This year’s longstanding CSSC Squash Singles Event took place in the new venue of Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club on Friday and Saturday 22nd and 23rd November.  The Chief Coach Mike Harris there made everyone very welcome and provided us with some excellent facilities including glass back squash courts for all our matches.

Some late withdrawals in the Men’s Event saw the final stages being changed to a Round Robin format of 5 players. The top seed and previous 5 times winner Tim Burrell in his first match faced the unknown talent of Andrew Cowgill who had entered his first CSSC Squash Event.  With Tim losing the first game 9 – 11 it looked as if we might be watching a new Champion in Andrew.  Tim however  took early  control of the remaining contest by winning all 3 games to 4, 6, and 7 points. Andrew’s next opponent Richard Crisp was on paper an easy win but Richard an extremely fit exponent of kick boxing made Andrew work hard for his 3-0 victory.  The number 3 and 4 Seeds Dan Willets and Imran Bashir were on paper a very close match up and so it proved in the match which went the distance – it was Imran however who just edged past his experienced opponent 11-7 in the 5^th game. Imran put up another fine performance in his match against the number 1 seed Tim Burrell - only losing in the 5^th game 11-5. Andrew’s hopes of improving on his position were given a double blow when firstly losing a long hard fought battle with Dan 11-3 in the 5^th game and finally losing to the much improved player Imran Bashir 11-7 in their 3^rd game. So congratulations goes to Tim Burrell who chalked up his 6^th CSSC Singles Title the first one being some 14 years back! Congratulations also goes to Imran Bashir as runner-up and also to Dan Willets who won the Plate Competition and to the Plate runner-up Andrew Cowgill. Well done also to Richard Crisp who despite his lack of squash competition experience made all his opponents work hard for their win.

The Ladies Event was also cursed  with some unfortunate late withdrawals but did however produce an excellent final when the very experienced CSSC Team player Helen Midgley took on a very new to CSSC Squash and talented player in the form of Hannah Anthony.  Although the match only lasted 3 games the experienced Helen made a good show of it with Hannah’s talent too good on the day. Congratulations to both the winner Hannah Anthony and to the runner-up Helen Midgley.

This years Quadrangular  2024 tournament was held at the Prestigious  Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham.

The matches kicked off on time and the early Friday session produced some shocks... 

with POLICE v FIRE

it was very close FIRE winning that 3/2.

While on ct 1 it was..

CSSC v UKAF

CSSC was well organised and far too strong for UKAF winning that match 5/0.

After launch into the late afternoon session ..

POLICE v UKAF.

This was straight forward for the very strong POLICE. winning 5/0.

Much more exciting matches  between CSSc v FIRE

CSSC came through 4/1 winners.

Meanwhile there was a thriller in the ladies match between POLICE v UKAF.

POLICE won that 3/2 and with that also the overall event.

Friday evening meal was very well organised and excellent food thanks to Priory kitchen...there was plenty to eat .

some had 3 helpings.

Saturday  Morning.

Everything to play for POLICE v CSSC

with a slight change to CSSC team, weakened at the top of order..it was great effort by the boys..

CSSC only win came via Matthew winning 3/1 at No2.

FIRE had an easy run as UKAF were 2 players short but did manage to sneak a rubber which turned out to be crucial in the final tally of points.

FIRE won 4/1.

Also must mention Mike Edwards head coach at Priory and all the Priory ladies who turned up on Saturday morning to give the POLICE ladies team a match. It was close with POLICE ladies winning 3/2....

SO the score on the board revealed POLICE at the top and CSSC second FIRE in third place and then UKAF.

Summing up it was an excellent weekend and thanks to al our players for making this event a great one and hope it continues to be successful.

Collis.

The next CSSC Squash Singles event is being held on Friday 22nd November and Saturday 23rd November at Wolverhampton Squash Club, WV6 0HL.

This will be a graded tournament to suit all standards and will include both mens and ladies matches.

The start time for both days is below:

Friday 22nd November - 12pm until 5pm

Saturday 23rd November - 9:30am until 5pm

Please come along and support this event and see for yourself and what this new venue can offer.

22nd June 2024: Social squash match CSSC vs Fire Service vs GB Vets

Following the success of the 2023 event, the Civil Service, GB Vets and Fire service squash teams all headed to Nottingham to take part in a friendly 8-a-side squash match.

First up were CSSC against the GB Vets who boasted none other than Nick Gollaglee, British Over 65s champion, in their ranks, along with a host of other national players. The civil service, however, were boosted by being loaned Nick Sheppard from the GB Vets and local Nottingham player Noah Duckworth. Despite these additions, the civil service found it tough going yet managed to put on some excellent performances against tough opponents. James Hodson was star of the match for the Civil Service managing to get a win against the talented John Simpson. Special mention also goes to Tim Burrell and Imran Bashir for getting a game each while the others all lost encounters closer than the scorelines suggest – Nick Sheppard and Paul Clarke particularly unlucky not to win a game.

