The Squash Club Championships took place in April and May, with over 50 entrants in a range of events, including: Men’s Open, Ladies Open and Racketball Open, as well as men’s and ladies masters categories, and junior competitions. The high standard of entry in all competitions ensured that there were some great matches to be had throughout the tournament.
In the first of two Squash Open tournaments, the Ladies Open saw the highest number of competition entries in recent years, which is testament to the ever-growing nature of ladies squash at Ipswich Sports Club (ISC); Number One seed Emma Logan was victorious in her final against England Masters player JulieAnne Pegram (3-0), and so extended her winning run in the Open competition to two years, having won the previous year’s edition also.
In the Men’s Open final, this year’s Number Two seed Stuart Lipscombe took on the newly-crowned U17 & U19 Club Champion, and Open Number One seed, Harry Griffith. Stuart prevailed 3-0 – however, the scoreline belied the closely fought nature of the match – and in doing so retained the Men’s Open title he most recently won in 2023.
In the Racketball Open tournament, last year’s winner Adrian Meredith found himself also contesting this year’s final, and in defeating Alistair Livingstone in a hard-hitting encounter (3-1) he ensured he too preserved his Champion status for another year.
In a whole host of other Junior and Masters categories, deserved winners included: Andy Ramsey, Tom Ison, Nigel Griffith, JulieAnne Pegram, Joe Steward, Seb Marsh-Feiley, Rob Marsh-Feiley, Will Burton, Charlie Symes and Alenya Novik. And in the new-style Doubles competition, where partner draws were made FA-cup style, this year’s winners – defeating Will Burton and Emma Logan in the final (3-1) – were Andy Ramsey & Joe Steward.
Finals day itself was billed as a ‘Squash fete’ style day with a bouncy castle, pétanque and other activities for members to enjoy – as well as the squash, obvs! Fortunately, the sun shone, and, along with some lovely food supplied by the ever-popular Darius and Gill, and cooling drinks courtesy of the club sports bar, families and players alike were able to enjoy the afternoon in the warm sunshine.
Later in the evening, the inaugural ‘Squash Quiz’ took place. For this quiz, points did not mean prizes: bragging rights for the winners was the only medal being touted! Despite the lack of any meaningful trophy, around 30 entrants took part and answered a dizzying array of questions on topics such as sports, music, geography, food and drink, and film, amongst others.
All in all, a really good few weeks of squash in the annual club tournament, culminating in a well-attended finals day with matches contested in a friendly (and competitive!) spirit.
Thank you – and well done – to all those players who took part in the 2024 Championships.
See you again next year!
