Junior Section
I have not updated the league results nor the new leagues, because they have not changed for the previous 9 months!!!!
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Junior Championships
On Saturday 20th September 2008 Buckingham Squash & Racketball Club held the first ever Junior tournament in their 31 year history. There were three events; the championship knockout, a handicapped tournament, and at the end of the afternoon, a racketball fun tournament. Gwydion Benson (No. 1 seed) became the club’s first junior champion, beating Owen Mason (No. 2 seed) in the final (9/1, 9/1, 9/4). Owen had few answers to Gwydion’s shot-making in the first game, but in the end the match was much closer than the score line would have you believe. The final game saw Owen make a spirited comeback, his speed around the court allowing him to retrieve balls that most of the gallery thought were outright winners. Gwydion’s patience paid off and he calmly succeeded to out-play his opponent. Gwydion started his championship campaign by knocking out his younger brother Yannek in the first round. This put Yannek into the plate competition, which he won, so it was a good day for the “Benson Brothers”!
Next up was the Handicap competition, which used the “Point a Rally” (PAR) scoring system to 11 points, best of three games. The higher ranked players had to start from a minus score, which combined with the PAR scoring meant they couldn’t afford to make any errors as they tried to narrow the gap. There were several noteable games. Robert Reid almost held off the newly crowned champion in a match that saw many incredibly long rallies! Despite the champ’s placement of the ball, Robert seemed to somehow keep the ball in play and move to cover the next shot. Gwydion’s height and reach (he must be almost half a metre taller than Robert!) were an undeniable factor in his eventual victory. Natalie Mills put up a spirited quarter-final performance against the “whirlwind Owen”, but couldn’t quite keep up with his pace and Owen progressed (11/8, 11/6) to meet Piers Durnford in the “Semis”. This was yet another fantastic match. Piers playing perhaps just a few too many boasts, which Owen had learned to expect and could deal with, resulting in Owen going through to meet Gwydion in the final. This time Owen was determined to win through and make amends for his defeat in the final of the Club Championship. It was a close match and Owen did win, but it was also a triumph for sportsmanship.
The afternoon finished off with racketball for which Hannah Thompson joined the group. The purpose was twofold;
firstly to introduce the game to the junior squashers and to round the day off with a high energy fun session.
Racketball is the fastest growing racquet sport in the country, the ball is the size of a tennis ball,
it bounces like a tennis ball and is hit with a racquet larger than that used for squash.
Consequently, it’s an easy game to learn and suits all ages.
Smiles all round - Gwydion Benson receiving the Junior Closed Cup from Fraser Liversage of England Squash. Looking on (from left) Robert Reid,
Yannek Benson, Hannah Thompson, Owen Mason and Natalie Mills.
If you’re interested in joining the Buckingham Squash & Racketball Club then visit their website: www.buckingham-squash-club.co.uk,
where you can find out more about the club, its members and playing programme and also download a membership form
Fraser (01869 278569)
