A week on form our brilliant senior nationals, it was the juniors turn to take centre stage as Belfast Boat Club and Lisburn Racquets Centre hosted the Irish Junior Nationals 2024. This was a massive chance for Irish Players to show their potential in front of a national audience and the tournament itself did not disappoint. Across all 10 categories (B/G U11, U13, U15, U17, U19), there was plenty of drama, excitement and superb squash with many matches going the distance.
A full list of winners can be found below, while full results are available here – https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Irish-Junior-National-Championships
Massive congratulations to our winners and massive thank you to Belfast Boat Club & Lisburn Racquets Centre for hosting.
Fitzwilliam LTC is set to play host to a stellar line-up for the 2024 national championships from the 9th-11th of Feb. With the profile of Irish Squash and our young stars on the rise, this year’s tournament is set to be a titanic battle for the coveted crown of national champion.
This year’s event will be headlined by the Men’s A and Women’s A titles, while the Men’s B will also be up for grabs.
The women’s draw will feature reigning champion Breanne Flynn, who has hit top form at the perfect time as she looks to retain her title, having added a Leinster Senior Open title and a Mount Pleasant Senior Open victory to her accolades last month.
Despite Breanne’s recent success and pedigree, it’s Lisburn’s Hannah Craig who enters the Women’s draw as the no.1 seed after a terrific start to her pro-circuit career. Hannah is based in the US and has recently cracked the top 100 world rankings with some impressive performances on a global stage including a silver medal at the Costa Rican Open.
There are plenty of other players across the Women’s draw who will hope to have a say after fine seasons including Emma Lundy (3 seed), Ciara Moloney Doheny (4 seed) and Hannah McGugan (5 seed).
On the men’s side, Sam Buckley, our men’s reigning champion and national number 1 is also starting to peak at the perfect time, as he looks to become the men’s national champion for the third straight year. Off the back of an impressive WSF Men’s Team World Championship in New Zealand, where Sam beat Malaysian Addeen Idrakie, the world no.64 in straight sets and a recent Mount Pleasant Senior Open title, Sam will be hoping to have things his own way this weekend.
However, if recent form is anything to go by, Sam will have his work cut out by his fellow WSF Men’s Team World Championship teammates, Conor Moran (2 seed), Oisin Logan (3 seed) and Michael Crevean (4 seed). Oisin is coming off the back of Leinster Senior Open title, while Conor already has a Curragh Squash Open and Munster Squash Open to his name this year. Michael was also crowned a provincial champion this season, winning the Ulster Senior Open.
With all 4 top seeds having titles in their seasons arsenal, it will be tough for anyone else to compete, however Sean Conroy (9 seed) may have something to say having reached the final in 2023 and 2022.
Finally, the Men’s B division will feature Fawwad Siddiqui (1 seed), Anuroop Balakrishnan Sobha (2 seed) and Nabil Merchant (3 seed) as they battle a field of 13 to become the Men’s B national champion after Dara O’Flynn was crowned champion in 2023.
Action will be live-streamed over the course of the weekend on Irish Squash TV
Full Draw & Schedule can be found here
Irish Squash have just published their 2024 Performance Support Programme for 2024 which lists the levels of funding which will be provided to Irish International Senior Performance, Junior Development & Future Performance Investment.
The Full Document can be found here – 2024 Performance Programme Support (1)
A new €6 million capital fund is available through county councils throughout the Republic of Ireland. The funding will provide capital support for small groups and organisations, such as affiliated squash clubs. There is a particular focus on small capital works, improvements, and the purchase of equipment for community use, making it an ideal means for squash clubs within the Republic of Ireland to upgrade their courts and auxiliary facilities, such as changing areas, showers, toilets, heating, or energy upgrades.
The closing date for applications, as well as the maximum amount available, differs within each county council. If your club wishes to avail of funding to enhance facilities or purchase equipment, I would encourage you to search for more details via your local council without delay. In some instances, the closing date is as early as late January, and funding of up to €10,000 is available. Applications for lesser amounts are likely to have a strong chance of success.
