Some light, some dark in 2021

Yet another unprecedented year across the world as different variants of COVID-19 caused much misery and chaos to all aspects of life, as well a continuing rise of the global coronavirus death toll.

We did, however, see the introduction of vaccinations and this allowed us to get back some activity; at the Squash Club we opened again for play, but had to work within the Welsh Government regulations and restrictions.

Continuing importance in this were our safety protocols; our compliance to the regulations meant that some form of play could continue. Nationally, maintaining activity and exercise had been identified as an important contributor to individual's mental and physical well-being and so we were keen to continue, as long as it was safe to do so.

Some of our former members have still not returned to play and we understand their on-going concerns; in January 2022, there is ongoing concern as now the Omicron variant is rapidly spreading in the UK and around the world.

More positively, during 2021 our members returned to "normal" play, the North West Counties Squash Leagues recommenced, our juniors coaching programme started again and the monthly internal leagues were re-established.

Club's 2021 AGM, again in reflection

Now in our 14th Year, the Annual General Meeting on 27 May paid respects to those who had lost loved ones during the year, in particuar due to COVID-19.

Since March 2020, the Club had been closed for play on three occasions, for around six months. We first closed on 23 March 2020 and re-opened on 24 August; we closed again on 23 October but re-opened on 9 November until 19 December; that final closure lasted through until 3 May 2021.

When we finally got up and running again, it was subject to certain essential protocols and restrictions; members were trusted to observe these at all times when visiting the Club. Initially, only modified squash was played and the changing rooms and showers were not in use.

Election of Officers of the Club for 2021-2022
The following were elected:
Chairman - Mark Davies
Secretary - Jim Tunley
Treasurer - Kevin Jones
Teams Representative - Darren Lee
Ordinary Members - Hannah Davies, Tom Trueman and Jonathan Davies

Subscriptions for 2021-22 agreed

The Squash Club AGM also approved a three tier approach to the 2021-22 membership subscriptions to be effective from 1 June 2021, as follows:

The three tiered rates have been introduced to bring some fairness to those who had paid memberships over the last two subscription years.

Lower Rate: Senior - £45; Family - £55; Juniors / Students - £20.
Higher Rate: Senior - £80; Family - £100; Juniors / Students - £30.
New Member Rate: Senior - £90; Family - £110; Juniors / Students - £40.

NOTE: Again this year we were able to offer members the convenience of payment by Bank Transfer:-

Account No: 90674111
Sort Code: 55-81-42
Reference: NAME OF MEMBER (this is most important).

Some highlights from 2021 ...

Squash Circuits during lockdown

To help members through Christmas 2021 and into the New Year lockdown period, we were very grateful to Hannah Davies who again delivered a number of 40 minute Squash Circuits at Home, via zoom.

Sessions had been designed specifically to replicate on-court squash movement and were appropriate for all levels of ability. In total Hannah lead 14 Squash Circuits - huge thanks to her for helping members keep active and to stay connected !

A massive boost for the town ...

On 9 February, big news in Wrexham was confirmation that the RR McReynolds Company LLC had taken 100% control of the Wrexham Football Club.

With much national and international publicity, the new owners, Hollywood A-listers Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, have made a £2 million equity investment into the Club under the terms of the deal.

At such a time, this news provides a huge boost beyond the Football Club to the local community.

We do'nt know whether either play any squash, but they will be very welcome anytime at the Wrexham Brymbo Squash Club !

The lockdown continued ...

On 19 February, the First Minister confirmed that the strict Alert Level 4 restrictions were set to continue for a further three weeks, pending a fourth review scheduled for 12 March

Mens' shower and toilet areas get new floor covering

During lockdown, the floor covering in the Men's Shower and Toilet Area of the Squash Club was renewed.

Work to upgrade these essential areas was necessary following a break-in lduring 2020.

Wales restrictions eased in time for Easter

The Welsh Government announced some changes to restrictions; from 27 March -
the Stay Local restrictions were to be lifted.
Self-contained accommodation can re-open.
Outdoor children's activities can take place.
Libraries and archive services can re-open, and
6 people from 2 households can meet outdoors, socially distanced.

