This Event was held at Wolverhampton Squash Club over the period of 19-20 Oct 22 and hosted by the RAF on behalf of UKAF Squash Rackets Association
Army Men’s
Despite an under-strength Mens team the selected Army players had some close games with WO2 Baz Watson and LCpl Adam Smart getting to the semi-finals but resulted in The RAF ultimately taking the trophy.
Army Women
The Army Women’s team was only able to field 2 players for the competition this year due to last minute injuries. Deployments, availability and injuries affected turn out from all 3 services, with this competition sadly having the lowest turn out noted in the last 7 years.
Aside from that, it was a fiercely fought tournament with a quality display of squash as the Army seeds 1 Maj Elaine Radcliffe & 2 Capt Michelle Higgins battled between and against RAF Seed 1 Wg Cdr Chrissy Miller. The resultant final was between Army Seeds 1 & 2, in which Elaine Radcliffe managed to inch ahead in the closely fought match against Michelle Higgins to take the win. This provides a good level of confidence for the Army Women’s Team as they look forward to the UKAF Inter-Services in the new year.
Army U25
The junior Army team only had one entry due to course, exercise and other commitments. Spr Matt Mclaughlin was unlucky not to win any matches on his first selection for the Army team but gave it his all and will come back a stronger player next year. The RAF were also victorious in winning the U25’s cup.
Army Masters
WO2 Gaz Hall shone throughout with some excellent squash seeing him progress with ease through to the final. He went on to triumph 3-0 to take the title.
In summary a full strength Army Squash team could have taken all four titles on a good day but unavoidable commitments saw us come away with 2 of the four trophies which is a commendable effort.
The team looks forward to several training sessions and to re-engaging with the RN and RAF players at the Inter Services team event in early February next year where we hope to be back to our full complement of top players.
Images and Results
Link to images can be found here
