It's important to ensure that when participants come along to your session it matches their expectations. Participants love the fast-paced, intense workout they get from squash and enjoy the social side but struggle to pin down the time to book a court, your regular sessions help make it easier for players to organise when they play.

All Squash 101 sessions should:

• be uploaded to the England Squash app so new players can find the sessions.
• have minimal levels of commitment, players can drop in and out of sessions when they want, missing a week or two isn't an issue. This can help with longer term retention.
• have flexible payment options such as a pay as you go option or offers to buy in bulk e.g. 10 sessions for the price of 8.
• be relaxed, but organised.
• be regular, so players can build it into the lives.

The participants journey

Arriving at the session

Joining a new session at a venue you haven't been to before can be a daunting prospect. Make a new participant's visit to your session friendly and welcoming from the moment they arrive.

• A warm welcome is important. Ensure reception staff know about the session and offer a warm welcome so new participants feel relaxed immediately.
• Have someone at reception to meet new participants, whether that's the coach, another volunteer, a staff member, or ask a regular attendee to meet people at reception.
• Don't assume people have been to the venue before, show them to the changing rooms and to the squash courts. Don't leave people to find their own way around.

During the session

The vast majority of participants want to join sessions for fun and fitness.

• Deliver fun sessions, don't focus only on skill development.
• Be friendly, and ensure participants know it's not about being perfect all the time.
• Ensure participants are getting a good workout from the session.
• Add lots of variety to your sessions to keep them coming back for more.

A large proportion of participants are also motivated by improvement – setting and achieving their own personal goals.

• Remember goals will vary, some may want to improve or maintain fitness, others to do something for themselves, and some will want to improve their squash skills.
• Encourage and support your participants to achieve goals. By getting to know your participants you'll be able to get an idea of their goals.
• Celebrate successes of all sizes.

People make a big difference to a person's experience at a session. Meeting new people, and building new social connections is important.

• Encourage conversations, making people feel they are part of something and they belong.
• Include a social element to the session, stay for a coffee after the session. It can help keep people coming back to your session.
• Organise a social get together every so often.

After the session

• Be clear about when the next session is, let people know you've enjoyed seeing them and you look forward to seeing them at the next session.
• Follow up after a participant's first session at the end of the session, or by text or email to see how they enjoyed the session. Ask if they'll be coming again.
• Keep an eye out for people who have dropped off from sessions. Get in touch to see if they are OK and let them know you look forward to seeing them at a session again soon. Avoid pestering though and remember that people have busy lives which might prevent them from coming every week.
• Perhaps set up a WhatsApp group, or social media group to enable everyone to keep in contact. This can help to motivate people to keep coming to the sessions. You'll need to ask their permission though before you share anyone's contact details.
• Ask for feedback regularly, see if there's anything people aren't enjoying, or anything people would like to start doing. People's goals may change and responding to feedback where possible can help keep them involved.

Messaging

Our message is if you’re getting on court, curious about giving it a go, or wanting to be active while making new friends, then Squash 101 will be with you every step of the way.

It's for everyone!

We want to show that squash is for everyone. By using an alternative way to play, we hope to get more groups of people on court together more regularly.

How to promote sessions

Digital

• Use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. If you don’t already have accounts for the venue, set one up!
• Update your social media regularly to keep people engaged.
• Use the campaign hashtag to get your sessions noticed: #Squash101
• We have created a tweet sheet of example tweets to help you promote your sessions.
• Have a dedicated page on your own website for the event, and direct people to this from social media.
• Advertise in your club newsletter, try and get club members to tell their non-squash friends about what you’re doing – try and get them involved.
• Add your sessions to the England Squash app a few weeks prior to the sessions.

Non-digital

• Think about what types of advertising are most likely to reach your target audience. Don’t only put the poster in the clubhouse, how will you attract new participants if only your club members see it? Instead advertise in places such as the supermarkets, schools, bus stops etc.
• Word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective; tell people! Invite people along, a personal invite is far more likely to get someone to attend than a generic poster (but still do those!).
• Utilise local media to advertise your event; invite them along to your festival!

Promotion

• Offer free taster sessions of current and new activities; ‘try before you buy’.
• Loyalty cards that offer a benefit for people who attend multiple sessions.
• A ‘bring a friend’ offer where both people benefit.
• The benefit doesn’t have to be sport related, something as simple as a coffee voucher. In doing this you can partner with a local business; you get the rewards and they get free publicity and new people using their business!

The key to successful events and engaging new players is to understand what they are looking for and offer the right type of activity for them.

Click here to view the different types of squash players. Your club will already have a lot of committed players who typically will just want to play squash. Squash 101 sessions are targeted at casual dippers and social regulars – by understanding these types of players you will be in a better position to market your sessions for them.

Fancy training like a pro? Check out Squash 101 workouts to help you keep in shape with a little help some of England's biggest stars!