Herts County Closed Squash
  Championships 2010

 click HERE to read report

23rd-24th January 2010 Played at Berkhamsted Squash Club

Men’s A  Chris Ryder bt Marc Woolhead 3-1
Men’s B  Peter Newman bt Peter Burdett 3-1
Men’s C  Ian Gould bt David Gear 3-1
O’35      Scott Rickard bt Nick Lavery 3-0
O’45      Eamonn Price bt Darren Withey 3-0
O’55      Phil Collins bt Keith Ragg 3-0
O’65      Tony Clifford
Ladies    Brogan Lane bt Isobel Smith 3-0

Men’s A Plate  Ali Coker bt Jim Hilton 3-1
Men’s B Plate  Kevin Springham bt Joe Green 3-0
Men’s C Plate  Andy Davis bt Alan Tierney 3-2
O’35 Plate      Martin White bt Phil Jenkins 3-0
O’45 Plate      Steve Morely
Ladies Plate   Carol Stead bt Kirstie Thompson 3-0

Herts Championship Results and Report 2010
The JustRackets.com Herts Closed Competition was played this year at Berkhamsted Lawn Tennis and Squash Rackets Club for the first time between 22nd and 24th January 2010. With a brand new show court and a fantastic new bar/lounge area the Berkhamsted club was the perfect venue for the County’s main squash event. A big thank you to the Berkhamsted Squash Committee in collaboration with the Herts Squash Committee for putting on a great tournament. We also need to extend a big thank you to Gary Spindler of JustRackets.com for very generously sponsoring the tournament again this year.
The scoring was changed slightly from last year with only the Men’s A section playing PAR (point a rally) to 11 and all the other sections played PAR to 15. This made for some long and enthralling matches across all the sections. Throughout the weekend the squash was played in great spirit with lots of banter on and off the court.

A Category – (Played PAR scoring up to 11)
The A competition saw the inclusion of 4 of the top 5 county players including full time professional Chris Ryder (world ranked 39). The only player missing was 20 year old Adrian Waller who, at the time of the tournament, was registering the best win of his career against world number 22 Olli Touminen in New York (a reasonable enough excuse for missing the tournament). The final was between defending champion Marc Woolhead (3) (Active4Less), who had upset number 2 seed Adam Fuller in the semi-final; and Chris Ryder (1)(Berkhamsted). The match started at a furious pace with Chris easily winning the first game. Marc seemed to settle down in the second and started to make Chris work a lot harder for his points. At 2-0 down; Marc played some great rallies to win the third game. Chris, however, raised his game again in the fourth to seal the match and the Championship.

Ladies – (Played PAR scoring up to 15)
Defending champion and top junior Brogan Lane (1)(Bishops Stortford) reached the final again this year where she met “old” rival Isobel Smith (2)(Next Generation). Isobel did all she could, using all of her experience, to try and disrupt her opponents free flowing game. Brogan, however, who has developed into a very mature player; proved to be too strong and went on to win the match in three straight games.
B Category – (Played PAR scoring up to 15)

In the B competition the final was played between Peter Newman (4)(Potter’s Bar) and Peter Burdett (2)(Harpenden). Peter Newman played great squash to beat the number 1 seed James Nield (Harpenden) to reach the finals. Peter Burdett quietly went about his business beating local boy Paul Green in the semi final. In the final Peter Newman started off well to go 2-0 up. The rallies were brutal at times with both players playing shots to the front at will. Peter Burdett fought back well in the third to force a fourth game, and it looked as though he was firmly back in the match. Peter Newman was, however, more consistent in the fourth and eventually took the match 3-1.

C Category – (Played PAR scoring up to 15)
The C Section (aptly nicknamed the Harlow Open) was probably the most closely contested section at the tournament this year. The final was contested between two Harlow boys (surprise surprise!!). Ian Gould (1) and David Gear (2) claim not to have played each other in a long time despite being team mates and it was clear that there was more at stake here than just the C Section Title. The game was fiercely contested but was played in excellent spirit with Ian Gould eventually taking the match 3-1. Well done to Harlow for another big entry into the event and for making the organisers job easy!

