Nestled in the delightful, leafy town of Cheltenham, East Glos Club is revolutionising the way squash players perceive padel.
Andy Whipp introduces the latest PSA Club feature …
Die-hard squash fans need not see padel as our enemy. Whether or not padel turns out to be a fad, only time will tell, but for now it’s here to stay. It is the fastest growing sport in the world and is another racket sport to disrupt the stranglehold squash, tennis and badminton have on the UK.
East Glos is a club established in the 1880’s, which has continually evolved throughout the years. With tennis always remaining it’s constant, they have embraced many sports along the way; croquet, cricket, hockey, archery, football, and now padel. Today it boasts an impressive size, offering four main sports; tennis, squash, padel and racketball (with a bit of table tennis and pickleball thrown in for good measure).
Mark Toseland is their Squash Manager. Mark is somebody I could easily chat to for hours, covering the whole spectrum of geeky squash chat from balls, to grass-roots, coaching, committees, all the way up to the elite PSA Squash Tour.
Mark was appointed in 2018 and at that time the club had 1,400 members in total, with of course the majority being tennis players (East Glos has an awe-inspiring 17 all-weather floodlit tennis courts, and 9 grass courts!).
Don’t get me wrong, the squash section was doing just fine, but things can always get better right..? But how?
In 2019 padel was on their radar after a few squash and tennis members had recently played abroad and loved it. In early 2020 the club conducted a development member survey and held an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting) to propose some new developments.
These included the introduction of padel and a reconfigured squash area to incorporate an upstairs warm-up area and improved spectator viewing.
As we all know, the first UK COVID Lockdown was announced in March 2020 and continued on-and-off until May 2021. This 14-month period hit all business hard, especially the sports industry as exercising together, breathing and sweating among each other, was a scary thought and considered taboo for a long time.
What is clear to me is that East Glos cared for and communicated with their members regularly before and throughout Lockdown, creating loyalty among their customers. This loyalty became evident as many members continued to pay their monthly subscriptions throughout this difficult time, even though they could not use the facilities, knowing they were supporting the club they had grown to love. Customer good-will like this enabled East Glos to not just remain afloat financially, but they could actively plan for the future.
However, ‘planning for the future’ was tough as none of us really knew what the future would hold for sports clubs at this unusual time, when many sports clubs were being forced to downsize, or shut down for good.
However, when lockdown came, the club had the confidence, the opportunity, and the backing of the club members to deliver their new projects (including partial funding by an LTA loan), including the three pioneering padel courts, by converting a grass tennis court.
Lockdown was lifted; the padel courts opened in April 2021 and were the first courts in the region. The club needed to guide members on how to actually play the sport, unlike today, when it is promoted extensively on social media.
Padel was an instant hit – driving footfall, introducing a new section of the local community to their club and facilities, which led to the holy grail – generating new members.
Three padel courts have now become seven, as four more were introduced last summer. Ideally the squash members would have liked another squash court or two, but collectively understood the benefits to get more padel courts. I love this – a visionary and patient squash committee, willing to compromise and put their desires on hold for the long-term good (even if they were slightly nervous about the short-term effect on squash).
Now, in the summer of 2026, the club has grown to 2,500 members, doubling their pre-lockdown numbers. Without adding to their four squash courts, squash court usage has increased to consistently 55% – 60% during the season with padel court usage at 85%, and over the past 12 months, 400 different people have booked a squash court – compare this to their previous membership 5 years ago, which had a total of 130 squash specific members allowed to access the courts!
But (from a squash point of view), how did they specifically do this…?
- The individual racket sport membership was changed to one overall membership, giving every member access to all on site facilities.
- A slight change to the club house layout, exposing members to the squash courts.
- The water fountain is placed next to the squash courts – so if new members didn’t know there were squash courts on site, they soon would!
- Charlotte Elgood is a padel and racketball coach; She would actively encourage both sports. For example, if it was raining outside, she would bring the pupils inside to the squash courts.
- Kids are encouraged to enjoy coaching activities across all sports. Enjoyment is the key. Not technique, just fun at the start. This is what makes children want to return week after week.
- Introducing opportunities for members and children to see all the facilities on offer means curiosity would eventually take over and lure people onto the squash courts.
East Glos is undoubtedly thriving.
The club is a bustling local hub of activity and connection. Mark Toseland describes how the club is much more family friendly than ever before. The whole place is filled with a multi-sport feel where people can grow and develop their skills across a number of sports, while feeling a great sense of social connectivity to one-another. And if they then decide to specialise, there’s plenty of squash specific options in place to help them flourish.
Mark goes on to say, “It is no longer ‘us vs them’ with relation to the other sports on offer at East Glos”.
For far too long squash has seen tennis, and now padel as a rival. East Glos Club is a perfect example of why this need not be the case.
If you’re ever around the area, call in to see this fantastic club, they’d love to see you!
If your Club would like to partner with PSA as a PSA Club,
get in touch with Andy Whipp for more details
