Sport England’s rally to get people playing squash
England is the top nation when it comes to playing squash, but the number of participants is falling. Hopes are high that a new strategy will halt the decline.
Developed at Harrow School in the 1830s from the older sport of racquets, squash is played in 175 countries by an estimated 20 million people and has been called “the world’s healthiest sport” by Forbes magazine. England retains close links with the sport, possessing 8,500 squash courts – substantially more than any other nation.
However, participation in the sport in England has fallen to 196,500 weekly players from 290,000 in 2010, following a mini-boom between 2008 and 2013 that was aided by a drive from England Squash & Racketball to improve the participation of girls, women and ethnic minority players.
Questions:
- How can there be 196,500 weekly players but 325,000 monthly players?
- Is there a trend in the data? Can you predict what it will be for 2015-16?
- What percentage of the monthly players have been lost between 2011 and 2015?
- How much of the time are the squash courts in use?
- Is 325,000 people a lot?
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/business/business-sport-series/12039758/playing-squash.html
