CSSC Masters Championships
The prestigious Nottingham Squash Club was once again the venue for the 2018 CSSC Squash Masters Singles Championships and the CSSC Squash 57 (Racketball) Championships. A favoured venue for many CSSC squash events, the club and its staff once again gave a warm and friendly welcome to the players and guests.
Entrant numbers were the highest since 2013, with the inclusion of 4 new players to the squash tournament and 3 to the Racketball tournament on the Saturday. There were a number who sent apologies saying they would join us next year which bodes well for the future of both tournaments.
The O35 and O45s played each other, over the 2 days, in a round robin with the O55 and O65s in another round robin. The ladies competition was also a round robin played over one day.
Each competition was hard fought and played in a sporting but friendly manner.
The format for both competitions was slightly different this year with a best of 3, point a rally, first to 11 arrangement ensuring that all entrants played plenty of short matches over the two days.
Both the racketball and the squash events included some inexperienced players who competed with the same level of commitment as the experienced ones. The helpful inclusive atmosphere and camaraderie made everyone feel welcome and provided them with some valuable experience and confidence to take forward to future competitions. We hope to see them again next year.
Squash
Mens O35
This year saw Neil Miles defend his trophy, in a series of keenly fought matches, dropping only 3 games in a round robin containing 10 players in the combined O35 and O45 categories. The runner up trophy went to a Masters newcomer, David Nethercott David won all his games except for the one with Neil which was a great game to watch. We look forward to seeing these two doing battle again in the future. Our 2016 O35 winner, Craig Blurton, had to retire injured after turning his ankle in a keenly fought match with David Nethercott. Our esteemed Treasurer Jim Fay was one of the few players who took a game from Neil Miles.
Mens O45
This year we have a new winner of the O45s. John Frankland was surprised to find himself in with a chance of winning the trophy towards the end of the tournament and everything hinged upon his last match with newcomer Dave Bott. This proved a real battle with both players presenting a good standard of squash and fitness to a packed gallery. The match was won by John two games to one. The runner up in this group was Paul Armstrong.
Ladies O50
The ladies O50s trophy was won after some real battles along the way for our CSSRA Chairperson Siân Hughes. Siân really had to dig in and kept her opponents on court for longer than anyone else in the tournament. At one stage she appeared to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory but retained her focus and came through a worthy winner! All the ladies enjoyed a round robin format with Shena Ferrie, last year's winner taking the runner up trophy.
Mens O55
Peter Windram, a previous winner had a fantastic tournament and didn't drop any games in his run up to the winner's trophy. The runner up was Kevin Mulligan who we know from previous tournaments, but a welcome newcomer to the Masters.
Mens O65
This year's winner was Richard Kendrick, a familiar face we haven't seen in the Masters for a couple of years. Richard is a first time winner and was playing in a round robin with the O55s and managed to take games from players in the lower age category. It was also good to see Les House back on court after being unable to attend the tournament last year. His nemesis Rob Shepherd was runner -up in the O65's - who must by now have a large display cabinet full of CSSC glassware. Well done Rob.
Racketball
The Racketball tournament produced a new champion in Keith Mabey who overcame a spirited display by runner up Collis Sheik (last year's winner in the squash O55s event). Keith and Collis played the final round robin match both undefeated in the group. It was an excellent finale to a packed audience. Hats off to Jan Green, Micky Gallacher, Fred Sanders and Neil Mudie for contributing to the event and making it a challenging, enjoyable day's sport for everyone.
Social
Everyone was kept busy for the two days and in addition to the battles on court, the now infamous and very enjoyable Linda Parsley general knowledge quiz was enjoyed by all together with a chicken supper in the club on the Friday evening. Feedback from the group indicated that everyone had a busy and enjoyable experience. Lunch on Friday and Saturday was also provided and received good feedback.
As ever, the event provided an opportunity for players to combine fitness and fun and to catch up with friends made at previous competitions and to make new ones. Competitors and organisers were pleased to see Marian Holmes our CSSRA President had entered the event despite ongoing injuries and was able to present the winners trophies. We were especially pleased to see her present the Ladies O50s squash trophy to our Chairperson, Siân Hughes.