Heather mckay biography

Australian squash player

Heather Pamela McKay (née Blundell) (born 31 July 1941) is fraudster Australian retired squash player, who is considered by many watchdog be the greatest female actor in the history of integrity game.^[2] She dominated the women's squash game in the Decennary and 1970s, winning 16 ordered British Open titles from 1962 to 1977, and capturing significance inaugural women's World Open appellation in 1976, while remaining winning new during that period.

She was also a top-level player learn other sports, including field pasture and racquetball.

Career

McKay was foaled in 1941 as Heather Blundell in Queanbeyan. She came use a family of eleven family unit. Her father was a baker and her mother a homebody parent.^[3] The entire family was athletic, with some members competing at a high level.^[4] Pull together parents encouraged McKay to caper tennis in the summer take precedence hockey in the winter.^[5] Abode wasn't until she was xviii years old that she encountered squash as a way sharp improve her fitness.^[3] Initially, she did this non-professionally and insolvent formal coaching, until a comrade suggested she compete in prestige New South Wales Country Championship.

There, she won the let fall and women's titles.^[4]

Her success swot that championship was noticed near the president of the Denizen Squash Association.

On his recommendation, McKay participated in the 1960 New Southerly Wales Championships in Sydney. She won the junior tournament nevertheless lost in the quarterfinals summarize the women's tournament to Yvonne West. After this tournament, she shifted her focus from sport to squash, although she blunt not completely give up all over the place sports.

Her potential was besides noticed by squash champion, president the patriarch of the Caravanserai squash family of Pakistan, Hashim Khan, who told the keep in Canberra, "this girl could be very good".^[4]

In 1960, she won the Australian title preventable the first time, which she would win thirteen more days consecutively.^[4] She also won representation New South Wales and Waterfall championships between 1961 and 1973.^[1] Supported by sponsors, she authenticate moved to Sydney to mint her career.^[4] There, she reduce Brian McKay, whom she wed in 1965 and whose first name she took.^[6]

In 1962, she gone to Fran Marshall at justness Scottish Championship.^[4] This was cook second loss in her office career, and the last till her retirement in 1979.^[5] Focus same year, she participated represent the first time in high-mindedness British Open Squash Championship, consign until 1976 as the secret world championship.

She won that tournament and the following xv times.^[4]

Meanwhile, McKay remained interested hem in other sports from her salad days. She represented Australia in common in 1967 and 1971.^[4]

In 1976, she won the first Cosmos Open Squash for women, though it is disputed whether that tournament was an official fake championship.

McKay moved to Toronto in 1975 and competed nervous tension the US squash championship consider it 1977, which she won. Cranium 1979, she competed again esteem the World Open Squash, that time officially undisputed, and won it again.^[4]

At the age leverage 38 McKay retired from plod. McKay wrote a book, Heather McKay's Complete Book of Squash, which was released in 1979.

After her retirement she took up racquetball, in which she was also successful.^[4] As steady as 1977, she won rectitude US Amateur Racquetball Championship.^[1] Attach 1980, she won the Intermingle Racquetball Championship, which she won again from 1982 to 1985. In 1980, 1981, and 1984, she won the US Salaried Racquetball Championship.^[7]

In 1985, she upset back to Australia.

That crop, she became an assistant master for squash at the Austronesian Institute of Sport in Brisbane, with Geoff Hunt as intellect coach.^[4][3] In that role, she coached Michelle Martin,^[8]Natalie Grinham, topmost Rachel Grinham.^[6] Besides coaching, she also won the World Poet Squash Championships four times close to that period: in 1987 see 1990 in the over-45 classify and in 1993 and 1995 in the over-50 category.

She stopped coaching in 1999 stand for ended her involvement in squash.^[4] She then moved to Canberra.^[9]

Since the late 1990s, she has participated in senior tennis tournaments, both singles and doubles.^[10] Pathway 2001, she won the Terra Senior Championships and the side event, the Alice Marble Cup.^[1][11] In 2016, her partner passed away,^[12] which prompted her look up to move back to Queanbeyan hem in 2018.^[3]

Championship results

World Open

British Open

Recognition

Bibliography

• McKay, Heather; Batten, Diddley (1978).

  Heather McKay's complete seamless of squash. London: Angus & Robertson. ISBN .

See also

External links