ASB & WISPA Forge Link

Two leading forces in international squash have joined forces with today's announcement that the Women's International Squash Players' Association has entered into a three-year agreement with ASB Squash Courts, termed WISPA & ASB, Partners in Innovation.

This partnership will enable ASB and WISPA to work hand-in-hand as the German company, headed by inspirational Horst Babinsky, continues to develop courts that will both help improve the 'televisibility' of professional squash while also ensuring that recreational players have good quality surfaces to play on.

ASB have been at the forefront of squash court technology for over thirty years. From moving walls, rainbow courts and glass show courts, only last month their revolutionary glass floor was unveiled at a professional squash event in India - by WISPA at the Association's Qatar Airways Challenge in Hyderabad.

"The whole ASB team looks forward to the new link between WISPA & ASB, partners in innovation," commented ASB President Horst Babinsky.

"If dynamic people start to co-operate, positive results will follow. The success of this partnership will show that, on the one hand our developments will open new dimensions for press coverage, televising squash and encouraging our Olympic bid - and, on the other hand, the most important thing of all, that they are very advantageous for squash players around the world."

"I have known WISPA for many years and it will definitely be a relationship based on confidence and reliability. We are looking forward to this partnership, to the challenges of the future and to be in an international team together with all the top players," added Babinsky.

"We know that this partnership will play an important role for the future of squash," he concluded.

Responding, WISPA Chief Executive Andrew Shelley commented: "We see this exciting partnership as a means for WISPA to support the cutting edge squash court company in an even closer way. Our players compete on ASB courts, indeed we have been able to own and manage an all-glass court ourselves. Who better to test surfaces than our top players? When televisibility is discussed, we will be there to assist.

"This partnership is all about thinking ahead, not about WISPA selling courts. There are exciting times ahead for professional squash, and WISPA and ASB will be at the forefront - I am certain," added Shelley.

Horst Babinsky founded his company in November 1965. At that time, the company started selling the first plastic curtain rails world-wide. The second product, at the time, was an innovation in the building trade: delivering and installing gypsum cardboard panels. Other main activities were the planning and construction of schools, kindergartens and administration buildings in a supporting aluminium construction (Trelement and ASB).

But Babinsky soon made a dynamic entrance into the world of squash, sparked by his own interest in the sport. Now Systembau Horst Babinsky GmbH holds more than 20 patents for the construction of squash courts and for some other industrial developments. The company is world market leader in squash installation and has 80% of the German market as well as the largest market share world-wide. In 2006, 95% of the company's turnover was from export business.

This world-wide success has been achieved via groundbreaking innovations such as movable side walls, mechanical and electrical, turnable glass back walls, Pro-Glass Back Walls and courts that are only dimensioned until the out-of-play line.

To these have been added the ASB development of the ASB-Game Court and coloured walls and floors (Rainbow Court), Rainbow Games, and development of doubles squash using the ASB Glass Court with movable side walls. The Challenge-Court was also developed and Paddle-Tennis was introduced.
To complement the courts, ASB incorporated a Laser Tin. Scoreboard and Touchpads have been introduced. The ASB Glass Floor is the latest exciting manifestation of the further development of the ASB Show Glass Court.

More than 5000 ASB Squash Courts have been sold throughout 40 countries all over the world. Asian Games and Commonwealth Games have been contested on ASB Courts. The ASB Squash Court is so often the court of choice for national training centres because ASB Courts offer consistent ball performance and bounce (every ASB court is the same all over the world). Precise dimensions and highest quality provide a constantly good product.