Dreams of court at new pool squashed

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative

Thomas Park

Members of the Uxbridge squash club are facing a future with no place to play. Designs for the new aquatic centre to replace the existing Uxpool do not include any squash courts.

Valerie and Peter Puhl said there are 80 people connected to the club with about 20 active members who take advantage of the squash court currently housed in Uxpool. They said Uxpool used to have two courts, but is now down to one.

They said Mayor Dave Barton had told them that building squash courts in the new centre would be too expensive. Peter Puhl said the Township, which did not consult with the squash club about the new centre, had been offered up to $200,000 to cover the cost of installing squash courts with no strings attached, but the offer was not taken up. The couple said they had met with members of council, community services director Amanda Ferraro and others with their concerns, but to no avail.

Ferraro said the new centre's gymnasium will be used for various sports, such as pickleball and basketball, and the design of the building means a squash court would have to be built in the middle of the gymnasium.

The Puhls weren't happy, noting that there is pickleball "everywhere" but Uxbridge is the only community in North Durham that has squash. They said the squash court is not only used for squash, but also for yoga, pilates, meetings and other uses.

They said they had been under the impression the new facility would include squash.

"The vision needs to change," said Val Puhl.