WATCH – Inverness Red Kites is launched to get more women in the Highlands involved in squash
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A NEW group to encourage more women to play squash in the Highlands has been launched in Inverness.
Inverness Red Kites has been created by Inverness Tennis and Squash Club to increase female participation in the sport with the first session held on Tuesday.
The group has been set up after the club received feedback that women were put off continuing to play the sport due to membership being male dominated.
Out of 200 members at Inverness Squash Club, only 20 members are senior female players.
Club manager Ailsa Polworth says they spoke to some of their female members to understand their experiences and opinions as well as women who decided to give up playing the sport.
She said the overwhelming feeling from women was that they felt isolated and intimidated by the male dominance at the club.
They all said they would prefer all female sessions and opportunities for improving fitness and learning as well as improving their squash.
"We want to get more women playing squash as it is a male dominated sport," she said.
"We have done a number of initiatives over the years to get more women playing.
"There is success at getting women through the door, but then we lose them, so we looked into why.
"Women felt they were isolated and outnumbered by men and for beginners that perhaps adds to the anxiety.
"So we ran some ladies classes which proved popular so we want to form a group just for women and we have called ourselves Inverness Red Kites.
"It is not about the standard, it is about women exercising together and getting involved in sport in a friendly welcoming environment."
Fifteen women came to the opening night of the Inverness Red Kites on Tuesday night.
The group will be holding weekly training session, a weekly club play session and a monthly bootcamp.
Members will also be given a t-shirt with the unique club logo and identifiable name.
The group is open to all females in the area who want to try a new sport without the barriers of ability, experience or financial status.
It is reaching out to women who currently do not take part in a regular sporting activity.
The Inverness Tennis and Squash Club and Highlands and Islands Squash Association have contributed funding to get the group up and running.The group are seeking sponsorship and are looking for companies who are interested in supporting us the group to get in touch.
Polworth said: "We want the Inverness Red Kites to be an ongoing sports group which hopefully through fundraising and sponsorship will be self funding after the first year.
"For our first session this week we already have a group of 16 women confirmed as attending.
"Some are already regular players and some are fairly new to the sport. Some will just want to play social squash but some are keen to compete."
Also for the first time ever, the club plans to enter two all female teams into the Highlands and Islands Squash Leagues. Although it is a mixed league, it is currently male dominated and would be a major first for Inverness.
Polworth said: "We have had a lot of support for the idea as the league wants to see more women playing.
"It is a way of integrating women into the sport and it would be great if we could get women's teams into the league."
For more information about Inverness Red Kites visit the Inverness Tennis and Squash Club website.
