a) Jo: Well, I've been playing it since I was at school - since I was quite young, 'cos my dad was always very keen on it and he used to give me lessons, and then at university I joined a team and we used to play quite a lot.
It's quite fashionable at the moment, actually, all over Europe it's becoming more fashionable and it's often difficult to book courts, you've got to get in there a week before. Urn I like it because it requires a lot of stamina, you've got to be fit, it's constant running right the way through and it doesn't take a long time. You can take off an hour at lunchtime, go off, play, have a shower, come back and it's all over with, and you've done a lot and it's not a lot of standing around, it's movement all the time.
Er, you're often absolutely exhausted at the end, and you can't really play for two hours at a shot although some people do. It's usually for quite a short time.
b) Brian: I think I've been playing now for nearly forty years, ever since I was a little kid on the beach at Blackpool, and it's always been my great passion in life.
When I watch a game I appreciate the athletic skill of the players, the tactics of the manager or coach, and the thrill of the uncertainty, just not knowing how the game's going to go, even when a very strong team's playing a very weak team. There's always that possibility of a surprise, of the unexpected moment changing the game.
c) Stephany: Well, I've been doing it every winter holiday since I can remember. I love doing it because it's a skill that improves every time you do it, er it's fast and it's exhilarating and although it's really cold you can still get a tan when you do it. Of course the scenery's beautiful and it's really nice when you're tired to go and have a drink in a bar afterwards. Of course the problem is that it's expensive -you have to buy the equipment; the instruction's expensive too and it's really dangerous, you can always break a leg doing it, but apart from that, I really like it.