360 miles covered three pre-season training matches, one on-court training session and many other ‘skill-challenges’ off the court as part of another great project. Paul Jordan (17), David MacDonald (18) and Ben May (18) were lead by Colin Griggs (SA Head Coach) over the three day trip which again proved to be a superb team building event as well as a training platform outside the club.

Grantham pitted the team against senior opposition, with Paul Jordan emerging as the star performer battling to a great 3-2 victory. Home advantage and a steely determination not to lose “to a bunch of kids” produced a tough environment for the youngsters, and one they’ll learn a lot from. 3-1 to Grantham was the final score line.

Lincoln turned into a training session due to the opponents pulling out at the 11th hour, and from there the team moved north to Hull. The club that hosted has a well developed junior section, so the second match had a more familiar feel. Ben May stepped up his game this time round, against an awkward and determined opponent. Having gone behind twice, he controlled the final game with some well constructed rallying to win an epic 3-2 match. The whole team produced good squash to win 3-0.

Saturday evening continued in competitive match play…..this time at 10 pin bowling. The coach put the youngsters in their place, and proved that power wasn’t always necessary. 3 down, 1 to go.

Pontefract Squash Club is one of the leading clubs in the country, and provided by far the sternest challenge of the weekend in the last match. All the team performed admirably against quality opposition, with David MacDonald challenging a vastly experienced opponent. 0-4 loss, but a great end to the tour.

Following on from the huge success of Canada and Portugal, next year should be another superb year for The Sports Academy juniors as the team provides opportunities that very few squash players ever get.

East Region Racketball Championships Entry Form

Rob Dadds & Peter Dickinson return to England after 3 weeks of excellent Squash in Canada.

With The Sun & Surf Vancouver Open Squash Championships behind them and with a feeling of a job well done, Robert Dadds and Peter Dickinson made their way to Victoria on Vancouver Island for the final stop on their three week Squash Tour of Canada. Here they were met by one of the major sponsors of the tour, Harrow Sport, who as well as congratulating them on the results they had achieved across Western Canada, presented them with some special loggo'd clothing for their return to the UK. Stuart Dixon, owner and Professional at The Victoria Squash Club, the centre for junior squash on the Island, is an old playing buddy of travellingTour Professional David Morgan: arriving on Vancouver Island in 1978 from New Zealand - via a couple of years in Calgary where he met Morgan - Stuart has turned out to be one of the best squash teaching Pros in N America and continues to turn out top young players year after year. On his 2010 Summer Camp Coaching Team were Ashley Clackson, winner of five National titles - including The Canadian Nationals which she won at 15! Ashley and David Morgan also have a history going back to the early 1990s. Also on the Team was World Squash Doubles champion Victor Berg, still a very useful singles player, who used to be in Stuart Dixon's squad when David Morgan toured through with British juniors in the 1980/90s. two other top players helped out - including Morgan! "I'm fine for a couple of hours - but only every other day, these days" Morgan says! The four days which Pete and Rob had at The Summer Camp were busy and quite tiring, but a great way to finish off a long three week tour. Morgan's summing up - "Rob has come of age in his squash and now has learned the difference between junior and senior squash: he is starting to attack the ball more and realises that he cannot sit back and rely on  just his fitness, but has to actually win points when he has created the opportunity: I shall sit down and chat with his coach about my observations - and those of coaches along the way! - when I get home". "Pete needs to understand that a good level of fitness will not be enough if he wants to improve further, especially as he moves into senior squash at University! His shot making is excellent - although he was inclined to make a few too many unforced errors! - but time and time gain his lack of aerobic fitness let him down and that in many cases was the cause of the errors. Training can be the least fun bit of any sport, but without a top level of fitness, you cannot expect to play a top level of sport". David Morgan returns on Friday after a few days 'chilling out' and will help in a presentation to made by the two players in the near future, showing other aspiring young squash players what a fantastic reward can be achieved by hard work - and some dedication. Sports Academy juniors can expect to look forward to the opportunity to a 2012 Canada Tour as well as a number of UK and European Tours through 2010 and 2011.

Report from week 2 in Canada.

