March is a busy month for Squash & Squash57 across the county with a mixture of open-age and Masters competitions taking place. Below are the key dates:
Saturday 1st March – Sunday 2nd March: Masters Inter County Championships
Thursday 6th March – Sunday 9th March: English National Championships
Saturday 8th March: Graded Tournament at Lexden RFC
Sunday 16th March: Squash57 Doubles Open at The Woodford Wells Club
Monday 3rd March – Friday 11 April: Essex Cup
The Masters Inter County Championships, held on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd March, sees representative teams from Essex taking part in the first round of the competition. The Over 35’s, captained by Mike Aley, will travel and play against Surrey (Hosts), Middlesex and Sussex. The Over 45’s, captained by Jason Potter, are hosting matches at Park Drive Health Club, Maldon. Their first match is against Surrey at 12:20, followed by a match against Suffolk at 17:00. The Over 55’s, captained by Nigel Bacon, make the short trip to The Ipswich Club to face Suffolk (hosts) and Hertfordshire. The Over 65’s, captained by Geoff Went, are set to travel round the M25 to play Middlesex (Hosts) and Northamptonshire. The full draws for all age groups can be found at SportMgr.
The following weekend, we are delighted that Lexden Rackets & Fitness Club have agreed to host the 2025 English National Championships. The tournament is open to any players with an English nationality, and the entries to both the mens and ladies categories particularly strong. Brothers Curtis Malik (WR34) and Perry Malik (WR111) are the top two seeds in the Mens draw, with Isabel McCullough (WR122) and Polly Clark (WR170) the top two seeds in the Ladies draw. Joining a 32-draw (Mens) and 16-draw (Ladies) are the two Essex Closed 2025 Champions, Michael Tallentire & Lara Newton. It will be free to watch, with matches starting from 18:00 on Thursday evening and continuing through the weekend. The draw and schedule can be found at SportMgr.
Saturday 8th March sees Lexden RFC host another Graded Tournament, with the opportunity for players of every level across the county to compete. The draws for the tournament are now complete, and can be found on the Lexden RFC Instagram page.
The first of the county’s Squash57 open tournaments sees the Squash57 Doubles Open take place on Sunday 16th March. The Woodford Wells Club plays host to the tournament and entries are still open. There are three open categories (A,B,C) with the C category focussed at those new to the sport. There are also three Masters categories (Over 40’s, Over 50’s and Over 60’s). If you wish to enter, complete the Entry Form.
The Essex Cup also returns for the second year, with teams from clubs all across Essex competing for three trophies. The format is a team match with each game first to 30 points (HiHo scoring) or twenty minutes, whichever comes sooner. The finals of each trophy will be played on Friday 11th April at The Woodford Wells Club.
