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Gay squash club fears loss of base
PLAYERS from the country’s first gay squash club have warned they will be forced to move matches to Brixton if Finsbury Leisure Centre shuts.
4Play Squash has played most of its matches at the Norman Street centre since the mid-1990s. The 20-year-old club offers a “non-threatening environment” for lesbian, gay and bisexual players.
The centre was earmarked for demolition and rebuilding, but the council said last month that this was no longer financially viable during the recession. But campaigners, including members of 4Play Squash, fear the demolition plans could be revived.
4Play Squash chairman Jeremy Langshaw, from Holloway, said: “They’ve said the plans are shelved for now but might be considered again in the future.”
He added: “The club provides an opportunity to meet people in a non-threatening environment. It’s all well and good going to a nightclub, but in that kind of environment there is a sort of expectation of sex, whereas the primary purpose here is to play squash.
“The group attracts a diverse group of people – young, old and people from all backgrounds.”
4Play Squash has joined Middlesex Squash League and won promotion after a run of success.
Team member John Forni, from Clerkenwell, said: “Many of our members are not from wealthy professional occupations and cannot easily join expensive private gym clubs.”
The centre’s squash courts were fully booked during weekdays, he added.
A council spokesman said demolition plans for the centre were on ice.
Lib Dem leisure chief Councillor Ruth Polling has said that, if and when redevelopment does take place, alternative facilities would be provided for squash players. |
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