Goodbye Y

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Tracy J Gates

M'head-Swampscott YMCA 1910-2010

My old Y is no longer. Can’t quite believe that two of my most beloved sports clubs are gone within a month of each other. I grew up in this place. Learned how to swim. Do somersaults and round-offs. And swung my first squash racquet. I happened to drive by it about a week ago while visiting my mom, on the way to play squash in the new state-of-the-art YMCA on the other side of town. Didn’t know it was slated for the wrecking ball, or I would’ve stopped and taken a moment to thank it for all those happy, sweaty, chlorine scented years. The Marblehead-Swampscott YMCA was 100 years old last year: 1910-2010. Here’s the story and some sad demolition photos (squash court in right of photo) in my hometown newspaper…. Goodbye Y.

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The Ghost of Sports Clubs Past

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Tracy J Gates

Snow was falling when I walked out of the Blind Tiger a week ago Monday. It lit up the air and covered the street and sidewalks with a wispy whiteness. The first season’s snow is always a little magical, especially down in the west village where it looks like Ebenezer Scrooge could pop out of an old-time shop, a Christmas goose under his arm, on his way to Tiny Tim’s.

I wish I could say that I was feeling as holiday cheerful. Given the evening’s events, I should’ve been. I’d just seen some absolutely amazing squash on the Printing House courts. The men’s 5.5 StreetSquash team was playing our guys and from 7:00 to about 10:00, forty or so fans filled the small stadium seating outside of Court B—munching on chips, drinking from “catered’ cans of Heineken, and gasping at some of the super-human squash shots we were witnessing. Witnessing for the last time on our beloved courts. A few days later, their destruction was begun. Continue reading →

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Flip Flop Squash

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Tracy J Gates

Brightside Apts., homebase for NY/NE teams

I lift a flip flopped foot over the seat and hop on the back of the scooter. I am wearing cut-offs, an MSRA tank top, and a Wilson backpack that has  two Prince Tour handles sticking out. My chauffeur revs the engine and we rumble down the drive, make a right turn at the  palm tree, and zoom up the road past lush green flora, coral and baby blue cottages, and red bougainvillea. I breath in the loamy, sea-salty air and can’t believe I’m here. On the island of Bermuda, on my way to play squash, having one of the best weekends of my life.

Ironically, the weekend before had racked up with one of the worst (on a purely hedonistic level, of course). I found out that my squash club’s days were numbered and the sailing trip I’d been looking forward to for months was postponed due to a little tropical storm named Tomas. I could wait and go a week later when the weather cleared, but I’d miss the whole point of going to Bermuda in the first place—the third annual Bermuda-New England-New York tourney which I’d been invited to attend a few months earlier. For about twenty-four hours I tossed around what I wanted to do more—freeze my butt off on a boat for four days in the middle of November or lie on the beach in the sun in between matches. It may seem like a no-brainer to you, but I’m oddly tempted by potentially uncomfortable adventures; Continue reading →

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CityView Racquet Club review

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Tracy J Gates

One beer may sway you. Two will persuade you. And three will make you want to move in and call the club your own. So is this a fair review and comparison to other squash club options? Nope. But you go to a club as nice as CityView, play a few good games on their glass-backed courts, and then have three beers (I got the first; friends brought over the 2nd and 3rd. Honest.) and tasty appetizers with some of your favorite Printing House pals in the club lounge, and you’d be ready to move in, too. Continue reading →

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Eastern Athletic Club review

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Tracy J Gates

(2/20/12 update) I reviewed the Eastern Athletic Club over a year ago (below), and while I chose to join CityView in Long Island City, the EAC is a great choice for anyone living in Brooklyn or downtown Manhattan. Yes, its layout is wacky and every room seems to echo (including the locker rooms), but the squash community is fun and friendly and often reminds me of home (Printing House). Maybe because many PHers now play at EAC. If you want to check out the squash vibe before committing, there’s an almost-monthly squash social on certain friday nights. I’m sure if you get in touch with the squash staff, they could let you in on the details. I’m on the guest list, so I may see you there!

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I checked out the Eastern Athletic Club Open House on Monday night. Given that it’s a mere twenty minute subway ride from my Soho office and located in Brooklyn Heights, not too far from my home in Park Slope, I should’ve been feeling pretty positive about this squash option. But I had just plummeted from my  high of an unbelievably fabulous squash weekend in Bermuda (which I will try to do justice to in words, later this week) and was feeling a little blue about having to move somewhere else at all. Continue reading →

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I attended a meeting of the Printing House squash minds last night.  No one’s wasting any time in taking action to save our squash community. A few plans were discussed. In brief….

  • Plan A: to persuade Equinox to preserve the courts and squash program in some way.
  • Plan B: to locate, lease, and build a squash only club in the downtown/Village area.
  • Plan C: to see if another existing club (ex. Chelsea Piers) could be persuaded to add courts.

Plan A is being implemented immediately. A meeting with the heads of Equinox is already on the calendar. However, most time was spent discussing the details of Plan B, since it would mean the most coordination. Sub committees were formed and the one I’m on (Communication, what else?) will be in touch with Printing House squash members as soon as possible to keep everyone apprised of developments. We hope to get a website up as well.

In the meantime, Roberto Cymrot has an “Equinox, Keep My Courts!” facebook group page with lots of ideas on what actions to take now. Check it out, become a member of the page, and let Equinox know exactly how you feel! Don’t want to lose your courts? Then don’t sit back and let it happen without a fight….

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Tracy J Gates | 1 Comment

where will we go?

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Tracy J Gates

I should be packing for my sailing trip to Bermuda….instead I’m fielding emails about the Printing House Squash Club’s demise and the BIG QUESTION: where will we go? Continue reading →

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Master and Professor

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Tracy J Gates

The guy hops around the court like a jujube on caffeine. Bearing a passing resemblance to Tintin (le coiffeur, anyway), he windmills his arms, darts his eyes from left to right, and talks a mile a microsecond. But I hang on every word, every wild gesture, because these fifteen minutes every Thursday have become the most valuable of my week. Continue reading →

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