The History of Kendal Squash Club

An article from the The Westmorland Gazette gives a short history of the club:

World-class birthday party

KENDAL Squash Club celebrated its 30th anniversary on Sunday with a sell-out exhibition match featuring a quartet of top-class players, an occasion which also gave members past and present a chance to meet and look back on the club’s history. Back in 1969 when squash came to Kendal, there were no courts in town but a small group of enthusiasts rented a court in a converted gasworks at Gowan Bank, Staveley for five shillings (25p) per week.

The court was six feet shorter than the regulation size, had a concrete floor and, rather unusually, players gained access by climbing down into it on a hinge ladder. It was no deterrent to prospective players as the club had a waiting list for membership (annual subscription three guineas). It is probably no coincidence that in matches against other teams, Kendal aways won at home and often lost away. Records of the Cumbria Squash Rackets Association show that in the first year of the men’s county leagues in 1975/6 Kendal were Division 2 champions, winning promotion to Division 1. 

As the waiting list grew, so did pressure to improve facilities. After weighing the pros and cons intently, the club committee decided to embark on a new building. In June 1976 the club leased land from the Brewery Arts Centre in the centre of Kendal and raised funds to construct two full-sized courts. They opened in September 1976, enabling more members to play, but within five years the club expanded again, adding a third glass-backed court. Thirty years on, the club flourishes. In 1995/6 it achieved a championship double, winning both men’s and women’s Cumbria Squash League Division 1 titles. All three courts have been recently refurbished and the club prides itself on the facilities and welcome it offers players of all standards. Nowadays waiting-lists are a thing of the past and anybody interested in joining can obtain more information from Mel Dixon, the club secretary.

Cassie Jackman, the British ladies champion, World no. 4, England no. 1 and Commonwealth gold medallist played Jenny Tranfield, world no. 15 and winner of last month’s Norwegian Open in the opening exhibition match. Jackman made a slow start as Tranfield took the first game 9-1 and then played strongly to 8-all in the second game. However, Jackman stepped up a gear to win 10-9 and took the next two games 9-3, 9-2. Teenager Nick Matthew, England no. 19, then upset the rankings in the next match when beating David Campion, the England no. 14, by three games to one, 9-5, 8-9, 9-7, 9-7, after his athleticism overcame his senior rival’s strokeplay. All four players returned for a rare doubles match and it was husband and wife Jackman and Campion (they married a month ago) versus Matthew and Tranfield in a good-humoured affair with plenty of repartee to round off a memorable occasion.

Photo descriptions:

AT STAVELEY 1976 – winners of the Cumbria Men’s League Div 2. From top: D. Sharpe, B. Arrowsmith, T. Camm, R. Stanyon, E. Buckley, N. Brooker.

KENDAL Squash Club officials and founder members with the exhibition guests. Left to right: D, Sharpe, C. Sharpe, J. Tranfield, J. Owthwaite (secretary/treasurer), C. Jackman, D. Owthwaite, P. Hitchin (chairman), T. Carrick, D. Campion, Ted Cook and N. Matthew. (9H1818MJB)