Photo credit : Tim Ruhnke/Recorder and Times
Next up in our tour of new squash clubs to introduce to Ontario, we head east to the city of Brockville, where resident real estate rep Matt Boyd took a leap of faith and spearheaded the creation of the Brockville Squash Club which opened its doors in 2019.
Prior to the Brockville Squash Club, only one squash court was operating in the town at the local YMCA. A few years earlier the squash courts at the Royal Brock fitness facility were closed with the building converted to a retirement home, and one of the two local YMCA courts were converted to a weight room. With only one court left, programming like tournaments, leagues, etc., were limited.
To fill the squash void for the community, the club took over space previously occupied by Zellers, leasing from Stingers - a local family centre focused on youth health and physical activity. The club now boasts 50 members with two squash courts, four pickelball courts, a lounge, shower/changeroom areas, and 24hr card access. All proceeds from memberships go directly back into maintaining and improving the club.
The club hosted their first tournament last October with over 40 participants (many coming from out of town), hosts weekly training sessions with Ian Woodhead from Ottawa, and plans to run summer camps and adult programs next year. Kingston’s David Sly is also a supporting member and brings his league team to play home games at the new club.
Thanks to Matt Boyd and the growing Brockville squash community, we are so excited to see people step up and help keep squash alive. We look forward to playing in the Brockville Squash Club events in the future, and hope to see Brockville athletes competing across Ontario!
