The 2023 CSSC Squash Singles Tournament will be held at Nottingham, Squash Club on Friday 17th/Saturday 18th November 2023.

This is a Graded National event for which CSSC members can claim financial assistance through the CSSC National Travel Policy.

Start time will be 12:00 on Friday 17th, concluding on Saturday 18th afternoon. All entrants will have a minimum of 3 matches.

Accommodation is readily available in Nottingham. The Squash Club has an arrangement with St James Hotel, which is in walking distance from the club. A crash pad for single occupancy costs £70 B&B at the Squash Club Rate. Tel No 0115 941 1114.

Lunches will be provided and a social evening with supper will be held on the Friday evening at the club.

We will also have the use of a physio on the Saturday.

Just over a year has passed since the first match between the Civil Service and GB Vets took place and here we were, back in Nottingham for the rematch. This time we were joined by a team from the Fire Service, keen to join the party. We had booked the four main courts at Nottingham (7-10) all the way from 12 noon until 6pm. This may have seemed a bit conservative on first glance but some cracking matches meant that a full day of court time was almost completely used.

GB Vets vs Civil Service

With four courts in action it really was a case of dipping in and out but in the first round of matches :

(2) John Simpson was too strong for an injured Craig Webb (pulled adductor, first injury of the day) who had to drop out afterwards. 3-0 to John.

(3) John Parkes just seems to get fitter and faster with age. Anyone who plays him is in for a tough examination and Marc Aldridge was no exception with John coming through 3-1

(5) On a really hot court 10, Peter Lonsdale was made to work hard against the willing running of Joe Shills. Joe is really fit and that brought him through against Pete in a hard, sweat inducing 3-1

(6) Rob Reid raced away from Ethan Thornton in the first game with very controlled accurate placement of the ball only for the complete reverse in the second game with Ethan dominating the court. Rob regained the upper hand in the next two for a comfortable 3-1 win

So 3-1 to the vets and the second matches on.

(1) Nick Hargreaves and Tim Burrell put on some show. Both players chasing down the ball time after time with great shot making and retrieval. Tim came through for the Civil Service but it looked as though the effort had taken a lot out of him with the next match following on soon. 3-0 to Civil Service

(4) Chris Mason-Thom is a tall rangy player who covers the court really well and looks to extend rallies. This set up a good test against the hard attacking squash that Ray epitomises. Chris did work incredibly hard and a 0-3 result doesn’t reflect how much he put into the match. 3-0 to GB Vets.

(7) Nick Sheppard and Dan willets played the same match last year. That time Dan had a torn rotator and couldn’t play anything high. This time Nick came into the match nursing a back strain and with more than limited mobility. Nick took the first game but a bumping together at the start of the second aggravated his back strain (Nick withdrew after the match, second injury of the day). Despite pushing in the third, Dan was able to run out to a 3-1 win for the Civil Service.

So after almost exactly two hours play we had the first match result, a 4-3 win for the GB Vets

Civil Service vs Fire Service

(1) Neil Cross had a long drive from Colchester in the morning and it seemed to have had an effect as he made an uncharacteristic number of errors in going down to Tim Burrell, rallying for his second win – two impressive matches from Tim. 3-1 to Civil Service

(2) Travis Tatum travelled up from  Colchester with Neil and seemed to have the same car legs at the start of his match with plenty of unforced errors against Marc Aldridge. From then on Travis rallied and showed what a capable and graceful player he is with languid unhurried movement around the court and some wicked wristy angles on shots. 3-2 to Fire Service

(3) Mike Plant is a tall and very fit athlete with a long reach, very similar in fact to Chris! The difference between the two on the day was the work Chris had already put into his match earlier and with both players able to retrieve the ball consistently it was that tiredness that gave Mike the edge. Chris made a valiant effort to hold on in the third but to no avail. 3-0 to Fire Service

(4) If we could hook Joe Shills up to the national grid we wouldn’t need to worry about power generation in this country ever again. Fresh from a hard match with Peter Lonsdale, Joe was back on court to face Ross Bingham another player whose game is based on fitness. In so many respects an evenly matched pair but it was Joe who came back from narrowly losing the first two game to win the match while Ross then withdrew injured (third injury of the day). 3-2 to Civil Service.

