English Squash Gets Performance Centre and £1.5m Award
The opening of the Squash Rackets Association's first Regional Performance Centre at the University of Birmingham coincides with a World Class Potential award to the sport's English governing body of more than £1.5 million.
Funded by the Sport England Lottery Fund, the project at the University's Munrow Sports Centre includes three new glass-backed squash courts with moveable walls to allow for doubles play, plus camera mountings for media coverage and video performance analysis. Four existing squash courts have been refurbished and spectator seating added.
'The unique aspect of the regional performance centre is the formation of a partnership between a number of agencies, in particular the University of Birmingham and the Edgbaston Priory Club, which have combined to provide a
comprehensive support framework for the player,' said the SRA's Performance Director Matt Hammond. 'The result is one of the largest and most modern squash sites in Europe.' Further SRA Regional Performance Centres are
planned for Nottingham and Manchester.
As part of the sport's regional performance centre system, the Birmingham site provides modern facilities, top class coaching, sports science support and access to national and international competition opportunities in the University sector and the sport's mainstream. Examples of the centre's
success already include the progress of the Edgbaston Priory/University of Birmingham team through to this year's National League semi-final play-offs, and Birmingham winning the British Universities team championships this
month for the first time in more than 30 years.
The SRA has identified the link between squash and Higher Education, resulting in a development programme that will enable talented young players to combine training at the new University of Birmingham centre with studying for academic qualifications.
Two individual European Junior Champions and seven members of World Junior Team Championships-winning squads are amongst the 28 players who will benefit from the SRA's Sport England award. £380,000 will be provided annually for
the next four years to the SRA to develop its World Class Potential Programme. The players at under 23 level will be able to access individual coaching and gain international tournament experience, alongside sports science and sports medicine support.
'The World Class Potential Programme in squash has enabled the SRA to put in place a structure that will allow those identified with the ultimate talent to go to the top and to progress smoothly through the transitional stages of development,' said Hammond.
'It is fundamentally the same comprehensive support programme which last week attracted world champion and world No1 Peter Nicol, originally from Scotland, to join the English World Class Performance Programme, the next level in the World Class structure,' Hammond added.
Steve Cram, chairman of the English Institute of Sport, welcomed the new squash facilities at the University of Birmingham: 'I am delighted that this new high performance centre will enable our elite squash players to train and
compete in such a superb environment,' said Cram. 'This facility is an important part of the sport's World Class Performance Programme and I applaud the partnership created between the University, Edgbaston Priory Club and the
Squash Rackets Association to develop this multi-court centre.'
For more details contact:
Howard Harding
Tel: 01737-243333 Mobile: 07773-325130 Email: HowHard@aol.com
SRA 495 3 April 2001
Funded by the Sport England Lottery Fund, the project at the University's Munrow Sports Centre includes three new glass-backed squash courts with moveable walls to allow for doubles play, plus camera mountings for media coverage and video performance analysis. Four existing squash courts have been refurbished and spectator seating added.
'The unique aspect of the regional performance centre is the formation of a partnership between a number of agencies, in particular the University of Birmingham and the Edgbaston Priory Club, which have combined to provide a
comprehensive support framework for the player,' said the SRA's Performance Director Matt Hammond. 'The result is one of the largest and most modern squash sites in Europe.' Further SRA Regional Performance Centres are
planned for Nottingham and Manchester.
As part of the sport's regional performance centre system, the Birmingham site provides modern facilities, top class coaching, sports science support and access to national and international competition opportunities in the University sector and the sport's mainstream. Examples of the centre's
success already include the progress of the Edgbaston Priory/University of Birmingham team through to this year's National League semi-final play-offs, and Birmingham winning the British Universities team championships this
month for the first time in more than 30 years.
The SRA has identified the link between squash and Higher Education, resulting in a development programme that will enable talented young players to combine training at the new University of Birmingham centre with studying for academic qualifications.
Two individual European Junior Champions and seven members of World Junior Team Championships-winning squads are amongst the 28 players who will benefit from the SRA's Sport England award. £380,000 will be provided annually for
the next four years to the SRA to develop its World Class Potential Programme. The players at under 23 level will be able to access individual coaching and gain international tournament experience, alongside sports science and sports medicine support.
'The World Class Potential Programme in squash has enabled the SRA to put in place a structure that will allow those identified with the ultimate talent to go to the top and to progress smoothly through the transitional stages of development,' said Hammond.
'It is fundamentally the same comprehensive support programme which last week attracted world champion and world No1 Peter Nicol, originally from Scotland, to join the English World Class Performance Programme, the next level in the World Class structure,' Hammond added.
Steve Cram, chairman of the English Institute of Sport, welcomed the new squash facilities at the University of Birmingham: 'I am delighted that this new high performance centre will enable our elite squash players to train and
compete in such a superb environment,' said Cram. 'This facility is an important part of the sport's World Class Performance Programme and I applaud the partnership created between the University, Edgbaston Priory Club and the
Squash Rackets Association to develop this multi-court centre.'
For more details contact:
Howard Harding
Tel: 01737-243333 Mobile: 07773-325130 Email: HowHard@aol.com
SRA 495 3 April 2001