According to the Coronavirus Control Plan, we were at the riskiest phase in the run-up to the Easter period when the process of unlocking begins, whilst some of the most vulnerable groups are still being vaccinating.

Top professionals train at the Club

Throughout the lockdown period, we were pleased to be able to support professional players training at the Squash Club.

A regular at the Club was World Ranked No 10 Tesni Evans and, on 14 April, Tez invited professional players Tinne Gilis (WR No 17) and Lucy Beecroft (WR No 341) to join in with a rather strenuous training session.

Improvement at the Club

Our latest commitment to maintaining the Club facility in April was to replace the balcony window; that had become fairly rotten; it leaked damp and allowed in a draught. Our thanks to Paul Silvester.

Easing restrictions brought foward

In a surprise move, the Welsh Government announced that gyms and leisure centres would be allowed to open one week earlier than originally planned. It meant that the Squash Club re-opens from 3 May, but still with strict protocols necessary. For the Club to be compliant, only Individual and one-to-one training was allowed, or matches between from members of a same family bubble - all other ways to play would remain banned.

Squash Wales confirmed the latest Welsh Government guidelines by issuing their documant Protocol and Guidance for the Return to Play and the re-opening of Squash Clubs/Courts from 3 May.

North Wales Regional Development Officer

On 11 May, Mark and Jim met with Phil Barker, the newly appointed Squash Wales Regional Development Officer.

Based in Caernarvon, Phil's role will be to assist Clubs with the development and growth of the game across the North Wales region, through involvement with the various local authority "Active Teams" and schools.

Some good news ...

On 6 August, the Welsh Government announced that all Wales would move to Alert Level 0 from Saturday, 7 August

This news means that the Squash Club will now be open for normal play, without any modification.

Some protocols would be continued, including the wearing of face masks when visiting the Club, that is unless you're on court playing.

British National Championships

The 2021 British National Championships took place in Manchester (3-6 August) with the following winning through.

The new Ladies Champion is Sarah-Jane Perry and the new Men's Champion is Joel Makin.

Hannah & Tom at Nationals

Best of luck to Hannah Davies and Tom Clark as they head off to Leamington on 7 August to take part in the National Challenger UK Racketball / Squash 57 event.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Hannah on finishing Runner-up in her event; Tom lost his A Grade pool matches against the UK seeded number 1 and 6, but he enjoyed the experience !

2021 British Open Championships

New Zealand's Paul Coll and Egypt's Nour El Sherbini are the 2021 Allam British Open champions after they got the better of Egypt's Ali Farag and Nouran Gohar in their respective final fixtures at Hull's Allam Sport Centre on 22 August.

Two at Racketball National Championships

Over the weekend 20-22 August, Darren Lee and Jonathan Davies were at the Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham to take part in the 2021 HEAD Racketball/Squash57 National Championships.

Both members of our Club Committee, these two were taking part in the Mens Over 45 category - no doubt they had a great weekend!

UPDATE: Well done to both players in taking on this challenge and, in particular, to JD in making it through to the Semi Final stages

Internal Leagues start again in October !

Members were asked to express their interest in joining our new Monthly Internal Leagues, to commence during October.

Following a positive response, for the first time since March 2020, the new Leagues went live on 5 October.

Squash Wales new membership scheme

During September, the new Squash Wales Membership platform was launched.

The new membership offers all players discounted benefits from over 200 High Street brands; it is particularly important for all members playing in any of our Teams, as this will be a requirement.

Our aspiration was "smashed" but, is still alive!

Achieving a Third Court remains an aspiration. This was partly smashed during a visit to Bethesda to collect a Glass Squash Wall that had become surplus to requirement and which we were offered by Bethesda Leisure Centre; they were changing their courts into a fitness studio !

On 7 October, with help from Centre' staff, Mark Davies and Jim Tunley were loading the third (very heavy) piece of glass onto a van (very kindly loaned by John Williams), when the slightest knock completely shattered it - a real shame but some lessons were learned !

2021 Welsh Closed Champions

Congratulations to our new Karakal 2021 Welsh Closed Champions, Tesni Evans and Joel Makin.

