The Nelson squash community may be facing a lot of big changes, but member Pat Hodgson says the game is alive and well.
“Currently, the building location at 330 Baker Street has been approved for redevelopment,” said Hodgson. “Unfortunately what ended up happening is that the owner had an opportunity to rent out the main level space to somebody else, which is the area that had the two better courts and the lounge area.”
He’s disappointed to see the lounge go for several reasons, including the loss of revenue to the squash club.
“We no longer have our lounge facilities, which had allowed us to collect revenue from the bar and gave us the opportunity to hold private functions and dinners and dances after our tournaments. That’s a major loss of revenue for the squash community,” says Hodgson.
The squash club is going to continue to rent out the top floor of the building, which has two courts and change rooms, but Hodgson said this will impact drop-in attendance.
“Because of our current situation our drop-ins are probably going to fall by the wayside because our current situation is only going to allow for key access,” says Hodgson. “So you pay your registration and you get a key to the club, and then you can go in whatever time you need to,”
The squash club will continue to operate out of its current location, and is in the process of setting up online booking. But it is Hodgson’s hope that by next year they will be a new location.
“We have our hopes to move to a newer facility sooner rather than later,” he says. “We’ve investigated a few potential options. Nothing has come to the fore as of yet. But we’re very hopeful that something will come about in the next six months that would allow us to be in a new facility for next year.”
Hodgson has been playing squash off and on since he was 10 years old and encourages those who’ve never played and past members to give it a try.
“It’s a great game to play. It’s very intense, it’s a great work out, but it’s also a bit of a thinking man’s game,” he says. “There’s a fair bit of strategy involved which bodes well for older guys like me that we can still play competitively against much younger opponents because we have a lot of dirty tricks up our sleeves.”
If you’re interested in getting involved with squash call Dale Summerside at 250-505-3473.