30% of the fund is ring-fenced for women’s groups and initiatives.
Who is eligible to apply?
Any not-for-profit community or voluntary group can apply, including squash clubs affiliated with Irish Squash. Please pay your €120 club affiliation fee if it is still outstanding.
What costs are eligible for funding?
The following provides a non-exhaustive list of projects that could receive capital funding under the program:
Additional information
Matched funding is not a requirement. If your club is successful with a grant application, Irish Squash can provide written evidence of a valid insurance policy, provided your club has completed affiliation.
For more information, please contact your local county council, local sports partnership, or Irish Squash at [email protected]. A selection of schemes currently open for applications can be found below. The fund is available through all local councils throughout the Republic of Ireland.
Additionally, the Team manager has a responsibility to report any incident of serious misconduct which may occur to the Honorary Secretary or National Children’s Officer.
1. 5th-7th March 2024 – Five Nations – U13’s & U15’s – Cardiff, Wales
2. 28th-31st March 2024 – European U19 Individual Team Championships – Bucharest, Romania
3. 8th-11th May 2024 – U/15 & U/17 European Team Championships –Portugal
To express your interest, please fill out this short form – Expressions of Interest for Irish Squash Junior Teams Managers – Form
The deadline for Expressions of Interest is Jan 29th
Registration is now open for the 2024 Irish Senior Nationals.
This is always a highly-anticipated event on the national calendar with Ireland’s top prospects competing against each other for top honours.
This years edition will take place in Fitzwilliam LTC from the 9th to 11th of February with a spectacular field expected.
Ireland’s top talents have made considerable progress in the last 12 months towards achieving their limitless potential, emphasised by Hannah Craig making the World Top 100 players and Sam Buckley’s recent straight set victory over the world no. 64 at the WSF Men’s Team World Championships in New Zealand.
This is set to be spectacle of incredible squash and not one to be missed.
Players can now register for the tournament on SportyHQ or by using the link below.
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Senior-National-Championships-2
Please note, registration closes on Feb 1st!
It was a busy weekend across the provincial landscape as squash took centre stage at the weekend with 4 events across the weekend.
Leinster Senior Open 2024
Fitzwilliam LTC hosted this month’s premiere billing, when the annual edition of the Leinster Senior Open took place on Saturday and Sunday. This field was stacked with talent across both the men’s and women’s draw and ultimately Ireland’s international talent rose to the fore. Off the back of an impressive showing in the WSF Men’s Team World Championship, Oisin Logan was crowned winner of the Men’s A Division. Another International regular, Breanne Flynn took the honours in the Women’s A Division, while David Ryan and David Connolly prevailed in the Men’s B & C Divisions respectively. The podium places can be viewed below, while full results are available at: https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Leinster-Senior-Open-2024-TOUR-5
Munster
While Leinster hosted the senior event of the weekend, Munster welcomed both Masters and Juniors down south to Cork and Waterford respectively for the Munster Masters Open and the Munster Junior Closed. Action was entertaining and tight across all age-groups in both codes of the Masters and Juniors with brilliant squash on show. The podium places for each event can be seen below with full results available at: https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Munster-Masters-Open-2024 & https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Munster-Junior-Closed-7.
Munster Masters Open 2024
Ulster
Meanwhile, from one end of the island to the other, Ulster hosted their Junior Closed for 2024 in the Lisburn Racquets Club on Saturday and Sunday. Action was tense across the different categories with plenty of tight matches emphasising the competitiveness of the event. Podium places can be found below, while full results are available at: https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Ulster-Junior-Closed-2024
Ulster Junior Closed 2024
The Leinster Open is being held in Fitzwilliam LTC, this weekend on Saturday and Sunday.
There are Men’s A, B & C events and a Women’s A event.
Top seeds in the Mens A are Conor Moran and Oisin Logan, Sam Buckley is injured at present. In the Womens draw, top seeds are Breanne Flynn and Emilia Korhonen from Finland.
Matches from Court 1 will be live streamed on Irish Squash TV – HERE
See Draws – HERE
