February Newsletter

Hello and to our Welsh firends Happy St David's day

My OCD is now much happier as we now rotate back to end of month Newsletters following the December / January / Febraury 6 week internal leagues. The amount of people that have said to me "oh.. Bass...when is the next Newsletter?" as if they were Nessa from Gavin & Stacey. Well for those two people that asked, it's here. Read and enjoy Squasharians:

Regional Masters of 2019/20

Linda Pritchard got through to the semi-finals of the 0.45s - playing against the No.1 seed she went 2-0 down but fought back to win the next 2 games 11-8, 11-8. She was just pipped at the post and lost a very tight match 3-2 after over 49 minutes on court!

Steve Jenks meanwhile played in the 0.40s. In the 1st round Steve was drawn against Nick Freer and lost a tight match 3-1 (Nick went on to the final). Steve then played in the plate and didn’t drop another game to win!

Elaine played in the 0.35/40s combined. She was unlucky to be drawn against the No.1 seed in the first round but did well against her very experienced opponent. Elaine then went on to the Plate and won both of her games to win!

Internal League Walkovers

We recieved a few questions during January and February regarding when a walkover can and can't be used in the internal leagues. For those die hard Squasharians (totally made this term up by the way and I'm using it like it's a common term) you may remember in 2019 we posted a quick guide to walkover rules. We're posting it out again to remind members what our rules are regaridng this. Any questions please discuss with the committee or Tony Burgan.

" With the influx of new entrants into the leagues over the past few months, I have been asked to clarify the guidelines on when walk-overs may or may not be claimed.

Firstly, the majority of the leagues are run to the calendar month so it is reasonable to expect players to organise their 4 league matches within this time. A note on the league sheets ask players to indicate (by writing on the league sheets) in the month before they drop out if they have known commitments which will prevent them from playing their games. In this way, I can re-introduce them at their ‘earned’ level when they return. They will otherwise drop two leagues for every inactive month and their playing colleagues will be denied a fully active league.

It is recognised that shiftwork and working away from home can impose constraints on availability and other players are asked to be considerate and flexible in such circumstances when trying to arrange a game. However if you offer someone three court sessions and they are unable to play any of them and are unable to offer any in return, it is not unreasonable to claim a walkover. This cannot and should not be claimed if the opponent makes counter offers of different times with courts that you cannot play.

If it is a joint 50/50 blame that the game has not been able to be arranged, then hard luck, no score should be entered.
If one player accepts responsibility for the game not to be played (eg. Due to unavailability), then a 3-0 walk-over can be claimed by the other player.
If you cannot agree on 100% responsibility, then no score should be entered.
A score of 2-2 should only be entered if that is the game score when you are knocked off the court before completion of the game, and cannot fit in a game to decide the final point
If a player is injured and has to retire during the course of a game then the partner can claim his full 3 points as if the game had continued.
The leagues rely on the trust and integrity of members and 3-2 is not an acceptable score for a game not played."

Marathon Man

Not everything has to be about Squash you know. Even if you are a Squasharian (it's catching on). Steve Wright recently competed in the Dubai Marathon. He was good enough to do a few words for us to share his story and fantastic acheivement.

" I've run a few 10k's and Half Marathons over the years but always vowed that I could never upgrade to a Full Marathon. Then out of the blue I received a phone call last Summer from my brother Mick (ex squash player and SSC club member) who now lives in Dubai and competes in Triathlons. He challenged me to a Full Marathon together and we signed up for the Dubai event on Friday 24th Jan. For me, training was always going to be the big issue with various factors in play. The temperature difference, work loads/finding the time, missing squash and Christmas in the way!

I set myself a mental target of 4 hours 30 minutes to complete my one and only Marathon. I managed to finish in 4 hours 38 minutes 35 seconds which I am elated about. I've never beaten my brother at anything before (he was always the talented one at squash and was at the same level as Jonathan Kemp when they were teenagers playing at Shifnal together) The Marathon event itself was extremely well organised. There was an elite race too where the winner finished in 2 hours 6 minutes!! They ran past us at one point - they were literally sprinting! We were quite lucky with the weather. It was very warm but cloudy so the sun wasn't beating down on us. I have to admit I broke down in tears after crossing the line. Purely out of relief and exhaustion.

Approx 2 weeks prior to the event someone asked if they could sponsor me. Raising money had never been in my thoughts as I've raised quite a few thousand pounds for various cancer charities in the past. I decided to go for it, set a modest £100 target and chose a charity that supports wildlife who are suffering as a result of the fires in Australia. With some off-line donations, I have currently achieved around £800 which is amazing. Here is the link to my Just Giving page which is still open:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stephen-wright36
After a short rest, I'm looking forward to getting back on the squash court again and sticking to Half Marathons and 10k's in future."

Quality shirt that Steve. Now everyone in Dubai will know about SSC!! We've gone international Squasharians!

Club vs. School – match report 1st February 2020

Club vs. School match finely balanced after first leg

Saturday saw the annual local squash match between Shrewsbury School and Shropshire Squash Club – the local community squash club, based in the school squash centre – take place. The club were looking for revenge after last year’s defeat at the hands of their hosts.

First to set the tone was Lara Lees-Jones, the first female player to represent the school for a number of years, starting brightly and dominating with some very precise squash. Lara’s excellent performance was followed by dominant victories for Tom Bright and Doug Kennedy while Shropshire Squash Club number 2 Fin Aimer hit back. This was soon followed by a convincing victory by Under 13 county champion Jaydan Ingram.

