Promoting Squash in Your Club with Squash BC

Squash BC is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting squash in British Columbia. We work in partnership with Government agencies, Sport BC, Leagues, Players, and of course Club/Facilities to promote the game of Squash in British Columbia. If we all work in promoting the game of squash, then it can be a viable, exciting and profitable game for all concerned.

Promoting Squash in Your Club:

Through our many years of experience we have learned a lot of do’s and don’ts for squash. We are sure that you have learned some of them as well. What we are trying to do is to keep people from reinventing the wheel when it comes to promoting the game of squash. (By not knowing what do’s and don’ts you are aware of, we will start from square one.)

What Type of Club/Facility do You Have?

When 95% of the squash players in BC are asked where they play squash, they will say “The Club.” Of course a lot of Squash BC members don’t play at “Clubs,” but that is where they feel they belong. They don’t go to the “Gym” or “The Fitness Center;” They go to the club for competition and to socialize. So, let’s determine the type of facility you have.

Squash in British Columbia is played in three very distinct types of facilities

• We have Universities, Recreation Center’s, and the Y’s that have put courts in for recreation purposes. These facilities are the usual first contact for a lot of our squash players. In the past, many of them haven’t offered any instruction, competition or any social activities, just the courts. Some of these facilities have a dedicated volunteer who will organize squash, but when the volunteer moves on, so does squash.
• We have Fitness Centers or Gyms who put in Racquetball courts in the 80’s because they could fill up their facility very quickly with members when Racquetball was flying. These centers/gyms have converted their Racquetball courts to weight/aerobic rooms, and squash courts. They usually let the squash players run the programs as they see fit and don’t very often hire a professional to run the squash programs and give lessons. They will hire people to work in the weight room and do aerobics, but squash is usually left to its own devices.
• Then we have The Clubs which have usually been started by a dedicated group of members and their programs have been set-up and are driven by these members. These clubs will usually hire a pro to manage squash. The clubs will have annual tournaments, league teams, junior programs, social events, dinning / bar facilities and many other amenities for the members. (The major thing a club offers its members is, they have programs that allow a player to compete to their highest level, and they facilitate a social atmosphere.)

Now that we’ve determined what type of “Club” you have, you will find out it doesn’t really matter. Squash is like any other business. You have to do the basics well and everything else will fall into place. From now on, your facility will be called “A Club.”

The Anatomy of a Squash Player:

The promotion of squash in clubs have varied over the years, but squash players have usually been the same type of person and want the same things out of their club. Many clubs have acquired squash courts because somebody lobbied hard to get them built. That somebody was probably a squash enthusiast who was addicted to squash. Don’t blame that person for their addiction, it can’t be helped. What we will try to answer in the following paragraphs is what kind of person the average squash player is, and what does that average person expect out of your club?

The basic wants of most male squash players are in the following order:

1. They want to compete. In other words, beat their opponent.
2. They want to socialize. In other words, give their opponents a rough time for losing yet again to them, and have a few “healthy beverages” after the game.
3. They like a nice “clean” facility.
4. They want exercise. (They’ve been told this is good for them from their wives.)

The basic wants of most female squash players are not in any particular order:

• They want to exercise.
• They want to learn how to play the game and compete.
• They want to socialize.
• They demand a nice “clean” facility.

The male squash player is a pretty basic animal and their priorities are in the order they are listed. The females are a little trickier and their priorities tend to change as other factors in their lives change. A Sport BC survey done in February 2005 asked the question “what people wanted out of sport” and 48% (total mentions) of respondents mentioned social interaction and friendship, followed very closely behind by physical activity and fitness.

A Squash Players Career:

The way most squash players go through their squash career is fairly consistent and straight forward. We will use Billy Backhand and Frankie Forehand as examples.

Bill and Frank decide that after sitting behind a desk for 5 years, they need to get some exercise. They both hit the squash ball around a little in university and there’s a squash court down at the local club so, let’s go play there. They go and join the club because they want to make a commitment to this. They play twice a week at lunch time, they have a great time, and hey, they’ve lost some weight as well. After about a year Bill and Frank start to get bored with each other. This is the critical time for the club to keep these two. Bill and Frank need to spread their wings and play other people. Variety is the spice of life and somebody needs to encourage them to join a box league, club night, inter club league or club tournament so they can meet and play new people. If these programs aren’t available, then Bill and Frank will probably walk out the door, along with their membership dollars. They will either quit squash or go to another club, most will quit.

When the programs are available to Bill and Frank, they will become long term members. Squash is a very “Addicting Game.” Once you keep Bill and Frank for more then a year, they will be “Hooked on Squash.” Most people keep playing squash till they are no longer physically able. It is not uncommon to have players who have played for 30 plus years. Having a member for thirty years is a pretty steady cash flow.

Squash Player Demographics

In Canada there are over 250,000 squash participants playing. Player participant surveys prove that squash players are upscale, loyal, highly educated, decision-makers and professionals.

According to the Print Measurement Bureau (PMB) statistics, when compared to the general population, squash players are more likely to be:

Ages 18-24 144%

Aged 25-34 125%

Have a Post Graduate Degree 164%

Have 1 Bachelor’s Degree: 152%

Single: 165%

Professionals: 153%

Senior Management/Owners: 167%

Employed full time: 135%

Annual Income$75,000 +: 181%

Household Income $75,000 + 180%

Credit Card (spend $100+/month): 233%

2 cars at home: 134%

3+ cars at home: 124%

(Source: 1999 PMB two-year Readership Study)