Australia’s first-ever outdoor squash court soon to call Pingelly home as part of town’s youth engagement plan

Australia’s first-ever outdoor squash court and highly anticipated pump track will soon to come to fruition in a Wheatbelt town as part of its four-year strategy to enhance youth engagement.

The new Pingelly youth precinct will be home to a one-of-a-kind outdoor squash court, according to Squash WA, and will feature alongside a ninja warrior course, pickleball court and upgraded tennis court outside the Pingelly Recreational and Cultural Centre.

The town centre will also be transformed to include a pump track and mountain bike trails. All are expected to be completed by mid-October this year.

Stage one of the Pingelly youth precinct has been funded by $717,475 of Lotterywest, Commonwealth Government and shire contributions.

Shire chief executive Andrew Dover said the precinct was entirely designed and fabricated by the shire, creating a completely unique and personal space to Pingelly.

He said the benefit of the outdoor location was so young people had a dedicated place to meet that was available 24-7.

“The advantages of an outdoor squash court is it’s available all of the time, it doesn’t depend on the recreation centre being open,” Mr Dover said.

“Squash is also one of the few core sports that we don’t currently cater for.”

Mr Dover said the upcoming pump track and mountain bike trails have also been a hot topic in town as biking was popular among its younger population and visitors who often travel for the sport.

Pingelly’s Youth Strategy Plan 2021-25 directly responded to a shire consultation that ranked youth engagement as the town’s most critical issue.

Mr Dover said the youth precinct aimed to strengthen the connection young people had with Pingelly.

“All these things are relative for our strategic plan and our youth strategy and that action was to provide additional things for young people,” he said.

“Young people go to school in various places, mostly Brookton and Narrogin as there’s no high school in Pingelly, so we want to give them more sense of identity and belonging to Pingelly so they can have something to do and a place to meet.

“The community have really welcomed the idea — they see it’s a fantastic opportunity for young people and I often hear comments of ‘how I wish we had this when I was young’.”