A safe and engaging environment is key to junior female participation, former world no.5 Vicky Boswell says

Creating a safe space where women of all ages can enjoy squash and develop their game is one of the main goals of former world number five Vicky Boswell. 

Currently working as Duty Manager at the Australian National Squash Centre in Carrara, QLD, English-born Boswell also runs regular “Ladies Sessions” at the centre. Over time, she has witnessed the number of participants attending on Tuesday and Friday mornings grow steadily, defying the stereotype that sees squash centres prevalently associated with a male audience.

“The Ladies Sessions are very social. They normally run longer than scheduled as the ladies will stay on court and chat to each other as they have a hit.

“I think an environment where people can feel confident is important and it can be difficult to find. If word gets around, then we can nurture women into whatever level that they want to play at,” Boswell said. 

Working at the National Squash Centre has given Boswell the opportunity to engage with women of all ages, from high performance athletes to juniors and beginners, watching them as they progress through their squash journey. 

“We had some ladies start in October last year and it has been incredible to watch them develop their squash skills. 

“We have a variety of women joining in for the Ladies Sessions. Being a parent myself, sometimes you can’t help it if your kids are with you and we just work with it,” she said.

As an athlete, Vicky developed at the National Training Centre in Manchester, UK. Although her time as a professional player is over, she still enjoys coaching juniors and creating a friendly environment for them to grow. 

“In England I used to work with athletes who were already in the pathway, so it has been interesting to work with people who are at the very beginning of their squash journey. 

“Moving forward, I feel it is really good to help juniors. At Carrara we have more junior girls than we do boys and we want to keep them in the sport by creating fun and engaging sessions in a safe environment.

“That will allow us to move squash forward and build up the numbers of participants,” Boswell said.

During Women’s Squash Week, the National Squash Centre is holding a half-price ladies session on Friday 24 September from 10-11am.