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thursday nov 21 2002 121 economist sun stouffville tribune sports squash smashes age barrier social game gives participants good workout during winter months by adam malik special to the economist 6- suntribune searching for a way to increase personal health and stamina but dont have a lot of time taking to hardwood courts for a game of squash could be the answer squash gives participants an amaz ing cardiovascular workout in a short amount of time says marilyn robello manager of mayfair east racquet and fitness club in markham a squash game runs 40 minutes in length and the workout one person can get during this time is astounding taylor fawcett a squash pro at club markham echoed her sentiments its a great workout and great for anyone who is into fitness he said with winter upon us many forms of out door recreation are finished until next spring with that in mind squash proves to be a sound alternative its a great winter sport the winters here are pretty terrible and people go looking indoors for something to do squash is great for that reason mr fawcett said like other sports squash can be played from a young age but unlike other sports it can be played well after the retirement age at the national championships in the united states theres an over80 age h category mr fawcett said at the mayfair east facility there are members as young as eight and others in their 70s squash enthusiast fred reid got his son fred jr into the sport at an early age age doesnt really matter all that much said the markham resident who is currently ranked 12th in the provincial master mens 40 and over division ratings i got young fred started at the age of five he added of his 12- yearold son who is currendy ranked third in the under- 13 boys provincial rankings when discussing the social aspect of squash all three had high regards it is one of the most social sports out in the world today and by far the most social racquet sport said ms robello its a very social game without a doubt even more so than tennis mr fawcett said after a game of squash most play ers will go out and have a drink togeth- er one aspect of squash many peo ple dont realize is the mental competition between players in comparison to tennis where the opponent is on the other side of the court v v the squash opponent is in the same confined area ifs a great winter sport the winters here arepretty terrible and people go looking indoors for something to do squash is great for that reason this is what really gets players hooked in said mr reids wife kathy there is more com munication between players and mental aspect kicks in players become more competi tive because their competitor is right in front of them although racquetball and squash emerged at the around the same time squash started attracting attention in the mid1980s racquetball hasnt had the same staying power in local fitness clubs racquetball is on its last leg and is not offered in any mayfair facility squash on the other hand is doing extremely well confirmed ms robello both racquetball and squash emerged from the baby boomer era but with raquetball there is now little interest remaining in todays society mr reid said the reason for racquefbaus demise was because the game became less challenging as the player got better in squash as your skill increases so does the length of rallies but in racquetball as you become better the length of rallies become shorter he said this made racquetball games shorter and didnt give people the workout they had originally received so more people started taking up squash as a result squash has been around for a very long time mr fawcett said some trophies date back 70 years and there were even squash courts on the titanic the popularity of this sport goes up and down but right now it is at a high point a big reason for squashs success in canada is montreal superstar jonathon power the sec ondranked player in the world power has gotten major attention world wide and his effect on young people to play is amazing said ms robello jonathon has helped without a doubt he has spread the popularity of the sport in canada based on the fact he is from here and has done an excellent job overall said mr fawcett adding to the social aspect of the game is the fact it can be played as doubles its something that squash has branched off into said ms robello its popular right now in the squash world but is mainly played by the older generations or t photomike barrett sec rules page 22 avid squash play er fred reid jr takes to the court at the mayfair fitness and raquet club e8skrwt3ss rktt rrrsj r r- simone joseph been there done that mapping out a new sport using maps has never been my forte i have a somewhat cloudy memory of myself in elementary school standing atop a hill during an orienteering exer cise feeling utterly lost my mapreading skills have improved since then but i am still not totally confident using a map so i decided to call on an expert steve helston mr helston learned how to read maps before he could read books once about six years ago while canoeing near parry sound he managed to navi gate his way from one island to another in thick fog using a compass and a top ographical map while earning a geography degree from queens university he took as many cartography courses as he could including one that required he learn to navigate at night in swampy conditions and in terrain he has never seen before he is now a teacher at milne outdoor education centre in markham i realized just how badly i needed his help when ironically enough i became lost on my way to his orienteering ses sion once there i join a class of grade 4 students from randall public school as he teaches them the basics of using a map followed by two orienteering exer cises he begins with what he says are the three golden rules of using maps make sure the map is oriented or pointed in the right direction know where you are on the map and know where you are going we begin with an indoor exercise in which we use a map to find different markers around the classroom this is the easy map he tells us uh oh i have to look at the map of the student beside me to figure out which way is north trying not to body check any of the students in my rush to find the markers i end up scoring a measly six out of 10 on this exercise next comes the outdoor exercise finding markers around the milne dam conservation park in markham the see activity page b4