The Championships took place in Cardiff over the weekend 5-7 November - in the Finals, Tesni beat Emily Whitlock and Joel beat Elliot Morris Devred.

2021 Club Championships

Our 2021 Club Championships took place on 11 December with the Main Final played between defending Champion, Jonathan Davies and Tim Arthur.

The Final produced a very strong performance from Tim who took the match by 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-8).
Huge congratulations to Tim.

Our Teams in 2021 ...

2020 - 2021 Season

LATEST NEWS - 7 September 2020: The Wales Leagues Panel issued a statement in that given the current complexities, unknowns and challenges the pandemic has created, and as more time passes since the scheduled end of the 2019-20 Season, they consider the less viable and relevant the completion of the Welsh League fixtures becomes.

For this reason and to bring closure to Welsh clubs and members, it has been decided that the 2019-20 Season will be declared null and void and no promotion, relegation or otherwise will be applied.

LATEST NEWS - 23 September 2020: The NWCSL Committee at their AGM agreed that they would have to abandon the 2019/20 season.

Final League positions for Teams will be determined by looking at the uncompleted league fixtures and replicating results of the corresponding fixture from the first half of the season. This could be good news for our Teams as they were competing for promotion.

LATEST NEWS - 26 February 2021: The North West Counties Squash Leagues announced their NEW PARTNERSHIP with @SquashLevels and @SquashSkills to create NWCSL COMMUNITY ... and, when the Leagues return to action, they will be announcing:

- Team of the Week
- Player of the Month
plus more, all to be POWERED by SquashLevels.

A new NWCSL Partnership soon

LATEST NEWS - 22 June 2021: At the Squash Wales Clubs Forum, Clubs across Wales were advised that it is hoped the Welsh Leagues would commence again in September.

Before then, however, Clubs were to be surveyed for opinion on how these should be run in future e.g. teams of 3; best of 3 games; food or no food, etc. This will be an opportunity for Clubs to input with their preferred options.

LATEST NEWS - 21 July 2021: The Squash Wales Clubs Forum advised Clubs that the new League Manager would be Nick Edwards and that the new season may prove an opportunity to restructure, if required. This will be influenced by Clubs who would soon receive a Squash Wales questionnaire.

All players in the Welsh Leagues will be expected to be Squash Wales members, at a cost of £10 per person - full details to be circulated during August.

UPDATE: It was agreed that three Teams should be submitted into the North West Counties Leagues this season [to commence on 23 September] and one Team into the North East Wales League [Start date still to be advised].

LATEST NEWS - 2 September 2021: a Teams Meeting was held this evening, to help us get organised for the new season.

Pre-Season Friendly: Ahead of the new season, a home match versus Chester CO took place at the Club on Thursday, 16 September.

North Wales Leagues: Following a discussion with Squash Wales on 23 September, it's now looking unlikely that the Leagues in North Wales will commence before the new year; only a few teams have been entered and some venues have still not re-opened for play.

UPDATE: On 30 September, Squash Wales confirmed that the League will not now start until the New Year, at the earliest. We will, however, aim to play a number of friendly matches leading up to that time, and one was arranged with Beaufort Park at the Club on 12 October.

NWCSL LATEST NEWS - 28 October 2021: The Second Team achieved their first win of the season with a superb 5-0 victory at home against Heswall 2. Team Captain, Hannah, was overjoyed.

NWCSL LATEST NEWS - 24 November 2021: Playing with two reserves Dave Cadwallader and Richard Ackerley, our First Team achieved a superb home win to topple Barnton 1 and go top of the table.

NWCSL LATEST NEWS - 9 December 2021: Congratulations to two young talented brothers, Will and Jamie Silvester, who played together in our First Team for the first time on 9 December; they helped achieve a solid 5-0 victory over Heswall 2.

NWCSL LATEST NEWS - 14 December 2021: The NW Counties League Committee POSTPONED all matches due to be played on 16th December 2021.

This important decision has been made as infections of the new COVID variant, Omicron with its highly contagious strain, were now gripping the country. All being well, these matches will now be played on 10 February 2022.

