Dubbo Squash to host Junior titles in Narromine

LAST month we recognised the contribution Beryl Mortimer has made to the sport of squash in Dubbo.

In that article, Beryl pointed out that from two courts built behind the Dubbo Police Station in 1959, the racquet sport expanded rapidly. At one point there were eight courts at the RSL Youth Club and 10 at a specialty squash complex Peter P Deacon developed where Furney’s Flour Mills office now stands.

“Squash was THE sport in Dubbo in the 1970s, ‘80s and into the ‘90s but the arrival of other short and fastpaced sports like Indoor Cricket, Netball, Basketball and the exponential growth of gyms with such a variety of experiences almost signalled the death knell of the sport,” according to Bernadette Reynolds who was one of Dubbo’s keenest and most talented players.

“In the halcyon years we had all courts in use most days of the weeks with lots of grades, footy clubs using them for pre-season and ongoing fitness programs and lots of social matches,” Bernadette remarked.

While four walls, a racquet and a ball are all that is still required, squash is no longer the most popular indoor sport but with the likes of Beryl Mortimer and a dedicated band of coaches and officials, the juniors are being encouraged.

This weekend, remarkably, the Dubbo Junior

Championships will be played in Narromine where there are enough courts to cater for the many keen players coming from around the state.

Dubbo champion and long-serving former President, Bernadette Reynolds played the world’s best player Heather Mckay in an event organised by promoter Peter P Deacon. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Christine Crane, World No 1 Geoff Hunt, Australian sporting legend Heather Mckay, Peter P Deacon and Di Hildebrandt

Bernadette Reynolds, Neville Middleton and world champion Michelle Martin

Dubbo players Bettina Doyle and Cheryl Pfeiffer with World Champion, Michelle Martin. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED