|
|
National Racketball
Championships 2007
04-06 May, Edgbaston Priory,
Birmingham |
Repeat Racketball Titles for Selby & Hill
Rob Shay reports
 Defending
Champions Daryl Selby and Laura Hill both retained
their titles in the National Racketball Championships at the
Edgbaston Priory Club at the weekend.
Sponsored by Ektelon, Just Rackets and Club La Santa, the tournament
drew an entry of 140 players from across Britain.
Selby, 24, from Essex again beat Tim Vail of Sussex in an
exhilarating final, coming from a game down to win 10-15, 15-6,
15-12, 15-12. Selby had a relatively easy path to the finals,
following the withdrawal of both third seed Neil Guirey of
Merseyside and Edgbaston Priory Professional Nick Hynes, both in his
section of the draw. In the event, he met an exhausted Simon
Martin of Thame in the semi finals. Handicapped by 13 years,
playing in two events, several stone, and an excessive pre-match
celebration the night before, Martin produced a brilliant array of
shots but did not have the stamina to push Selby beyond three games.
 Vail,
on the other hand, was extended by Croatian-based Dorset pro Neil
Chambers in the quarter-finals and Tom Phipps of Bucks in a tough
semi.
In the Women’s draw, Priory’s Vicky Hynes beat last year’s
finalist Claire Walker in the semis in straight sets, to set up a
meeting with Derbyshire’s Hill, who beat Victoria Simmonds of Dorset
3-0. Hill proved too strong for the local player in the final,
winning 15-9, 15-9, 15-6.
In the age-group events, of which there were 12, Jim Lord (Yorks)
retained the Men’s Over-35 title in straight sets against Andy
Macdonald of Bucks, while the indefatigable Alf Kavanagh of
Coventry won the men’s Over-55 title, beating top seed Ian Graham of
Sussex 3-2 in 1 hour 40 minutes in the semi final and then beating
second seed Jim McCollom of Edgbaston Priory 3-2, less than two
hours later!
Tournament Director
 "There
was huge interest in our brand new racquet range and very positive
reaction to the fact that Ektelon is the number one racquetball
brand in the USA. There was particular interest in the
top-of-the-range O3 racquets, which introduces to racketball the
revolutionary technology with which Prince has enhanced the
performance of tennis and squash players worldwide over the past two
years.
"The tournament was extremely well organised and very well attended
- and I believe that the partnership worked extremely well for
Ektelon. I am most impressed with the impact that this young sport
is making here in the UK, and have a strong feeling that racketball
could do much to reinvigorate those long-term squash players who are
now finding that sport too demanding.
"I feel that the two sports have a lot to offer each other in
attracting new enthusiasts onto club courts."
Prince / Ektelon
Men’s Open: First round: Matt
Pugh (Warks) bt Chris Hawken (Worcs) 3-1; Chris Dean (Warks) bt Matt
Stone (Derbys); Tom Robinson (Warks) w/o Nick Hynes (Warks); Hardeep
Bhogal (Warks) bt David Herron (Bucks); Theo Woodward (Dorset) bt
Jack Robinson (Warks) 3-1; Neil Chambers (Dorset) bt Malcolm
Griffiths (Staffs) 3-0;
Second Round: Daryl Selby (Essex) bt Pugh 3-0; Simon Martin (Bucks)
bt Bhogal 3-0; Tom Phipps (Bucks) bt Fathi Hussein (Warks) 3-0;
Woodward w/o Graeme Williams (Mersey); Chambers bt Eliot Selby
(Essex) 3-0; Tim Vail (Sussex) bt Mike Dickens (Cheshire 3-0;
Quarter-finals: Selby bt Robinson 3-0; Martin bt Bhogal 3-0; Phipps
bt Woodward 3-1; Vail bt chambers 3-0.
Semi-finals: Selby bt Martin 3-0; Vail bt Phipps 3-0
Final: Selby bt Vail 10-15, 15-6, 15-12, 15-12.
Women’s Open: Quarter–finals: Victoria Simmonds (Dorset) bt
Kirsty McGuff (Warks); Vicky Hynes (Warks) bt Gail Stuthridge
(Mersey) 3-0;
Semi-finals: Laura Hill (Derbys) bt Simmonds 3-0; Hynes bt Claire
Walker (Yorks).
Final: Hill bt Hynes 16-9, 15-9, 15-6.
