Squash (Draft 1)
PS: it is not racquetball or a form of food
Squash is a “racquet and ball sport” played by two or four players in a
four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball. The players must alternate
in striking the ball with their racquet and hit the ball onto the playable
surfaces of the four walls of the court. The games score upto a total of 11 or
9 and each successful shot in accordance with the rules is awarded a point. This
ball is rather “squashable” – hence the name, squash. Quite creative I must add.
Before diving into my experiences with squash
and where it is now, I would like to explore the conception of this sport. In
early 1148, the French played “le Paume” or “the palm of the hand”, this
developed into Jeu de Paume, or simply, Tennis. In the early 19th Century
this obsession with racquets and balls spawned another variety of sport in the most
unlikely of birthplaces - the Fleet Prison in London. The prisoners in “The
Fleet”, mainly debtors, took their exercise by hitting a ball against walls with
rackets and so started the game of “Rackets”.
Rackets progressed, by some
strange route, to Harrow and other select English schools around 1820 where it
developed into the sport of Squash, or Squash Rackets. The students at Harrow discovered
that a punctured Rackets ball, which "squashed" on impact with the
wall, produced a game with a greater variety of shots and required much more
effort on the part of the players, who could not simply wait for the ball to
bounce back to them as with Rackets. The variant proved popular and in 1864 the
first four Squash courts were constructed at the school and Squash was born.
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This is just a rough draft but I am planning
to talk about the history, origin, global reach, US squash culture, the fitness
impacts, and my personal experiences training and playing at a fairly high
level. I chose this sport as I don’t think anybody has heard too much about it
and keeps confusing it with racquetball. Funnily, I have only heard about
racquetball in America, no where else.
Hi Vish,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you chose this topic and I can't wait to read your final! I think your introduction could hook us a little more. Also, maybe we can help you brainstorm your two-part title? Otherwise, I really enjoy the direction this is going.
-Kaela
Hi Vish,
ReplyDeletebefore I read this I didn't know anything about squash. I don't even know the difference between squash and racquetball. This sport is basically non existent in Italy.
-Patrick
I love that you chose this topic. Squash was one of the sports we could play in school back in Kenya. Very few people here know or have even heard of the sport. It can get rather intense!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read your full article as I don't have a lot of knowledge about Squash. I had no clue Squash was born so many years ago in 1864! I look forward to read about your own experience as a high level Squash player !
ReplyDeleteI am one of those people who cannot distinguish between squash and racquetball! By the way, I like your topic because I think it's a very original sport.
ReplyDeleteDamn vish, I was hoping your article would be on squash the food. All jokes aside, I am very interested to read more about this topic because I know absolutely nothing about it. I didn't even know that the ball used was "squashable."
ReplyDeleteI found your article very straight forward and informative. I liked how you explained both the rules and history behind the sport, because honestly I had no knowledge about it beforehand. Looking forward to the final draft!
ReplyDeleteWow wish incredible article on squash. Up until this point in time I thought squash was fruit, but I am very glad I now know that squash is an intriquite and exhillerating sport. I cant wait to learn more and participate in this sport!
ReplyDelete