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Aberystwyth X Squash Levels

Damian Burgess

The sport of squash is growing at the leisure centre in Aberystwyth from young juniors to adults of all ages taking to the courts, one of the factors in the sports growth is the internal box leagues that are now run through Squash Levels.


Plascrug Leisure Centre in Aberystwyth on the West Coast of Wales is no different to many other leisure centres across the UK, a swimming pool, a gym, multiple fitness classes and squash courts. We all know about closures up and down the country of squash courts, so their inclusion is becoming less common, but with more court usage and more revenue it makes it harder to warrant closing the courts.

 

This is where building a community becomes integral in the growth of the game, alongside the obvious competitive element of the sport. Squash Levels gives the perfect mix of community and competitiveness that allows Aberystwyth Squash Club to promote the sport to current players but also brand-new players to the game.

 

The leagues at Aberystwyth have run on and off for years with the traditional box system, run on an excel spread sheet and updated monthly, players would input their scores on the notice board and would change leagues each month depending on where they finished. Now with the integration of Squash Levels we have grown the leagues from 15 players to 35 players with over 30 matches being played each month and the leagues accessible online as well as at the club on the notice board.

 

A huge benefit of Squash Levels is the online community, as a leisure centre club we don’t have the bar area where new players can meet old players and talk all things squash, so having all our box league players signed up to Squash Levels players can put a face to the name.

 

Another benefit is the levels themselves, allowing players to see their level and ranking within the club has added the competitive element to the leagues across the board. Players once they have enough matches on the system can see their level, how it matches up to fellow club members but also how it matches up with other clubs around Wales and beyond. We have seen more and more league players want lessons to improve their game and in turn their squash level but also players are arranging matches outside of box leagues with other players from the club who are at a similar level.

 

We hope to expand on our box leagues in the coming months with a junior league, women’s league, club competitions and graded events all using Squash Levels.

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