This year's Civil Service Team Squash competition visited yet another venue when close to 50 players from all parts of the country (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland) descended on Bristol Lawn Tennis and Squash Club during 4th and 5th February. Amongst the ten participating teams of three men and two ladies was a mixture of 'old' and 'new' – 'old' players in the sense they turn out for their teams year on year combining with 'new' players experiencing the two day Squash extravaganza for the first time! In addition the organisers were especially pleased to see a brand new team in the form of GCHQ! Overall there was no lack of effort and team spirit in the matches played.
Last year's winners SPARTA (Transport) and number one seeds DSRA (Defence) were both placed in different opening round-robin groups. SPARTA were able to set aside the challenges of both Land Registry and DEFRA with 3-2 wins over both teams, progressing SPARTA into the semi-final stage. DEFRA with consistent strength throughout their team were able to overcome Land Registry with a 4-1 win to take 2nd place. In the other round-robin opener DSRA showed their potential by coming through 5-0 winners against both RCSL 'B' (Revenue & Customs) and HASSRA 'B' (Health & Social Security) teams. The clash between RCSL 'B' and HASSRA 'B', however, was a real thriller with the men of RCSL 'B' each just edging their games 2-1 to make up for their ladies lack of success to make the overall result 3-2 to RCSL 'B'.
The other half of the draw saw two straight knockout encounters, firstly between HASSRA 'A' and the Irish team of NICSSA. NICSSA at a disadvantage without any ladies in their team fought a tough battle and despite Stanley Campbell taking a match off HASSRA’s Lee Willetts they went down to HASSRA 'A' by four matches to one. Secondly the newcomers GCHQ managed to squeeze past the fancied former champions RCSL 'A' team by three matches to two, by virtue of strong performances from the GCHQ men - the RCSL ladies, as strong as usual and not dropping a game.
This resolved the semi-final places where DSRA would face GCHQ and last year's champions SPARTA would face HASSRA 'A'. All the remaining teams would enter one of the two round-robin Plate events, which would keep all players on their 'sore' toes over the full two days of the event.
In the first semi-final GCHQ got off to a good start when their number five, Jan McCartney, beat DSRA newcomer Lisa Wallbank. This was soon pegged back when the experienced DSRA number three player Marc Aldridge overcame the spirited challenge of Simon Thomson. All did not appear to be lost for GCHQ, however, when their number four Becky Ralph took a 2-0 lead in her encounter against DSRA's Lorna Riggs. Lorna, however, had a different view showing all her competitive experience to take the third game 9-5 and carry this momentum through to complete a fine 3-2 victory. This left either DSRA's number one player Mervyn Davies or number two player John Ashton with the task of winning the tie. Both duly obliged although not without producing a good sweat against the worthy opposition of Tony Draper and Tim Edwards.
The second semi-final saw HASSRA 'A' get off to a brilliant start when both their ladies Sian Hughes and Jackie Codman won their matches. SPARTA's Angela Kennedy did look to trouble Jackie Codman in the second game of their match – Jackie, however, just crossed the line 10-8 to go two games up and then wrapped the match up 9-4 in the third! This left SPARTA's men all needing to win to keep their team's hopes alive. The resulting number one clash between SPARTA’s Mike Nicholls and HASSRA's Jonathan Simpson was probably the best match of the whole tournament with both players displaying their commendable level of fitness and ability to impress the watching gallery. The outcome was never clear as games went first to one then to the other – inevitably it was the fifth game that would decide it with HASSRA's Simpson edging past the line 9-6 to book their places in the final. Dan Willetts, SPARTA's number 3, also lost against HASSRA's Chris Beldon though the number two Mark Bangs did, however, pick up a consolation match by beating HASSRA’s Lee Willetts to end the tie with a 4 1 score line.
The Final between DSRA and HASSRA 'A' looked a fairly balanced affair with HASSRA's ladies looking the stronger and DSRA's men needing to show their worth! The opening match saw Sian Hughes get HASSRA's challenge off to a good start by beating Lisa Wallbank 3-0. DSRA's Marc Aldridge, however, despite carrying an injury, showed his class by beating Chris Beldon 3-0 to level the tie. DSRA's Lorna Riggs would then need to produce the game of her life against the experienced Jackie Codman – but this was not to be the case with Jackie overcoming her spirited attempt 3-0. On then to the number one players – DSRA's Mervyn Davies and HASSRA's new super-star Jonathan Simpson. This match produced some fantastic squash and kept the balcony well entertained but the powerful Davies was in no mood to give a somewhat jaded Simpson any easy points and went through a 3-0 winner. All matches even and it was down to the number two players to decide the outcome of the tie! DSRA's John Ashton, newly promoted to the number two spot, had to produce the speed and form he had shown in the early rounds to overcome HASSRA’s Chris Beldon – this he managed with only one serious 'wobble' in the second game (10-8 to Ashton). DSRA had won their ninth Civil Service Squash Team Title by 3 matches to 2. In the third and fourth play-off between GCHQ and SPARTA, SPARTA proved too strong for the new GCHQ team winning 4-1.
In the Plate event two groups of three teams played a round-robin format. In the first group both NICSSA and RCSL 'B' overcame the Land Registry team, while the match between them resulted in a 2-2 draw. The countback on games won and conceded saw RCSL ‘B’ take top place in the group. In the second group DEFRA had an excellent win over RCSL 'A' three matches to two and similarly defeated the spirited opposition of HASSRA 'B' 4-1. The Plate final between RCSL 'B' and DEFRA was never in doubt, however, with DEFRA proving to be the stronger and winning 5-0. The third and fourth place play-off between RCSL 'A' and NICSSA produced another 2-2 draw.
Trophies and medals were presented by CSSRA's Chairman Linda Parsley who congratulated DSRA on regaining the trophy and thanked all the players for attending and participating with such a good spirit. Linda also welcomed CSSC's Tom Power and thanked him for his help in organising the venue and accommodation. Thanks was also extended to the Bristol LTSC for their hospitality and friendliness over the two days and to the Physio who had attended to all the aching muscles and joints on the Friday. It is hoped to run a similar event in approximately 12 months time – teams are always looking for new players, especially ladies of all standards, so please register and watch for news on the CSSRA website – www.cssc-squash.co.uk
Final positions:
1st: DSRA 2nd: HASSRA ‘A’ 3rd: SPARTA 4th: GCHQ Plate runners up: RCSL ‘B’
Plate winners: DEFRA