Our Club Squash Championship took place on 22nd September 2018 and it was a great success. In attendance were 16 players, a number of non-playing members, some friends & family members also attended, plus we had a healthy representation from the committee. The atmosphere on court was very positive and I knew that we were going to have a good day.
The 16 players were all seeded, and each player was guaranteed 3 matches, (a ‘Quarter Final’, a ‘Semi Final, and their own ‘Final’ which would be competed against a player of similar ability).
We then began the 8 ‘Quarter Finals’ which all went to plan with the higher seeds winning their respective matches. The results of the Quarter final matches decided the draw for the 8 Semi-Final matches and although there were many very close matches, the higher seeds in each match did win through.
Then we came the the 8 Finals which had some excellent matches. The Finals were all ‘best of 5 games’’. I would like to make a special mention of the following stand out ‘Finals’…
• Ian Hudson won a very close ‘5 game match’ against Gary Ayles. When the winning point was scored, Ian raised both hands in celebration and you could see how proud of himself he was. It was one of my favourite moments of the competition
• Val Cray contested an immense final against Ash Southgate. Again this match went to the 5th game with Ash just managing to win a match that was back & forth all the way. It was an excellent game that truly showed the sportsmanship exhibited throughout the whole day by our players. When the winning point was scored, Val turned, with a big, genuine smile on her
face to congratulate Ash. This also was one of my favourite moments of the day
• Our next ‘stand out’ match was between our 2 youngest players, Bella Millins (17) & Harrison Seal (13). Bella did win the match 3-1 and I would like to congratulate both of these players who played the best squash I have ever seen either of them play
The Main Club Championship Final deserves an extra special mention…
The main Club Championship Final was contested between John Hogwood & Mike Watson. When it started, almost everyone in the club crowded around the viewing area to watch. Everybody was looking forward to this game and it did not disappoint. Both players delivered an incredible display of high quality squash that was a joy to watch. It was a very close match that ebbed and flowed back & forth between the 2 players who were giving everything they had to try and win. It could not have been closer
With the match poised at 2-2 in games and 9-9 in points in the deciding game, no one could confidently predict who was going to win. However, John Hogwood won the next 2 points to take the match and be crowned the Maidstone Squash Club Champion for 2018. Both players received and long enthusiastic round of applause from the audience.
I personally could not have asked for a better final for our competition, it was more than I hoped it would be, and I would like to offer my congratulations to both players, you did yourselves proud. A club competition is about more than just the players and the matches they play. Many other people contributed to making this a very successful day for our club
I would like to thank the committee members who gave their full support. I would also like to thank family & friends who came along to show their support. I would like to thank the sponsors who provided prizes that were distributed amongst the players, I would like to thank Ikki for the beautiful vegetable dish he gave us, and finally I’d like to thank Steve & Jackie Masters for running the bar and providing the food that was enjoyed by us all.
After the final, prizes were awarded upstairs and I would like to thank everyone for their enthusiasm and attention during these awards. All the players had the photos taken with members of the committee with John Hogwood finally getting his hands on the Trophy.
Congratulations to you all
John O’Mahoney