The Hungarian Squash Association introduced thousands of young people to squash on a mobile court at the recent EFOTT music festival at Lake Velence near Budapest.
The EFOTT Festival, now in its 49th year, was attended by 115,000 people between 9-13 July on the shores of the lake 40km from the Hungarian capital city.
As well as concerts each evening, there were a variety of sports programmes during the day, including water sports, beach volleyball, baseball and streetball, plus in a large tent in which festival-goers could try squash, table tennis, shooting, e-sports, Thai boxing and fencing.
Each day between 10am-6pm, hundreds of young people tried squash on the mobile plexiglass court made by the Hungarian federation, playing with small rackets and sponge balls.
“Practically everyone who tried squash came back the next day!” said Peter Hoffman from the Hungarian Squash Association. “Many of them said they planned to visit squash clubs near their homes and even suggested incorporating squash into their university sports clubs.
“The Hungarian Squash Federation believes this age group is crucial to engage, as it’s currently the biggest gap in squash participation.”
This is the second year the Hungarian Squash Association has promoted the game at the EFOTT Festival and it has already booked in to return for its 50th edition in 2026.
The mobile squash court used in the EFOTT activities tent was first developed in 2020 and has been used at several events and city sports days.
“The court was designed to be simple and easy to assemble and disassemble,” said Hoffman. “Our goal was portability and efficiency. We work with a dedicated team who can build it within a few hours.”
He added: “We have a great relationship with the EFOTT festival organizers, and we’re planning to appear at two or three additional festivals next year. These events give us access to tens of thousands of people over just a few days, many of whom are potential players or squash enthusiasts.”
