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

On Saturday 19^th March a team of Civil Service squash players travelled to Nottingham to play the Veterans Club of Great Britain. This social fixture was organised for a range of standards with an attempt to match people up to opponents of a similar level. This worked out fantastically as there was some great squash played with 5 of the 9 matches going the full distance to 5 games. The Civil Service ran out 6-3 winners.

Following the initial match games we played a series of second matches and overall for the day 14 matches were played, with the score for the day being 8-6 to the Civil Service.

This was the first friendly social Civil Service match played for a few years and a fixture we hope to keep in the diary for years to come. This is an opportunity for all squash players! If interested, please contact Tim Burrell, the team captain. 

Overall score:

• Civil Service 6
• GB Vets 3

The annual Crown Services Quadrangular Tournament was cancelled in 2022 out of respect for the passing of the Late Queen Elizabeth II. 

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, with 5 entrants 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 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, the semi final was between Chris Mason-Thom and the number 1 seed and 7 times champion James Hodson. James was not 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, the semi-final was between Jonathan Simpson (who had earlier defeated ex-Champion John McFarlane) and the Number 2 seed Craig Webb, a losing semi-finalist last year. Craig booked his place in the final by beating Jonathan 3-0. However, despite a good effort in the final, Craig 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, which was won by John Perry.

The BC Grade for losers in the first round consisted of five players and started as a knock out, but changed to a round robin format after the first round.  There were some tough matches played in this group, especially between David Nethercott and Tom Littleton with David’s 3-2 win giving him the B Grade title.  The losers from the B Grade went into a C Grade event. Unfortunately, an early retirement gave Paul Clarke a walkover to the C title.

The men’s DE Grade consisted of 6 players so two Round Robin groups of three  players were initially played.  Louis Cowling beat both his opponents to win one group and . Tom Dodd did likewise in the second group. Tom then went on the win the DE Grade without losing a game..  The 3rd place players from these 2 groups played each other for the Plate, which was won by Gary Butler

All the players in this grade had some hard fought matches. Many were new to CSSC Squash and we hope to see them in other events in the future.

The squash matches were spread over the two days, Friday and Saturday and, as usual, a light hearted 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.

Final placings

In September 2019 the CSSC men’s and women’s representative team played the annual Crown Services Quadrangular squash tournament against the Police Force, Fire Service and UK Armed Services. 

Ladies Team Results

This year, the Ladies team consisted of 5 players: 

• Rebecca Campbell
• Helen Midgley
• Keeley Grindle
• Ruth Sleigh
• Sian Hughes

Our first game was against the UK Armed Forces who in past years have been really close games. This year was no different.

Keeley and Helen got the games underway. Unfortunately, both matches resulted in a 1/3 loss but again both games could have gone either way. Becky and Ruth were up next – unfortunately again both resulted in a loss. Becky lost 1/3 and Ruth lost 0/3. The score does not reflect the quality of the matches. Both great games ladies. Last but not least was Sian. Sian played amazing really getting “stuck in” and managed to pull off the first win for the Ladies CSSC team. 3/2 Well done Sian a great game to watch. Final result CSSC 6 UKAF 19

Fresh as daisies the Ladies team were ready for their Saturday morning match against the Police – The social side was not after all compromised. Unfortunately, the Police only had 4 players so Sian managed a 100% win in the tournament

Again Keeley started. She managed to start the team off with a 3/0 win, no hangover present! Followed then Helen. Helen battled away with a long-time nemesis Chrissie. Chrissie was just too strong (and sober) for Helen. Result was 0/3. Becky played next and was up against the Welsh number 2 (no pressure Bex!) The result was as envisaged nether the less Becky played really well and tried her heart out.  Next up was Ruth. As in previous years it always seems that our last matches are 2 all with everything to play for. Ruth didn’t disappoint with all the team behind her. Ruth managed to keep us all on the edge of our seats at 2 all. The last game was so hard fought but unfortunately just missing out on the game 13/15. Really well played by Ruth.Final result Police 14 CSSC 8

Final Results in the Ladies Competition: 

Men's Team Results

Once again the individual standard on show at this event was exceptionally high. The Civil Service team went into the event with two injuries hampering the usual squad, regular number one James Hodson and stalwart Ethan Thornton both out  of selection this year. This did mean we were very pleased to welcome a new member, Sam Levin, to come in at number one and make use some of the more experienced squad members could play lower down the order.

