News

Reposted from UKRacketball:

On our first Series visit to Bristol it was the local players who came out on top in all but one of the categories…

On a progressively soggy day at Redland Green the Devon and Avon players did the damage across the draws, with only Paul Knocker Norton the sole Northbound M5 player to take a win!

Josh Smart from Devon was the stand out player of the event, with a hard fought 2/1 Final A Grade win vs Isle of Wight player Olly Staunton. He then backed up admirably straight away afterwards with his Doubles partner Jo Hutchings to take out pre event favourites Bishop & Allman in the Doubles final, in another brutal 2/1 showdown.

Hutchings himself proving to be no slouch on the Singles side, coming through the B Grade draw strongly, only to lose to Norton 2/0 in the Final. Calling many in the crowd to debate the legitimacy of Norton’s “B Grade” status given his quality play over the last few series events… A well deserved win for the Yorkshireman though in a quality B draw.

Phil Borrett, a Devon boy now living and playing in Bristol provided another title for the Southern possé by taking an on paper tight over 40s draw without dropping a game. His opponent in the final the mercurial Nick Jenkins trying all the tricks in his book, but no luck against the languid lefty style of Borrett.

The Over 50s was taken by local Avon and Redland Green player Roger Camp, who having dispatched one of the Series front runners Phil Hall in a tough 2/1 semi final, managed to see off Nick Billington from Shropshire in the final 2/0. Roger’s first Series event of 2023 and he is looking to gear up for an O50s charge going forwards!

In the O60s, another local legend Mike Martin took part in his first ever Series event and steamrolled through the draw, not dropping a game through the event. Graham Holmes from Devon did his best to make headway against him in the final bit to no avail. Graham doing very well to come through a tough draw in his own right.

All the draws and results can be found on Sporty HQ below, a big thanks to Redland for hosting us and we hope to be back next year for what already has proved to be a very well received and popular event with the players.

https://www.sportyhq.com/…/Event-3-South-of-England…

We are really looking forward to keeping up the momentum at the Scottish Open at Newlands in Glasgow in two weeks time. Still time to enter so don’t miss out there!

The up to date Series rankings can also now be found online, it’s getting tighter at the top after 3 events so it really is all to play for:

https://www.sportyhq.com/ranking/group/1727

A huge thanks to new UK Racketball Series sponsors Karakal UK for their generous entry gifts and support of the event at late notice. Great to have you on board and I know the players were chuffed with their new sets of Racketball strings and grips.

Last term, the masses of Bristol Squash members flocked to The Bristol Grammar School to take part in our Doubles and Racketball tournaments.

The weekend kickstarted on Saturday with the racketball, where all abilities got stuck into the handicap tournament and were separated into 4 groups. For many of our members, this was their first time playing racketball. However, everyone picked it up very quickly and many enjoyed the bouncier ball and improved rally potential. The group stage was great fun with some wacky outfits on display and some even more wacky racketball. Veteran racketballer Max Cutner caused an upset, toppling the top seed Ethan Chak before going on to win his group. Returning team player Oli Radakin showed no mercy in his box cruising to the top of the table. Ben Doyle channelled his inner racketball skills, racking up huge tallies of points against all of his opponents to send him into the semi-finals. Ben ‘Burger’ Knight also showed his prowess by winning all his matches and headed into the semis. Eventually, it was Max Cutner and Ben Doyle who stormed into the final, with veteran Cutner using his seasoned racketball skills to take the victory.

The doubles tournament kicked off on Sunday at midday with a similar handicap format. It was the pairs of Chak and Asher, Nathan and Thorpe, Hallums and Cockram, and Max and Zak who made their ways into the semi finals. Eventually, Cockram and Hallums took home the title in an epic match that came down to the last point.

Overall, the weekend saw over 25 Bristol Squash Club members play racketball and doubles, with the vast majority trying racketball for the very first time. A lot of interest was expressed in future racketball events and tournaments, with the tournament greatly promoting the sport and its unique challenges. Thank you to Avon Squash and Racketball for sponsoring the event, and making this all possible!

We’re excited to be hosting the central England Racketball Open here in Avon at Redland Green Club on 22nd April 2023.

With lots of different grades to suit everyone, this event will be a great showcase for racketball in Avon. Sign up closes on 14th April and is done through this link here: 

https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-3-South-of-England-Racketball-Open-22nd-April-Lee-on-the-Solent

Looking forward to seeing you there!

The season’s premier squash event!

Date: 27th-29th January 2023

Featuring:

• Men’s main draw
• Ladies A and B grades
• Men’s O35, O45, O55
• Ladies O45, O55

(All levels welcome and the Monrad system in the main draw will create grades making it competitive for all standards)

The tournament will be played PAR 11, best of 5 games and a Monrad system.

Venue: Redland Green Club, Bristol BS6 7HF

Cost: £20 or £25 for multiple entry. All entrants will get a tournament T-shirt. Plus prizes and trophies for winners and runner-up in each draw.

Last entry date: Tuesday 17th January

To enter please follow the link to leaguemaster. We are using this tournament software to help run the event.

https://avontournaments.leaguemaster.co.uk/cgi-county/icounty.exe/showtournamentlist?tgroupid=23

Any questions please contact Daryl Williams, tournament organiser on entries@avonsquash.co.uk

Last year’s event was a huge success with entrants from across the divisions and we are keen for this event to continue to grow. It really is open to all levels so do get involved and celebrate squash in our great County!

The Yate Squash Club post Covid handicap tournament was held at the
leisure centre on 17th October 2021.

This was the first time the club had held a tournament following covid
lockdown, although smaller sessions to comply with the Rule of 6 had
been previously been held.