          Leaving Calgary on Sunday of last week, The Sports Academy junior squash players touring Canada arrived in Vancouver ready to continue their run of good results. Playing first at The Evergreen Squash Club - one of Vancouver's oldest racket clubs - both Robert Dadds and Peter Dickinson continued their good form with wins over two of the top U19 players from the city. Then it was on to The Jericho Club where they had the opportunity to play on the courts where the upcoming Sun & Surf Open was to be played.  Robert and Peter played a round robin against a group of young players, including National U17 champion Michael Thompson, where both enjoyed short game wins against tough opponents. Matches against The Arbutus Club {where the Women's Worlds was played a few years back} and then against The Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Rackets Club  resulted in three wins and one loss. This was followed by a rest day before first round matches in the main event - The Honda Sun and Surf Squash Classic - 2010.

          Peter Dickinson played the second seed in the first round and found his older more experienced opponent too hot to handle going down 5-11, 9-11, 11-13; a really good effort and coach David Morgan commented "one to be proud of"! Peter went on to make the final of the consolation event where he went out to Tyler Olson, the number one seed in the main event.Tyler had been surprisingly unseated by Robert Dadds the day before in the first round. In this match Robert played one of his best games in Canada, unsettling the number one seed by taking the ball early and building pressure from early on. To the discomfort of the partisan crowd, Tyler is a local player from Victoria, Robert made a difficult match seem easy by winning 11-5, 11-4. 11- 9. Unfortunately winning a major open tournament means winning three/ four matches on the trot. Although Robert had beaten his next round opponent in their encounter at The Evergreen  Club, three days earlier, this time the task was more difficult and Robert went down 5-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11. All in all good results against players with far more experience at this level. "I know when I lived in Canada from 1975 to 1985" said Morgan, " I was amazed by the number of tournaments played in the major cities in Canada and the willingness of top players to travel vast distances to compete. Consequently UK players are usually slightly disadvantaged and end up being a couple of years behind players from countries where more top competition is available at junior levels. Robert and Peter have performed excellently and will return to the UK on Thursday much improved for the experience!"   

          On Sunday the players moved  to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, for four days of training with NZ Squash Professional Stuart Dixon, who is running a camp for players from the US and S America. "Getting the chance to get on court with so many players from different countries is another fantastic experience" said Morgan, "hopefully we can bring another group of players in 2012, which just happens to be the 50th Anniversary of the Sports Academy"!

 The Photo also shows Alex Norman she is from England now living in Montreal and playing on the ladies Pro circuit WISPA and also part of the Harrow Sport Squash Team.  

Rob & Pete in Canada UPDATE

Young squash hopefuls Rob Dadds and Pete Dickinson are in Canada for a three week match playing and training tour. Both players are eighteen and belong to the Sports Academy which is based at Hunts County Squash Club in the Hemingfords, Cambridgeshire. The journey from home to Calgary, Alberta was some fifteen hours in total, with a time change of seven hours: add to that the altitude change of some 1100m above sea level, different playing conditions and being so far away from home and the first match against The World Health Club at Edgemont was a tough starter, which they came through with some difficulty, playing two top ‘A’ players and splitting the result: since then, they have played four more matches in Calgary against the top clubs, winning against them all – with some style. Travelling on to Vancouver on Friday – another time change! – the two players have had two more matches, winning both games at the well known Jericho Club on the Friday and again splitting the two matches on Saturday at The Evergreen Rackets Club, but getting a result by winning a doubles challenge (on the real doubles court!) by two games to one. With more matches in Vancouver this week and a visit to Whistler on Tuesday/Wednesday for a match there and a visit to many of the Winter Olympic sites, they should be in decent shape for the Sun & Surf Open Tournament starting Thursday: both players are expected to have tough games in the first round. Travelling with Sports Academy coach David Morgan, the experience gained by the players on this sort of tour is outstanding and further N American tours are already being planned, in addition to The Sports Academy tours around the UK and into Europe.

Plus info for the Junior County Championships held here on 25th & 26th Sept and the Peter Nicol Junior Series held here in October.