Next up, two closely fought wins for Sam Dewhurst and Austin Carroll then…BAM!… the club return with 2 impressive wins for Izzy Parry and Alistair Cartland. While all this was going on, locked in battle were Billy Schur and Luke Russell. A mammoth match swayed one way then the other before coming down to a final shoot-out, 14-all in the fifth and final game - both players down on their haunches between points, sucking in air. Billy inched over the line with both players having shown immense reserves of concentration and spirit. It was a truly memorable match for the crowd watching on.

The stage was set with only 2 points separating the teams and the top-seeds to play. Reigning club junior champion Dan Jones was fast and accurate; mixing up his game to power passed his opponent by three games to nil. After an exciting afternoon the final scores club 22, school 21 – bring on the second leg.

Luke Russell and Billy Schur after their epic marathon of a match

The second leg takes place in the squash centre on Saturday 21st March 2pm. Spectators are welcome to come and watch.

Requests from the committee

Ok there have been some naughty Squasharians out there who have been spotted arriving in the footwear that they subsequently play on court with - thus taking wet and dirty trainers onto court.

Members (Squasharians) are reminded that they should not come to the Club in the footwear that they subsequently play in. The problem is particularly obvious at this time of year with all the wet and dirty footmarks that appear on court, but it is a rule that applies at all times. Please bring your playing footwear to court - do not play in the same footwear that you arrive in.

On a seperate note we would like to congratulate Linda Pritchard's achievement in achieving automatic selection for England over 45 squash team, again this year, confirming her as being in the top 4 players in that age group in the country. Massiva acheivement Linda!!

Lastly we have a note about the current Tabs book that is in use behind the bar

The Tabs File (used to record purchases from the bar, when a member does not pay for them at the time) is a right old mess and as it is being used less now that we have got the contactless terminal up and running, Andrew Black will be renewing the file itself and the pages in the file on the 7th March. It will be the same basic file and process but will have all new pages with carried forward balances from the old pages, for all members who owe something on the 7th March. Andrew will email/text all members with their carried forward balance at the end of February, to confirm what they owe so that they have the option to clear it by 7th March, to make the job easier. The Tabs File is still a valid way to record your bar purchases, if you don't have a card or cash on you, but it is just getting very messy and unclear. If you have any questions or are not clear about anything, please speak/email/text me and we will work it out.

Many thanks.

Winter Leagues Division 1 A team report:

Below is a write up from fellow CommitteeSquasharian.... that doesn't work.....Squashcomitteearian (that's better) Max Balll.

Shropshire A moved into the podium places with a 4-1 over mid table Shrewsbury Club B.

The team has enjoyed 5 successive wins in 2020 with a win vs Seven 2 followed by a win at Bridgnorth before successive home wins against Llanfyllin, Bishops Castle & then Rugby B.

Continuity has been a bedrock of success this year, although this has unfortunately been due to "Luck of the Irish" - Ashley Peile suffering with injuries; excessive need for ski and boarding holidays and two trips to Norway on a dentistry course. Nice for some.

Richard has seen his longest run of games since the start of the season overcoming Welsh International Georgie Lincoln, who is an exciting future prospect and also Rhodri Morgan before a hard fought win against Rugby Club’s Steve Mcellelland.

The new year has seen improved performances across the team. Linda buoyed with good performances both in the inter counties and in the England Over 45s has been a tough test for a lot of players this season.. Cameron another has seen an increase in level since the new year. A win v James Treble at Bridgnorth was a memorable one, with Cameron recalling how James was once a player who had coached him in his younger years. Cam played an excellent match again Dan Lewis, who is nationally ranked for Wales at Under 15 level and is one of the best players to play in Shropshire League since Andrew Birks. He came so close on two occasions to winning a game, but it wasn’t to be. Lastly the new year has seen an improvement for the captain Max, who has picked up a few wins under the radar this season. The most memorable was a 3-0 win against Rhys Williams of Llanfyllin, who had enjoyed an extremely tight win against our captain in the match in October. It was hard fought and two players with similar styles being a little bit cagey. Both those matches impacted the final result with Llanfyllin enjoying a win in the away leg 3-2 and Max’s home win proving to be decisive in securing a 3-2 win for our A Team.

The A Team move into the final two matches of the season with 10 wins from 14 league matches. It has been a good season. Hopefully they can secure a podium finish.

Current Shropshire Squash Winter League Division positions

Below you can see the current division tables. Congratulations to Division 2 teams C & D who are currenlty 1st and 2nd! Great acheivement!

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Shropshire Squash Club Branded AKUMA Sports Wear Sizing Event - March 1st That's today!!!

It's been 18 months since our last en masse sports wear order with AKUMA, and the next one is on:

SUNDAY 1st March from 6pm to 8pm at the club (Today Squasharians! Today!!)

Try out all items for size, select which you prefer and order there and then with Matt, our AKUMA rep.

Thanks for reading February's Newsletter. Hope to see you down the club tonight or the Akuma Clothing event.

For those of you who read the Newsletters we appreciate you taking an interest in the club and keeping up to date with news and events. You are a Squasharian. When you're at the club be sure to use this term to let other members know you are a Squasharian. If they don't know what you're talking about then you know they don't read to the end of the Newsletter. It's like going to watch a film at the cinema and not staying for the post credit scenes to see if Thanos is actually dead (Spoiler alert), or waiting for Ferris Bueller to tell you to leave, or Deapool explaining there is no more and you've wasted your time waiting or to see if there is going to be 1000th Rocky Sequel.

Anyway we appreciate you taking the time to read it.

See you next month Squasharians!

Scott

(There's no post credit notes here. Newsletter has finished, you're wasting your time, go enjoy St David's day, Storm Jorge has left and it's sunny, walk the dog, go for a run, write a newsletter)

Seriously it's done.

01/03/2020