MID SEASON TEAMS REPORT
- December 2021

The NWCSL came to an abrupt end as matches to be played on 16th December were all postponed due as the high rates of COVID Omicron variant rapidly increased across the UK.
All things being equal, the restart is due on the 13th January, subject to UK Government advice and guidelines.

More positively, our First and Second parallel Teams are lying in 3rd and 4th position respectively in Division Two of the NWCSL - this is really a very high standard of squash.

This season, the Club has been fortunate in that several junior players have made a huge contribution to our Teams - Josh Davies and Will Silvester, with the addition of James Smith (Smudge) and Ryan Lewis, they've added greater depth, as well as bringing down the average age of the two teams!

Another positive for the Club was through our newest team member, Tim Arthur.
Tim has bolstered the Second Team playing at No1, he also become our 2021 Club Champion in December. Congratulations to Tim.
A big push for the Division Two title is expected in the second half of the season.

Unfortunately, the Third Team has not been as successful, playing in a tough Third Division; one big positive, however, has been the performance of 15 year are old, Jamie Silvester playing in NWCSL for the first time this season. Jamie has gone from strength to strength throughout and he should be vying to pay at No1 in the Team during 2022; he has great potential to push our senior players within a short time!

There are also some other junior players, in Tom & Ethan Willis and Kieran Sievers who, we hope, could be looking to play Team Squash next season.

The NE Wales Leagues, which did not start in 2021 due to lack of commitment from Clubs and players, could be resurrected in the New Year. Squash Wales have now taken over the running of these leagues.
Our thanks to Meirion Evans and others who ran the Leagues in North East Wales for many years.

Note Members were reminded to enter the 2022 Fast & Furious competition organised by Hannah Davies, to be played on the 7 / 8 January.

Our Juniors in 2021 ...

January 2021

Happy New Year - or was it ?

We started the New Year with the grim news that all four home nations would be in a National Lockdown from 5 January.

It seemed most unlikely then that no indoor sports would be allowed to resume before February! This was a great shame for young people who are missing out on their education, social and sporting activity.

We were keen to stress some of the strategies available to help young people to cope with lockdown, in particular with our mental health but also encouraged them to keep active and stay safe at this difficult time.

February 2021

Juniors invited to join our Lockdown Circuits

As part of our encouragement to keep active during the lockdown and be prepared for the day when we can finally get back onto court; juniors were invited to make Squash Circuits at home with Hannah part of their weekly routine.

March 2021

Brothers represent Wales - virtually

Squash Wales announced that teams would compete in a unique and first ever Virtual Squash Home Internationals Fitness Competition over the weekend 5th-7th March.

In these strange times, with no competitive Squash matches allowed, this presented an opportunity for all Welsh Academy players (age 11 to 18) to have some competition in a team environment, while also engaging with many of their friends from the other home nations.

Two of our juniors, Tom and Ethan Willis, were part of the Wales Team with a format that had them completing four different Virtual Sessions of Squash specific strength and conditioning exercises (which they all currently do on a weekly basis).

Over the weekend, it was a tough but fun competition as well as a fantastic opportunity for all taking part.

Congratulations to the Wales juniors who won in the event; with more than 100 juniors from all four home nations per session taking part, perfect motivation for when we finally get back on court!

April 2021

Representing Wales in Europe

Building on the recent first ever Virtual Squash Home Internationals (see below), over 140 youngsters joined in with a European Virtual Team Championships that was held over the weekend 16th-18th April.

It was another fantastic opportunity for the young people to engage with many of their peers while representing Wales in a fun, enjoyable but hard weekend for everyone. All Welsh Academy players (age 11 to 18) were invited to take part in a competition over 4 sessions of Squash specific strength and conditioning exercises and two of our juniors took part - congratulations to brothers Tom and Ethan Willis on their involvement in this unique experience.

May 2021

Club is OPEN again

Following Welsh Government guidance, the Squash Club was open for play on 3 May.

To ensure we opened safely, we had many of the previous protocols still in place; there was also a temporary requirement to play a "modified game".

Due to availability issues, we were not able to re-commence our Juniors Coaching Programme; we were, however, to be in touch with parents regarding some possible options.

On the road again !

