It’s been the nursery of champions for almost half a century but despite its proud record it seems the days are numbered for an important Lithgow sporting facility, the Lithgow Squash Centre.
The centre that produced two world champions is set to shut its doors next week, leaving players with nowhere to go to pursue their sport.
The centre’s proprietors for more than 13 years, Brian and Kathy Brennan, want to retire and have decided it is now time to act with the lease due to expire.
Neither they nor the owner of the squash centre have up to now been able to attract a new operator.
“We need a break and want to pursue other interests,” Mr Brennan said.
Kathy is librarian for the Lithgow Family History Society and wants to spend more time on this demanding community service.
The closure of the Young Street Centre will remove an important asset from the Lithgow’s district’s sporting facilities and will be a disappointment for the large number of competition and social players.
The centre has more than 100 regular competition players and more than 70 students from Lithgow High, La Salle Academy and Lithgow Primary taking part in regular school sport programs.
The Squash Centre was built by prominent Lithgow business couple Arthur and Phyl Shawcross in 1970, introducing the sport to Lithgow for the first time.
Their son Kevin later went on to win numerous titles and won the British and Australian Opens before becoming World Amateur Champion in Britain in 1975, modestly describing himself to the British media as ‘an Australian blackberry farmer’.
Then another Lithgow Squash Centre ‘graduate’, David Palmer, embarked on a stellar career from 2002 that saw him take out a swag of international honours, including World Professional Championships in 2002 and 2006 and three British Opens — the squash world’s equivalent to Wimbledon.
He is currently rated number six in the world.
Numerous top class players were also nurtured through the Lithgow centre.
When the Shawcross family opened the centre it contained three courts.
They later added sauna facilities which were later demolished to make way for three further courts.
It is understood the closure will not affect a martial arts gymnasium at the rear of the centre which is leased separately.
But unless there is a last minute reprieve it appears that squash as part of Lithgow’s day to day sporting life is finished — at least for the foreseeable future.