Squash Masters – a Route to Playing for your Country

The Masters squash events started back in 2004. England Squash were approached by keen County and National squash player Martin Pearse, who had the idea of creating a series of events to keep squash players playing competitively past the age of 35. He also wanted to ensure that older players had the opportunity to play for England in international matches.

The Masters Series has come a long way since then! There are now six events every year – 4 regional events (North, South, East and Midlands) and two National Events – the National Closed Championships and the British Open. The regional events run across Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday, whilst the national events are typically over 4-5 days. They are a real test of both squash ability and stamina/fitness! Players who win through to finals day will often have to play two hard matches on a Friday, followed by two on the Saturday, and then the final on Sunday.

Players obtain ranking points based on their finishing position and match results in each event, with the two national events giving “double” points. The six players with the most points at the end of the season qualify to represent England in the home internationals series in April. Steve Davies finished top of the ranking points table in the Over 40s – testament to both his ability and his amazing levels of fitness! If anyone wishes to support Steve then the dates of his Home International matches are 28^th and 29^th April at The Park club in Nottingham – one match on the Friday and two on Saturday.

The events now typically draw between 200-300 squash players from across the country, are very professionally run, and are a real festival of squash. In addition to Steve Davies, participants from the Club include Steve Barlow, Tony Blott, Bruce St Ledger and Matthew Towers, and we hope to see more Club players taking part over the next few years. It is a great way to challenge yourself, improve your squash and meet lots of new, fellow squash players. So why not give it a go?

The next event is the British Open from 6^th to 11^th June at Colets in London, which is a lovely venue. The closing date for entries is 19^th May. We hope to see you there!