This Is Guernsey

GUERNSEY juniors dominated the finals of the Hampshire Junior County Squash championships. Thanks to support from sponsor Butterfield Bank, over 80 juniors competed at Beau Sejour for the coveted titles ranging from 11 to 19 in the boys’ event and 13 to 17 in the girls’ event.

It was the first time in the history of the event that Guernsey has had the chance to host the competition and with the exception of the under-17 boys section, local juniors reached all the finals.

Henry Birch took his first Hampshire title in the under-19 competition before heading off to university immediately after the match.

Birch defeated England number three under-17 Philip Bull from Winchester in a nailbiting five-setter. For Birch it represented a fantastic achievement and one that he had been waiting for a very long time.

It was also the perfect send off present for him and his family.

Other Hampshire titles were also taken from Guernsey girls Natalie Dodd and Amy Stenner in the under-17 and under-13 events respectively.

Jack Tacon, Katherine Jensen and brother Andrew, Issey Norman-Ross and Janick Radford all ended the weekend as runners-up in their categories.

With only two entries in the under-17 girls event, Dodd was by far the stronger player and beat Stephanie Walker in straight sets and without dropping a point.

Stenner and Jensen’s under-13 girls final was much closer with the older Jensen taking the match in the fifth.

Issey Norman-Ross, 14, put in a gutsy performance in the hotly-contested under-15 girls final and was only narrowly beaten in four by England number five Emily Heyes. Third and fourth positions went to Hampshire’s Catherine Finlayson and Emily Crowcroft respectively.

Twelve-year old Jack Tacon played some superb squash to reach the final of the under-15 boys’ event, despite playing up a level.

However, his opponent, Michael Burn from Portsmouth, was just a little too strong and took the game 3-1. Third and fourth position went to Hampshire’s Nicholas Armstrong and Lewis Subbington.

Janick Radford, seeded number one in the under-13 boys, came up against a much-improved Alex Finch of Southampton who from two games down, fought back to take the title in five.

Robert Downer from Portsmouth beat Winchester’s James Heyes 3-0 in the under-17 event and in the under-11 boys Winchester’s Tom Kirby beat local player Andrew Jensen 3-0.

‘The whole weekend was a fantastic success,’ said Martin Watts, assistant director of Island Squash and tournament organiser.

‘So much so that the Hampshire Squash Association has agreed that Guernsey should host the Junior County Closed Championships every three to four years, which is a fantastic result for Guernsey squash.’