(5) With Craig Webb dropping out, Peter Lonsdale volunteered to fill in for the Civil Service with his opponent, Steve, agreeing the make their match a double header for the Vets vs Fire Service which was due to follow. Another long match with Peter eventually taking the win. 3-2 to Civil Service

(6) Ethan had recovered from his experience against Rob Reid and was able to show off his normal level of racket skill in beating Shaun Cramer. 3-0 to Civil Service

(7) Karl Mullins must be well over 6 ½ feet tall with a reach to match. Karl also normally plays racketball and his shot choices favoured a lot of Australian boasts and other angles with not a lot hit straight. Dan had enough control to stay in front and take the match but admitted afterwards he was more than a bit confused by where the ball was going. 3-1 to Civil Service.

Again almost exactly two hours play and a 5-2 win to the Civil Service but some hard matches within that.

GB Vets vs Fire Service

(1) Neil continued to look a bit out of sorts against a really in form Nick Hargreaves and although he took the first game it always looked like Nick was the stronger player on the day. 3-1 to GB Vets

(2) Travis had definitely shaken off the car journey but John was just too quick and accurate to be wrong footed by Travis wristy shots. 3-0 to GB Vets

(3) So if you have played two hard matches in four hours do you really want the next to be against a rested John Parkes? Joe showed amazing stamina to come out and play hard again and kept the match tight against John who had just enough experience to see him home. 3-1 to GB Vets.

(4) Despite a hard fought win from Ray, Mike and Ray had enough in the tank to stay on and play each other again straight after. 3-2 to GB Vets.

(5) This was played earlier during the Civil Service vs Fire Service

(6) Rob Reid again showed accurate length and line hitting, putting the ball in difficult places for Shaun to get it back from. A well controlled win for Rob. 3-0 to GB Vets

(7) With Nick withdrawing, Peter Lonsdale stepped in to play Karl in what was a very dead rubber. As Peter joined in the racketball shots and eschewed drops it made for a very entertaining and close match, much to the hilarity of Karls sons who were trying to get embarrassing video clips of his rallies from the balcony.

So, final result 7-0 to the GB Vets but yet again there were some great 3-2 matches in there.

Unfortunately, the threat of rail strikes meant that most players were keen to get home on the Saturday rather than stay over for a night investigating the bars of Nottingham like last year so pizzas and drinks were taken at NSRC before everyone made their ways home. Many thanks go to NSRC for again hosting this event. It is clear they are struggling through some difficult times and we all wish them the best of luck and hope they can come through it intact and viable. Also big thanks to the other captains, Nick Shepherd and Neil Cross for bringing out players who really got into the spirit of the day and made it all thoroughly enjoyable. I would like to thank all the Civil Servants who came out to play. A date is being arranged for next year and there is interest from a fourth team in joining in.

The CSSC National Team Squash Event has once again returned to the popular Nottingham Squash Club which is now under new management. This year six teams entered with HASSRA once again fielding a strong line up of three teams in an attempt to retain the Title they had won last year. Last year’s runners-up North West however had arrived with a strengthened Team in the form of a new number one player Craig Webb and had plans of their own to steal the Title away from HASSRA. The remaining two teams saw the long-awaited return of DSTL together with a new Team “Spare Rackets”, Captained by our CSSRA President Marian Holmes. The Event was run on a Round-Robin basis of three teams formed into two separate groups giving all players two games to play on the Friday. On the Saturday the Winners of Group A would play the Runners-up from Group B and similarly winners of Group B would play the Runners-up of Group A. The winners of these matches would face each other in the Final whilst the two losers would play each other for third place. The two teams placed third in Friday’s games would face each other in a play-off for the Plate Trophy.

