Michelle Martin’s Vision: Squash for Everyone in Australia
- Markus Gaebel
- Aug 29
- 5 min read
“They’ve actually got the site sheds on the ground… oh my god.”
Michelle Martin laughs as she describes driving past the muddy North Manly lot where three long‑closed squash courts are finally being rebuilt.
For one of Australia’s greatest women’s player
three World Open titles (1993–95)
six British Opens (1993–98)ù
two Commonwealth Games golds (women’s singles and mixed doubles, 1998)
—even construction cabins feel like a win.
A sport built on private enterprise—now boxed in by it
Martin’s joy is tempered by realism. Australia’s squash boom was built by families like hers who constructed courts on private land—a business model that worked until aging buildings and thin margins caught up. “In Australia, we don’t have [many] facilities on council property… we’ve always had privately owned courts,” she says. When advocates approach councils, the answer too often is: “Squash is dying.” Martin’s rejoinder: “Of course it’s dying; there are no facilities.”
That private model also locked owners out of public grants to refurbish tired venues. “Because it’s a private business, they cannot apply for government funding to upgrade… the buildings are old… it costs a lot of money to do anything,” Martin explains. A vicious circle followed: shabby venues deter newcomers; dwindling demand then “proves” to councils that squash isn’t worth space in community hubs.
Where the wins are coming from
The way through, Martin argues, is to place squash inside multi‑sport, council‑owned complexes—and to get there by speaking the language of government. “They wouldn’t communicate directly with individuals like myself… they would only directly work with New South Wales Squash,” she recalls of a western Sydney push that ultimately convinced councils to add courts to multi‑sport centres—a slow grind, but “a great win.”
Two Sydney case studies show both the promise and the pain:
North Manly (Northern Beaches): A rare council‑site squash facility, long closed, is being rebuilt “like‑for‑like” (still only three courts) using funding NSW Squash helped identify. It’s a lifeline—but not enough to run school programs efficiently. “You get 20 kids down there… there’s not enough courts… they just walk out the door,” Martin says.
Willoughby (North Shore): An eight‑ or nine‑court private centre where Martin trained sits on coveted real estate. With the owner seeking to retire, locals and MPs are lobbying council to purchase it as a community racquet hub instead of letting it convert to childcare. “There’s a big council multi‑sport complex just down the road,” Martin notes. The fit is obvious; the decision, uncertain.
The participation era has arrived
Martin’s facilities push dovetails with a national policy pivot from “elite first” to “participation for all.” The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has reframed success around getting more people active—an approach embedded in the Play Well participation strategy (see the Play Well ecosystem in the AusPlay report’s introduction).
The data tell the story. 85% of Australians aged 15+ were active at least once in the last year, and informal activity now dominates: think parkrun, a spontaneous hit‑up on outdoor courts, a brisk walk with friends. Across every frequency—from once a year to three times a week—informal sport outstrips organised sport among adults (see the frequency charts, AusPlay summary, p.3). Among children, club sport still matters, but even there only about one in four (26%) participate through a sports club or association
Just as important is where Australians are active. The single biggest “venue” is public space—streets, parks, beaches—used by 61% of adults. Home environments (29%) and gyms/leisure centres (28%) follow. Only 18% used dedicated club facilities in the last year (see “Where activity takes place,” AusPlay summary, p.6). For organised activity specifically, millions of adults and children also use free community facilities such as outdoor courts and ovals (summary, p.6; full report, pp.16–18, 24–25).
What that means for squash facility planning in Australia
For racquet sports, the implications are clear:
Be where the people already are. Councils are investing in multi‑use community hubs, not single‑sport fortresses. Squash needs to be proposed as a modular amenity inside leisure centres, schools and neighbourhood sports parks—available for club play and casual “drop‑in” use. The AusPlay data show that’s where Australians choose to be active (summary, p.6; full report, pp.16–18, 34–36).
Design for participation first. Adults are far more likely to play informally than to join leagues. That argues for open access hours, simple booking, family programs and school‑day taster sessions. (See “Informal vs organised” charts, summary, p.3; full report, pp.6–7, 31–33.)
Prove demand with community‑club structures. “When you’re a club, you are then able to apply for different levels of funding,” Martin says. Squash entities embedded in community facilities can tap grants and demonstrate broad use—precisely the “busy place” councils want to see.
Build more than three courts where possible. North Manly’s like‑for‑like rebuild is progress, but Martin’s experience shows three courts are a bottleneck for schools and junior growth. For primary/secondary school partnerships and social comps, 4–6 courts in a hub unlock group programming and better utilisation.
The political reality: federations must lead
One more lesson from Martin’s advocacy: councils prefer dealing with recognised sporting bodies, not individuals. The western Sydney wins came only after efforts were channelled through New South Wales Squash, aligning the pitch with government processes. “We… worked together with New South Wales Squash… to get the Council to this point,” she says.
That makes Squash Australia and state/territory associations pivotal. Their remit must expand from calendars and high‑performance to infrastructure development and policy engagement: preparing evidence‑based business cases, bundling squash into multi‑sport bids, and aligning with Play Well outcomes around health, inclusion and cost‑effective activation of public spaces (AusPlay full report introduction). As Martin puts it, “To get funding or [build] facilities… it all has to happen at the top.”
A champion’s bar for success
Martin has stepped back from “sitting at those tables,” but not from the cause. She still donates time—coaching, mentoring, chivvying officials on better marketing—and she still carries a racket to council meetings. (“I said, ‘I’m here to make a racket,’ and started swinging my racket,” she laughs.) The measure of success, in her view, isn’t medals alone. It’s kids hearing the thwack of a ball in their local centre after school; parents squeezing in a social hit after work; older adults staying active with a friendly round‑robin.
Australia’s participation era is here, and the data say squash can fit it beautifully—if the courts are where communities live their active lives. The rest is political craft and persistence. Martin has shown what that looks like; now it’s the federations’ turn to make it standard practice.
Quotations: Michelle Martin interview with SFN.
Data and figures: Australian Sports Commission, AusPlay: A new picture of how Australians get active — Summary of key findings (esp. pp.3 & 6) and Full report (intro; pp.16–19, 24–36).
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