Shropshire Squash Club Newsletter - June 2026

Dear [[firstname]],

I hope that everyone is well and looking forward to the culmination of the Club Championships and our Finals Night this coming Friday, 3rd June. Semi Finals will largely be played on Wednesday, 1st June this week setting up the Finals two days later.

Finals Night

This is one of the biggest nights of the year for the club, and it would be great to see as many people down as possible for some great squash & racketball as well as enjoying some sausages and cider! I hope that you have seen the posters around the club. There is a free sausage for everyone who attends, and as always it promises to be a great night.

In addition to the on court action and prize giving, the Committee are planning to induct some additional members into the wall of fame that has been started with the original Academy team’s entry last year.

We are hoping that our inductees will be present on the night, and hope that you are looking forward to learning who they are, as well as toasting their achievements and contributions to the club over many years. Any guesses as to who they may be??

We would love to get some additional suggestions for future inductees who you think have gone above and beyond in the name of the club, or maybe have been quietly going about their business almost unnoticed, an unsung hero, of either present or past days.

Chair

I am planning on standing down as Chair at the next AGM. Ben Schur has kindly offered to stand in on an interim basis but the club will need to find a replacement by the time of the next AGM.

There are a number of reasons for wanting to stand down. The main one being that I just cannot the time and headspace that is required and am therefore not doing the job that I would expect of myself, and the club deserves.

I am happy to help out with specific projects and aid the committee in any way that I can on an ad hoc basis, and want to continue to be a member and get back to enjoying playing squash and racketball in the leagues and representing this great club of ours in the county leagues for as long as I am able.

If you have any interest in standing as Chair, or would like to help on the committee in anyway, please speak to Ben and he would be happy to hear what you have to say.

It has been great to see and hear of other members of the club helping out in areas around the club and it is this support that really helps take a bit of the load off and help to put on activities that benefit everyone. Please do take the opportunity to help out, even if it is just the once! It really helps and is very much appreciated.

Coaching & Week Day Club Night

The numbers of coaches has been added to, and with Benton Blair really taking up the mantle helping with Wednesday night coaching and juniors it is really helping to give players pointers and direction with their squash.

Cameron Parry has also rejoined the club and is offering squash and racketball coaching which is great, and also adding back to the strength of players at the club. Cam was actually on of the original Academy players.

Midweek Club Night has been a real success and gives new and potential members an opportunity to sample what the club has to offer and have a hit with others. This has been a great addition to what the club has to offer.

Summer League

Summer league squash is back (when it is not roasting hot!!) with a slightly different look. 5 man teams over a single session but with the same timed format, playing on some Tuesdays and some Thursday evenings to try and get as many people involved as possible.

Well done to Max for maintaining this event for the club as a great social event for members and players from around the county of all levels, and also contributing financially to the club over the course of the summer with increased bar revenues and entry fees of course.

Other stuff

I hope you will have seen the latest membership demographics attached along with the updated bar losses. Membership continues to grow steadily, although it would be great to see this increase further.

I am trying to speak to the school about the Padel facility which they have intimated before could be considered as an addition to the membership fee, with a small cost per court. This would certainly help membership numbers and maybe drive some people into using the squash facilities too, as well as being a lot of fun to play.

Bar losses continue to fluctuate but are generally much reduced. I would love to see this at zero, but life doesn’t quite work like that. There is no doubt that keeping the bar manned as much as possible – particularly during events – is a must but not always practical. Please do volunteer yourself for a short stint. It will be much appreciated.

Club Kit is available through the iProsports website. It is great to see so much of it being worn around the club and I would encourage as many of you as possible to buy some. A big thank you goes out to Belvidere Lifts for their generous sponsorship which has allowed the club to subsidise £10 of each first purchase made – so please, if you are a first time buyer, get in touch with a member of the committee and they will sort out yours.

https://www.iprosports.co.uk/club-zone/shropshire-squash-club/

Finally, we have a new website. And a big thank you goes out to Martin Lee and Lighthouse design for their help in creating this on Hubspot for us. There is still some work to do to get the calendars up to date – but that is for me to do, as well as making sure that content is kept up to date and relevant. Any comments / feedback is welcome.

Go and take a look at: www.shropshiresquashclub.co.uk

Ok, that is enough rambling from me, but please if there is anything that you need, or would like to know, please don’t hesitate to contact us. The new club email address is enquiries@shropshiresquashclub.co.uk or speak to one of the friendly members of the committee when you see them around.

Have a great rest of your evening and week,

Phil