Despite some heavy legs going into the 2^nd match it didn’t show. Mike Plant had a very good win in a tight affair while Richard Chubb and David Jacobs, playing his first CSSC squash event, also managed to come out on top. Imran Bashir and Paul Clarke were both unfortunate to be on the wrong end of 3-2 scorelines – just not having enough to get over the line. James Hodson, Joe Shil and Noah Duckworth played well but ultimately were bested by their opponents.

In the remaining match once again there were plenty of tight matches with the Fire Service just managing to narrowly beat GB Vets.

Following the squash all the teams retired to the bar to enjoy some food before heading home having thoroughly enjoyed the event. 

Nottingham Squash Club was once again the venue for the 2024 CSSC Racketball (Squash 57) Championships which were held on the 15^th June 2024.

 A favoured venue for many CSSC squash and racketball events in the past, the club is now run by volunteers who do their best to provide a warm and friendly welcome to players and guests.

Seven of the eight entries arrived bright and early to commence their match-play for 10:00am.
The round-robin system was used which meant that each participant had six matches to play, this kept them busy for the day.

The format was best of 3 games to 11 points, with 2 clear points being required at 10-all

There were some very entertaining matches and everyone played in a competitive and friendly manner.

Peter Fielding was involved in the two of the three longest matches of the day as was Micky Gallacher. These being against Micky and Russell Bassett, Peter unfortunately being on the losing side of both, either side of the lunch break.

Everyone was more than ready for the break, and a cold buffet was provided courtesy of CSSC – the sandwiches were picked up and fresh on the day and were absolutely delicious :>)

During lunch ex- CSSRA President Marian Holmes played ex-CSSRA Chair Linda Parsley in what could have been a Ladies Championship Final. With a few more lady entrants this might be something that could be introduced next year.

As it came to the last round of matches both Micky Gallacher and Collis Sheik were undefeated, with Collis just edging being leader on games conceded count-back, Micky having dropped one game.

Due to a masterly insightful draw by the ‘Tournament Director’ (or a massive stroke of luck) we found ourselves in the position of the last round of matches actually including the Championship decider.

 This was a very entertaining match with both players still showing good levels of skill and fitness following the day’s exertions.

In the end the title of CSSC RACKETBALL CHAMPION 2024  went to Collis with a 12/10 15/13 victory.

The trophies were presented by Marian Holmes ( former President of CSSRA)

2024 National Champion - Collis Sheiks                                 2024 Runner Up - Micky Gallacher

The competitors and organisers (Peter Fielding missing)

Front row: L to R - Marian Holmes, Russell Bassett, Paul Clarke, Micky Gallacher, Collis Sheik, Deborah Atkinson, Cynthia Crane, Linda Parsley

Rear: L to R - Phil Crane, Neil Moore

Hi all

Just wanted to give you the heads up that the next CSSC Open Squash event will be held at the Wolverhampton Squash & Tennis Club on Friday 13th & Saturday 14th September 2024.

A couple of hotel suggestions have been provided for those that will be staying over, and they are:

The Mount Hotel

Mount Rd

Wolverhampton

WV6 8HL

Novotel

Union St

Wolverhampton

WV1 3JN

The competition will be graded as usual so is suitable for all standards.

Looking forward to seeing you all there

A NEW CHAMPION FOR CSSC SQUASH

CSSC Squash were back in action in November 2023 at the Nottingham Squash Rackets Club (NSRC) for their National Singles tournament.

Regrettably only one lady entered the event, as a result of injury and other priorities, so the Ladies event was cancelled.

The men’s event, however, was well supported. 20 players entered with a range of standards. This enabled a combination of Knock Out and Round Robin events to be run, which provided good competition for all levels. For those who follow the England Squash ranking system, Squash Levels were from “unknown” to 11,000.

Among the entrants was the current 7 times CSSC Squash Champion, James Hodson, taking his place as the number one seed and aiming for an 8^th win. Looking to challenge him was a newcomer to CSSC Squash, Tom Trott, who slotted in as the number 2 seed.  These two were all set, if seeding was correct, to meet in the final.

Along with many of the regular top CSSC players an encouraging number of newcomers had entered, and there were players across all grades A to E.   Unfortunately, by the start of the event, injury and illness had reduced the men entrants from 20 players to 12.

The first round in the Knock Out resulted in the losing players dropping down to the B grade event. The successful first round players played a further series of knock out matches with the next round losers going into the A Plate event.

In the top half of the main A grade, James Hodson had a Bye and then won his first 2 matches against Chris Mason-Thom and Matthew Sampson to put himself into the final. Chris had previously beaten regular entrant Dan Willets and Paul Atkinson.

.

In the other half of the draw, Frazer Richards had probably the hardest time on court with a 3-1 win over last year’s finalist, Craig Webb, followed by a 3-2 loss to newcomer Tom Trott.

Losers in the first round of the A grade event went into a B Grade event, initially intended to be a Knock out format, but numbers determined that a Round Robin format would be a better option. Here Dan was joined by seasoned Squash player Collis Sheik and newcomers Nigel Jubbs and Kevin Walters. This was tough group with many of the matches going to 5 games. Dan won the group with just one game loss to Nigel while Kevin Walters took the Runner Up slot.