Men’s Over 35: Jim Lord (Yorks) bt Andy Macdonald 3-0
Men’s Over 40: Steve Bateman (Oxon) bt Tim Barker (Warks) 3-0
Men’s Over 45: Keith Palmer (Kent) bt Paul Selby (Essex) 3-1
Men’s Over 50: Mike Livock (Warks) bt Rob Shay (Warks) 3-1
Men’s Over 55: Alf Kavanagh (Warks) bt Jim McCollom (Staffs) 3-2
Men’s Over 60: Trevor Wilkinson (Surrey) bt John Prowse (Kent)
Men’s Over 65: Chris Isaacs (Warks) bt Bob Riley (Kent) 3-0
Men’s Over 70: Ian Wright (Kent) bt John Bennett (Warks) 3-0
Ladies’ Over 35 :Claire Walker (Yorks) bt Gail Stuthridge (Dorset)
3-0
Ladies’ Over 40: Bev Vatcher (Dorset) bt Helen Cann (Mersey) 3-0
Ladies’ Over 45: Lesley Sturgess (Derbys) bt Kate Ibbitson (Derbys)
3-1
Ladies’ Over 50 Bett Dryhurst (Worcs) bt Gloria Saunders (Kent) 3-1
|
Selby top seed for 2007
Daryl Selby will be defending the Men’s Open title he won
last year against a strong field that includes last year's beaten
finalist Tim Vail, Neil Guirey from Merseyside and
Tom Phipps from Bucks.
Laura Hill from Derbyshire will also be defending the title
she won last year against Yorkshire’s Claire Walker, with
England Squash player Vicky Hynes also in the draw.
Age group events, from Over-35 to Over-70 will also be held, drawing
many former England squash players.
Ektelon, the World’s largest Racketball racket producer will be
providing the prizes, Internet retailer Just Rackets are providing
T-shirts for competitors, and Club La Santa will be offering two
pairs of tickets (flights and accommodation) complex in January, to
tie in with a Special 'Racketball Week'' This will take the form of
a random draw of all entrants, at lunchtime, Saturday 5th May.
Further details can be obtained from Tournament Director Rob Shay at
q-m@fsbdial.co.uk , or from
the Edgbaston Priory Club website at
www.edgbastonpriory.com
|
All draws as PDF |
New Sponsors have been announced for the National Racketball
Championships, to be held at the Edgbaston Priory club in Birmingham
from 4-6th May.
Ektelon, the World’s largest Racketball racket producer will
be providing the prizes across a range of 15 events from the
flagship Men’s and Women’s open events through the Age Group events,
which stretch from Over-35 to Over -70.
Last year’s event attracted a record 150 entrants, and Tournament
Director Rob Shay confidently predicts that this year’s event
will bring in as many as 200 players from across the country.
Additional support will come from Club La Santa, the Olympic
Complex and holiday resort in Lanzarote will be offering two pairs
of tickets (flights and accommodation) complex in January, to tie in
with a Special 'Racketball Week''. This will take the form of a
random draw of all entrants, at lunchtime, Saturday 5th May.
Internet Retailer Just Rackets will be providing T-shirts for
the event.
Racketball has enjoyed huge growth over the past few years, with
many Clubs finding it the perfect way fill empty courts in the
daytime. It is a relatively new sport – a combination of American
Racketball, played on a larger court with a faster ball, the game
was brought to the UK in the 1970’s and adapted for play on the
smaller traditional squash courts, which at the time were enjoying a
boom. Racketball has grown steadily over the past two decades, but
in the past 6 years, the numbers playing has grown exponentially.
Part of the reason for this has been that many squash players, who
came out of the boom in the 1970/80’s, have found that the higher
bouncing ball results in longer rallies (more cardio-vascular
exercise) and less stress on the joints.
The sport is now growing amongst a younger age group with many
England–ranked Squash players now playing.
Last year’s event was won by Daryl Selby of Essex, who beat
Tim Vail in a five-set final.
Edgbaston Priory is used to handling events of this size. A month
later, the Club will again host the DFS Classic - a major
grass-court tennis tournament which forms part of the pre-Wimbledon
build-up. Maria Sharapova won her first circuit title here two years
ago on the way to winning Wimbledon, and she will again be playing
this year.
Tournament Director
q-m@fsbdial.co.uk |
POSTER
ENTRY FORM
Closing date 13-Apr
2006 Championships |
|
|
|
