Squash into Schools - a Wellington success
Overview
Squash into Schools was a Squash Wellington initiative that ran over the first half of 2009. Thousands of school children around the region got to ‘have a go’ at squash. Hundreds of children went on to choose squash as a school elective, playing the game once a week, for one term. Dozens of children took it another step and joined their local squash club – many bringing parents with them.
The success of the initiative was largely due to the seamless links it created between schools and clubs. Children didn’t simply get to bash a squash ball around on a one-off occasion: they had the club door opened up on a regular basis.
“You talk to the principals and they say Squash into Schools is the best sporting programme they’ve seen come into the school for a long, long time,” enthuses Dave Christie, Development Manager for Squash Wellington.
Background & partners
For a number of years, Wellington and other squash regions around the country have run a Microcourt programme (it’s still running). This has involved taking a small, mobile court around schools, to give children a taste of the game. The problem is, while many New Zealand children have now played in a Microcourt, few have taken up the game as a result.
“Hundreds of thousands of children have been through Microcourts. But it doesn’t tie-in with the clubs. You need to open the doors to the clubs,” Dave explains. Around the capital, there were no regular links between schools and clubs, just the occasional open day, organised by an individual club.
Exacerbating the situation, the public profile of the sport has dropped away in recent years. In Wellington and around much of the country, numbers of junior squash players have fallen alarmingly.
Dave and Nick Mita, Head Coach for Squash Wellington, decided to do something about it. As well as their Squash Wellington roles (Nick coaches a number of junior internationals) they’re both members of Tawa Squash Club and they both have children: so they’re well aware of the barriers into squash.
Nick and Dave contacted schools and clubs around the region, and set about putting in place a programme for the first two school terms of 2009. Funding of $8,500 from the Community Trust of Wellington (CTOW) covered core costs. But to a large degree, Squash into Schools relied on free and subsidised court time from clubs.
The initiative
It needs to be explained that Squash into Schools fits into a bigger development picture. Since around 2004, Squash Wellington has put major effort into helping clubs revive their facilities, infrastructure and finances.
“Club development is vital. A few years ago most of the clubs were run down. Only one was financially sound. Now they’re nice places to go to - and they’re financially stable,” says Dave. An appealing, clean playing environment is of course crucial to bringing in new players, regardless of age.
Work began on Squash into Schools at the end of August 2008. “We went to as many schools as we could that were close to clubs, with as many coaches as we had,” says Nick. “We offered schools everything, [with coaching from] the Wellington Coach and some of the top Wellington players.”
All eight schools came on board, making squash part of their elective. Year seven and eight children were the key focus, with six intermediate and two secondary schools.
The clubs were also all keen to get involved. They only needed to supply access to courts, as Nick and five other coaches led the sessions. The clubs all provided free use of the courts for the introductory sessions, followed by subsidised or free court hire for the electives.
“We put together a great programme. The kids got to have a go [in an introductory session]. Then they were asked, who wants to do squash as an elective. We had groups of 15-30 kids from each school [take it up as an elective],” says Nick.
Key benefits
Many sports organisations and clubs run open days, and some do work in schools, in the hope that new members might join up. But very few open the doors – and overcome the barriers – as well as Squash into Schools. Highlights include:
- 4800 children got to try squash, on a full sized club court. For the introductory sessions, Hutt Valley Intermediate alone put through 650 children, in classes of 30. “Squash is not a high profile sport. We usually found that only one or two children in each class had actually played squash. It was great exposure for the sport,” notes Nick. In fact, even more children would have taken part in the programme, but there was insufficient equipment to complete all schools. That meant the CTOW grant was not used in full. CTOW re-donated the unspent amount to go towards purchase of more equipment.
- Over 200 children chose squash as a school elective, playing at least nine times. Clubs saw a boost in junior membership over the two terms, with over 60 children signing up around the region. Otaki Squash Club had 18 juniors join up; Fraser Park had 22. Further, Nick explains, “you get the kids, you get the parents. If you get 60 kids, you get another 30 adults.”
- The timing was right. It was only because clubs agreed to open up during the day, that squash could be made an elective. The courts were either closed or little-used during the day, so existing club members weren’t being affected. That meant clubs could afford to offer free access for the introductory sessions, and subsidised or free rates for the electives.
- Children didn’t just get to hold a squash racquet, they were enthused by the experience. Nick had some of his Under-18 international players help in coaching the children. “The kids hang off their legs! It’s awesome,” he says.
- Some children really clicked with the game. “We had one principal ring up to say they had a kid who had been an absolute mischief. It was a real turnaround. His behavior had transformed. He wanted to play squash all the time,” says Nick. “It’s a great game for releasing energy. You can run around flat out and bash the ball all round the place!”
- Relationships were forged with schools. If funding is gained for the programme to continue, Squash Wellington will have the schools and clubs all ready to continue their involvement. “We conversed with all school teachers to confirm that the programme was satisfactory. Without exception the reply was ‘excellent’ - the best school sports programme they have seen,” says Dave.
- The entire programme was run on a budget of under $10,000. It profiled the sport, and gained significant membership, in a hugely cost-effective way. That’s a fundamental consideration for any minority sport. As Dave observes, sports too often put far greater focus on organising major tournaments for top players, which increase membership only nominally, if at all. “Profile is good. But you need to open the doors,” he reiterates.
“We believe that if we can continue with the programme and if funding can be found - more children will take up squash”
- Dave Christie, Development Manager for Squash Wellington.
Looking ahead
Squash into Schools ran for two terms. Nick and Dave are committed to launching the next phase as soon as possible. They’d love to see it rolled out further afield, though that’s a long-term goal. One option to be discussed with the Wellington school principals is implementing a $1 charge for each child per session, to cover court hire and coaching. Nick admits that even that would likely be a barrier for some schools.
The ideal situation would be to secure ongoing community or corporate backing. You get the sense talking to Dave and Nick, both fizzing with energy, that whatever support they end up gaining, it’ll be enough to make sure Squash into Schools carries on. As Nick says: “It’s a lot of work - but you see the results.” And Dave: “We’ve got something here that is just brilliant.”
Contacts and links
To know more about this initiative, please contact Dave Christie on (04) 236 0302 or sdm@squashwellington.org.nz
To know more about Squash Wellington visit: www.squashwellington.org.nz
Updated | 09 Jul 2009.
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