Click Here for the England Squash & Racketball Newsletter July 2010 

Click here for the Cambs Junior County Championships 2010 Entry Form

Click Here for the Peter Nicol Junior Series Tournament 2010 Entry Form

Bishops Stortford Squash Club
11th-12th September 2010

Girls and Boys Under 11, 13, 15, 17 & 19

Entry Fee £15

Free T-shirt

Closing date for entries is 12pm 31st August 2010

Entry form:
Eastern Regional Championships 2010

For more information please contact Andy Lee on 01223 305471 or
andy.lee@englandsquashandracketball.com

HUNTS COUNTY SQUASH CLUB
EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
TO BE HELD AT MANOR ROAD, HEMINGFORD GREY
ON MONDAY 26^th JULY 2010 AT 7.30 P.M.

• To appoint a new Club Chairman
• Proposal to change Internal leagues to PAR 11 scoring
• Presentation of League Cup

Coaching Opportunity

With Tania Bailey current World No.19

Tania Bailey, who has joined the SA Coaching Team, will be at the Club on Wednesday 16th June.

Tania was World Junior Champion and is a former World No. 4 on the Women’s Pro Tour.

Tania will mainly be working with HCSC/SA Juniors but will also have some time to train/play with HCSC members.

On Wednesday 16th June there will be 3 Coaching sessions available with Tania @ £22 inclusive

Court times are 19:00, 19.40 and 20:20.

This is offered on a first come first served basis.

If you would take advantage of this fantastic opportunity please book with Roberta, Colin or James Powley.

1st Prize: Lynsey Jenkin, Boat Trip on the 'Lady Hamilton' for six.
2nd Prize: Pete Tilling, Case of Fine Wine (12 bottles).
3rd Prize: Bob Maison, £50 Dining Voucher.
4th Prize: Andrew Whiles, Black Knight Ion Storm Racket.
5th Prize: Tony Gaukroger, Signed U23 Hoodie.
6th Prize: Georgie Goodwin, Black Knight Quicksilver Racket.
7th Prize: Mark Roitman, BU23 2010 Hoodie.
8th Prize: Ahmed El-Refee, Body Mechanics Treatment.
9th Prize: Simon Jones, £10 Hotel Chocolate Voucher.
10th Prize: Dom Coates, Embroided BU23 Hand Towel.
11th Prize: Steve Swanson, Squash Accessory Pack (Strings/Grips/Ect).

Congratulations to all the winners!

Results:

Men's Open: R. Dadds (1) bt P.Dickinson (2) 9/2, 9/4, 9/0 (3-0)
Men's Plate: D. MacDonald bt G. Bremner 9/4, 9/5, 9/10, 9/7 (3-1)

Ladies Open: N. Mounter (2) bt C. Hargreaves (1) 9/3, 9/6, 9/6 (3-0)

Ladies Plate: Nadine El Refee bt T. Mounter 9/6, 9/4, 9/4 (3-0)

Handicap Open: P. Jordan bt Nayera El Refee 15/13, 15/12, 16/14 (3-0)
Handicap Plate: P. Goodwin bt C. Faucherand 9/15, 15/13, 15/12, 15/11 (3-1)     

Click here to read the April edition packed full of British U23 news plus our juniors in action!

Joel Hinds and Deon Saffery finally got their hands on the British Under 23 trophies at Hunts County a year after finishing as runners up. Both finals were great showcases with some wonderful squash.

No1 seed and World No60 Saffery defeated Emma Chorley to add the British Under 23 title to the Under 17 crown she took back in 2004. The match started tentatively with unforced errors from both players with neither looking able to take the initiative. At 6-8 down Saffery suddenly discovered her length and eased away to take it 11/8.

The second was close but Saffery again had the edge and took a two game lead. Things started to change as the third started and Chorley surged ahead to start a remarkable comeback. She made it back to 2-1 with an easy 11/3 and then lead throughout a tight fourth and eventually took it 11/9 to square things up.

As Chorley went 2-0 up in the decider it looked like it was going to be her day but then Saffery somehow regained her composure and took six points on the run - this seemed to brake Chorley's spirit and Saffery went on to take it 11/6 in 50 minutes. A great match with some excellent squash from both players.