In Group A the opening matches saw HASSRA A play their C Team which despite Mickey Gallagher, Jim Fay, Jo Jones and Rob Frame’s valiant efforts went predictably to the A Team with a 5-0 result. HASSRA C’s next match against DSTL was a more hard-fought affair but ended with a similar 5-0 match score line against the in-form DSTL’s Stu Scourfield, Ian Frampton, Kevin Walters, and Carol Stone. DSTL’s success against the HASSRA C Team however was never going to be enough against the HASSRA A’s strong line-up, although Ian, Kevin and Carol did all pick points before going down to a 3-1 score line. The overall match result was another 5-0 to the HASSRA A Team.

In Group B the opening match between HASSRA B and Spare Rackets was a hard-fought affair, the standout game being between the second-string players which saw Spare Rackets’s Craig Blurton edge past HASSRA’s Chris Rowsbury in a thrilling five game match. Further wins by Joe Shill and James Dand secured their Team’s overall win 3-2. Spare Rackets then had to face last year’s Runners Up Northwest. Spare Rackets’s earlier taste of success was soon to be dampened when they went down to a hard fought 5-0 score line. The final match between North West and HASSRA B produced another 5-0 score line for the Northerners, although HASSRA’s Carol Whittington nearly chalked up a win for her Team when eventually only losing in a superb match 9-11 in the fifth game to Shena Ferrie.

Saturday’s first semi-final saw HASSRA A play Spare Rackets. This proved to be an uphill battle for the Rackets Team who went down 5-0. Rackets Team Captain, Marian Holmes however did put up some excellent opposition to HASSRA’s Ruth Sleigh eventually losing 3-1. The second semi-final between North West and DSTL was a hard fought match which produced a 4-1 victory for North West to progress into yet another Final. DSTL’s Ian Frampton was their only winner against Dan Willets whilst DSTL’s number one player Stuart Scourfield did also put up some spirited opposition against North West’s Craig Webb before losing 3-1.

The final between HASSRA A and North West saw the two strongest players in the Tournament face each other.  North West’s Craig Webb got his Team off to an excellent start by taking the first game 11- 6 against James Earles who is currently ranked 40 in the England Squash rankings. That success was however turned around when the next three hard fought games went to the HASSRA player. This pattern was repeated when both Jonathan Simpson and Imran Bashir produced excellent wins against Dan Willetts and Paul Lane. North West’s Shena Ferrie had a close match against Ruth Sleigh eventually going down 3-1 whilst HASSRA’s ever reliable Sian Hughes chalked up another win against Deb Atkinson to retain HASSRA A’s Title with a 5-0 match score line. HASSRA B continued to highlight HASSRA’s overall success story by defeating HASSRA C in the Plate Final. In the third and fourth playoff DSTL defeated Spare Rackets 3-1.

Congratulations once again go to HASSRA and their Team Captain Sian Hughes for assembling such strong line ups to win both the Main Event and the Plate Competition. A special thanks goes to all the players who participated and in particular to James Earles’s first outing in a CSSC Squash Event - he is bound to add strength to our National CSSC Squash Team. Thanks also to Nottingham Squash Rackets Club for both hosting our Event and for providing their support. Thanks to Linda Parsley for once again running the Friday Evening Quiz and to Jackie Codman for her help in running this Event. The prizes were presented by the CSSRA President Marian Holmes.

The next CSSC Squash Event will be the National Squash Masters and Racketball Open Competitions on the 19^th and 20^th May 2023 at Nottingham Squash Rackets Club.

       Top Left:Marian Holmes presenting the winners trophy to HASSRA's captain Sian Hughes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Top Right:HASSRA A's winning team: Imran Bashir, Ruth Sleigh, Sian Hughes, Jonathan Simpson & James Earles                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Bottom Left:North West Runners Up Team; Deb Atkinson, Craig Webb, Paul Lane, Dan Willets & Sheena Ferrie                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Bottom Right:HASSRA B Plate winners: Chris Rowsby, Michelle Hodds, Carol Whittington, Peter Fielding (Marion Holmes) centre   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                          

                 2023 Players and Organisers                           

On Saturday 8th July the CSSC Squash team are playing a friendly fixture against the 'Veterans of Great Britain' and Fire Service at Nottingham Squash Centre.

