April Newsletter

Hello everyone!

To start off this month's newsletter we have a note from our Chairman:

My thanks from the entire committee to Andy Laurence and Andrew Black who are stepping down from their roles as Head of media on the committee and Club Treasurer. We are truly sad to have lost two key and substantial members of the club and the committee. Both will be greatly missed at the club and committee.

With this we have some new positions available on the committee:

1. Bar manager

2. Treasurer

3. New member welcomer!

In the first instance, please give Chairman Rob Nayman a ring on 07941459342 or email naymanr@yahoo.co.uk.

I would once again like to thank Andrew and Andy for their hard work and dedication to our club. You will be missed!

Div 3 Teams Celebrate

Our div 3 teams celebrated the end of another season with an indian at Avatar led by E team captain Matt King.

Team E and F celebrated at Avatar, plenty of Cobra Beers were drunk followed by cocktails in 10&6

It's been a superb season for everyone involved, with everyone up for next season already!

A few reminders

1. Footwear: Members should not be arriving at the squash centre in the footwear that they would be then playing in. This carries a large amount of dirt, damp and dust onto the courts - even if you cannot see it at the time. So, please remember members should arrive at the squash centre in footwear that they change out of, before changing into clean court footwear.

2. Court no shows and cancellations : It has been noticed that some members are not cancelling their courts, if they realise they cannot use them, within 48 hours of the court start time, but coming in and checking in at the terminal in reception, to avoid a £5 fine. This means that other members cannot take advantage of being alerted to late cancellations and the court is then not available for any member to play on. With the current pressure on courts in the peak times of weekdays between 6pm to 10pm, this is not fair on other members, who could use the court at short notice. Although we understand that a late cancellation will cost a £5 fine, please can members please honour the following process:
i. Check they can use their booked courts 3 to 4 days before they have them booked and release them if they are not likely to use them - be organised about your bookings and their use;
ii. If members only realise they cannot use a court they have booked within 48 hours of the booking, then please cancel the court and allow other members to book it and play on it. If there is a good reason for the cancellation, then the fine can be reversed; if not, then members should respect the rules of the Club and pay the fine. Please note, if someone else books your cancelled court, then you will not be fined the £5. You only get fined if you cancel less than 48 hours before the start time of the court AND the court is not subsequently booked by another member.

3. MYCOURTS - Did you know .... If you open the Mycourts website on your phone and enable the GPS check in (which is shown just above the day and date on the booking page) then you will automatically be checked in to your booked court on Mycourts as you arrive at the squash centre, without having to remember use the terminal at the squash centre to book in for your court... neat eh?

4. Bar Opening Times

Just to make everyone aware that the bar opening times are between 11am and 10pm. There are occasions where this can be extended for special events such as the cup finals etc but approval from the school has to be sought first. Day to Day though if members can respect these opening times and not use the bar outside of these hours please.

Women’s Squash Report

COACHING COURSE
It’s been a great start to the year with 16 women participating in a 6 week coaching program in January and February. A mixed of beginners and not so beginners, club members and non-members, all with so much enthusiasm to better their squash. And better their squash they did - as well as their confidence! If anyone was there on those Monday nights between 6:45-8:15pm then you’ll have felt the buzz too!

MORE WOMEN AT THE CLUB
More women have joined the club recently, are joining the leagues and club night and are generally making their presence known. We have our own WhatsApp group which helps in arranging games against different players. We are not far off creating a new women’s league - perhaps something to trial for the summer?

PIZZA & PROSECCO EVENINGS GO TWICE MONTHLY
Our monthly Pizza & Prosecco nights continue to attract new and old players. There’s always at least one or two women who come along who’ve never played squash before. These are usually held on the 3rd Friday of the month (unless county finals or Easter get in the way). But the great news is that now our sister club Shrewsbury Squash & Racketball, is offering ladies pizza and prosecco nights too - on the 1st Friday of the month. This is great news as so often women are disappointed when they miss a night and 2 months I should a long wait. Two ladies nights a month can only help and encourage the participation of women in squash in Shropshire as a whole. * See flyers below for details.

INVITATION TO PLAY SQUASH AT BIRMINGHAM NEW ST STATION
In the run up to the Commonwealth Games there will be a glass backed squash court at Birmingham New St Station to raise the profile of squash. Jo Rowbottom of England Squash has invited our women and girls to join in on a “Squash Girls Can” session there on Sunday 10th April. The session time is 10am -2pm. Coach Linda Pritchard and I are keen to involve girls and women from Shrewsbury and Shropshire squash clubs. There’s no limit to how many can be involved. This is really exciting. Please contact me ASAP to find out more.