Fellow Squash Players,

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during what has been a very frustrating and difficult year for all of us who have been used to playing squash regularly. It’s great news that we can finally get back on court again (albeit in a limited fashion). Hopefully, we are now well on the way to resuming a normal squash life again with our clubs and venues returning to being a key part of our sporting and social activity. 

I would just like to pass on the heartfelt thanks of all Wiltshire squash players to John Jeffrey who has recently stood down as Chairman of Wiltshire Squash due to ill health, and we wish him all the best for the future and hope to see him back on court before too long.

I would like to emphasise that it’s really important to only open up your club for play when you are ready and you believe you are able to meet the requirements as set down by England Squash (click here or the logo to the left for the guidance). I am aware that some clubs are targeting 17th May as a good point to re-start squash as this is the date from which bubble-based competitive play can resume. Whatever date you are aiming at, it would be helpful if you could let me and the Wiltshire Squash Committee know what your plans are so we can help enquirers know about club opening and court availability around the county.

On the subject of competitive play, the latest England Squash initiative SQUASHfit aims to prepare you for the return to the level of fitness you need to play squash without risking injury (click here or the logo to the left for more information). After a lengthy lay off this shouldn’t be taken lightly. I urge you to take a look and register for these on-line events. They are free of charge and hosted by great players and coaches including Nick Matthew, Laura Massaro and David Campion. 

It’s important to recognise that at the moment we are all just getting started again and there is still some uncertainty about the future. The emphasis at the moment is on the return of safe squash at all levels at all squash venues in the county. If things go well, we will then start thinking about the resumption of inter-club leagues which are at the centre of an active and thriving Wiltshire Squash community. We will do our best to keep you informed on this and will work with you to agree a way forward.

Please forward this information to your members, coaches, team captains, support staff and anyone else in your squash community.

Please drop me, or any of the Wiltshire Squash Committee a line if you would like to have a chat about squash at your club. We would love to hear from you. We are planning to hold a Wiltshire Squash Annual General Meeting in June this year and have set Wednesday 9th June 2021 as the provisional date.  We will confirm this date soon and send everyone a Microsoft Teams invite, so you can participate remotely if you wish.  We will be keen to hear from as many of you as possible and get your views and involvement as we plan the resumption of squash at all levels across the County. We will keep the website updated with all the latest information.

Regards,

Nick Hartley
Chairman
Wiltshire Squash
Tel:        07729 917935
Email:   [email protected]

Follow Wiltshire Squash on the following social media sites: