Heading to the courts with Chamber Exiles Squash Club
The squash club chairperson let us in on the clubs history.
Emmarentia is home to a famous botanical garden, a picturesque dam, and a group of exiles?
Found along Orange Road is Chamber Exiles Squash Club and from October to November, they will host the Chamber Summer League and Club Championships. Little is currently known about the club so the paper caught up with its chairperson, John Shannon, to tell us about them.
Formed in 1992, the club got its name following the closure of the Auckland Park-based Chamber of Mines Sports Club, “The club then had 24 men’s and nine ladies’ league teams and moved en masse to the old North Westerns Squash Club which itself was falling into disarray and took over the administration. We were therefore exiled and thus the name Chamber Exiles originated,” said Shannon.
Through the years the club has faced a few challenges, the biggest being having enough funds. Though it is on municipal-owned land, Shannon explained maintenance and improvements are conducted by the club itself with no funding from the council. Fundraising is necessary for them to keep the club in good condition and over the years, court floors have had to be replaced and sanded, the club renovated, and parts of the roof replaced to prevent water damage to the wooden floors.
Encouraging members to look past the challenges are all the trophies and certificates that line its walls. “Many tournaments have also been hosted at the club including junior and masters’ events. Every year the club hosts the Joburg Squash Wannabeez tournament which is aimed at the lower league players in the Joburg area,” explained Shannon.
To make sure it does its part in making sure the sport keeps going, Shannon said the club enters about eight teams in the Joburg Men’s League and five teams in the Joburg Masters League, making them the biggest contributors to competitive squash in the city. Junior squash is also encouraged as Roosevelt High School uses the club’s courts twice a week to coach their learners.
In his opinion, sports facilities like theirs are important in communities as they help mitigate your stress, “Playing any sport but especially squash acts as a great stress reliever after a hard day at work. There’s nothing like smashing a small rubber ball as hard as you can against the wall to bring a feeling of satisfaction.”
Shannon encourages others to find out just how fun squash is, “When played by two players of similar strength can be up to an hour in length. It has been proven, as a fast-moving sport that is excellent for a cardiovascular workout. It has long been recognised as the number one health and fitness sport.” The club currently has some members under 10 years old and others over 70 who enjoy the facilities and playing competitively.
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