This is an open event available to all CSSC members.

We are hoping to have a team of around 10 players for 2 friendly matches - all standards are welcome to come and play.

Matches will start at 12pm and be followed by food at the club.

If you would like more information or are interested in playing, please contact Tim Burrell (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Nottingham Squash Club was once again the venue for the 2023 CSSC Squash Masters Singles Championships and the CSSC Squash 57 (Racketball) Championships. A favoured venue for many CSSC squash events in the past, the club is now run by volunteers who gave up their time to provide a warm and friendly welcome to the players and guests.

We were pleased to welcome a number of new players to the events. Most notably in the Racketball where for a few of the players it was their first experience of having a referee controlling their matches.  

Squash

The men's O45 age group played in a small round robin group with the men's O55s and O65s combining in a similar larger group. Each competition was hard fought and played in the usual sporting and friendly manner. With numbers being slightly down for the O45's the format was changed from previous events with a best of 5 being introduced thus ensuring that entrants had more time on court. As at previous events the players assisted with marking and refereeing duties to ensure that nearly all the matches were clearly recorded.

The organisers would once again like to thank the competitors for helping to mark matches and, for their patience and good-natured acceptance of the inevitable last minute changes to the playing schedule that the cancellations necessitated.  We would also like to thank the experienced players for making the newcomers to the tournament feel so welcome.

 Mens O45

This year, the trophy went to Craig Webb a welcome first timer at the CSSC Squash Masters. The runner up was John McFarlane, a former regular at the singles and team events and last year's winner of this event.  The awards were presented by co-organiser and quizmaster Linda Parsley.

Mens O55

Ian Frampton a three times former winner of the Racketball
event and former winner in the O45 Squash category.  Ian has worked
his way through all the categories! 
.

Runner-up and a former winner in the O45 category, Geoff Watson receiving his runner-up trophy
from co-organiser Linda Parsley

Mens O65

Collis Sheik a previous winner of the O55s claiming the O65
trophy at his first attempt in this category receiving
his winners trophy.  Presented by Pip Northam CSSC Events
Team (Head Office)

Runner-up in this competition was last year's winner
Peter Fielding.

Squash 57 (Racketball)   

As with the Squash Championships this event was played as a round-robin with 8 players taking part in the one day event.
The players were kept busy on court, with the timed schedule allowing them to take sufficient/ adequate rest breaks between matches/rounds.

 
Neil Moore played solidly to emerge as the 2023 Squash 57
(Racketball) Champion, improving on his runner-up trophy in 2022.
.

Fred Sanders playing in his usual controlled style emerged as
runner-up in a very competitive competition.                                         

Social

All in all a very busy two days for the organisers and, in addition to the friendly battles on court, a very pleasant supper was served at the club. Two teams were formed from the players attending the Friday evening supper and they battled it out in the infamous and much anticipated Linda Parsley General Knowledge Quiz, accompanied by the requisite amount of friendly banter. Feedback from the group indicated that competitors had a busy and enjoyable experience, endorsing as ever, the equally important social element of this event. Lunch on Friday and Saturday was provided in the form of a cold buffet to allow players to watch the matches whilst eating if they wished. We were pleased that so many players remained after their games had finished to watch the final matches and trophy presentation.

As ever, although numbers were low this year due to cancellations resulting from sports injuries and illness, the event provided an opportunity for players to combine fitness and fun and to catch up with friends and make new ones.

Results Table

The prestigious Nottingham Squash Club was once again the venue for the 2022 CSSC Squash Masters Singles Championships and the CSSC Squash 57 (Racketball) Championships.  A favoured venue for many CSSC squash events, the club and its staff as ever gave a warm and friendly welcome to the players and guests.

Entrant numbers were slightly down on previous years, but we were pleased to welcome a couple of new players to the events. It is possible that the effect of the last two years plus a new booking system being in place may have deterred some players from entering. Those who did participate stated that they will be back next year.

