Ireland start their campaign in France today in the Women’s World Team Championships 2012. A record 26 nations will take part in the 2012 championship which is being hosted by Fédération Française de Squash from 12-17 November, and staged in France for the first time in its 33-year history.

The championship in Nimes will be held at the eight-court Club des Costières, and at La Parnasse Arena – where history will be made with action taking place simultaneously on three new state-of-the-art ASB all-glass show courts. Ireland are putting forward a strong team with Madeline Perry, Aisling Blake, Laura Mylotte and Breanne Flynn. We wish them all the best of luck. You can watch selected matches live from here. Ireland started off seeded 7th in the competetion and were in Pool G with Argentina and India.

Ireleland beat Argenina 3-0 but lost to India 1-2 and finished second in the Group.  Ireland were nextin the payoffs for 1 – 16th position.

Wednesday Update

On Wednesday Ireland played the host nation France to decide which team would go to the top 8.  Ireland had played France in the European Team Championship earlier in 2012 and had beaten them, so the French would be looking for revenge.  The atmosphere at the match was tense. The match was on the centre glass court in Parnasse with the vast majority of spectators naturally supporting the French team.

First on was the number three string, Laura Mylotte against Maude Duplomb.  Laura had lost to Maude in the Europeans 3-0 but the score was 11/9 in each game.  In this match  Laura lost the first game 7/11 but recovered well to win the next game 11/8, the third was long and exciting but went to the French at 15/13, Laura took control of the fourth and fifth ga,e and wore Maude out winning the last two games 11/8 and 11/4.

Next up was Madeline Perry against Camille Serme, the number one strings.  Madeline had beaten Camille 3/0 in the Europeans so we all hoped she would do the same again.  The first two games went to Madeline 11/8 and 12/10 and it looked as if it would go the same way as the Europeans, however Camille managed to come back to win the next two games 11/8 and 11/9.  So it was 2 all, the athmosphere in Parnasse was getting tenser by the minute, could Ireland finish it off and win the tie or could France hang in and make the third match count.  Madeline dug deep and showed her class by winning the fifth game 11/5.

Aisling Blake played Coline Aumard in a three set tie which she won easily 2-0.

Next up for Ireland is England, the No,1 seeds at 19.00 on the Centre court in Parnasse.  The team will be Madeline Perry, Aisling Blake and Breanne Flynn. It will be Breanne’s first cap at senior level, so best of luck to her and the rest of the team.

Thursday Update

Ireland played England – the No. 1 seed on Thursday 15th November on the centre court  in the Parnasse centre.

First on was Madeline Perry against Laura Massaro.  Madeline started well, taking control qnd winning the first game 11/7. Laura came out in the second finding the corners and winning it 11/2.  The third and fourth games were closer but Laura’s strength prevailed and she won them 11/8 and 11/9

Next up was Aisling Blake against Alison Waters. Alison’s strength prevailed and she beat Aisling 11/7, 11/3 and 11/3.

England had won the tie 2-0.  The number 3 stings went on to play the best of 3 games.  The players were Breanne Flynn against the English No: 3 Jenny Duncalf.  It was Breanne’s first cap at senior level.  Breanne played well but Jenny”s experience and ability won her the game 11/3 and 11/2:

On Friday, Ireland are playing New Zealand  at 17.00 on court 1 in the Parnasse Centre:

Friday Update

Ireland played England – the No. 1 seed on Thursday 15th November on the centre court  in the Parnasse centre.

First on was Madeline Perry against Laura Massaro.  Madeline started well, taking control qnd winning the first game 11/7. Laura came out in the second finding the corners and winning it 11/2.  The third and fourth games were closer but Laura’s strength prevailed and she won them 11/8 and 11/9

Next up was Aisling Blake against Alison Waters. Alison’s strength prevailed and she beat Aisling 11/7, 11/3 and 11/3.

England had won the tie 2-0.  The number 3 stings went on to play the best of 3 games.  The players were Breanne Flynn against the English No: 3 Jenny Duncalf.  It was Breanne’s first cap at senior level.  Breanne played well but Jenny”s experience and ability won her the game 11/3 and 11/2:

On Friday, Ireland are playing New Zealand  at 17.00 on court 1 in the Parnasse Centre.

Saturday Update

Day 5 at Womens world Team Championships in Nimes.

Ireland played New Zealand in their first match in the playoffs for 5th to 8th place.  It was always going to be a difficult match.