17 of the 33 club members participated in a full day of squash, starting at
9:00am and culminating in the finals at 5:00pm followed by meal and
drinks for those with real stamina. Can’t remember what time that ended!
Handicaps ranged from 0 to 23. Each player took part in morning
leagues, culminating in knockout cups during the afternoon.

The Champions Cup was won by club newcomer Andy Horton -18
beating an even more exhausted Andy Elmore -22.

The Plate Competition was won by Richard Wager -1, beating an
exhausted Steve Kellengrey -23.

Congratulations to everyone who took part, another great day of rapid-
fire squash, and apologies to those that had to win 20 plus points just to
catch their opponent up. You lasted the day….just. so well done, your
handicaps are going up next time!!

A pool of 17 players met at Yate Leisure Centre on Sunday morning for a day of
tournament squash.

Let’s get celebrating #WomensSquashWeek

Begin your journey now by joining us during #WomensSquashWeek
I can; You can, We can
#squashthegap

Did you know that over 30,000 women play #squash every week?

How are you are celebrating #WomensSquashWeek ?
*Get involved
*Find a court
*Pick up a racket and have a hit
*Share your story
*Join #SquashGirlsCan, #Squashwomensweek
#womensSquashweekmystory

We’re holding our AGM virtually at 8pm this Wednesday (30th June 2021) and we need you to join and represent your club!

After a lack of attendance previously, this is our and final attempt at this years AGM

If we do not have enough attendees the Committee will cease to exist.

You can join the meeting here:

https://meet.google.com/tkt-kpsy-rku

We thank you in advance for taking the time to attend.

Regards

The Committee

A Chairman’s Wish

I saw an empty court today,
Lights dimmed from an absence of play,
Dust settled in place of applause,
A sign of those in common cause.
As everyone grappled with tiers.

I saw the ghosts of matches past,
The drops and lobs, and those too fast.
I heard the crowds applaud and roar,
but lets and strokes alas no more.
I looked through glass and saw my fears;

Of clubs shut, their members estranged,
Or courts whose use can be exchanged
For dosh in order to survive;
Those still open, barely alive.
Then a child’s laughter reached my ears.

I turned and saw mother and son
Shut the door and begin to run.
They hit the ball against the wall.
And in their place, I saw you all
Standing firm, with rackets like spears,

Waiting to step on court again
To play with friends, perhaps to train.
I saw us meet to share a laugh.
So for you a wish, on behalf
Of Committee and all our peers.

Have a safe and Merry Christmas.
Happy New Year, Covid will pass.
We shall be together once more
With new and old events galore.
We’ll meet, play, eat and drink. So CHEERS!

Seamus Singh, Chairman of Avon County Squash & Racketball

SquashLevels have today launched a new solo practise skills test in partnership with SquashSkills on their new website. With Bristol currently in tier 3 this is a great tool to help you improve your skill set whilst solo practising. It gives you 10 exercises to complete with video explanation and a timer when you are ready to complete the test. All you need to do is register for free via the new SquashLevels website (if you haven’t already done so) and you’re ready to compete!

Register here: SquashLevels

Note: It is a different system to BADsquash, so you’ll need to register separately.

SquashLevels will be running a competition for the highest overall test score through December for Avon and the winners of each category will get their hands on a pack of 12 Dunlop double dot balls, courtesy of SquashSkills. They will use the following categories for you to compete with other players at your level.

– Grade A Level 4000 and above
– Grade B level 2000 – 4000
– Grade C level 1000-2000
– Grade D Level 1000 and below
– Junior age categories

For any queries contact the oracle, Richard Bickers at info@squashlevels.com. Please also have a look at the testing FAQ.

Dear County Member

To support World Squash Day on Saturday 10 October England Squash, in association with SquashLevels (created by our own Richard Bickers) have announced a fun competition between Team Nick and Team Laura.  Let’s get as many matches played and entered into SquashLevels to support this exciting World Squash Day initiative.

Two champions, two teams, one winner. Laura Massaro and Nick Matthew are going head-to-head in the greatest team squash battle the world has ever seen. And they need you! It’s time to pick up your racket, pick an opponent, and pick a side. #TeamLaura or #TeamNick. YOU decide!

Team Laura vs Team Nick is set to launch on World Squash Day (10th October) and will last one month with players from around the globe invited to join in on the action and record their scores via SquashLevels.

Get involved

The action starts on World Squash Day (10th October) and will be running until November. The team with the most victories wins so don’t miss out on your chance to take part!

Players

It’s so easy to be part of this epic battle! Here’s how:

1) Pick an opponent
Decide who you’ll get on court with, whether you’re playing with a family member, full court matches in your squash bubble or sides with another household.

2) Pick a team
Team Laura or Team Nick, whose side are you on? Decide which team you and your opponent will play for.

3) Get on court
Play as many times as you like between 10th October and 9th November. You can change opponents and even change teams throughout the competition. Just ensure you are following the latest guidance.

4) Record your scores
Head to SquashLevels to record your match score. You can also bag a discount off at the England Squash Kukri store once you submit your score! SquashLevels membership is included as a benefit of England Squash membership so if you’re a member you just need to log in to SquashLevels with your England Squash ID. Not an England Squash member? Sign up for a free 30-day SquashLevels trial to take part.

Clubs/Venues

With squash competitions off limits, this one-month contest is the ideal opportunity to inspire your players to hit the court again safely for some regular competitive action and support their club.

Clubs and venues will have the opportunity to vie for the Most Active Club title on the SquashLevels leaderboard and reignite those old rivalries against neighbouring clubs! We’ll also provide clubs and venues with further prizes and resources to support their activities and re-engage players.

Head to our Team Laura vs Team Nick toolkit for videos, graphics and suggested social media posts. We’ll be adding further content to the toolkit over the coming days and weeks so keep checking back.