Ahead of a tournament where international and national players will be vying for $30,000 in prize money, Bega Squash Club is inviting juniors to learn the game.
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The club is running a series of evening workshops for school-aged players on Fridays commencing on July 5, running for five weeks.
Coach and player Rob Simic said he hoped the professional squash players tournament would draw publicity back to the game, and that the 'Come and Try' days for juniors would further ignite a passion for the racquet-and-ball sport.
"The people that would most benefit from this would have picked up a racquet before. They've played golf or tennis, cricket, or some kind of sport where hand-eye coordination is a key skill to have," Simic said.
"We know a lot of the high school kids are turning up to play squash, and I've watched those a couple of times and they tend to be playing around and not developing their skills.
"We want to take their enthusiasm and turn it into real skill they can use and eventually join our senior competition, until we get enough numbers to start up a specific juniors comp."
The sessions will be held at the Bega Country Club courts, starting at 6.30pm, and accredited coaches will run fun sessions from July 5 to July 26.
The cost is $5 per child or $10 per family, per night, and children will learn to score and referee teammates games, work as a team, and get to socialise.
There will also be a free Bega Open coaching clinic for juniors on Friday, August 2, allowing participants to get hints from world class players.
"We're trying to reintroduce squash back into the Bega Valley," Simic said.
The Professional Squash Association Tournament will be hosted in Bega from July 31 to August 4, with 24 men and 24 women playing semis and finals on the weekend of August 3 and 4.
"This is for professional ranked players and I think if I were to compete in that, I would be like a Toyota Camry lining up to take on the Monaco Grand Prix. As enthusiastic I am about the game, I'm certainly a long way from being professional," Simic said with a laugh.
"There's also a very strong local lineup, with players from Queensland and Melbourne, and even though they're probably not as highly ranked as the internationals, the standard of play we see from locals is remarkable."