The Men's final saw the No3 seed Hinds up against Joe Lee who had survived a marathon semi final against Eddie Charlton. Lee showed no effects of his semi final exerts as he powered out of the blocks and took the first 11-7. Hinds roared back to take the second 11/4 and then edged a close third 11/9.

The fourth was a fantastic battle with both players going for their shots and retrieving everything the other threw at them but in the end it was Hinds who held his nerve to take the championship his first British title.

A wonderful weekend of squash and thanks must go to all at Hunts County for staging such an impressive championships.

The event will return to Cambridgeshire again next year as will Joe Lee, Adrian Waller and both beaten women's semi finalists Carrie Ramsey and Sarah-Jane Perry, all in search of the coveted British Under 23 titles.

Finals:

[1] Deon Saffery bt [2] Emma Chorley
11/8 11/9 3/11 9/11 11/6 (50m)                                                                                            

 [3] Joel Hinds bt [2] Joe Lee        
  7/11 11/4 11/9 11/9 (60m)

The playing schedule for Thursday and Friday is now out.

Click here for Thusrdays Scedule

Click here for Fridays Schedule

The draws announced today include the top players in the age group from around the country. Adrian Waller, the World No58 has enjoyed a great run on the PSA World tour this season and is scheduled to meet long time rival and World No85 Joe Lee (Surrey) in the final.

The top are unlikely to have it easy with 3 and 4 seeds Joel Hinds (Derbyshire) and Eddie Charlton (Nottinghamshire) respectively looking to cause upsets. Hinds, who is seeded to meet Waller in the semis, took out top seed Tom Richards (Surrey) in last year’s championship before eventually losing in the final to Chris Simpson (Hampshire).

With Victoria Lust (Bedfordshire) out through injury Welsh No1 and current World No60 Deon Saffery takes top billing in the Women’s draw. It had been Saffery who had ended Lust’s challenge for this title at the semi final stage last year before eventually losing out to Fiona Moverley (Yorkshire) in the final. Saffery, based at Pontefract will be looking to go one better this time and claim the Under 23 title to add to the British Under 17 crown she won back in 2004.

Emma Chorley (Somerset) is the No2 seed with former European Under 19 champion Sarah-Jane Perry (Warwickshire) at No3 and Derbyshire’s Millie Tomlinson No4. 18 year old Carrie Ramsey (Yorkshire) who sensationally claimed the European Under 19 title a few weeks ago is playing the squash of her life and will have her sights set on gate-crashing the semi finals and continue her fantastic run of form.

The standard of entries has once again been fantastic with no fewer than 15 current and former British Junior Champions on show. The event gives the very best junior players in the country the opportunity to fight it out with full time professionals who are already rising up the world rankings.

The British Under 23 Championship was re-launched last year as a joint venture between England Squash & Racketball, the British Squash Professionals Association and The Sports Academy at Hunts County Squash Club. This year’s event has a prize fund of £3450 and promises to build on the success of last year and further establish the championships as one of the country’s blue ribbon tournaments.

Men’s Qualification takes place on Thursday 22 April with the main draws kicking off on Friday 23 April.

Men’s Draw

[1] Adrian Waller V Tom Dwyer or Tom Robinson

[9]Chris Fuller V D Allman or J Robinson

[5] Lewis Walters V C Johnson / D McGinn

[10] Charles Sharpes V M Mackay or M Moore 

[3] Joel Hinds V J Geekie or R Phillips

[11] Andrew Birks V Steven London

[7] Ben Coleman V D Wardle or E Garson

[15] James Earles V Nick Hopcroft

[16] Nathan Lake V A El Refee or A Phillips

[8] Anthony Graham V S Wileman

[12] Richard Birks V Declan James

[4] Eddie Charlton V R Dadds or T Chitty

14] Robert Downer V Nicholas Bradley

[6] Neil Cordell V H Patel or J Jago

[13] Adam Murrills V A Aukland or A Lemom

[2] Joe Lee V S Hodgkins or N Mulvey

Women’s Draw

[1] Deon Saffery V Bye

[8] Harriet Ingham V Brogan Lane

[3] Sarah-Jane Perry V Heather Graham

[5] Carrie Ramsey V Annabelle Collins-Ballands

[7] Katherine Quarterman V Sophie Lemom

[4] Millie Tomlinson V Lauren Tamilla

[6] Rachel Willmott V Jade Thompson

[2] Emma Chorley V Bye

Look out for our local players who will be inaction on Thursday night from 6pm, please come down and support.  Tickets are still available for the Saturday and Sunday please click here

