Facility Spotlight: Woden Squash Centre (ACT)

The Woden Squash Centre has been part of Canberra’s sporting landscape for the last 50 years. 

Originally built in 1969 by Colleen and Tom Slater, Woden Squash Centre, nestled in Canberra’s southwestern suburbs, started off with six courts before two more were added several years later.

Then in 2004, the centre was purchased from Colleen by Squash ACT.

However, over the past couple of years, Squash ACT has had to deal with many challenges which resulted in little work done to maintain the centre as Squash ACT President Michael Nuttall explained.

“The outside of the centre was heavily graffitied, general inside areas were in desperate need of painting and courts were in a very poor condition,” he said. “The outside grassed area, too, presented poorly and needed work.”

Woden Squash Courts is an iconic landmark for street art and graffiti in Canberra with the ACT’s pioneering artists visiting the site to learn artistic style and gain inspiration from the late 80s to mid-90s.

In fact, it’s been featured in magazines and film clips around the world.

So in late 2020, with the help of local graffiti artists and funding from the ACT Government, the outside walls at Woden were brought back to their former glory.

Meanwhile, inside the centre, all the courts, as well as the changerooms, have been repainted while the club room has also been fixed up. An airlock has been installed at the front entrance to keep the cold Canberra air out during the winter while there are also plans to upgrade the heating system in the near future.

Woden has also introduced out-of-hours access during non-staffed hours that allows players to play early in the morning, during the day and on public holidays. They’ve even seen a player test out a new racquet on Christmas Day.

“Many positive comments have been received about the courts and new players have been enticed into playing squash socially each week,” Michael said.

More recently, Squash ACT took the step to employ a coach based at Woden in English coach and PSA player, Tayla Mounter, as Sports Development Officer: Head Coach, Performance and Participation.

As well as taking charge of the ACT Junior Squad, Mounter has initiated a number of new programs aimed at players of all levels whether novice, junior, women’s or experienced.

Michael made the point that good facilities attract new players and bring players back to the sport.

“We still have other things to do like keeping the courts in good condition, and upgrading facilities within the centre but, with the centre in the best condition it’s been for more than a decade, we’re in a good place now to build this great game,” he said.

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