This year the Civil Service had put together a strong consisting of:

• Sam Levin
• Tim Burrell
• Tom Metcalf
• James Whelan
• Mark Aldridge
• Adam Lavis

Civil Service vs Police:The Police Service are always a tough fixture and this year was no different. With good wins for Marc and James, both 3-1, and a couple of tough losses for Tom and Sam – who both fought very hard with little reward – the match was finely poised 2-2 with the last match to go on court. Tim won the first game but couldn’t quite get over line despite game balls in the 3^rd and 4^th games before losing 3-1; and with it the Civil Service lost 3-2.

Civil Service vs Fire Service:Adam Lavis came into the team for this match and played well to win 3-1. A fantastic 3-2 win from Sam at number 1 coupled with unfortunate losses for James and Tom again left the match at 2-2 with Tim last on court. Once again Tim found the match hard-going and despite a good performance which produced game-balls in the 2^nd and 3^rd games he went down 3-0. The score-line does not reflect how close the match was as again the Civil Service lost a close match 3-2.

Civil Service vs UKAS: Another very close match. Again, Adam played well to get a 3-0 win while Tom managed to notch his first win of the weekend. Losses for Sam and Marc meant for the 3^rd time in the weekend it was 2-2 in matches with Tim last on court. This time however he was able to get the win. With this the Civil Service won this match 3-2 and secured 3^rd place in the overall standings.

This year's men's event involved some very talented players, including ex-world ranked players Joe Green (Police, ex no. 105) and Sam Miller (UKAS, ex no. 70). In the face of such tough opposition the team still managed to improve on last years performance by coming 3^rd overall. All the matches were close with just 4 points separating the teams in 2^nd to 4^th. The Police Force won the event having only just beating the Civil Service team 3-2. 

Match scores and overall positions:

1. Police Force (50)

2. Fire Service (30)

3. Civil Service (29)

4. UKAS (27)

The eagerly awaited annual CSSC National Graded Squash Singles took place at the Nottingham Squash Club on 22nd/23rd November 2019. As in previous years there was a high level of entry and the friendly Nottingham club provided excellent facilities.

There was a wide variety of squash players from all over the country and, as a graded event, there was a range of competitions for all levels. The top grade was a very high standard, while the lower grades enjoyed a friendly yet equally competitive two days of squash. 24 men and 10 ladies entered and again it was good to see several newcomers. The popular event T-shirts were provided to give a swathe of yellow this year on court.

The number of lady entries dropped slightly as two new players had to drop out through injury. However the quality of the squash and level of enthusiasm was excellent. The Ladies Competition was split into 2 grades, A/B and C/D, both being held as Round-Robin events. Unfortunately, in both the groups one of the players suffered a slight injury in their first match and had to withdraw. The remaining players carried on in slightly smaller groups. In the top group no-one could match the skill and experience of the current holder, Becky Campbell and she was able to retain the title for the 5^th time. Regrettably for us, Becky is going on an overseas posting for a few years, so we won’t see her next year to defend the title.

The Ladies C/D event was also held as a Round-Robin and after some hard fought matches Carol Whittington emerged as a first time winner beating Debs Atkinson into 2^nd place.

The standard of entries for the top grade of the men’s event matched previous years with a full 16-man draw for A and B grade players combined. This was run as a knock-out competition with several Plate competitions held to keep all players on court after each round. With past Champion, James Hodson, still recovering from injury could CSSC men’s captain, Tim Burrell, regain the trophy?. Tim reached the final after losing just one game to each of Neil Miles and Chris Mason-Thom to face Frazer Richards. Frazer’s route to the final included a hard-fought tight match against previous Champion Marc Aldridge, who had knocked Frazer out of the event last year. The final was a tough match with Tim using his superior shot-making and controlled squash to ensure Frazer was doing the majority of the work. Frazer, running down every ball, slowly managed to dominate and attack a little more in the 4th game, enabling him to close out the match 3games to 1. Congratulations to Frazer who becomes a new name on the 88 year old trophy.

The A grade Plate was run as a knock out with John Perry emerging the winner over Neil Miles, after having been pushed earlier to 4 games by both Joel Gould and Neil.

The B grade event was an 8 player knock out for losers of the first round of the A/B event. Dave Nethercott came through the top half of the draw losing just one game to Paul Lane, while newcomer Shaun Goodman came through the bottom half to the final without loss. A hard fought final ensued with Dave managing to hold off the challenge from Shaun with a 3-1 win.

