Bedfordshire County Junior Squash Championships 2025 – Fierce Competition and a Lot of Fun!

On Sunday 9^th November we saw a superb day of junior squash at Club Towers as we hosted the Bedfordshire County Closed. Over 40 juniors entered across the age groups for the chance to be crowned County Champion. Many thanks to Gail and Linda for their sterling work organising and to all of the markers who helped to mark matches during event. Well done also to all the players, who competed so valiantly – we hope to see you next year and also at the upcoming Northants Grand Prix event that we will host in the New Year.  

Here is how the brilliant day unfolded…….

Under 11s and Under 13s

Entries were a little low in the younger age groups, but those that played had a great time and demonstrated their skills and application superbly. In the girls U11 event, Flo showcased her massive improvement over the last 12 months by taking the title winning 11-9 / 11-4 against another vastly improved Anoushka who has also come on leaps and bounds. Honor put in a great performance against her two more experienced opponents to take 3rd place.

The girls U13 final saw a sibling battle, with Isabelle taking on younger sister Flo and narrowly winning a good contest with some great rallies 11-8 / 11-5.

In the boys under 11s, confusion arose over the entries, creating some initial consternation amongst players and parents alike! However, once the dust had settled, Oscar took on Max for the deciding final match and played really well to win 11-6 and take the trophy. William came 3^rd.

In the boys U13 event, Archie took on William in the title decider. William battled hard, but Archie showed just what an accomplished all-round squash player he is developing into with a convincing 11-4 / 11-5 victory.

Under 15s

The biggest entry was in the boys U15 event, where there were two round-robin groups to decide who proceeded to the semi-finals. Group A was a tight affair, with the four boys all battling hard and giving nothing away. Samarth and Jesse each managed to win their first two matches against Lakshay and Jai, so it all came down to Samarth’s and Jesse’s deciding match to see who topped the group. It was a tough and seesawing battle, but in the end, Samarth managed to edge it on points and win a sudden death tie break in the 2nd game, 11-8, 11-10. In Group B, Oscar covered every inch of court as usual but ultimately Thomas and Aden, who both play at the Bedford Squash Academy, proved too strong for him. Their decider went the way of the accomplished Thomas albeit with a valiant effort from Aden just missing out on a tiebreaker in the 2nd game 11-2 /11-10.

Aden then won the 3^rd/4^th place play-off match versus Jesse. And so on to the U15’s final between the two undefeated Group players, Thomas and Samarth. They had put on some great performances earlier in the day. However, Thomas was saving the best till last and proved that hard work and dedication to the sport can bring results and took the match 11-1 / 11-3.

Under 17s

The boys U17s was a high-quality competition. These boys have been playing competitively for a while and some of them are now playing high standard adult team squash. In the top half of the draw, Lewis showed his class to overwhelm Oliver in the semis. The semi-final in the bottom half was a mouth-watering prospect as Matthew (Biggleswade) tackled rising star George (Luton & Dunstable) and it did not disappoint. Both games were extremely tight, and the court coverage of both players was excellent. After some long and nail-biting points towards the end of each game, George just edged the match 11-9 / 12-10, with the deciding factor being his fewer errors. And so to the final, which was again a superb match. George took an early lead in the first game, but Lewis fought back strongly to win it 11-10. In the second, George perhaps just started to show a few signs of tiredness and Lewis’s extra power and great length hitting enabled him to take the match and the title 12-10 / 11-5.

 In the girls U17s, Laura fought valiantly against the older twins – Charlotte and Annabel – displaying all her usual tenacity to push both of them hard. She had the consolation of taking the U15 girls trophy as the only entrant! The title match for the U17s came down to the decider between the two sisters and as usual it was a fierce and tense battle as Mum watched on! Annabel was out of the blocks fast and won a tight first game 12-10 and at this stage it looked likely she would prove too strong on the day for her twin sister. But Charlotte had other ideas. She came battling back in the second to take it 11-6 and set up the decider. Both players had put in a lot of effort and the start of the third game was crucial psychologically. It was Annabel who managed to get a flyer as Charlotte watched a few shots fly just out or just down, and in the end Annabel retained the title for the third year in a row…. 12-10 / 6-11 / 11-1.

Under 19 Boys

It was great to see that the U19 boys all looked to be really enjoying their squash. Arsh’s powerful serve and forehand proved too much for Aleksi, but Michael’s great all round squash skills enabled him to move up a gear as the matches progressed. He clinched the deciding match comfortably to retain his U19 title 11-4, 11-5. A worthy champion!

Congratulations to all of the players who entered and played so well, and especially to the age group winners. And thanks to all the parents who supported and helped to mark. We hope to see you back next year! If you are interested to try squash for the first time, there are a number of routes to do this. There are junior programmes at Club Towers, Biggleswade and Carlton, plus the Bedford Squash Academy on Friday evenings at Mowsbury Squash and Golf Centre. If you are interested in joining any of these groups, please contact Steve Adams at [email protected]