Gawain Peter Briars (born 4 April 1958) is a sportsman and lawyer in the United Kingdom. In the world of squash, he has won several major international *les and served as Executive Director of the Professional Squash *ociation.

Career

Briars learnt to play squash at Gresham's School, Holt, which he attended from 1968 to 1976, and became a professional squash player on leaving school at the age of eighteen, continuing as a professional until 1989.

He became the British number one player in 1985, and at the top of his career was the fourth-ranked squash player in the world. He won *les in the USA, France, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Monte Carlo, Singapore and Malaysia, and was President of the world Professional Squash *ociation from 1985 to 1987. He also represented England at the 1981, 1983 & 1985 World Team Squash Championships.

On retiring from the professional sport in 1989, Briars went to University College, Cardiff to study law, and subsequently qualified as a solicitor in 1994. He then practised as a commercial lawyer.

With effect from 1 October 1999, he was appointed as Executive Director of the Professional Squash *ociation (PSA), succeeding John Nimick, of Boston, USA, and commented: "This represents a wonderful move for me away from the legal profession, but not without relinquishing the invaluable knowledge and experience I have gained whilst practising in commercial law. This career change represents an exciting partnership of my two life careers and places me on the threshold of what I am certain will be a bright future for the professional game of squash which has provided me with so many happy memories."

References

External links

• Gawain Briars at Squash Info
• Gawain Briars at Psa-squash.com (Official site of the Professional Squash *ociation)
• Gawain Briars at Norfolksquash.co.uk