In the space of two weeks, players from clubs across Essex travelled to the Netherlands to compete in two very different racket sport competitions, representing the county on both the squash and Racketlon stages.
From 29 July to 2 August, 30 teams from across Europe descended on MeerSquash in Hoofddorp, just south of Amsterdam, for the 29th edition of the popular Junkies tournament. It was fantastic to see a mix of familiar faces and first-time competitors taking part in one of the highlights of the European squash calendar.
Essex was well represented throughout the event. Lexden players formed the backbone of five Airtight teams, led by Mike Hegarty. Hamptons and Lexden also entered three teams of their own: Backwall Boasters, captained by Tony Bickley; Leisure Centre Boasters, led by Andy Bridges; and No Strings Attached, captained by Dawn Robinson. Completing the Essex contingent was Amsterdamaged, predominantly made up of players from Thurrock Rugby Club.
Most teams arrived on Thursday afternoon in time for the tournament’s legendary Happy Hour before the traditional Captains’ Meeting, with the competitive action beginning on Friday. Following the group stages, teams progressed into knockout competitions based on their finishing positions.
Airtight 1 looked one of the strongest sides in the tournament, featuring Essex Closed 2025 champion Michael Tallentire alongside fellow Lexden players Joel Braddock, Neil Cross and Kieran Hillman. After topping their group, they eventually bowed out in the quarter-finals to the eventual tournament winners, Drop It Like It’s Hot.
Elsewhere, Airtight 2 narrowly missed out in the 9th–16th place final, losing 7–6 to Smash First, Regret Later. There was also an all-Chelmsford encounter as Backwall Boasters faced No Strings Attached, with the more experienced No Strings Attached side coming out on top in a match played in fantastic spirits.
Overall, it was another excellent weekend that showcased everything that makes the squash community so special: great competition, fantastic camaraderie and, of course, never being more than ten steps from the bar. Here’s to Junkies 30!
If Junkies celebrated the social side of racket sports, attention quickly turned to the more serious business of the Federation of International Racketlon World Championships in Rotterdam. Hosted at Victoria Tennis, the event brings together players from around the world to compete across the four major racket sports (with apologies to the noisy neighbour beginning with “P”!).
For those unfamiliar with Racketlon, competitors play table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis in that order. Each discipline is played to 21 points, with the overall winner determined by the highest cumulative score across all four sports. Matches conclude as soon as it becomes mathematically impossible for either player to win or lose.
Essex is proudly represented by Keith Lesser, the current Men’s Over 45 World No. 1, who is competing in both the Open and Men’s Over 45 categories. A familiar face in the Essex Squash League, Keith is one of the world’s leading Racketlon players, and everyone at Essex SRA wishes him the very best of luck in Rotterdam.
