Era Squash: Empowering women to fall in love with the game

Era Squash is “bringing back the balance” to squash participation by connecting women, building female communities and removing barriers to taking up the sport.

Co-founded in January by Dutch national women’s coach Chanel Erasmus and Netherlands international Megan van Drongelen, Era Squash runs clinics at squash clubs across Holland that are tailored to encouraging women to start playing (or play more) squash.

By tweaking big and small details to differentiate their clinics from a typical male-dominated squash programme, Chanel and Megan have engaged new female players in the sport and re-energised lapsed enthusiasts.

Females of any age and playing standard are welcome to Era Squash’s clinics, which have so far taken place at eight different venues around the Netherlands and have engaged over 60 different women, some of whom had never played squash before. There are over 100 women on the Era Squash WhatsApp group.

Chanel Erasmus and Megan van Drongelen — Megan van Drongelen and Chanel Erasmus

South Africa-born Chanel and 26-year-old pro Megan came up with the idea after experiencing the benefits of female squash communities abroad. Chanel played for Trinity College in the USA while Megan did her Masters degree at the University of Birmingham in England and played for its women’s team.

“When I got back to Holland, I realised I had been so lucky to feel what it’s like to have a group of women to train with all the time,” said Megan. “Back in the Netherlands, I felt pretty lonely.

“I met Chanel when she became Dutch national coach and we asked each other why is this not possible in the Netherlands? Most women don’t mind playing with men, but it’s not our favourite thing to do. Once you bring women together, they love it. What could we do in the Netherlands to change this? Could we be the change?”

Lowering barriers to women’s squash participation

Firstly, Chanel and Megan identified ‘pinch points’ in life during which women find it most difficult taking up squash and sport in general, such as graduating from high school, starting work and the post-partum years. They realised weekends are difficult for working women with family commitments, so all Era Squash sessions are on midweek evenings.

“During these periods in life, women need to find a ‘club’ or community where events are catered for them and they know something is in place when they show up,” explained Megan.

“Men are much more likely to just walk through the door and have a hit, whereas women want a bit more of a structured system they can feel comfortable stepping into. That first leap of entering a club and seeing 50 men is too big for many women. Removing that kind of barrier is really important.

“Women love the technical elements. They want to know how to hold the racket and hit the ball properly, whereas men just want to play matches! We always make sure that whatever theme we choose, we add a technical element, so we’re on court a lot guiding them through that.”

Chanel and Megan de-prioritise competitive components in their sessions and allow their participants the time and space to socialise as well as exercise and learn.

“Women want to talk to each other!” laughs Chanel. “We have goals about what we’d like to teach them, but we also give them room to socialise and get to know each other.

“At the start of each clinic, we do a group warm-up, throwing tennis balls or doing something silly to break the ice and have some fun.

“We play a drop shot game where if you hit above the line or in the tin you lose a racket and have to share each other’s racket. It’s not a competition against each other, it’s working as a team. We find women thrive in that way, rather than being pitted against each other.”

Era Squash’s social media channels are carefully managed to enhance the aesthetic appeal of squash. Chanel says: “We make them feel beautiful and empowered on court and women really love that feeling.”

One small, but significant detail is that they take a group photo before the session begins, rather than afterwards, so that all players look their best. “They’re like, ‘Yes, of course! Why has no-one thought of that before?’ says Megan. “It’s something so small that makes them feel so much better about themselves.”

Positive outcomes

Most gratifying for Chanel and Megan is seeing women who discovered squash through their sessions and have now joined a club and playing regularly, returning to Era Squash clinics multiple times (some travelling to different cities to do so) and even turning up to watch Megan play Eredivisie matches!

“Megan and I are very big dreamers,” says Chanel. “One of our goals is to create a blueprint for clubs to make themselves a more female-friendly environment by imitating what we’re doing.

“Our big goal is to continue growing the sport, make squash more accessible for women, boost female health and enable them to find communities. We’re starting in the Netherlands, but we want to spread it across Europe and the world.”