SQUASH in South Africa
As with many sports in South Africa , squash was introduced early in the 20th century. Through the influence of the British military forces, the first courts were built at the Johannesburg Country Club and the Pretoria Squash Club. Since then squash has become one of the most popular amateur sports in South Africa , played with enthusiasm across the country, while the professional side of it has gone from strength to strength.
The local history of the sport is a rich one and in 1910 South Africa became the first country in the world to form a national controlling body before playing a major part in setting up the International Squash Rackets Federation in 1967 along with fellow founders Australia, Great Britain, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the United Arab Republic.
Squash was also one of the few South African sports to actively and vociferously oppose the policy
of apartheid and it was their stance against the government of the day that allowed them to avoid being expelled from the world body on Pakistan’s recommendation in the ‘70s. Instead, it was decided that South Africa would not compete in any official championships.
One of the first sporting codes to achieve unity in the early ‘90s, when the South African Men’s Squash Rackets Association, The Women’s Squash Rackets Association of South Africa and the South African Squash Rackets Federation merged to form Squash South Africa, squash continues to grow in popularity, both as a serious professional sport and as healthy recreation.
(Courtesy of SA Squash)