It's been a long time since our last schools visit, but members of the Coaching Team took the Mini Squash experience to Black Lane CP School on 18 May.

Working with the Active Wrexham Team, we were invited to attend this local School to take a group of Years 5/6 pupils and we return there again on 2 July.

Huge thanks to our volunteer coaches - Henry, David, Mark and Jim - for giving their time to encourage participation in squash.

Welsh Under 13s Squad at Club

We were pleased to host the Welsh National Under 13s Squad Training Day on 22 May.

It was particularly pleasing to see Club members and brothers, Tom and Ethan Willis, invited to join this National Squad.

June 2021

Academy Squads Training at Club

The Club hosted the two Squash Wales Academy Squads (North) on 1st / 2nd June.

Representing the Club were Josh Davies, Will & Jamie Silvester and Kieran Sievers; the Squads were a little depleted due to Half Term and injury. Squash Wales asked Mark Davies to coach at each event.

Will joins the Welsh Under 17s and 19s Squads in training

Despite that he is still returning from injury, Will Silvester attended the Welsh Under 17s and Under 19s Squads for a training weekend in Cardiff over 5 - 6 June.

Josh Davies was also invited to attend but had to withdraw through injury; we wish both Will and Josh all the very best for a speedy return to fitness.

July / August 2021

Junior Coaching - a short burst !

Over two evenings, 5th and 12th July, the Coaching Team hosted a short coaching opportunity for juniors.

Juniors who have previously attended the Club's Coaching Programme were invited to attend, some of who will not have picked up a racket in 18 months.
We were keen to help ensure that they get back on court before the Summer holidays and, perhaps, discuss with them what coaching we may be able to provide during July / August.

UPDATE: Nine juniors took up the invitation to join these sessions, all working hard to make up lost court time !

School's Out - Summer Training

After consultation with parents, the Club's Coaches hope to maintain the recent momentum and encourage juniors to participate in sport during the Summer holidays.

Each Wednesday, from 21 July through to 25 August , we ran a Juniors Summer Training event at the Club, starting at 10.45 (with our beginners for an hour) and then the more experienced players will be on court through until 2.00 pm.

Given the amount of lost opportunity to get on court during the pandemic, it was important to build in time for play this summer.

UPDATE: On 4 August nine juniors attended including, for the first time, young Oliver (age 7). Thanks to Kieran who provided coaching tips to his young cousin - it's great to see these young ones having fun while learning new skills.

UPDATE: We knew that for our second session on 28 July, at least four of our juniors would not be able to attend, however, the six that took part worked well in hitting to length using a drive and/or volley.

UPDATE: We had six attend our first summer session; it was a hot day but that did not stop the hard work - well done everyone.

September 2021

Juniors Coaching to start

Our Juniors Coaching Programme for the new season started again on Monday, 6 September (5.30 pm) with great help from our Level 1 Coach, Cameron Dennis.

This year, we have tried to identify players into groupings, which should allow for better development time.

Moreton Hall School at the Club

We were pleased to welcome back the pupils from Moreton Hall School as they start their weekly coaching programme for girls and boys, supervised by Hannah and Mark Davies .

Three play in the Shefield Silver event

Well done to three of our juniors who played the Sheffield Silver Junior Open over the weekend 17 - 19 September; this was an England Squash sanctioned event that featured the country's top junior players.

Will and Jamie Silvester, together with Josh Davies were all playing in the Boys Under 17 event. We hope they had a good weekend and all enjoyed their experince.

Squash Wales Regional Training

All of the juniors who attend the Club's regular coaching programme were invited to attend an additional session on Saturday, 25 September. This was provided as part of the Squash Wales' Development Programme; we hoped as many as possible would be able to join us.

On their way to Uni

Huge congratulations to three of our "Juniors" on their GCSE A Level Results.

All three, Henry Scarsbrook (reading Law), David Thomas (reading Material Science) and Cameron Dennis (reading Maths and Computer Science) achieved the results they required to head off this September, to study at the Durham, St Andrews and Durham Universities respectively.