Please see draws below with times.  Qualifiers Thursday 6pm onwards

QUALIFYING DRAW

Womens KO

Mens KO

The 2010 tournament, held at Cambridge Squash Club on 27 and 28 March, attracted the most entries for many years, with over eighty players taking part. Notable highlights included a remarkable double victory by Comberton’s fourteen-year-old Tom Blair, who won the Under 17 event on Saturday and the Under 19s on Sunday, the dominance of Hunts County’s El-Refee sisters in the girls’ events, with Nayera winning the Under 19s while little sister Nadine won the U13s and was runner-up in the U15s and U19s, and the thrilling final of the Under 11 event, where the success of the Abbotsley club’s junior development policy was reflected in a 3-2 victory for Toby Darroch over clubmate Harry Hennessy.

Shields were awarded to the winners of this season’s Cambs Junior Leagues as follows:-

· Premier Division – Hunts County

· Division 1 – Comberton

· Division 2 – Cambridge

· Division 3 – Comberton

· Division 4 – Abbotsley.

Awards for the Most Improved Juniors went to

· Matt Allison (Crown Lodge) in the Under 17 category

· Emily Fuller (Hunts County) in the Under 13 category.

Results in full:

Mixed U11: Winner: Toby Darroch. Runner-up: Harry Hennessy.

Plate Winner: Luke Halliwell (St Ivo). Plate Runner-up: Hannah Gingell (Fenland),

Girls U13: Winner: Nadine El-Refee. Runner-up: Tayla Mounter (Hunts County).

Plate winner: Charlotte Bamford (Hunts County). Plate runner-up: Abbie Plater (Crown Lodge).

Boys U13: Winner: Scott Drewery (Crown Lodge). Runner-up: Jamie Sandford (Comberton).

Plate winner: Alessandro Pellegrini (Cambridge). Plate runner-up: Joshua Phillips (Hunts County).

Girls U15 (round robin): Winner: Tayla Mounter (Hunts County). Runner-up: Nadine El-Refee.

Boys U15: Winner: Sam Bradshaw (Comberton). Runner-up: Jeremy Harris (Comberton),

Plate winner: Liam Barnard (Stamford). Plate runner-up: Harry Gwynne (Cambridge).

Boys U17: Winner: Tom Blair. Runner-up: Chris Shaw (Comberton).

Plate winner: Will Collett (Comberton). Plate runner-up:

Alex Curtis (St Ivo). Girls U19 (round robin): Winner: Nayera El-Refee. Runner-up: Nadine El-Refee.

Boys U19: Winner: Tom Blair. Runner-up: Ben Northfield (Leys School). 3rd place: Paul Jordan (Hunts County).

The final will be played here on Saturday 17th April

2pm onwards all our welcome come and support our Ladies.

     Supported by

Tickets are now available for the British U23 & HCSC Club DInner on Saturday 24th April at 8.00pm

There will be live music and presentations plus the ticket gives you access to Saturdays BU23 Championships, all members are welcome to join us for a great weekend of squash and excellent meal.  click here for menu

Meal + BU23(Sat) = £20

Meal + BU23(All 4 days) = £30

Tickets can be bought at the Pro Shop reception, please speak to any of the SA team for more info.

Thursday and Friday is FREE to everyone.

Saturday is £7.50

Sunday is £10.00

4 Day Deal £13.00

Special offer for HCSC Members 4 Day Deal is £10.00 - To get this deal please enter promo code HCSCmembers

Please click here to buy your tickets all major cards accpeted.

PLEASE NOTE TICKETS FOR THE CLUB EVENING MEAL WITH THE PLAYERS AND BAND WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY FOR MORE INFO PLEASE SPEAK TO ONE OF THE SA TEAM.