Scott Graham has highlighted how a visit to Celtic Squash Club showed the value of the hours of paperwork involved in applying for Community Sports Facility Funding.
The Squash Ireland CEO visited the Waterford City club on Saturday to drop off a Hit squash cannon. There, he met Conor O’Neill, a Celtic coach and secretary of Squash Munster, and club stalwart Eugene Walker, who last year was appointed Masters committee chairperson.
O’Neill was on court with some players from the local De La Salle school, and their enthusiasm for using the Hit cannon illustrated its use as a coaching tool.
“I dropped a Hit squash cannon into Celtic on Saturday,” said Graham. “There was a good buzz, and it was great to meet Eugene Walker and Conor O’Neill, the club coach who is the secretary for Squash Munster.
“It makes all the hours of paperwork (in applying for funding) worthwhile when you see the joy on the players’ faces when they saw the cannon. They were all very excited to start using it.
“The club is really thriving in terms of its junior section; they have about 40 juniors, and they have offered to help other local clubs who are looking to establish or grow their junior sections. They are very open to offering advice or tips on what has worked for them and what hasn’t.”
The Hit cannon delivered to Celtic is one of 20 Squash Ireland has distributed around the country. “The Hit cannon was one of 20 pieces of equipment we secured through the Community Sports Facility Fund,” continued Graham.
“We have distributed 20 cannons, and there were about 60 of the junior squash packs. We are also expecting delivery of first aid kits and defibrillators in the next couple of weeks; we will be distributing them to clubs that have made an application.”
