Bridlington Squash League continues to grow and 2017 promises to be its biggest year yet. Since being created, it has grown from just two divisions in 2012 with approximately 15 players; to five divisions and one Ladies Only Division. Since moving to their new facilities at East Riding Leisure Bridlington in June 2016, the Squash League has continued to grow and now has over 70 players registered.
With three local committee members overseeing the running of the club and running the leagues and tournaments via their impressive website, www.bridlingtonsquashleague.co.uk , a typical season lasts only 3 months. With each division and tournament being sponsored by Local Businesses, both the league format and game itself are fast and furious. Whilst HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is flavour of the month for the likes of Davina McCall and Ben Shephard, squash players have known the secrets benefits of HIIT for years. In fact, Squash was recently rated as the healthiest sport in a survey conducted by the widely respected and influential US business magazine Forbes.
Bridlington Squash League is about to start their new 2017 League and there are still spaces available for players of all standards. Anyone wishing to join should go to their website and register their interest. Once registered in the league, players contact each other directly and arrange their games at a mutually convenient time; then register the result on the website. It only costs £10 per year to be a member and it is a great opportunity to play people of the same standard.
A key focus for 2017 is to get more ladies playing and grow the number of Ladies Only divisions. With several ladies playing in the mixed leagues, there are currently around 15 ladies registered to play. The standards can vary from complete novice to experienced match players, but with friendly coaching available and an active social scene, there has never been a better time to learn to play this fantastic sport.
Some major news from 2016 was Bridlington Squash League joining the Humber and District League and mixing it with the best players Hull and East Riding has to offer. It has been over 10 years since Bridlington were represented in the Humber and District League and a few players felt the time was now right for the club to be represented on the big stage once again. Bridlington Squash is sponsored by The Workshop and Jewellers Academy, both on Prospect Street, Bridlington; and all players kits have been supplied by the local Jewellery Specialists.
The Team of 8 named players, captained by Ian Thurlbeck, go up against the likes of Beverley, Hull University, East Riding, and Goole, on a weekly basis and have given a very good account of themselves so far. As Captain, Ian selects his best 4 players from himself, Adam Yates, Nick Malarkey, Derek Boyd, Steve Brown, Chris Grainger, Alex Yates and Glyn Owen to play and each player then plays a “Best out of 5” match against his opponent. The first half of the season is now complete and the boys are taking a well-earned Christmas Break before the matches start again in January. Bridlington Squash currently sit 3rd in the Division and Ian is extremely happy with the season so far.
Ian said “We have been talking about joining the Humber and District League for a few years but never felt we had enough quality players to compete against the best teams in the region or if people would be committed enough to play every week – Home and Away. I have been very impressed with the commitment and focus from each player so far and we are in a great position going into the 2nd half of the season. Each player wants to play and it makes it hard to leave good players out. We are going to need two teams next season…”.
Bridlington Squash play their home matches on Thursday evenings from 7pm and people are encouraged to come along and watch for free.
Another focus for 2017 is the Junior Scene and East Riding Leisure Bridlington are currently in the process of recruiting a Junior Squash Coach. Information will be published on the Website and via Social Media so watch this space…
