Squash Essay

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THE BELARUSSIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Report on a kind of sport “Squash” Made by Olga Shkrabova Group 2 Minsk 2012 Squash History Squash is an excellent kind of sport, developed from at least five other sports involving racquets, gloves, and balls having roots in the early 12th century in France. It is stated, that “Squash, with its element of hitting balls against walls, was for entertainment. For example, boys slapped their balls in narrow alleys and streets”. Religious institutions in France, such as monasteries, developed a similar game. Monks used gloves that were webbed to hit balls against a fishing net strung across the middle of the courtyards of the monasteries. This developed the early “racquets” used in tennis and squash. Then in late fifteenth century, tennis was developed and spread to other European nations. The next major development of squash took place in England where the game of "racquets" was developed in Fleet Prison, a debtor’s prison. Similar to tennis, it involved racquets and balls, but instead of hitting over a net as in tennis, players hit a non-squeezable ball against walls. Squash itself was developed at Harrow School in England. The first courts built at this school were rather dangerous because they were near water pipes and chimneys and ledges. The school soon built four outside courts. Natural rubber was the material of choice for the ball. Students modified their racquets to have a smaller reach to play in these cramped conditions. In the 20th century the game increased in popularity with various schools, clubs and even private citizens building squash courts, but with no set dimensions. The first squash court in North America appeared at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire in 1884. In April 1907 the Tennis, Rackets & Fives Association set up a sub committee to set standards for

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