Mega gallery: future Olympians face off in booming Canberra sport, but demolition threatens future

On Saturday the Woden Junior Squash Open had about 100 rivals in action, consisting of Canberra’s very first nationwide junior champ in 6 years, Aliza Atif, who declared the women under-11 title in Tasmania in September.

The nine-year-old is amongst a big group of appealing children playing squash each week in Canberra and standing out throughout an amazing time for the sport worldwide, in the middle of its launching at the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.

• Have a look at the substantial gallery of squash juniors completing at Woden listed below!

All the action from the Woden Junior Squash Open on Saturday November 7 2026. Images by Karleen Minney

At the Woden Junior Squash Open, the next generation of Olympic stars might well have actually been in action, however the sport is dealing with a huge difficulty in the ACT.

While there are still some actions before the demolition, the possible loss of the almost 60-year-old squash club would have a terrible effect to the sport simply as it is delighting in a boom duration.

“Dickson players are very worried and very upset that their club that’s been there for more than 50 years is facing this, when their junior program is full and they’re running competitions Monday through to Friday nights,” Squash ACT basic supervisor, Lisa Matthews, stated.

“Dickson has actually constantly been a growing club, however if we do not have a center on the northside, it stresses me that we’ll lose individuals who will not want to take a trip south to Woden to play.

“Squash ACT is quite focusing on constructing our junior involvement once again. We had a hard time after COVID with our numbers however in the last 12 months, we’re beginning to lastly have a boost in our involvement, which is wonderful.

“We’ve got squash coming up in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, and that’s the first time the sport is at the Summer Games, which we’re all very excited about.”

Canberran 9-year-old Aliza Atif won the Girls Under-11 title at the Australian Junior Squash Championships in Tasmania and has an appealing future in the sport. Pictures Karleen Minney, Supplied

Quickly available northside courts are restricted for squash gamers. Aside from Dickson, there is the Next Gen center in Lyneham however as a personal club there are some subscription requirements, and the University of Canberra has 4 courts, however 2 are often scheduled for table tennis.

Like lots of sports in the ACT, squash deals with the very same concerns of handling the growing need for centers and issues about the condition of those centers. The proposed demolition of Dickson Squash Club just intensifies the issue.

Squash ACT is dealing with clubs and the ACT federal government to promote for support to enhance existing centers, and resolve the Dickson issues.

“A lot of facilities are in major need of renovation and upgrading,” Matthews stated.

“They’re rather old. Woden is our significant center with the most amount of courts where we run our huge occasions, and Squash ACT owns it. It actually requires to be updated with program courts, glass-backs, more seating, and things like that, so we can certify to hold nationwide and first-rate occasions.

“Northside is a genuine issue for us, and if Dickson goes, it’s going to be a substantial blow to squash in Canberra.

“We’re truly hoping the ACT federal government has the ability to attempt and assist them discover a brand-new home since it utilized to be among the most significant clubs in Australia, and it’s still a huge, strong squash club.

“We have increasing involvement, we seem like we’ve turned the ship around, and we’re heading in a great instructions now in Canberra. We absolutely feel the momentum even throughout Australia with the Olympics, however we still have a great deal of work to do.”