First on were the No. 1’s, Madeline Perry and Joelle King.  Joelle won the first game quickly 11/3, however in the second game Madeline increased her determination and the pace of the game and won it 11/7.  Joelle fought back to win the third game11/7.  The fourth game was very close with Madeline winning 14/12. Madeline continued playing well and went on to win the fifth game 11/3.  Madeline won 3/2.

Laura Mylotte went on next to play Amanda Landers Murphy.  Laura played well and putting the ball in the corners she won the first game 11/8. The second game was close with Amanda winning 12/10. Despite Laura’s best efforts Amanda went on to win the next two games 11/8 and 12/10.  Amanda won 3/1

Aisling Blake went on to play Jaclyn Hawkes in the deciding match.  Aisling won the first two games 11/5 and 11/9.  Jaclyn fought back and won the next two 11/4 and 11/8.  However Aisling dug deep, chased every ball and managed to win the final game 11/7. Aisling won 3/2 which meant that Ireland beat NewZealand 2/1 and are due to play India at 13.30 on Saturday in the play off for 5/6th place.

Ireland already met India in the pool matches, India won that match but hopefully that will be reversed today.

Updated rankings for O35s and O40s Maseters can be found here

Photos from the recent Leinster Masters 2012 held in Fitzwilliam

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SCHEDULE

Entries are invited to play in the Leinster Senior Open 2012 to be held in the Mount Pleasant and Fitzwilliam LTC in November.

• The tournament runs from Fri 16th November, Sat 17th November & Sun 18th November
• The event is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so come & see some of Ireland’s top squash players in action all support welcome.
• For further information visit www.leinstersquash.ie
• Reports: Day 2 (morning), Day 2 (evening), final day

Entries are being accepted for the Leinster Senior Open 2012.

Irish Squash hosted a junior squad in Galway last weekend which was fully subscribed and made up of from junior hopefuls from Connaught and Munster.

Everyone enjoyed the coaching session and it was great that there was a full takeup of all the available 24 places. Hadrian did a great job in keeping both juniors and coaches very busy for the day and it was a great experience in particular for juniors who were meeting Hadrian for the first time. Many thanks to all those who travelled for the day to get to the session and especially the parents and coaches who took part and volunteered their time to help.

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What makes the difference between winning a losing a squash match? This is a question all players ask themselves and there are many factors to consider. Our junior players in particular have to overcome older more experienced and “craftier” players than themselves as they climb the squash ladder.

In an effort to share experiences and so that we might all improve Hadrian Stiff our National Coach will answer any useful questions you may have.

You can e-mail your questions to Hadrian at [email protected] and we’ll post the responses to the most interesting ones.

Food questions

What should I be eating — and when — as an aspiring young squash athlete? Both generally and around tournaments?

• A healthy balanced diet most important for development of the mind and body. It will help to reduce injuries, improve growth development and help to avoid many illnesses. 5 x fruit and veg per day and at least 2 porttions of white meat and fish each week. Avoid red meat if possible. Many top players are now on a vegetarian diet as they feel it is helping performance. Prior and during a tournament just be aware of eating and drinking enough. Drink plenty of water and use isotonic drinks for quick recovery after matches. I like powerade and Gatorade but there are many products out there that claim to boost energy etc. Avoid caffeine drinks completely! Try to eat soon after matches especially if you have more than one per day.

Handling a loss

I feel disheartened and like giving up after losing a match to someone I know I should beat – what can I do?

• Losing to someone you expect to beat is never a good feeling so it important to be able to rationalise what has happened. Firstly the idea of ‘knowing you should win’ is better to keep out of your mind. Good, consistent performances involve staying inside the process of what needs to be done throughout the match. This means the warm up, the game plan and any other key elements that bring good results, like staying relaxed. If you apply all these things well and you don’t win then either your opponent has had a very good day or you are simply not good enough on the day. If you have lost but know that you have been distracted from the process then you now why you have lost and can improve and learn from this. Focusing on the result too much is one the most common reasons for poor performance.

How should I play against someone with a similar ranking that I haven’t played before?

• The answer to this question is above. If you can find any background information on the player then you can use this in your game plan. Otherwise focus on what you need to do well to produce a good performance. It is so easy to be distracted by rankings, players you know or big events but none of these is within your control. What you can can control though is your performance and the processes involved in making it a good one.

The Leinster Masters Open will take place on 2nd and 3rd Nov 2012 in Fitzwilliam LTC Dublin.

Entries to Patrick Murray, Tournament Director  [email protected] register online

The British Junior Open will be held from 2^nd until 6^th of January, 2013 in Sheffield, England. This is the biggest event in ESF junior circuit , attracting the strongest junior players from all over the world.

