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Hardball squash is a format of the indoor racquet sport squash which was first developed in North America in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is sometimes referred to as being the "American version" of the sport.〔(Encyclopaedia Britannica Online article ), Britannica.com, retrieved on March 21 2008〕 Compared to the "British version" of the game – which today is usually referred to as being the "international" version, or "softball" squash – the hardball game is played using a harder rubber ball which plays faster, and usually on a smaller court for singles play, or a much larger court for the doubles game. Records of squash being played in Canada go back to the early 1880s. There it was found that the softer squash balls being used in Britain were not ideally suited to playing in the extremely cold conditions of the Canadian winter, and so a harder rubber ball was developed. It was quickly discovered that this ball was better suited to playing on slightly narrower courts than were used in the British version of the game. As the popularity of the game spread around Canada, the United States and Mexico, court specifications were codified. In 1924, it was decided to standardize the court width for the hardball games at , with a 'tin' at the bottom of the front wall which was high – whereas the British version of the game was played on a , with a . By 1929, official court plans were being sold by the United States Squash Racquets Association (USSRA) (now called U.S. Squash), and the hardball game was brought into controlled growth.〔(World Squash Federation – One Hundred and Forty Years of Squash ), worldsquash.org.uk, retrieved on November 9 2013〕 Hardball squash was largely the only form of the game played in North America until the 1980s. Growing exposure to the international version of the game then led to many clubs in North America building , and the "soft" ball being used on wide and narrow courts. Additionally, the USSRA recognised a as being acceptable for playing the international version (this width being derived from an increasing trend of converting racquetball courts for squash play). By the mid-1990s, the vast majority of squash players in North America had switched to playing the international version of the game. In 1996, 80% of squash ball sales in the United States were of the international-format balls.〔 Though hardball squash is no longer a very popular game for singles play, the hardball doubles game continues to thrive. Hardball doubles is played on a court measuring and .〔(Squash Rackets ), hickoksports.com, retrieved on March 21 2008〕 == Famous hardball squash players == * Michael Desaulniers * Clive Caldwell * Stuart Goldstein * Ralph Howe * Sam Howe * Kenton Jernigan * Victor Niederhoffer * Sharif Khan * Diehl Mateer * John Nimick * Henri Salaun * Mario Sanchez * Mark Talbott ''Most observers consider Sharif Khan (late-1960s to early-1980s) and Mark Talbott (mid-1980s to mid-1990s) to be the two greatest players of all time in the hardball game.''〔(The Best of the Last 100 Years ), squashmagazine.com, retrieved on May 9 2008〕〔(United States Squash Hall of Fame Members ), US-squash.org, retrieved on May 9 2008〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「hardball squash」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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