Wendy's story

Wendy’s involvement in squash started in the 1970s when Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club opened Trent Bridge Squash Club. Keen to keep her family fit, she saw squash as a sport that they could all do as a family and took out a family membership. Her eldest son went on to become a professional player, competing for a number of years. As a company director at the time, it was ideal for Wendy who could keep fit during her lunch breaks or after work as could be on and off the court quickly.

At the club, there was one infamous player within the team who nobody else wanted to referee, but Wendy repeatedly stepped up to the challenge despite being unqualified. After one match in particular, Wendy was questioned by the player if she was qualified. The following week, Wendy was invited to be assessed at the Home Internationals where she became a qualified referee. Wendy went on to become a WSF (World Squash Federation) referee in 1997.

Now in her 70s, Wendy says, “I’ve been very fortunate to have had so many happy years both playing and refereeing squash, it’s been a very sociable part of my life. I retired in 2006 as I was using all of my annual leave to travel around the world to referee so I decided to retire and referee full-time!

“Refereeing all over the world has been amazing, being selected to referee the final of the ladies final of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the 2007 ladies final outside the Royal Palace of Madrid was an honour.”

For Wendy, squash has been a real lifeline. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with NonHodgkins Lymphoma and whilst undergoing treatment, her husband passed away suddenly.

“It was a horrendous time, but having squash meant I had something to get up for every day rather than stay in bed which would have been easy to do.”

“All the other squash referees I’ve worked with are like an extended family and they helped me get through. I’m very lucky to be travelling around the world at my age and meeting all of these people. I’ve given a lot to squash but it’s given me so much in return.”

In 2016, Wendy was named Referee of the Year at the 2016 Polar Squash Workforce Awards for her tremendous commitment to the referee community by helping and mentoring junior referees.