Junior Coaching on 27 September - cancelled

With regret, we had to cancel the Juniors Coaching on Monday, 27th. This was a cautious decision taken as a result of one of our juniors testing positive for COVID; we wished them a speedy recovery.

The coaching programme started again on 4 October at the usual times.

October 2021

Josh is Welsh Junior Open Champion

Huge congratulations to Josh Davies who has become the 2021 Under 19 Welsh Junior Open Champion. This is a fantastic result for Josh who has been the most improved player this year.

Josh was joined at the Cardiff event, over the weekend 1-3 October, by brothers Will & Jamie Silvester.

A set back for Tom

We were sorry to hear the news that Tom Willis had been injured playing football and suffered a broken collar bone.

It was a real set back for Tom who had continued to make great progress this season in developing his game.

Academy Squads at the Club

Over two days, 25 / 26 October, the Club was pleased to host the Squash Wales Academy Squads 1 and 2 (North) .

The Academy 1 Group, slightly smaller than expected, is formed from junior players across North Wales, as far as Portmadoc and including Club members Ethan Willis and Kieron Sievers.

The Academy Squad 2 included members Will and Jamie Silvester.

November 2021

Inter Counties weekend

We wished the best of luck to our North Wales Under 19s Team who were at Sheffield on Saturday, 13 November, taking part in the England Squash Inter Counties Competition - featuring all of the top junior players in the country.

Included in the North Wales Team are Club members, Josh Davies and Will Silvester - accompanied by Coach, Mark Davies.

UPDATE: The Squad played 3 matches during the day; they won two (v. Cheshire and Northumbria) but lost the third 2-1 to Yorkshire. This was an impressive performance by our boys and congratulations to them as it does mean they have qualified for the National Inter County Finals next year.

Ethan goes south for Inter Counties weekend

Congratulations also to Ethan Willis who was called last minute into the South Wales Under 13s Team , playing in Gloucester on Sunday, 14 November.

Ethan featured in all three of the Team's matches, winning two and losing in the other.

Squash Taster Session for local children

Coaches from the Club were invited to deliver a Squash Taster as part of a Multi Skills session at the Brymbo Enterprise Centre , on 23 November.

This was a great opportunity to promote the Squash Club but also to introduce primary aged young people to the game and make them aware of what's available in their local community area.

The initiative was organised by Wrexham Council's Active Wrexham Team, who have been delivering a number of multi-skill type sessions since September; as a local Club we were very pleased to be included.

December 2021

Congratulations Josh

A superb weekend over 4/5 December for Josh Davies in making it through to the Semi Final stage of the England Squash Juniors Gold Event held at Pontefract.

Josh was playing in the very competitive Boys Under 17 Group, which included all of the top UK players; this was a tremendous effort by Josh that shows his potential, very well done.

Squash Wales Regional Training at the Club

Juniors from across the area were invited to take part in the Squash Wales Regional Training event at Brymbo, held on 12 December.

It was another opportunity for these players to gain additional court time with routines and games.

Squash Wales North Academy Squads

Despite the current concerns and possible restrictions likely as a consequence of the rapid spread of the Coronavirus Omicron variant across Wales, we were able to host two Squash Wales North Academy Squad Days at the Club on 28 / 29 December.

Squash Wales monitored the situation and took advice on whether or not these sessions should continue and, with guidance from Coach, Mark Davies, all those who attended worked hard.

Safeguarding ...

Child Safety & Equity

The Squash Club fully supports and welcomes the work of its National Governing Body, Wales Squash & Racketball in the area of child safety and, as such, members and parents may be interested to see the WSRB Safeguarding Policy & Procedures in Squash document.

"Child Safety - Our Priority"

Eye Protection - our Policy

At the start of another season and a new Junior Coaching Programme, it is important for everyone to understand the Club's approach to Eye Protection - a policy which is also adopted by Wales Squash & Racketball (WSRB).

To view our policy click on the link below.

Eye Protection - the Policy

Calling all potential coaches . . .

Do you have what it takes to become a qualified squash coach - if so, your Club needs you!

If any Club member has an interest in committing to become a qualified coach, the Squash Club may be able to assist with necessary fees and mentoring.
Please contact either Mark Davies or Jim Tunley to learn more.