Article by whynotgirl.com - Podcast is available on the link: http://whynotgirl.com/health-fitness/victoria-simmonds-squash/
This week’s Why Not Girl! of the Week is Victoria Simmonds, a professional squash player and tournament director for the 2013 L.A. Open, which is the first time the Women’s Squash Association(Singles Tour) and the Women’s Doubles Squash Association will join forces to host two events under one roof. The tournament takes places November 13 -17 at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles. I had the opportunity to speak with Victoria to learn more about the tournament and how she found herself in the world of professional squash. Listen to our interview here:
TELL US ABOUT THE L.A. OPEN TOURNAMENT:
Yes. I’d be happy to. So next week, November 13 to the 17, we are hosting the first ever women’s professional squash tournament which will have the WSA Singles Tour and the Women’s Doubles tour under one roof competing in a $10,000 tournament each. So each one of those tournaments will have a pool prize money of $10,000. It’s the first time in history that both the singles tour and the doubles tour will have competed at the same event so it’s pretty exciting stuff.
THE BEST EVER AMERICAN PLAYER AMANDA SOBHY WILL ALSO BE PLAYING. THAT’S PRETTY BIG FOR THE SPORT, HUH?
Oh, absolutely. She’s been extremely successful and she’s only 20 years of age. So, she’s currently the number one player at Harvard. So, she’ll be coming in for that. And we’re going to have players, female players from all over the world coming in for the event. From Switzerland to Germany , Mexico, England, Whales. Yeah, they’re coming in from all over. It’s great stuff.
Squash is not necessarily a sport you hear much of in the United States. How big is this sport around the world. This event sounds like a pretty big deal.
Yeah, obviously I’ve always been, my life has always been involved in squash right from the get-go. But for others, it’s definitely been a sport where we’ve tried to get more and more accessible to everyone. I think that, I’m not sure if you know about the latest ruling with squash being an Olympic sport. We actually were denied that again. But we’re more and more popular every single year. Originally it started as more of, say, an elitist sport. It transformed from the game called racket back in England back in the early 1800s and evolved into squash which is basically a sport played between two people in a four-walled court with a soft, small rubber ball. Actually, back in the day it was really hard, but now it’s a small, black rubber ball. It’s an incredible sport, one which that should have, in my opinion, a lot more publicity than it does. But that’s something that’s happening more and more. We’ve seen a huge boom out in the U.S., particularly on the Northeast Coast in the New England area. When I first moved out here, out in New York, it was extremely prevalent there. So, it’s definitely heading in the right direction.
YOU ARE NOT FROM THE UNITED STATES, TELL US ABOUT WHERE YOU GREW UP AND HOW YOU GOT INVOLVED IN THE GAME OF SQUASH AND BECAME A PROFESSIONAL SQUASH PLAYER.
I’m 31 years old so back in the early years when I was six or seven years old that was when I first started playing. I was actually lucky enough to have my mom actually ran the racket section of a private club back in England on the south coast. I had a twin brother back home and I think I had a form of childcare where I had my mom saying, “Here’s two rackets and a ball now go and entertain yourselves.” I kind of, by default, was always into racket sports like squash, badminton and tennis. So from an early age, that’s kind of how I got into it.
I think a lot of parents always wonder, especially with the competition that is within the schools these days. They wonder if they should have their kids focus on just one sport or all racket sports. I’m happy to say that my mom never really pushed me into one in particular. She said just do as much as you can and as long as it makes you happy. I played all of them, but it was probably in my late teens that I focused more on squash. I think the main reason why is that it’s really an intense sport. If I had 45 minutes to spare, that was the one sport that would give me everything I needed in that 45 minutes. Not to poo poo all the other sports that are out there. But Forbes magazine named it the number one healthiest sport in the world. With that type of rating you would think it would be more popular, but it’s definitely getting there. That’s kind of my history with it.
As I grew up I kept on playing and playing and decided that, I think, I had more of a traditional career that wasn’t involved in squash to begin with and played squash on the side. Then kind of realized and had that moment in life then I realized I can do what I love and try to make it a profession as well as making it a huge passion of mine. I definitely don’t earn as much money as I used to, but I’m happier than I have ever been. That’s a good thing.
FOR ANYONE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE GAME OF SQUASH, WHAT DO YOU EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU PLAY?
One of my favorite things about it, comparing it to anything like working out at the gym – I don’t know about you, Lauren – but the idea of running on a treadmill for 20 minutes with no real goal at the end of it is my worst nightmare. So for me it was about finding a sport that would keep me happy and healthy, but not feel like a chore when I was doing it.
When I describe to people the kind of workout that you’re getting, I say if someone said to you, “Go in a studio, put some free weights in your hand and do 2,000 lunges that would sound horrendous. But essentially that’s what your body is doing on a squash court and you don’t really realize it because it’s so much fun playing the game.
There is one thing that I’m proud of, as I think so many women players are, is the infamous squash butt that you wind up having when you play so much because it really works out the glutes. If that’s what you’re looking for in a workout, then squash is the sport for you.
IT SOUNDS LIKE IT’S A COMBINATION OF FITNESS AND A LOT OF FUN.
Absolutely! You’ve got to have the sense, with most racket sports, to try to have that incentive to play the game, beat your opponent. It can be as serious as you want it to be. I’m a professional player so there’s a part of me that takes it very seriously. But at the same time it’s a fun game when I don’t and it’s just the case of when I have a fantastic rally that lasts a couple of minutes and you chase the ball around. It’s so much fun and I definitely recommend it. Check out some videos.
To learn more about the game of squash and Victoria’s upcoming L.A. Open tournament, go to theWomen’s Squash Association and the Women’s Doubles Squash Association websites. Also, if you’re in the Los Angeles area and would like to play with Victoria, you can contact her through the Jonathan Club.