Katy Temple: From supportive parent to national advocate for girls in squash
What started out as supporting her daughter’s squash sessions has grown into a passion for Katy Temple, who is leading the effort to get more girls playing squash, both in Bridge of Allan and nationally.
Her involvement quickly grew as she discovered an aptitude for coaching, and was reminded of her own early experiences in the sport.
Katy said: “I wouldn’t have got involved if my daughter Eilidh wasn’t playing squash.
“I started out doing a little bit helping Sophie (the coach) out with the junior sessions, and I realised that I really enjoy coaching.
“When I first started playing, I was pretty rubbish, but everyone at the club was happy to play with me – and I want to help create that same environment where we all support each other and help younger and newer players to improve.”
While Katy received individual recognition as the Scottish Squash Volunteer of the Year 2025, she is quick to credit the wider team at Bridge of Allan for the club’s success – especially with the thriving junior girls section.
Katy said: “We have lots of parents that are friends, and they’ll all just chip in to make things happen.
“We’ve also got Sophie who is a fantastic young role model for the girls, and then there are so many great female players at the club that the girls are keen to learn from and challenge, and be inspired by.”
Building on that momentum, Katy Temple paired up with Linsey Brown to launch Girls Play Squash, a girls-only coaching and competition day created in response to the low number of girls playing the sport nationally.
Katy explained: “Bridge of Allan is a good example where we have a lot of ten and eleven year old girls, a big part of it is the social side.
“We realised that there was strength in numbers and the more girls we can get playing the more girls will want to play and continue to play.”
The inaugural event in December was a huge success, with prizes for grit and determination, t-shirts for participants and a fun, welcoming atmosphere.
That success was followed by a second Girls Play Squash event in February, which featured coaching, match play and input from a strength and conditioning specialist.
With all the great work that Katy and the other dedicated volunteers are doing, she hopes that their efforts will continue to have a big impact in the years to come.
She said: “Obviously we know there’s quite a high dropout rate for teenage girls and we are going to do what we can to avoid that.
“We’ve started to get the more experienced kids to help with the younger sessions.
“Maybe they’ll decide to do coaching courses and help out more in future, and then the current young ones can start being hitters for the kids that are younger still.
“We’re hoping to grow a cycle of squash at the club where the older ones help the younger ones, and it just keeps growing and growing.”
Club Support Forum – How to Grow Women and Girls Squash – 26th March from 6pm to 7pm
Join us as we explore practical and impactful ways to engage more women and girls in your squash club.
This session will offer first-hand insight from Linsey Brown of Girls Play Squash and Elaine Inglis of WISPS into what works when creating welcoming, inclusive environments that attract female players – from key considerations and common barriers, to simple, effective ideas you can implement straight away.
We’ll look at culture, communication, and visibility, alongside real examples of the events that have successfully grown women and girls’ participation.
Sign-up here.
