Lasers are the future of squash!

Yes, you read that right. The future is here and it hasn't appeared in the form of another twist on the rules of our beloved game. (Don't get me started on that 5-let rule nonsense.) No, the future I'm referring to has an ironically retro Tron sensibility: "Laser Squash"!

Apparently, in 2004 a Dutch gaming company, "Laser Promotions B.V.", launched their patented prototype for a futuristic court-based game that has the future squash player playing with a polycarbonate wand instead of an old fashioned racquet. The wand has "nice features" such as the fact that "it vibrates when a beam is hit, simulating the impact of a "heavy" beam and a string of LED's light up." Nice. LEDs.

And forget about warming up those old analog balls - we're chasing lasers here dood!

If you reckon that squash didn't make the Olympics because viewers have trouble following the ball listen to this: "The setup of the laser and the sounds generated by the software, is very enjoyable for spectators to see and hear. It is a perfect combination to use a laser with an easy to understand and fun-to-play game."

And look at that cool court! I guess the one on the left is the "night" option. Isn't that totally Tron? The shot below is a promotional conceptual still from "Tron: Legacy". See what I'm talking about?

I can hear you ask, "Is it going to be the same workout?" Oh, yeah.
I quote: "LaserSquash evolves into a real fast and exhausting play when the players hit all beams quickly and successfully. LaserSquash is extremely spectacular to watch and adrenaline kicks when played."

And how many times have you wished you could play a game of squash by yourself? LaserSquash has a Squash ROBOT! "Danger, Jonathon Power. Danger!" Check this monster out:



It's such a workout that you'll double up your wristbands!

Don't dismiss this natural evolution of squash. Don't be afraid of the future! Step up and play LaserSquash with me!

Check out their website. (Yep, they're not kidding.)

Squash Pictogram for 2010 Olympics

As a graphic designer, one of my favourite aspects of the Olympics is the pictograms that represent the individual sports. I was really hoping to see an official pictogram for squash this year but it wasn't to be.

"The Twenty-four sport pictograms and a series of sport illustrations for the 2010 Winter Games were revealed in September 2008 and were created by Dutch illustrator Irene Jacobs of I’m JAC Design. The pictograms depict the 2010 Winter Games sports using a simplified silhouette with small details depicting the dynamism of the athlete in motion." *

Here then is my interpretation of the Vancouver 2010 Pictogram for the sport of squash.






















(Check out the official Vancouver 2010 pictograms here.)

My next exercise is to come up with the London 2012 pictogram for squash. Shouldn't be difficult as I'm a big fan of the 80's:) Here are their pictograms which were just revealed in October.


















* Hey Vanoc, why didn't you hire a Canadian to create these illustrations? Just askin'.

A Squash Inunnguaq

The Olympics are officially upon us and the patriotism bug has finally bitten me. The other day my wife put up a bunch of Canada flags at the front of our house and something changed in me. I'm wearing my team Canada jersey as I type this and I'm really looking forward to watching the opening ceremonies with my wife tonight. For those who know me, and who know my views on the corporate circus (and it's legacy of debt) that's taken over our city this change is pretty big. While I won't be getting a maple leaf tattoo, I don't feel like a hypocrite for realizing that this is a once in a lifetime event for our city and so, seeing as how we're paying for it, I'm joining the party. I just can't help wondering if I would have gotten into the spirit of things earlier had squash made it into the Olympics and Jonathon Power had been asked to carry the flame. Probably:)

GO CANADA GO!

(With apologies to Gonzalo Alatorre and Rivera Design Group, designers of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics logo.)

2010 Canadian Squash Championships!

It's official! Squash Canada's 2010 Canadian Squash Championships are coming to Vancouver May 5-8, 2010. The host club is the fabulous Jericho Tennis Club (Pro: Shauna Flath) with the Arbutus Club (Pro: Larry Armstrong) assisting as a satellite venue.

I'm personally very pleased to announce that The Vancouver Racquets Club (Pro: Steve Lawton) will be hosting the Companion Event which will run concurrently and is open to male and female "B", "C" and "D" players. I've always argued that the companion event is an integral part of the nationals and having the companion event truly allows the squash community to come together to play and celebrate the game they love.

(Speaking of celebrating, I can't wait until Saturday night when both events will come together at Jericho for a party that won't be forgotten for a long time to come!)

The official website isn't quite live yet (should be up and ready for registration to begin by February 1st) but there is a Facebook Fanpage where you can go to for updates and info and post questions that the committee can answer for you.

UPDATE: Tuesday, February 2, 2010: The official website is live. Registration will come online shortly.

Why not comment and let us know what you think of the site and the 2010 CSC logo?

Squash photo of the year?

It's almost the end of the "naughts" so here's my vote for photo of the year:
















Ramy Ashour, in white, and Nick Matthew, in black, look like they're battling underwater in the final of the Saudi International Squash Tournament! It's no surprise that it's a photo taken by Steve Cubbins of SquashSite. Check out his gallery from just this one event to see what I'm talking about.

Maybe the real reason I love this photo is that it reminds me that I'll soon be able to play underwater myself thanks to Wii's new game "Racquet Sports"!
















(You may have read about this on SquashZag but check out the official game site too.)

Send me a link to your choice for "Photo of the Year" and I'll post them.

Eat more squash.

Check out this reasonably new ad for PETA Europe featuring none other than British squash player James Willstrop.

According to James, "meat has no place in a professional athlete's body". The ad goes on to say, "Since I stopped eating meat, I'm faster, I have more energy, and I know that my decision has saved countless animals' lives."

All well and good but I'm sure some of my female readers would've have been happier if James had opted to star in a "Fur? I'd rather go naked" poster.

If you can't eat meat then try Fudge. (Good design is never a problem for athletes:) The jpeg below is a screen-grab of James' new website. (Click it to see it full size.)

You might recognize the style as reminiscent of the England Squash and Racketball Association's new website, that I wrote about in September '09, and there's a good reason: Both were designed by the agency known online as "Made By Fudge".

As cool as this site looks I can't help but notice that James' site is suffering from the same kind of content issues that plague the ESRA site. The "news" page looks like a draft version with the same photo used for the first six posts and the "download" page has only one desktop wallpaper (no photo credit) and the dreaded "coming soon" tag.

That said, these two websites are quite simply gorgeous and set the bar for squash sites all over the world. (Even if it's only in aesthetics:)

What ever happened to "Squashette"?

I have come to the realization that, though I rarely lob, I will never be able to fit a full size squash court in my basement but I'm pretty sure I have room for "Squashette"!

I found this photo on Corbis Images' website and it is entitled "Men Play Miniature Squash". It's a demonstration of "Squashette" given by George Lyttleton Rogers (r) and Mr W. J. Collier. The photo was taken in 1937 in Dulwich, London, UK and is decribed as "backing squash available to the masses". I love that they're playing in pants. Gonna have to try that this week in league.

Google let me down when I tried to find out anything about the two players shown and there's a dearth of info on the net about this sub-species of the game even on Wikipedia!

This photo, on the other hand, could very well have been taken at the Dulwich Squash Club which has been a members-owned club since 1867.

Drop me a line if you know more about "Squashette".


Another awesome photo I found on Corbis is this one of British squash champion Charles Arnold playing squash on rollerskates! Crazy. In 1926 Mr. Arnold wrote one of the first books on squash called "The Game of Squash Racquets" and you can buy a signed copy of it here (#52 on the list) for £250!



















The last shot I wanted to share was this 1958 classic of Mohibullah Khan, the brother of Jansher. (Read more about the Khan dynasty at SquashSite or at Pakistan Paedia.)

Don't try this at home: