Squash: SRA seeks emergency grant

THE hard times afflicting squash deepened yesterday with the news that the Squash Rackets Association's executive director, Julie Goodacre, has been sacked, its chairman, Paul Turton, is resigning, and a debt of pounds 100,000 is prompting the English governing body to make an emergency appeal to the Sports Council for an additional grant, writes Richard Eaton.

Declining membership, the popularity of other forms of fitness activity and the difficulty of obtaining sponsorship, has caused the latest in a spate of setbacks, making this the most difficult period for the game in this country since before the 70s boom.

Last month the SRA's operations manager, Andrew Shelley, resigned, the month before that Jonah Barrington's services as Director of Excellence were dispensed with, and last year, the Chief Executive, Chris Gotla, was sacked.