Losers from the Main A Grade 2^nd round then played a Plate event. The four eligible players were reduced to three with the retirement of one member, so a Round Robin was played. This resulted in Andrew Symmons taking the A Plate title, beating both Chris and Paul, with Chris taking the Runner Up prize.

The CSSC Squash section took the opportunity of the presence of regular players to hold their AGM in the Saturday lunch break. This was followed by the final match of the main A grade event between James Hodson and Tom Trott. This final was a stunning match with both players playing incredibly tight shots and making amazing retrievals from every corner of the court.

The outcome was in doubt right up to the last rally – narrow margins. Well played to both players and we have a new champion in Tom.

It was good to see some new players and we hope all were able to enjoy the experience of playing and marking different people. We hope to see them in other events.

The squash matches were spread over the two days, Friday and Saturday and, as usual, a light hearted Quiz was held at the club on Friday evening with the club providing supper, giving players and organisers a chance to relax.  All in all it was a very successful event –a lot of good squash played in a good spirit.

Final placings:

Men's Champion Tom Trott receiving his trophy from event organiser Linda Parsley                                  Runner Up James Hodson receiving his prize from Linda Parsley

James and Tom with B Grade winner Dan Willets

The next event in the CSSC Squash calendar will be the Team Tournament in February/March 2024. Teams are to consist of both male and female players and can represent a department, office or any group. Individual players who cannot raise a team should contact the organise Peter Lee (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 07715 452 434), who will try and allocate players to a team.

Ladies especially welcome. Information and entry details will be on the CSSC website, under 'Squash'.

Following this the Masters (Age Groups) and Racketball Tournaments will be held in April/May 2024. Location to be advised.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

See you all in 2024

At the annual Squash Single tournament played on 17th/18th November played at the Nottingham Squash centre, a new Champion emerged in Thomas Trott. This was the first CSSC tournament Tom has entered and he beat reigning champion (and 8 times winner) James Hodson in a thrilling final.

More detailed report to follow along with photos from the tournament.

CSSC Quadrangular 2023 – 1-2 September 2023.

With last year’s event cancelled the Civil Service were very pleased to resume their annual fixture against the Police Force, Fire Service and UK Armed Forces. The CSSC men’s team travelled to Edgbaston Priory and it was good to have a few new faces in the team with some young(er) players joining the old stalwarts. The team featured new players Joe Shill, Craig Webb and Ben Mann joining James Hodson, Tim Burrell and Ethan Thornton.

CSSC vs Police Force

The first match was against the Police who had won the event for the past few years, and are always well stocked with good players. This year was no different and the CSSC team knew they had a tough task. First on were Ethan Thornton (5) and Craig Webb (4). Ethan never really hitting his stride was taken out by his talented opponent. Craig put up a good fight and after settling into the match almost took the 3^rd game. It was all too late and Craig also went down 3-0. Looking to get CSSC back on track were Ben Mann (3) And Tim Burrell (2). Ben lost 3-0, a score line that didn’t reflect how close the match was. With Tim losing the first game it was looking like his match would follow suit but he managed to take the next 2 games and sneak over the line in the 4^th to take a 3-1 win. Finally CSSC had some points on the board. Last on was James Hodson (1). Much like the previous matches James put up a good fight but couldn’t quite squeeze a game from his opponent, going down in a close 3-0 match.

A 4-1 loss to the Police Force with 2 matches left to play.

CSSC vs Fire Service

Having suffered a brutal defeat earlier the CSSC team were looking to get back on track. Joe Shill came in at number 5 and immediately got the team off to a winning start, comfortably seeing off his opponent with some determined running and skilful shots. Craig Webb and Ben Mann continued the teams winning ways with Craig running out a 3-0 winner and Ben, having suffered a little wobble to drop the 3^rd game, came out on the right end of a 3-1 win. That meant CSSC had won the match, all that was left was for James and Tim to play the remaining matches. Tim managed a close 3-0 win while James had a real tussle at the number 1 string. James lost the first only to draw level at 1-1. A close loss in the 3^rd was followed by a comfortable win in the 4^th from James to take the game to 2-2. With nothing between the players as they each traded points it was only at the very end of the game where the Fire Service player just edged ahead with some canny winners to take the game 11-8, and match 3-2.

A 4-1 win for the CSSC.

CSSC vs UK Armed Services

With a win and a loss CSSC were looking to win their last match while hoping the Police Force would slip up against the Fire Service. First on were Joe and Craig. Joe started slow but after just about winning the first took control of the match to win 3-0. Craig had a very tough match but managed to keep his nose ahead throughout, winning 3-0 in a very close encounter. With Ben also winning 3-0 each of the debutants had an excellent couple of days. Last on were Tim and James looking to wrap up the win, which they duly did - each winning 3-0.

A 5-0 win for CSSC but not enough to catch the Police who, having won all 3 matches, were once again crowned champions. CSSC came a very creditable 2^nd with the UK Armed Services in 3^rd and Fire Service in 4^th.

Final scores:

Police force: 58

CSSC: 42

UK Armed Forces: 21

Fire Service: 8