OutPlay: the thriving London squash group driving inclusivity for more than 30 years

LGBTQ+ squash group, OutPlay, was informally set up around thirty years ago. The club started advertising in its infancy through LGBTQ+ magazines and its membership has grown ever since.

OutPlay welcomes people of all playing levels and abilities across London where they host four sessions per week in three venues across the city.

The group has over 120 members, some of whom compete in tournaments across Europe, some who enjoy the vibrant social side the club offers and some who love both.

Membership and Communications Secretary, Dave Crewe, said: “It’s incredible. It’s much more than just a squash club for most of our members.

“If you want to go and play squash, then there are dozens of other clubs you can play at but this is much more of a community and a safe space.”

Dave is also a level one coach and runs sessions for complete beginners once a week to help them grasp the basics.

“Typically, I’d say 70%-80% of people who show up keep coming back”, he said. “We have people who have signed up for membership after just two sessions.

“Most of our members are somewhere within the LGBTQIA spectrum. We do have one or two straight allies who come along and play too. I think people come along because they know it’s not just about squash.

“We try and organise a non-squash social about once a month so we’re going bowling next week. And I’ve just come back from a ski trip with eight other people from the club. It’s all about the community and chat off the court.”

The group host and play in two tournaments per year, one internal club-based team tournament and then international tournaments in the Autumn.

“We’re competitive. We have some very good club-level players, we have a team in the Middlesex league and we compete around Europe. So we are definitely a squash club for squash players but it is more than that.

Last year, Outplay members travelled to Berlin where they took part in their biggest overseas tournament ever. Although the competitive action took place over two days, members made nearly a week-long social trip to the city.

Dave gave his best advice for any squash club across the country looking to be more inclusive and attract new members.

He said: “The social side is the really big thing and the way you run your sessions. We do two sessions a month where half the group will be ‘A’ and ‘B’ and the other half ‘C’ and ‘D’. But for the rest of the sessions, anyone can play anyone.

“I think that breaks it down quite a lot, it makes it feel much more friendly. If you show up for the first time having never played before, and you're told, “okay, you have to go into this court, and you're not good enough to play with the other people”, it should be more open and welcoming, especially if you're looking for an LGBTQ+ safe space.”

OutPlay rely on growing its membership through word of mouth and its website but the group is also part of a wider network of LGBTQ+ sports clubs across London. A sports fair is hosted once a year where a range of sports come together and pitch to new members.

Dave said: “We have a lot of members who play for and are involved in other sports so we have a big network outside of squash with other sports and clubs.”