Over 35 – (Played PAR scoring up to 15)
The defending champion Nick Lavery (3)(Active4Less) played his heart out on Saturday to defeat Chris Stanley (2)(Tring) in a closely contested semi-final. The squash was fast paced and punishing and surprisingly the older man held firm to take the match 3-1. In the other semi final Scott Rickard (1)(Berkhamsted) won the clash of the South Africans winning in 3 against Bruce St Ledger (4)(Active4Less). The final saw two of the best blockers in the game taking up a lot of court space. Scott Rickard was the eventual winner in three games after which Nick Lavery was overheard mumbling something about an unfair draw……

Over 45 – (Played PAR scoring up to 15)
Defending champion Eamonn Price (1)(Harpenden) got through to another final without too much trouble. His opponent Darren Withey (2)(Tring), however, also made it through to the final without too much bother which meant both men were fresh and ready for battle come Sunday morning. The match was won 3-0 by Eamonn but all three games were closely contested with both men having to work hard to win points.

Over 55 and Over 65 – (Played PAR scoring up to 15)
These two sections were combined this year in a round robin format. The final of the Over 55 section was contested between Phil Collins and Keith Ragg with Phil winning 3-0.

The Over 65 trophy went to Tony Clifford.


Thanks to all the players who entered, we hope to see you all again next year.
Scott Rickard
Tournament Organiser & Mens County Captain

Herts Championship Draws
click HERE for Excel draw sheets

Watch some great County Squash FREE @Berkhamsted.
Matches start Friday 22nd January 6pm.
All day Saturday 10am - 5pm.
Sunday semi-Finals 10am-12noon.
Mens Final Sunday 1:30pm (Weekend 23/24th January 2010).
See draw sheets for match times.

Sponsored by Just Rackets

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances it may be the case that not all entry forms to the Herts Closed competition have been found, below is the list of names of people who have entered, if your name is not on the list or you know of someone who has entered and is not on the list please can you mail s.rickard@herts.ac.uk  asap to confirm your entry.

The draw for the Herts Closed will be delayed by a couple of days due to the current situation and we do apologise for the delay.

Name Categories Entered (e.g. Mens A, B, C, O35, O45, O55 and Ladies)
Adam Bradshaw C
Alan Tierney B
Ali Coker A
Andy Homeyard B
Brogan Lane C Ladies
Bruce St Ledger 0/35
Carol Booth ladies
Carol Stead ladies
Chris Ryder A
Chris Stanley 0/35
Daniel Jacobs A
Dave Marsden 0/35
David Gear C
Dominic Webster 0/35
Eamonn Price 0/45
Fred Lane B
Gary Spindler 0/45
Grant Kleiner 0/45
Hannah Daly Ladies
Isobel Smith ladies
JAMES NIELD B
jemma oakwell Ladies
Jim Hilton A
joe green B
John Shaw 0/35
Keith Ragg 0/45
Keith Timms A
Kerry Green 0/45
kevin springham C
Kirsten Morley ladies
Kirstie Thompson Ladies
Marc Woolhead A
Martin Hockaday 0/45
Martin Miller C
Martin White 0/35
Matt Bevan B
Michael Reynolds C
Neil Newbery 0/45
Nick Lavery 0/35
Paul Green B
Paul Harris 0/45
Peter Anthony Cartmell 0/55
Peter Burdett B
Peter Newman B
Phil Collins 0/55
Phil Jenkins B o/35
Ross Proudfoot A
Scott Rickard 0/35
Steve Morely 0/45
steven Leverington C
Tony Clifford 0/45

Herts County Championship 2010
ENTRY FORM and POSTER for your club
@Berkhamsted weekend 23/24th January 2010. Return the entry form by 15th January.

Come along and watch some Great Squash
Come along to Berkhamsted to see the best players in Herts. Entry is FREE to all.

Timetable

* All welcome. A representative from each Herts Club may vote

Herts Championship Results 2009

Mark Woolhead won the Men's Championship.
Brogan Lane won the Ladies Championship.

click on titles e.g. "Mens A" for draws & scores
Mens A Mark Woolhead (A4L) beat Keith Tims (Brox) 3:0
Mens B James Clyne (Brox) beat Nathan Derek (A4L) 3:2
Mens C Martin Nash beat Alan Cooke 3:1
O35 Nick Lavery (A4L) beat John McFarlane (Stortford) 3:2 12:10 in the 5th
O45 Eamonn Price beat Paul Ryan 3:0
O55) Dave Cooper beat Peter Cartmell
O65) Tony Clifford beat Len Frogitt

The Herts Closed Competition was played this year at Broxbourne squash club on 16th – 18th Jan, thanks to Broxbourne squash club for hosting this year’s Herts Closed competition and to the new sponsor Just Rackets for supporting the largest event of the year for Hertfordshire.

With the introduction of the new PAR (point a rally) scoring system for a 12 month trial period in the main Hertfordshire leagues, with Divisions 1 and 2 playing up to PAR 11 and Division 3, 4 and 5, plus the ladies playing PAR to 15, it was decided that the same format would be used for the Herts Closed tournament.

