SQUASH / RACKETBALL - 2024 END OF YEAR UPDATE

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Squash Doubles – Sunday Mix-in, 22 December 2024
Ever fancied trying doubles squash? Join us this Sunday, 22nd December, for a doubles mix-in from 10.40am to 1.30pm. Giles will be on hand to provide tips and pointers for safe play and you will find willing partners to team up with.

Format will be 2 games played PAR 15 then a switch out to allow two new pairings.

The bar will be open from 1.30pm for post-game analysis.

St Catherine's Hospice Memorial Cup, 27 December 2024
We are hosting the annual St Catherine's Hospice Memorial Squash and Racketball Cup on Friday 27 December 2024, starting at 10am and running to 1pm. It's a great chance to run off some of the festive calories whilst contributing to a fantastic cause.

Entry costs just £10 a player, with all funds raised going towards the work of St Catherine’s Hospice.

The format is best of three games, squash or racketball, American scoring par 11 sudden death. The winner will be the person who wins the most games.
Please signup using the sheet on the noticeboard in the club house.

If you’re unable to play but would still like to donate to the amazing work that St Catherine's do, please contact Ian Russell or Alan Swan.
Ian@IanRussell.co.uk, AlanSwan2017@outlook.com

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Squash Handicap Final & Social Evening (EGTSRC Reporter: Roger Bean)

As expected, this year's final was a closely fought encounter.

Two of our club's young stars showed off their skills and dexterity around the court, with Benjamin Thompson starting on -5 & Florrie Edwards on 0, Ben had some catching up to do!

A packed clubhouse watched some long and demanding rallies, even with Florrie's speed around the court, Ben's powerful ball striking was a true test for anyone.

Ben won the first set; however, Florrie was successful in the second trying to slow the play down! The third set was see-sawing backwards and forwards with Ben again claiming it. Into the fourth set with both players showing they were in a battle, this had the crowds cheering some really top play, then into a sudden death tie-break at 14 all, with Ben eventually getting over the finishing line.

Albeit this was a competitive, tough match for both, real sportsmanship together complimenting each player's good shots was the true champion.

Congratulations to both Ben and Florrie, this year's final is probably one of the best for many years.

As if more excitement were needed, on the same night we also had a Men’s 1st team match, against a strong Crawley side.

What a match! With the away team all having higher squash rankings than our players, this was going to be a tough one!

There were initially a couple of very close matches at 4 and 5 strings, Leon and Joe, that could have gone either way, but the Sussex league 1 top team came through, so we were 2 down. The 3rd string game against Curt, was a different matter, but the excellent young Crawley star was just too good.

This left Dom and Matt North to salvage something. Dom was 2-2, so into the third set and an absolutely jam-packed balcony (never seen before) cheered on their man to achieve a super win.

Matt playing at 1st string was fully aware that his opponent had a squash grading way above his, but this only sharpened his resolve. Winning the 1st two sets narrowly, then his challenger showing his ability claiming sets 3 and 4. Into the final set, by now the great crowd were in full voice. Matt struggled a bit initially with his opponent’s skills, going 5-10 down, but as they say, it's not over until it's over! Then Matt showed real determination and clawed his way back, cheered to the rafters to win 13-11. Fantastic game.

Both the handicap final and Sussex match clearly showed squash at our club is in safe and enthusiastic hands.

This was followed by some good food and a few drinks. Thanks to the chefs and all who attended to make it a great evening.

Team Squash – end 1H Update

Ladies Teams - 1st & 2nd
Our ladies 1st team is currently undefeated in the league, with 1 match still in hand before Christmas. Excellent performances from Megan and Florrie gave us great wins at West Worthing and Crawley, usually our strongest competitors, and will hopefully put us at the top of the division by the halfway point.

The ladies 2nd team are in third place in the league with 3 wins out of 5 games, with their only losses against our own 1st team and Crawley. Thus far the team have been supported by 7 different ladies playing across the 5 matches. No other club in Sussex can boast such a great number of ladies playing team squash.

Mens Teams

1st Team – Division 1 East
At the halfway point the team are ranked 4th in their division, having won 3 and lost 4 matches. The last 2 matches of this half were lost by a narrow margin so if the team can turn the tide in second half against Crawley and Dunnings, they could move up the rankings.

2nd Team – Division 2 East (Captain’s Report – Benji Swadling)
After accepting promotion to level out the leagues we were expecting a tough start to life for the 2nd team in division 2, but I'm not sure we were quite prepared for the 6 beatings we received to start off the campaign!

Some days though were better than others and 8 points were taken from both the Weald and Dolphin matches with Lucas Day consistently earning points throughout the first half of the season.

Other notable contributors include our 'lambs' (various players at no.1); Joe Collier, Sam Gunter and Leon Harris have all been out and fought the good fight at a very high level - in fact, taking a remarkable number of points and Squash Levels home with them on many occasions!

Highlights have been a fantastic home game to Dunning's, played in great spirit and tight as you like, and of course our corner-turning season win away to Cooden, of all places. One of our strongest outfits of the season took the perilous journey across land and sea to reach distant shores and produce a squash masterclass. In fact the only person to not bring home the bacon was our illustrious rally artist, Lucas!

All in all we have had a lot of laughs, learnt a vast amount, improved significantly and have reason to be excited by our prospects in the second half of the 24/25 season.

A special shout out to stalwart George Tardrew who we will see less of following his move to Putney - but I'm not sure we won’t ever see him again! The boy bleeds blue!

3rd Team – Division 4 East
The team are in 5th place, having won 2 and lost 4 matches. However, with 3 of the 4 losses being by a narrow 3-2 margin, there is plenty of opportunity for the team to regroup and get back to winning form in the second half. New team captain, Lewis Wilson, doing a great job first time out of the blocks and with some team order changes planned for the new year we expect to see more success for the 3rd team!

4th Team – Division 5 East
The newest team from the EGTSRC stable, who whilst yet to secure a win, are demonstrating enthusiasm, grit and determination. Close match losses against Nutley and Lewes may well be reversed in the second half as the team build further match experience.

Racketball Leagues
The current league runs until end Friday 10 January – please try and get all your games played. Well done to League 2 where everyone secured the vital bonus points!

We have a few new entries for the next round so with increased numbers I will be looking to post 4 leagues again.

Club Nights
Squash – Mondays 6.10pm onwards
Racketball – Thursdays 6.10pm onwards

Thanks to everyone for their participation and support to the club this year.
I wish you all a merry Christmas!
Tracey.

19/12/2024

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