The B grade Plate was played as a Round Robin of 3 players with Paul Lane emerging the winner, though not until he had fought off a strong challenge from John Cooper. John came back from 2-0 down to equal the match but Paul came back to take the 5^th.

Six players initially entered the C/D event, reduced to five by the start of the competition, so a Round Robin format was used. The level of energy shown by this group was outstanding with players competitive and well matched staying on court for long periods!. Notable was the battle for the C Grade title between Rob Frame (last years C Grade runner up) and Ben Young (CSSC Games runner up). Rob took the first 2 games by the closest of margins, whereupon Ben took the 3^rd by an equally close margin. The 4^th game was a hard tussle which went to the wire with Rob just managing to seal it and the win. Congratulations, Rob – better luck next time, Ben.

The D grade competition was contained within the C/D Round Robin and saw some equally energetic matches played. Trevor Laley (CSSC Games Handicap winner) emerged the winner of this Grade after a deciding match against CSSRA Treasurer Jim Fay. Newcomer Tom Dodd put up a strong challenge against all the other players in this C/D group taking a game off both Grade winners, Rob and Trevor. Hopefully we will see Tom back next year.

The customary social evening was held at the club on the Friday evening to relax everyone after a hard day’s squash. The club provided supper and organiser Linda ran a light hearted quiz. This, as always, has found to be a great way to relax and bring people together after some strenuous exercise. It was mentioned by many of the players as a highlight which together with the friendly atmosphere, and the chance to meet and play new players and old friends contributed to their enjoyment of the event. The sports massage therapist available on the Saturday to attend to tired bodies and muscles was again much appreciated by the players.

Presentations were made after the excellent men’s final by CSSRA President, Marian Holmes, who had played in the tournament herself. She thanked the Squash Club for their hospitality and Linda and Ian Lockey for their effective organisation. Finally, she thanked all the players for their excellent attitude that helped to make this such a friendly but competitive occasion.

The CSSRA held its AGM on the Saturday, which enabled players to comment and discuss relevant issues around CSSC squash events and ideas for improvements. One issue raised was the use of Squash Levels and whether CSSC squash tournament results should be fed into the Squash Levels system. As always, new volunteers were invited to join the organisers and/or committee.

TROPHIES / PRIZES

Eight players entered the Squash event on 13^th September at the 2019 CSSC Games on the Loughborough University Campus. Unfortunately, one of these was taken ill on the morning of the event resulting in 7 players to contest for the medals. Good to see were four returning players plus two who were new to CSSRA squash events. Despite the small number and range of standard a vigorous competition was played, enjoyed by all. For context the Mens and Ladies Civil Service National Teams were paying matches in Nottingham on the sae day so were unable to pla

The 6 men and 1 lady were initially separated into two groups, one of 4 players and the other of 3 players. A round robin format was then used whereby each player in a group played all the others using a timed format with organiser Ian Lockey ably using his whistle to define the start and end. All points were counted to produce a 1 to 4 (or 3) ranking.

The top 2 players from each group then played a knockout (semis and final) to find the overall winner and runner up. The remaining 3 players played a Handicap Plate event again in a round robin format with a handicap based on the earlier matches. Both these competitions were played as one game to 21 points.

This Plate Handicap produced some very close matches, all resulting in a 21-16 score line. Newcomer Trevor Laley emerged the winner over Graham Cole (a regular at CSSC Squash events) who took the runner up medal.

The final in the main event was between Micky Gallacher and Ben Young, both of whom had played in the CSSRA singles in Nottingham last November. The match looked like being a close contest which was indeed what it turned out to be. Ben got off to a good start leading Micky by a small margin all the way up to 19-16. Micky then took the next 2 points to shorten the gap to 18-19, but Ben won the next to give himself match ball at 20-18. The spectators were tense in anticipation as Micky levelled the score at 20 all. The scoring required 2 clear points for a win, so Ben had more work to do if he was to secure the match. With Micky now having the serve he maintained the advantage and his nerve, playing percentage squash to win the next 2 points and take the match 22-20 and the winners medal. An exciting match which both had deserved to win.

The medals were presented by the CSSRA organiser Linda Parsley who thanked all the players for their sportsmanship. Several of the players were new to CSSC squash but the friendly (though competitive) atmosphere created by the regulars and the organisers ensured an enjoyable day for everyone. This combined with all the other sports being played at the Games, involving many competitors and volunteers, and the excellent social scene of the CSSC Games resulted in a fantastic event for all.

Squash Medal winners