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game of squash took root in a London Prison in the early part of the 19th century.
Prisoners in Fleet Prison, or 'the Fleet', amused themselves by repeatedly hitting
a ball against a wall with rackets. And so 'Rackets' was born. No-one
is entirely clear about how Rackets spread from a prison to the select English
school of Harrow but spread it did. It was there that it evolved into something
more like the sport we know today, when the pupils discovered that a punctured
ball, which 'squashed' against the wall, resulted in a more challenging game.
This discovery was made around 1830 and by 1864 the first courts were constructed
at the school and Squash became a sport in its own right. The
United States Squash Racquets Association was formed in in 1907 and the Canadian
Squash Racquets Association in 1911. In England the Squash Rackets Association
was formed in 1928.
In recognition
of the huge worldwide popularity the sport enjoys nowadays,
Squash was introduced to the Commonwealth games roster in 1998
in Kuala Lumpur and the action is expected to be fast and furious
at Manchester 2002.
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