Throughout the weekend the squash club buzzed with a good friendly atmosphere and all different standards of play were catered for, including A, B, C, Over 35, Over 45, Over 55, Over 65 and Ladies’ categories. It was especially nice to see so many entrants for the ‘C’ competition (Div 3-5 standard) with that draw comprising of 32 players.

A Category – Played PAR scoring up to 11)
The A competition final was between Mark Woolhead (Active4Less) and Keith Timms (Broxbourne). Mark’s typically offensive clinical game meant that Keith was always chasing the play, having to work hard to gain any advantage, with Mark being the eventual winner 3:0. There were some exciting earlier rounds of the A competition, Mark Woolhead suffering some early jitters against Chris Dawson (Broxbourne), initially losing the first game 12:10, but then going on to win 3:1 and Keith Timms having a difficult semi final match against Scott Rickard, eventually winning 3:2 to make his way to the final.

B Category – Played PAR scoring up to 11)
In the B competition the final was played between James Clyne (Broxbourne) and Nathan Derrick (Active4Less), James eventually beating Nathan the defending champion 11:8 in the 5th in a hard fought clash. On the way to the final Nathan had to secure his place by beating one of his team players Hanro Viljoen (Active4Less) in a brutal first round encounter that saw Nathan take a last gasp win 12:10 in the 5th. James had a similarly exhausting battle with Tony Stewart (Radlett) in the semi-final eventually winning 11:8 in the 5th.

C Category – Played PAR scoring up to 15)
Martin Nash (Haileybury) beat Alan Cook (Active4Less) 3:1. Martin the seasoned played playing against fitness coach Alan in an exhausting 75 minute final match that rarely saw a boast or a drop from either player, each preferring to try to entice the other into making a mistake. Earlier rounds of the C competition saw some entertaining games between highly competitive players, Martin only just managing to make it to the final by beating Ian Blower (Bishop’s Stortford) 3:2 in his semi-final match. Alan had a slightly easier route to the final playing matches where running and chasing eventually wins out to classic shot play.

Over 35 – Played PAR scoring up to 11)
Nick Lavery (Active4Less) beat the defending champion John McFarlane (Bishop’s Stortford) 12:10 in a 5 set match that ended up going right to wire because of each players refusal to give any ground, fighting back whenever they were a couple of points behind.

Over 45 – Played PAR scoring up to 11)
Winner Eamonn Price (Harpenden) beat Paul Ryan (Broxbourne) 3:0

Over 55 – Played PAR scoring up to 15)
Winner Dave Cooper (Broxbourne) beat Peter Cartmell 3:0

Over 65 – Played PAR scoring up to 15)
Winner Tony Clifford beat Len Froggit 3:1

Ladies - Played PAR scoring up to 15)
14 year old Brogan Lane was the youngest person to win a Herts County Championship narrowly beating Jemma Ockwell (Next Generation) 15, by one point to win the ladies competition. This is good news for the future of ladies squash in Herts, having two under 16’s gaining momentum. A round robin was played, with Brogan winning all of her games beating last year’s champion Isobel Smith along the way as well as Elke Rubsam, Kirstie Thompson and Jemma Ockwell.

Phil Jenkins

Full Report and pics (large download 4mb)

from: Mark Blake
Tournament Organiser

Due to a great response this year we had a fantastic Herts Closed 2009. With almost 32 entrants in the C group and 26 in the B group it made for some great squash. The main tournament and ladies were a little light on competitors but the ones that did enter made for good competition. The age groups were fairly well attended, again the guys that did enter put up a good show. With virtually all first round losers keen for more squash, it made for a full plate tournament too. This made scheduling tight thru Saturday but we managed it quite well with games going on through to 6 o’clock sat evening.

All finals were keenly contested, and those attending the club on sun morning were certainly treated to some great squash.

I would like to thank Broxbourne Sports Club for the use of their facilities and their hospitality throughout the weekend and special thanks to Karen Lane for her help in putting the draw together and being there on the day to help it all run smoothly. A big thanks also goes to Gary Spindler and ‘Just Rackets’ for the sponsorship this year. A special thank you to the markers and friends for their help thru the weekend.

Here’s looking forward to a great 2010 tournament!!!!!!

Mark Blake
Tournament Organiser

 --- 2008 Champs Results below---

Full draw and results below:

2008 Ladies   Mens   Mens B   Mens C  

Mens O35   Mens O45   Mens O55   Mens O65

Brogan Lane Ladies Champion