Rowing and rock climbing tied for second with 22 points each.

What this shows, confirmed Bennett, is that squash is both healthy and fun.

Unlike other racket sports, points are scored on every serve. The ball can be played off any of the four walls but can bounce no more than once before being returned.

What makes this game so different is the 19-inch-high tin plate on the front wall. All shots must be returned above the plate, which eliminates quick kill shots, which are common in racquetball.

"What you find," explained Bennett, "is that the better you get at racquetball the shorter the rallies because of the kill shot.

"It's quite the opposite in squash. The better you become, the longer the rallies . . . the more of a workout you get."

Squash had a rather shady beginning. Prisoners in England in the early 19th century got their exercise by hitting a ball against one of the prison walls with a racket. Eventually it made its way to the Harrow school in England around 1830, where students found that puncturing the ball made it "squishier" and made for a better game. In 1864, the first squash courts were built at the school.

Eventually, interest in the game spread. Here in North America, it first hit Canada and then filtered over the border to the United States — first in Concord, N.H., then points west.

Here in Utah, it was somewhat late arriving. Bennett's grandfather, Harold Bennett, was introduced to the game while on business in the East and brought it back to the old Deseret Gym near the Hotel Utah.

When the new Deseret Gym was built in 1965, he was instrumental in getting two squash courts included. Later, two more singles courts and one doubles court were added.

Some of the sports clubs have built squash courts and some have modified racquetball courts for squash. The University of Utah built four courts in the old Einar Nelson Fieldhouse when it was remodeled.

It wasn't until 1999, however, that Utah got its first all-squash center, the Squashworks, 225 S. 500 East in Salt Lake City, which has six squash courts.

The center, said Craig Bennett, is somewhat of a squash marvel. The walls are constructed of large panels, with sand filling the space between the studs, "making for a truer bounce of the ball and a quieter game."

There are also moveable walls between two courts, making it possible to expand from singles to doubles play.

As mentioned, one of the newest changes in the game is the move from a rock-hard ball to a softer ball.

One reason for the move, said Bennett, "is to try and get squash in as an Olympic sport. We're told that squash will be one of five sports to be considered for introduction into the 2012 Games."