The county’s premier squash club which nestles in the shadows of Nottingham’s famous castle once again hosted the Civil Service Squash Singles Championship. It had attracted a record entry of players from all parts of the country and of all playing standards and was set to produce more than a few surprises.

The annual Crown Services tournament between CSSC, Police, Fire Service and Combined Services was played at the Nottingham Squash Club on 10 and 11th September 2010. The Fire Service did not field a ladies team, so the ladies opponents were the Police and Combined services (Army, Navy, RAF). The CSSC matches were both played on Friday 10th September.

The Civil Service Men's Squash Team arrived at Nottingham Squash Rackets Club sporting another strong side although this year missing the youth of Tom Power.

Our first match was against the Combined Services, with John McFarlane and myself on court to get things underway. John played extremely well, calling on his wealth of experience to come out a 3-2 winner while I lost disappointingly 3-0. Next up were Marc Aldridge and Tony Webb. Marc was keen to make up for losing all 3 matches the previous year and now that he is almost semi-pro, won easily 3-0. Tony Webb made hard work of a match that he probably should have won but eventually went down 3-2. This meant the match score was 2-2 with just Tim Burrell left to play, however he was up against the arrogant ex-professional Sam Miller. Tim played some marvellous squash and at times Sam was looking worried but eventually superior fitness was the key and he secured the win 3-0.

Heather Tweedle's impressive performance in CSSC squash during 2009 is recognised with the CSSC Sportswoman of the Year Award.

Heather is the current women's CSSC Champion and Women's Veterans Champion and has held these honours for the past five years.

In the Annual CSSC Inter Departmental Mixed Team Event she has not lost a match for her department team, RCSL in the 7 years she has played in the event.

At last we managed to play this fixture after 2 postponements for severe weather (snow). This year we again had a strong side which included a first representative match for Tony Draper and there was also a new team, Nuffield who were an unknown quantity. Our first match was against the Royal Navy and our strength showed with a solid 5-0 win. Nuffield showed they too were strong with a good 4-1 win against Bradley Stoke who had also strengthened their side from the previous year and may prove no pushovers.

After the matches, the Navy provided their usual first class hospitality at the Royal Sailors Home Club before teams retired for an early night.

A change of scene for the Civil Service Age Group Championship took some seasoned squash players to Sheffield on 19th and 20th March 2010. The venue this year was the well known Hallamshire Squash club, where a small but select group of players (regrettably affected by a few last minute injuries) put their collective experience together and enjoyed a couple of days of squash and fun.

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.

Civil Service V Police V Combined Services V Fire Service

The Civil Service Men's Squash Team arrived at Nottingham Squash Rackets Club looking to return to winning ways in this quadrangular tournament. We had another strong side right down the order including a rare appearance from the evergreen John McFarlane.

We are continuing to see a good standard of squash in the Ladies section. The Ladies Team consists of two international players as well as ladies playing for Premier Divisions and who have played for their counties so we have a wealth of experience. However we are also seeing new lady squash players entering our competitions. The graded tournaments in particular give all standards a chance. In fact one such lady who entered a graded tournament couple of years ago made her debut in the Ladies National Team this year showing the progress she has made. The Ladies Ladder is also keenly contested and regularly updated.

The main fixture of the year for the Ladies is the Crown Services Tournament. This fixture initially started as a men's event and later we were invited to join them. However whilst the men play three teams, the Combined Forces, the Fire and Police Services the Fire Service sadly are unable to field a ladies team. The event is played at Nottingham which is an excellent venue and very popular with Civil Service squash. If anyone has an opportunity to play there don't hesitate......go! The facilities are second to none and it is one of the friendliest clubs I've ever been to.

This year we were missing our number one English International Heather Tweedle who had entered the British Open in Manchester. This was to prove costly in our match against the Police Ladies who had strength in depth but realistically this would not have changed the final score. Kay Dalton from HMRC made her debut and won in fine form against the Combined Services. It was a good performance and once again an enjoyable weekend.

If anyone is interested in playing for the teams or joining the ladder please please don't be shy and contact me!

Sian Hughes, Ladies Captain