Club courting squash success in biggest game ever (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Club courting squash success in biggest game ever

9:00am Monday 22nd October 2012 in Sport By Daniel Orr, Reporter

KENDAL Squash players will show their support to the sport’s 2020 Olympic bid when they take part in the biggest squash match in history.

Members of Kendal Squash Club, at The Brewery car park in Highgate, are taking part on World Squash Day on Saturday to swell the numbers and hopefully attract new players to the sport in the hope of ensuring squash is included in the Olympic Games in eight years time.

Clubs from across the world staging matches whose scores will all count towards an overall global result between Team Squash and Team 2020.

Alistair Pease, who is organising the Kendal event, which runs from 10am to midday, said, “After the success of the London Olympics imagine how fantastic it would be if we could find a young person in Kendal who would be able to represent their country playing squash in the 2020 Olympics.”

Organisers hope the total figure of competitors will run into the hundreds of thousands, and enable them to claim the event as the biggest sports fixture in history, as well as the biggest squash match.

Andrew Shelley, chief executive of the World Squash Federation, said: “There are more than 50,000 courts spread across the world and to give the players on all of them the chance to compete in the same championship will bring the world of squash together in such a unique way. A day to look forward to, a day that will be remembered!

In the afternoon the club is hosting the annual Mike McElroy Memorial Tournament, a match between in honour of former club member, Mike McElroy.

Meanwhile, team squash started this week and Kendal’s three teams were all in action against other clubs in the county. The A team narrowly lost 2-3 at Whitehaven. Kendal’s winners were Gary Edwards and Dave Archer.

The B team, featured three debutants in a home match against Dalton B but lost 1-4 despite pushing three matches to five closely contest sets. Kendal’s very own Aussie Russelll Lillibridge was the sole winner for the home side.

The ladies team beat Penrith 3-1 with Bridget Wedderburn, Gill Steel and Penny Hitchin notching up victories.