Innovative Squash Showcase Captures Minds Of Buenos Aires Schoolchildren
Buenos Aires, October 2018:
Squash,
which has this week made its debut as a Showcase Sport at the Youth
Olympic Games with week-long action taking place in a
state-of-the-art glass court situated at Technopolis park, has captured
the minds of thousands of local school children in Buenos Aires who have
experienced the sport for the first time in their lives.
Over four hundred children each day have been introduced to the game on
a miniature outdoor demonstration court, allowing them to hold a squash
racket and hit a squash ball for the very first time. Those children,
along with hundreds more, have then watched some of the world's best
young players showcase the sport on an innovative glass court with an
interactive front wall.
The interactive wall, developed by German company interactiveSquash
in partnership with the Professional Squash Association and
World Squash Federation, has transformed the court into a colourful
and engaging playground that has delighted and awed fans of all ages.
Throughout the week, the court has come alive with player tracking and
reactive displays showing the location of ball impacts on the wall -
while hundreds of school children have had the opportunity to step onto
the court for the first time in their lives and experience the
interactive gaming modules first hand.
Through a series of introductory activities on both courts, aimed at
encouraging children to get active and become acquainted with being on a
squash court, a new generation of Argentinian children have been
inspired to get involved in sport. These youngsters are given the
opportunity to develop their love affair with squash at local centres as
part of the integrated programme.
"To see so many children becoming involved with squash for the first
time in their lives this week, and to have so much fun doing so, has
been a huge success for us and we hope it will have encouraged a new
generation of future champions in Argentina,"
said World Squash President Jacques Fontaine.
"The future of sport lies with this generation of children and to have
thousands of youngsters stepping onto a squash court, holding a squash
ball and experiencing the joy of hitting a squash ball for the first
time in their lives, has been very rewarding for everyone involved. As
we are vying to be included in the Olympic programme, I hope that this
generation could one day shine at the Olympic Games."
Argentinian Squash Federation President Juan Pablo Garcia
said: "The activation programme, both on the miniature outdoor court
and on the stunning glass-court, has been a huge success and we hope
that squash's participation here in Buenos Aires will have a lasting
legacy for the community here and for the sport worldwide.
"Squash is a very fun sport to play which mixes exercise and fitness
with social interaction. It is our hope that we will have inspired a new
generation of children to become more active and to engage with the
sport of squash."
Markos Kern,
founder of interactiveSquash, added: "This is squash plus gaming. We
are bringing fun back to sport and we are already seeing that, as a
result, squash is becoming more popular and more people are being
introduced to the sport.
"This system turns the actual sport of squash into an interactive
experience - it's fitness, sport, fun and technology all coming together
to encourage activity and put fun into activity.
"Implementing a gaming aspect into squash can help take the sport to a
new level. Children play sports for fun and we've seen in recent years a
shift towards static lifestyles amongst children. This technology can
help combat that and combat the rise of youth health issues such as
obesity."
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