The men's O45 and 55 age groups played each other in a round robin, with the men's O65s and O50s ladies in a mixed group. Each competition was hard fought and played in the usual sporting and friendly manner.   With numbers being slightly down the format was changed from previous events for both competitions with a best of 5 being introduced thus ensuring that all entrants played plenty of matches over the two days.

Squash

Mens O45

This year, the trophy went to John McFarlane, a former regular at the singles and team events but a welcome first timer at the CSSC Squash Masters. Although O55 John, chose to play in the O45 competition and this was a combined round robin with the O55 age group. Runner-up in this group was Imran Bashir who won all but one of his matches in the round-robin.

Runner up was Imran Bashir.

Ladies O50

Shena Rolfe a former winner of the Ladies O40 competition became the Ladies O50 Champion with Carol Whittington being a worthy runner-up. As in previous events the ladies played a round robin format with the men's O65s. Association President, Marian Holmes was a very sporting late entry after one competitor couldn't make the event.

Runner up was Carol Whittington

Mens O55

Peter Windram a former winner in the O45 category is this year's winner in the O55s, taking the title from 2019 winner and this year's runner up Paul Armstrong.

Mens O65

Peter Fielding was a new name on the trophy for the O65's with Rob Shepherd once again picking up the runner-up trophy.

Squash 57 (Racketball)

It's now three in a row for Keith Mabey who retained his Squash 57 title coming through undefeated in his 4 round robin matches.
Newcomer Neil Moore emerged as runner-up in a very competitive competition which included Micky Gallacher, Paul Clarke and Fred Saunders.

Social

Everyone was kept busy for the two days and in addition to the friendly battles on court, a hearty pie and mash supper was served at the club.  Everyone enjoyed the now infamous Linda Parsley general knowledge quiz accompanied by the requisite amount of friendly banter.  Feedback from the group indicated that competitors had a busy and enjoyable experience. endorsing as ever, the equally important social element of this event. Lunch on Friday and Saturday was provided in the form of a cold buffet to allow players to watch the matches whilst eating if they wished. We were pleased that so many players remained after their games had finished to watch the final matches and trophy presentation.

As ever, the event provided an opportunity for players to combine fitness and fun and to catch up with friends and make new ones. Competitors and organisers were pleased that Marian Holmes our CSSRA President sportingly entered the competition at the last minute (when a competitor did not attend) despite not being match fit.  

Squash Mens O45 Winner - John McFarlane	Squash Mens O45 Runner up - Imran Bashir
Squash Womens O50 Winner - Shena Rolfe	Squash Womens O50 Runner up - Carol Whittington
Squash Mens O55 Winner - Peter Windram	Squash Mens O55 Runner up - Paul Armstrong
Squash Mens O65 Winner - Peter Fielding	Squash Mens O65 Runner up - Rob Shepherd
Racketball Winner - Keith Mabey	Racketball Runner up - Neil Moore

CSSC Squash, back on the road after lockdown, followed its 2021 National Singles event with an equally successful one in November 2022, held again at the Nottingham Squash Club.

Despite the current mens and ladies captains and several of the top players being absent, an impressive cast of 22 men and 5 ladies were anticipated at the club on Friday 18^th November, ready to do battle on the court. This included the current 7 times Champion, James Hodson, as number one seed. Along with many of the regular top CSSC players an encouraging number of newcomers had entered, and there were players across all grades A to E.   Unfortunately, by the start, injury and illness had reduced the men players to 19.

Three competitions were held – Ladies, Mens combined A,B,C grades and Mens D,E grades. These started on Friday lunchtime and continued through to the finals on Saturday afternoon.

The Ladies event was held as a Round Robin with all players playing each other. After a number of hard fought and close matches, newcomer Kristy Watson came through the winner, with Shena Rolfe runner up. A new name on the Ladies Trophy.  

The Mens ABC group started with 14 players and was played as a knock-out event. The first round resulted in the losing players dropping down to the B grade event. The successful A grade players played a further series of knock out matches with the next round losers going into the A Plate event.

