Racquetball & Squash

Squash is an indoor racquet sport that was formerly called "Squash racquets," a reference to the "squashable" soft ball used in the game (compared with the harder ball used in its parent game Racquets (or rackets; see below)). more...

Home
Archery
Baseball & Softball
Basketball
Billiards
Bowling
Boxing
Canoes, Kayaks, Rafts
Climbing
Disc Golf
Equestrian
Football
Go-Karts, Recreational
Gymnastics
Ice Skating
Ice, Roller Hockey
Indoor Games
Inline, Roller Skating
Lacrosse
Martial Arts
Other Sports
Racquetball & Squash
Other
Protective Gear
Racquetball Racquets
Squash Racquets
Running
Scooters
Scuba, Snorkeling
Skateboarding
Snowmobiling
Soccer
Surfing, Wind Surfing
Swimming
Tennis
Triathlon
Wakeboarding, Waterskiing
Wholesale Lots

The game is played by two players (or four players for doubles) with 'standard' rackets in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball. Squash is characterized as a "high-impact" exercise that can place strain on the joints, notably the knees.

History

The game of squash was developed based on other pre-existing racquet sports, especially Racquets and Fives, a set of sports played predominantly by boarders at British Public Schools. Squash itself was developed at one of these schools, London's Harrow School, in the early 19th Century, when the boys noted that puncturing a racquets' ball caused it to squash when hitting the wall, allowing a greater variety of shots. By the end of the century it had spread to Britain's other private schools as well as Oxford and Cambridge universities. In 1908 a squash sub-committee of the Tennis and Rackets Association was formed to regulate the sport, followed in 1928 by the British Squash Rackets Association.

The court

The court size was codified in the 1920s at 975 cm (32 feet) and 640 cm (21 feet) wide. The front wall has a 'front wall line' 457 cm (15 feet) above the floor, connected by a raking 'front' line meeting the 'out' line on the back wall at 213 cm (7 feet) above the floor. The front wall also has a 'service line' whose top is 183 cm (6 feet) above the floor with the 'board' (the equivalent of a net) 48 cm (18.9 inches) high. The floor is marked with a transverse 'half-court' line and further divided into two rear 'quarter courts' and two 'service boxes', as shown in the diagram above.

The traditional 'American' court for the USA game, (now referred to as 'hardball squash') is a similar size, but narrower at 18 feet 6 inches (564 cm). The floor and wall markings differ slightly from the 'International' court and the tin is lower, at 15 inches (38 cm) high. However, hardball squash was replaced by softball in America as the standard version of squash and has since almost completely died out.

A 'Converted Court' is the result of converting racquetball courts to squash. Racquetball courts are 20 feet (610 cm) wide and 40 feet (1220 cm) in length, so it is relatively easy to install a back wall, producing a squash court of 20 feet (610 cm) wide by 32 feet (975 cm) long.

Playing equipment

'Standard' rackets governed by the rules of the game. Traditionally they were made of laminated timber (typically Ash), with a small strung area using natural gut strings. After a rule change in the mid-1980s, they are now almost always made of composite materials or metals (graphite, kevlar, titanium, boron) with synthetic strings. Modern rackets have maximum dimensions of 686 mm (27.0 in.) long and 215 mm (8.5 in.) wide, with a maximum strung area of 500 square centimetres (approx. 90 sq. in.), the permitted maximum weight is 255 grams (approx. 9 oz.), but most weigh between 110 and 200 grams (4-7 oz.). Squash balls are made with two pieces of rubber compound, glued together to form a hollow sphere and buffed to a matte finish. Different balls are provided for varying temperature and atmospheric conditions and standards of play: more experienced players use slow balls that are smaller and have less bounce than those used by less experienced players (slower balls tend to die in court corners, rather than standing up to allow easier shots). Depending on its specific rubber composition, a squash ball may have the property that it bounces more at higher temperatures. Players tend to warm up balls by bouncing them on the ground prior to play. As a rally progresses, play is complicated as the ball usually becomes hotter and faster.

Read more at Wikipedia.org