ALUMNI
Steve Downes
SQUASH IN THE Perusing the World Squash Federation’s historical timeline, it’s evident that the sport enjoys a long and august past. Invented in the 1850s by boys at the Harrow School outside London, England, the game was initially referred to as baby racquets, soft racquets, or squash racquets. In 1884, St. Paul’s School teacher, James Conover, introduced the sport to the United States, and in the ensuing years, squash courts began to spring up around the globe. Ireland built its first in 1902, followed by Canada in 1904, and South Africa in 1906, and in 1921, Harvard College created the world’s first university team.
In the decades since, the sport has continued to gain in popular-
STEVE DOWNES
ity. 1966 saw the formation of the International Squash Rackets
Squash Coach, Tabor Academy
Federation, which became the World Squash Federation (WSF) in 1992. Athletes have played matches around the world, including in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Yet they have never played in the Olympic Games, despite the sport’s bids for inclusion in London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024.
As a squash coach at Tabor for the past 35 years—varsity boys’ head coach for the past nine—Steve Downes has seen the sport’s many benefits firsthand and would welcome its addition to the Olympics. “Squash offers players an intense, one-to-one competitive experience and requires a great deal of physical conditioning,” he observes. “And, I think any student you spoke
Curious about these continued denials, we asked members of
to would comment on the terrific friendships they’ve formed
Tabor’s squash community their thoughts on why the sport was
playing the game.”
meeting such resistance from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and their hopes for the future of the game.
Squash has been played at Tabor since the 1960s, Downes says, and continues to grow in popularity. “The sport attracts a lot of students to the school, accomplished players as well as those
52 TABOR TODAY | Spring 2021
