Try your hand at squash

The Boksburg Squash Club (BSC) is encouraging new members to take up the sport.

Squash is an indoor racket and ball sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court.

The objective of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return.

According to Nick Hjiphilippou, who is the resident coach at the club since 2005, squash as a sport is very popular and with more players joining, this will help the sport in the province grow.

Hjiphilippou has been playing squash for 44 years.

The coach added that one of the reasons the sport is largely ignored is because of the stigma that playing it is expensive but Hjiphilippou argues that being committed to any sport is costly.

In fact, the coach is so determined to have more players involved, he said players without playing equipment will be helped by the club by lending them a racket and shoes to try the sport first before they commit.

Hjiphilippou also stressed that schoolchildren from primary all the way to high school are also welcome.

The coach lamented at the fact that the sport is not well-known particularly in schools and believes a lot more learners could be involved if schools also got involved.

“Many children do not play a sport due to various reasons, but all who are willing to learn are welcome,” he added.

The governing body of squash, the World Squash Federation (WSF), is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but the sport is not part of the Olympic Games, despite a number of applications.

However, the sport is part of the Commonwealth Games and recently a tournament was held to show the Olympic committee that it is possible to include squash on the Olympic agenda.

The club has produced a number of outstanding and national players from Ekurhuleni in the past. Current Eastern Gauteng number-one ranked player Ethan Robinson, who is hard at work to achieve his national colours, is also a student from the Boksburg club.
For more information, Hjiphilippou may be reached on 072 217 3406 between 10am and 1pm from Monday to Friday.

Hjiphilippou can also be found squashing balls at the club, which is situated on Trichardts Road, Boksburg, opposite the Boksburg High School sports fields, on weekdays between 1pm and 7pm, where he helps players achieve their goals with his son, Pano, who is also a coach.

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