouraging to see how the standard has improved so much in such a short time.
“Proof that it was worth the effort from all of our members who are involved in promoting this great sport.
“We plan to have more team competitions in the new year.
“We also plan to have another Open Night in mid January to encourage more members to our club,” Shay added.
Squash is very much on the up again throughout Sligo thanks to the hard work from the club members at expanding numbers.
2018 looks set to be a big year for the club with plans to host numerous competitions being organised, New members are welcome.