Squash

The use of stringed rackets is shared with tennis, which dates from the late sixteenth century, though is more directly descended from the game of rackets from England. In "rackets", instead of hitting over a net as in sports such as tennis, players hit a squeezable ball against walls.

Squash was invented in Harrow School out of the older game rackets around 1.830 before the game spread to other schools, eventually becoming an international sport. The first courts built at this school were rather dangerous because they were near water pipes, buttresses, chimneys, and ledges.

The school soon built four outside courts. Natural rubber was the material of choice for the ball. Students modified their rackets to have a smaller reach to play in these cramped conditions. The rackets have changed in a similar way to those used in tennis. Squash rackets used to be made out of laminated timber.

In the 1980s, construction shifted to ligheter materials (such as aluminium and graphite) with small additions of components like Keylar, boron and titaniun. Natural "gut" strings were also replaced with synthetic strings. In the 19th century the game increased in popularity with various schools, clubs and even private citizen building squash courts, but with no set dimensions. The first squash court in North America appeared at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire in 1884.

In 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the earliest national association of squash in the world was formed as the United States Squash rackets Association, (USSRA), now known as U.S. Squash. In April 1907 the Tennis, rackets and Fives Association set up a sub committee to set standards for squash. Then the sport soon formed, combining the three sports together called "Squash". In 1912, the RMS Titanic had a squash court in first clash. The 1st-Class Squash Court was situated on G-Deck and the Spectators Viewing Gallery was on the deck above on F-Deck.