The squash courts at Banbury West End were flooded on September 23rd 2024. Just as the club was rectifying matters, Storm Burt raged in and firmly shut the door on any prospect of continuing to use the existing flooring.
Despite their insurance claim, the club was facing crippling like for like replacement costs so the decision was made to scour around for a cheaper replacement. After extensive research and consultation with various suppliers, the Club Committee as well as OSRA, it was decided to purchase a ‘plastic’ option, in reality a rubbery type compound laid out in multiple tiles, the pictures of which you can see here.
In response to requests from both OSRA and Squash Magazine, top players, Jason Varrie (County Coach and England International) and Ash Stanton (University Number One) were invited to try out the newly installed surface and provide feedback. Not quite as proficient from a playing perspective, Stuart Madle (BWE Skipper) and David Quinn (OSRA League Secretary) also had a run out the same evening.
Jason and Ash were in agreement that the surface was ‘grippy’ and would favour those with precise and balanced movement whilst those with more frenetic motion particularly ‘sliders’ might be a tad more reticent. It was thought though that in time with the invariable increase in footfall, the grip effect may well soften and the lungers and sliders need suffer no further apprehension. Not noted for our swift patterns of play, neither Stuart nor David Quinn felt any real discomfort with the flooring. We noted the odd dead spot but which courts don’t possess these and, according to Stuart, there are less of these now than there were following the original installation.
On the subject of bounce, whilst also acknowledging the presence of dead spots and concurring that these would disappear during the ‘bedding in’ process, Ash did declare that it was ‘true’. He also observed however that the increased ‘grip’ made for potentially interesting use of spin. Balls hit hard, low and with heavy slice seemed to gain velocity and ‘shoot’ through the court whilst, conversely, a little topspin added to drop shots helped keep the bounce short. He concluded, interestingly, that such additional elements should keep a player on their toes and assist in developing one’s game.
All four of us were in agreement that the light grey texture made picking up the black ball a little challenging but as Jason commented, ‘….after a while you were able to pick it up better’. Stuart is considering the use of yellow balls and when sourced he will give them a go.
Overall, the comments were hugely positive with the proviso that certain elements will improve with usage. Certainly, this is a novel solution to courts at risk of flooding and may be of some interest to those establishments with prospects of high maintenance costs.
With OSRA’s blessing, BWE will take its place in Division Three for Winter 1 2025. As they have already been informed, their opponents will be allowed to warm up pre match in order to acclimatise with the new flooring and I would strongly recommend they avail themselves of this opportunity.
Below are a couple of photos of Ash (24) and Jason on court and some video footage from the same demonstration (a nice taster for the upcoming Uni v Hithercroft matches!)
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