4PlaySquash is a London based club for gay and lesbian squash players and their friends. The club welcomes players of all ability levels and practice sessions, which take place at several venues around London, attract a range of players and aim to improve everyone's game.

The club also organises regular social events and their annual International Gay and Lesbian Squash Tournament, held in Spring, is one of the highlights of the year and attracts many players from other gay and lesbian squash groups around Europe.

We caught up with Craig, one of the club members, to find out more.

How did the club get started?
The catalyst was a lazy Sunday afternoon in 1989 when one of our long standing members had nothing to do and so read all the small ads in the Pink Paper. There was a one line ad that said, 'Gay Squash Tournament – Berlin – write for details' with a PO Box address in Berlin. So the member wrote off and later that summer set off with a friend and played in their first gay squash tournament and it was fantastic.

We were the first 'international' players that they had and were treated exceptionally well. They kept on being asked, “why doesn’t London have a gay squash group” and the founder member thought, "Why not indeed?"

When they got back they put an ad in the Pink Paper and that’s how the group got started. It was surprisingly easy to get going and 4Play Squash would like to thank the Pink Paper and the other gay publications at the time for supporting gay sports by providing free advertising.

How many members do you have?
It’s difficult to say because we no longer have formal membership. Anyone can just turn up at one of the regular meetings and play. We do have an email list to keep the players up to date with stuff going on like tournaments, parties etc and that’s got around 200 names on it. The most that we can cope with at any one session is around 24 players due to the limitations of court space, but when we have the tournaments it can go up to around 80 players.

Do you have a typical member?
Not really. There’s an age range from early 20s to late 50s with abilities ranging from complete beginner to county standard. Of course, we’re all very good looking and athletic - well, that may not be entirely true, but we are all very friendly!

How long have you been a member of the club for?
The club has been founded for approximately 17 years and I’ve been a member the past 9 years.

Are all of your members gay/lesbian?
It’s certainly not a requirement - that’s stated in our constitution - and the occasional straight player does come along, but yes, the vast majority are gay or lesbian.

What are the highlights of the year for the club?
Actually the most significant event this year has been a low point. Lambs Squash Club in the Barbican closed for redevelopment. This is where we hold our annual squash tournament and we are finding it difficult to find another venue in London with enough courts (8 or more). We had the same problem when the club started and the first London tournament was actually held in Gran Canaria! That was fab - and we may have to do it again now - so maybe it’s not so bad that Lambs has closed.

Would more ‘out’ players help the sport?
Squash just needs more players full stop. It doesn’t work well on the television and it’s not an Olympic sport, which is outrageous. As a result it’s been in a bit of a decline for the last 15 years, which is a real shame because it’s an excellent sport which can be enjoyed at all levels relatively cheaply all year round.

Has their ever been any homophobia towards the team?
Not that I’m aware of

What are the goals of the club in the future?
We’re looking to generate interest in squash amongst London’s gay youth. We’ve spoken about running a squash fun day aimed at gay youth groups. We hope this will let younger gay people see that they are part of a bigger community and that through joining a gay sport group they can feel supported by the community.

What originally made you get involved with the club?
It seemed like a good way to make friends and improve my squash and fitness at the same time.

So, how good do you have to be to get involved?
We welcome players of all standards. The main thing is to just turn up and have fun. Don’t worry if you don’t have a squash racquet, you can normally borrow one if you want to see if you like the game. Even though most of the players are of reasonable to very good standard, we all had to start at some time and are happy to help out. We’re also able to offer 1:1 coaching sessions for those that want to improve their game and we always go to a gay pub afterwards to socialise - I'll mention The Green at Islington, because it’s an excellent bar and they sponsored our last tournament!

Is the club a good place to make new friends?
Definitely. We are a very sociable group and often organise theatre outings and club dinners etc.

What's it like playing other straight teams?
We don’t actually play in any inter-club leagues so I don’t know. If the club grows much more though this is something we may try.

If you had to pick one, who’s your sporting hero?
Ivan Bussens.

So, what do you think of the state of 'gay sports'?
It’s way better than it was 15 years ago, but most of it is still centred around London. I would like to see similar levels of gay sports in all the major cities in the UK. We hope that the Out for Sport organisation will be an ideal catalyst for the progress required.

Do you think it's true that the majority of gay men and women don’t like sport?
No.

What’s the worst cliché about gays and sport?
The way kids taunt other kids, calling a child who drops a ball or is bad at sport in any way 'Gay' or 'Queer'. Homophobia in any form is totally unacceptable and since there is no connection between sporting ability and sexual orientation, it’s completely unjustified.

How can people find out more information about the club?
Look on the internet. Do a Google search on gay squash in London and you will find 4Play Squash straight away. The web address is www.4playsquash.org.

Are you involved with a gay sporting group that wants to be included? Then contact us at editor@gaydarnation.com.


Want more? Then buy The Outsports Revolution, Truth and Myth in the World of Gay Sports by Cyd Zeigler and Jim Buzinksi and Eric Anderson's In the Game: Gay Athletes and the Cult of Masculinity online and save money!