Players of all ages and abilities from across England filled three massive days of squash at Hunts County Squash Club.
The Sports Academy Open ran for the 3rd consecutive year, bringing professional players from across England to compete over three days in the expanded format. To provide local children the opportunity to watch squash and develop the schools outreach work, Hemingford Primary brought over 70 children from classes to watch the opening round. They were treated to a great battle between local players Malik Bilen (Hunts County SC) and Oliver Ramsay (City of Peterborough SC) and watching the Women’s #1 seed training.
Saturday combined the professional event with local competitive squash, with the Hunts County Adult Graded event running alongside the quarter and semi finals of the PSA (Professional Squash Association) championships. Cambridgeshire and East Regional players competed over three grades with Sam Henden (Broadlands SC, Norfolk) winning the A-Grade, Connor Harmer (Comberton SC) taking the B-Grade win and Charlie (Bunyan SC, Bedford) claiming the C-Grade in a great day of battles.
Sunday again combined different abilities and ages, with the Finals of the PSA event followed by the inaugural fixture of the new Cambs Junior League. The Women’s Final saw local player, Portuguese #1 and top seed in the event Sofia Aveiro-Pita take on Jasmine Thirst who had defeated the #2 seed in the semi-finals on Saturday. Aveiro-Pita was tested, with Thirst taking the 2nd game and threatening an upset. The physical superiority of the Portuguese player came through, increasing the pace and intensity of her play to take the match 3-1 and claim her home championships title.
The Men’s Final pitted the recently crowned British U19 Champion, Heston Malik against Sam Todd who is returning from a long term injury but had reached a world ranking of 60 prior to the lay-off. Todd’s seniority saw him control the match, with the talented youngster always under the greater pressure and playing catch up. A great match to finish the championships saw Todd claim the title 3-0.
Finishing off the festival activities was the new Cambs Junior League format aiming to build on the good development activity across the county. Players from across Cambridgeshire formed 4 teams: Bears, Gorillas, Sharks and Wolves and received their branded team kit before starting round 1. Teams were balanced by standard, formed from different clubs and will play over four dates through the season to help develop their competitive playing experience.