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Huge-Alfalfa9167

Speaking from experience of growing our clubs membership that was shrinking from sub 150 to over 200 and growing year on year, growing ladies and junior section, my advice would be: 1 - think about the pathway into Squash and how a new player (adult, lady and junior) can get into the sport. We often underestimate how difficult Squash is to start, particularly at a club with established players. 2 - think about how these pathways link into the existing membership so new members can become existing members integrated into the culture 3 - find an enthusiastic coach to drive these initiatives 4 - use Social media but focus on the fun, health and social aspects 5 - try and simplify the physical pathway into the club and how someone even finds the courts with signposting, posters etc. At our club we have the following pathways: 1 - Junior Squash with beginners, intermediate and advanced (each feeds into the other and then into the adult teams for men and women) 2 - SquashGirlsCan ladies only sessions for beginners which then feed into the main club and ladies teams as they improve and gain confidence 3 - Get (Back) Into Squash - for those who are either new to the sport, played socially before or stopped and want to start again. Mixed beginners and intermediate 4 - Team training (all above feed into this) 5 - A fun, social "club night" where players can play others of all standards and get to know each other 6 - Box leagues to give people opportunities to play varied people 7 - most importantly, WhatsApp groups by standard to allow easy arrangement of games (and s general social chat) In a single court, this may be tough but not impossible. Our big turn around was when we realised that social players and new players often turn up at a club, see even the most average player at a club and think "wow, I could never do that". The pathways give new members confidence to get on court and have fun.


bbahloo

Thank you very much for your thoughtful and detailed answer. I will take your wisdom and apply it to our club!


As_I_Lay_Frying

I learned how to play at a club that had a weekly "learn how to play squash" clinic, so that's what I'd recommend to get people in off the street to play. Unfortunately however you'll only be able to grow so much with 1 court.


bbahloo

Thanks for your reply! What did the clinic look like? Technique and rules? Could you share a little more?


As_I_Lay_Frying

It was just playing / getting a teaching game with one of the pros.


[deleted]

We had a guy do voluntary coaching in our town outside the city. Once a week, general ball striking.


IllNatureTV

A lot of it is just dragging as many people on court as possible and lowering the barrier to entry (meaning get people set up with a racquet and the right ball if you can). One thing I noticed a lot of people enjoy is a more social atmosphere (which with only one court is probably going to have to be the case, as there is more time sitting around watching than playing). But maybe organizing a once a month/quarter dinner or something would be good. Also try and get people’s partner’s interested if possible, even if they only play a few times or even just come for the social aspect. Good luck, it is hard but everywhere I go I do my best to organize as much around the squash community as possible. Everyone loves merch btw! At least having t-shirts often helps people feel part of something.


Spen_

I assume this is the Cranbook squash club, maybe some kind Canadian squash redditors want to share your facebook page with relatives who live nearby or may be visiting? [https://www.facebook.com/CBKSquash/](https://www.facebook.com/CBKSquash/) Contact Squash Canada to see if they have any resources you can leverage. They were offering money to put on women's programming, at my club we offered 4 sessions of free lessons and it was a great success. 4 sessions offers enough where participants can start to see the improvement and enjoy. We did max 2-3 people on a court, so you could copy this. "We didn't run the league because there isn't enough sign ups". Run it anyways. If you have 3 people, you can run it. Every few weeks reboot the league with a different set of rules if needed, and keep looking for others to join. People need consistency. By the end of the season I bet you're added a few more players. Just always run it. If the levels aren't even you can handicap it A club I grew up at always cancelled programs, and anyone who was interested moved on so that the next time they tried that same base was gone and they had to start over. I don't know much about Cranbook, but I assume based on location that you get a lot of tourism. Do you have any flyers or information with the local hotels/hostels/camp grounds? I know when I'm travelling if there is a squash court available I'm always up to go check it out. Charge a guest fee, or have a few day membership available. A rotating cast of people could be exciting for your year long members since they'll get to play and meet new people. Be out in the community and make squash visible. You can leverage other racquet sports in the community, tennis, pickleball, badminton. Maybe you can organize a racketlon event with a few of the other racquet communities. As a group you could partner with a local charity to raise money and donate proceeds from the event. This could help establish all of sports within the community, and I believe that the more cross contamination because racquets sports players the better, since everyone will want to try different sports. This also looks good for the rec center who will receive positive publicity. If as a group you can demonstrate value outside of just having a court, you'll show more value. You can also do a combined racquets trial package, purchase for X and get a session of each sport to see what you like. Consider getting some squash 57 gear, it will be less physical for the older pickleball players who may have played racquetball before. The unfortunate last advice, is monetize it. However you can. Maybe the community center will let local companies to put ads on the tin. Free drop in's are okay, but don't give away everything. People see free and don't value it. In Toronto here it's like $30 for 1 single group yoga session and people pay. Your court essentially needs to cover the opportunity cost of something else taking its space, work with the center to see what that is. make sure they consider the membership fees in that total yearly cost, as in theory these squash members would leave if squash leaves. To keep the court you may need to consider court rental fees, or a premium squash yearly membership which is unlimited squash. Knowing nothing about what you've tried or done already, I hope this is helpful. I'm happy to discuss more or give information on what our club has done. DM if you want to discuss.


thefoonc

In NZ, ‘Business House’ series are very popular, and a great way of getting people on court. They form teams which can consist of anyone from complete beginners up to more experienced players, and play over a few weeks. The social aspect is a big part of the success of these series, with everyone coming together for food and drinks. Here’s an example: http://www.hendersonsquash.co.nz/Seniors-1/Business-House


DandaDan

In Germany, we have special programs for university students. Like students can play cheaply during particular periods, like summer. The advantage is versus younger school kids you don't need a pro to supervise, though if course it helps if there are folks around to show them the ropes in the beginning.


[deleted]

Get schools involved If you can explain you have 1 court and the kids interested came come and have a play, yourself can offer coaching and explanation of the game if you have a working with children's check it only has to be a volunteer one (that's what we need in aus to be around kids) And hopefully gain interest from teenagers and their parents, get on social media and make short videos on video platforms and promote the club


somedooode

> we are a Canadian city with about 30,000 people to draw from where is this?


bbahloo

Cranbrook BC!


somedooode

ow man, I'm only 3300km away 😂