Irish squash have decided to bring a team of juniors to this event, the players will be supervised by a chaperon and 2 coaches. If you are interested in sending your child/children to the BJO, please email Irish Squash before Monday 29th of October.

We are also planning a pre-tournament squash camp in the week before the event for those who are interested.

We estimate the cost per junior to be in region of €550 depending on flights costs and accommodation costs. Once we have an indication of numbers we will provide more precise coatings

ULSTER SENIOR OPEN

Ballyearl Leisure Centre

Friday 26^th Oct – Sunday 28^th Oct 2012

Tournament Director – Neal Pollock – Tel: 07738973930

MENS, WOMENS EVENTS – ALL STANDARDS AND GRADES

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS WILL BE RUN FOR MEN/WOMEN DEPENDING ON SIZE OF ENTRY

SWISS FORMAT, ALL EVENTS WILL ADOPT TRADITIONAL SCORING

Note: Tournament may run as sections of 8, finishing on Sat 27th, depending on size of entry

CONDITIONS

• Closing date/time for receipt of entries: Monday 22^nd Oct  11 am
• No late entries will be accepted
• All players must sign-in at the tournament desk on arrival
• Payment must be received before the first match. If no payment is received the player will be scratched. Please ensure you are able to pay on arrival
• Any player who is not on court at the allocated time will concede their match
• All players will be expected to referee
• By entering the tournament all players submit to abide by the Ulster Squash Code of Conduct (full details of which can be found on the Ulster squash website)

Entry form here

That's what you call a clean-sweep for Carlow: Arthur Gaskin, Ciara Moloney, Claire O'Neill, and Brian Byrne (left to right) - winners and runner-ups in the A-draws. (photo courtesy of Dermot O'Brien)

The six draw strong Munster Open 2012 finished today with what was a Carlow clean-sweep in the top flights, with Claire O’Neill taking first place in the Ladies A with a win over Ciara Moloney , and Arthur Gaskin beating Brian Byrne by three games to love. It’s worth pointing out that the finals were held in Sunday’s Well (2 courts), which is the main Munster Open venue, along with Silversprings (2 courts) and Highfield (3 courts). It may sound odd to have a tournament in three venues, but the Munster Open tournament crew managed the six draws (Mens A – E and Ladies A) marvelously, as always. Incidentally, this year was also the first year I personally got to see all three venues – my first matches were in Sunday’s Well and I was 100% sure my 10:40am match on Sunday morning was at Highfield (it wasn’t). I arrived there after a forty minute walk at 10:35am, only to find the club closed. Fifteen minutes later a cab finally stopped, and I was at Silversprings another fifteen minutes later. Luckily, Silverspring’s tournament assistant Eddie Murphy and my opponent Michael Craig were very accommodating with my late arrival.

The Mens A final, as told by Munster Squash's Facebook page!

As I mentioned before, the Mens A draw was a real cracker, and following some early upsets on Friday, seeds continued to tumble on Saturday. Graeme Stewart, the number one seed from Belfast, lost to Brian Byrne 3:1 – the same scoreline as in the Curragh Open two weeks previously. Niall Rooney got past number four seed Keith Moran in four hard games, while Arthur Gaskin and Derek Ryan got past Steve Richardson and Rory Birtwistle.

While Brian Byrne, having not played a full season in 2011/2012 and is still moving up the ranking, continued to move effortlessly and very very quickly, by the semis Niall Rooney was struggling with blisters. When Connaught man Rooney lost the first game in the tie-break, it was always going to be an uphill struggle, and he ultimately faltered 0:3. Nonetheless, Rooney will have been very happy with his fourth place finish (he had to concede his last match), which will see him jump a few positions in the ranking. The other semi-final was a repeat of the 2011 final between Derek Ryan and Arthur Gaskin. Gaskin, currently just outside the top 100 in the world managed to beat Ryan 3:2, 11:2 in the fifth, but Ryan, 15 years Gaskin‘s senior, looks in great form. I am sure his recent matches in the Legends of Squash series, where he faced former world number ones David Palmer and John White, have been great preparation!

Despite his tough Saturday matches, Arthur Gaskin was always in control against Brian Byrne, but Brian, with his irresistible pick-ups and court coverage, never gives up and made Arthur work for his win. Gaskin, currently based in Bristol and having travelled to Brail, Costa Rica, and Gibraltar for his most recent PSA events, will be happy to see that he is still very much the man to beat in Irish squash! And speaking of happy: a special shout-out to the junior program at Carlow Lawn & Tennis Club, who provided the Munster Open 2012 with not two, not three, but all four finalists of the A-draws. Dan Z.