In the top half of the A grade, John Perry and Chris Mason-Thom both won their first round matches, against Paul Clarke and David Nethercott 3-0. The match between John and Chris was a very close match which Chris won 3-2, putting him into the semi final. There he met 7 times champion James Hodson who had already beaten newcomer Harry Parker. James wasn’t going to be stopped in his quest for an 8^th title and he overcame Chris 3-0.

In the other half of the draw, seasoned CSSC players Jonathan Simpson and John McFarlane, both came through the first round against Neil Ward and Tom Littleton. Jonathan then had too much for ex-Champion John, winning their match 3-0. Number 2 seed Craig Webb, a losing semi-finalist last year, reached the final by beating both Paul Lane and Jonathan 3-0. Craig then faced James Hodson and despite a good effort was not able to take the title away from James. Eight in a row now for James!! Can he reach John McFarlane’s total of 10?

Losers in the second round of the A grade event went into a Plate competition. The four eligible players were reduced to three with the retirement of one member, so a Round Robin was played. This resulted in John Perry taking the A Plate title, beating both Paul Lane and Harry Parker.

            The BC grade for losers in the first round consisted of five players and was planned as a knockout. However, with just three players to compete in the 2^nd round, it was decided to change to a round robin format.  This saw some tough matches especially between David Nethercott and Tom Littleton with David’s 3-2 win over Tom giving him the B grade title.  The losers from the B group went into a C grade event. Unfortunately, one of the players left early giving Paul Clarke a walkover to the C grade title.

The men’s DE grade consisted of six players so two Round Robin groups of three players were initially played.  In the first group Louis Cowling beat both his opponents to take first place, with Adam Jellett in 2^nd place. In the second group Tom Dodd also beat all opponents with Jay Pollard runner up. The winners and runners up of these two groups then played each other in knock out format while the 3rd place played each other for the Plate.

After some exhausting matches, Tom Dodd succeeded in winning the DE group without losing a game. The Plate was won by Gary Butler. All the players in this grade had some hard fought matches. Some may not have been used to this level of play or intensity of games but hopefully were able to enjoy the experience of playing and marking different people and be able to take something away for the future. We hope to see them in other events.

The squash matches were spread over the two days, Friday and Saturday and, as usual, a lighthearted Quiz was held at the club on Friday evening with the club providing supper, giving players and organisers a chance to relax.  All in all it was a very successful event –a lot of good squash played in a good spirit.

Ladies Champion - Kristy Watson receiving her trophy from CSSRA Chairman Sian Hughes	Mens Champion - James Hodson receiving his trophy from CSSRA Chairman Sian Hughes	Craig Webb - A Runner Up
John Perry - A Plate Winner	David Netherton - B Winner	Tom Dodd - D Winner
Gary Butler - D Plate Winner	Shena Rolfe - Ladies Runner Up

Final placings

The next event in the CSSC Squash calendar will be the CSSC Squash Team Tournament at the Nottingham Club on Friday/Saturday February 3^rd/4th 2023. Teams are to consist of 5 players of which at least 2 must be female. Players may enter a team from a department, office or just a group of friends. Individual players who cannot raise a team should contact the organiser Peter Lee (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. – 07715 452 434), who will try and allocate players to a team.  Ladies especially welcome. Information and entry details will be on the CSSC website, under “Squash”.

Following this will be the Masters (Age Groups) and Racketball Tournaments will be held on 19/20th May 2023

Just to let you all know that the next CSSC Masters and Rcketball competition is being held at Nottingham Squash Club on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th May 2023.

Mens Squash - Over 35, Over 45, Over 55 and Over 65

Ladies Squash - Over 40 and Over 50

Racketball - This is being played on Saturday 20th May only

Full details on the CSSC website - search "Squash"

Dear all Not sure if I have passed this info on already, but better twice than nought!! I have had a discussion with Nottingham Squash Club and booked courts for our 2023 Singles on 17th/18th November. My discussions were with Matthew Dunn, who was very positive about us using the Club. So at this stage its a "Date for the diary". I will shortly contact CSSC to set up the information for circulation and entry. Best wishes Linda Tel: 01344 772203 Mobile; 0789 004 0084