Concordia Squash
Players,
                                             
The 4 teams playing in the Handicap Mini League on Sunday 1st September
2013 are as
follows;
 
Miss-Hits.                                                
(Mark Livingstone, Chris Brock and Tony Hedley)
Norfolk and  Chance                              
(David Mcrae, Peter Edney and Roland Smith)
Broken  Strings                                       
(Dan Cussack, Michael Jones and Neil Taylor)
Gangnan  Style                                       
(Keith Gray, Andy Lawrence and Mark Knott)
 
6pm prompt  start.
I'll need £3 per man to cover the court costs.
The handicaps and
who plays who will be drawn on the night. The 2 highest  scoring teams go
through to the final to be played on 8th September  2013.
If you are
not playing, come along anyway and support the event. The bar is open.
Ian
Mc 

Minutes from the Concordia Squash
Club
                   
AGM 2013.


The meeting was held on the evening of Wednesday 31st July 2013 at Concordia
bar.

 Those present were Ian McAllister, Margaret Benn, Roland Smith, Derek  Railston and Sally Faulkener.
Apologies were received from Lesley Old.  
 
The minutes from last years AGM were read and agreed.


The Secretary’s report was read and discussed. The report reflected on a
steady year once again with one or two new members joining the club.
The
Squash England situation highlighted last year has now been fully resolved,
unfortunately we are stuck with the silly situation of their fees due in June of
each year while our membership is unknown until August of that year, August
being the beginning of the squash season. (£7.50 per member totalling £382.50,
no small amount)
Concordia Admin’ have an updated list of our membership
which in turn is forwarded to Squash England.
It was agreed that a sub-group
would lobby Concordia management in an effort to introduce squash coaching to
the centre, Ian McAllister to pursue his coaching badges if it was a worthwhile
venture.


Roland reported that the website and leagues were running well however one
issue had come to notice, that of being a member of the centre alongside our
club membership.
It was agreed that all our members will be asked to join the
centre as it is unfair for non centre members to expect others to book all the
courts as is happening on occasions.
The leagues and website were running
well. On behalf of the club Ian thanked Roland for another years efforts and a
faultless system praised by many in the club.  

Last years fees paid to Squash England were confirmed. (Later brought up in
the Treasurer’s report.)
 
                                                       
2
The introduction of a third men’s team was discussed. No one had any
comment on the change of men’s team game starting time, i.e. from 7.20pm to
6.40pm to alleviate the problems with the 10pm bar closure.


The two main competitions will remain in their present format including free
entry. Any mini league handicap will demand an entry fee. (£3 per man covered
the costs last time out)


Margaret presented the balance sheet for the last financial year. In brief
the club has spent more than the income generated with a closing balance of
£1,695.43, a net loss of £549.82.
With that in mind, along with rising court
costs and the additional men’s team,  the club joining fee is to go up by
£5 to £25.
Team fees will stay as they are;  £6 per man per match.
It
is anticipated that the team game meal costs will not increase. Should there be
an unexpected rise then the team fees may be revised.


Margaret announced that she wished to stand down from her role as Treasurer.
Having not played squash for the last 6 years or so and pursued her new sporting
interest in golf her efforts are very much appreciated. Ian offered a huge thank
you for her support, guidance and enthusiasm in keeping us on the straight and
narrow.


It was accepted that with little or no interest from any other club members
in joining the committee, the roles within that committee would have to be
rearranged between ourselves. The following officials were elected.


Secretary                         
Roland Smith  (still league
secretary)
Treasurer                         
Ian McAllister (still competition
organiser)
Committee                      
Derek
Railston
Committee                      
Leslie
Old
Committee                      
Sally Faulkener


No representative from the teams were present but it was agreed that Tony
Hedley would adopt the role of club captain and first team captain.
Ian
McAllister.

That's the 2012/2013 season at an end.
Look out for another mini league bash around August/September before the new season gets formally under way. 
There has been some interest in creating a third men's team to enter the Northumbria leagues for the 2013/2014 season. This is very much what the club is all about. To promote team squash (and squash in general) however the teams are subsidised to a certain degree by the club.
In order to raise funds for the teams and the competitions I am doing a monthly draw offering the opportunity to win 3 cash prizes. I am canvassing those newer club members to become involved. 
Numbers are £2.00 per month, you can have as many numbers as you like. The draw has been going for many years and players old and new still receive a surprise cash windfall.
Myself and other club members have a direct debit in place (mine is £4.00 per month for two numbers) and don't need to give it a second thought... until your number comes out of the hat of course. 
Some prefer to pay cash as and when I see them.  
If there is a favourable response then the cash prizes will be reviewed, i.e. increased. At the moment they stand at £20, £10 and a conciliation £5 but to be fair players have faded away and numbers have dwindled. Hence this appeal.
Just let me know, especially those keen to play team squash !

Concordia Squash Players,
                                              The  finals start at 6.40pm tonight. (3rd May) Mark Knott plays Nick Fecitt in  the B final after a hard fought and thoroughly entertaining semi final match  with Peter Irlam last night. 
Tony Hedley is looking to regain his title in  the A competition against Ian Morton. Both finalists made steady progress in
their semi final games beating Jamie Morton and Steve Goldie respectively.

Please come along and support the event.
Ian Mc    

After Wednesday night's matches this is how the semi finals look, all to be  played on Thursday 2nd May. 6.40pm start

A Competition
Tony Hedley                     v                  Jamie Morton    6.40pm start
Steve Goldie                     v                  Ian Morton

B Competition
Peter  Irlam                      v                  Mark Knott     
Keith Gray                        v                  Nick Fecitt           6.40pm

Please  come up up support the event, the bar is open.
Ian
Mc     

After the second round of the A competition and the 1st round of the B  competition, this is how the draw looks for Wednesday evening, 1st May
A  competition
Tony Hedley                     v                          Bye
Bye                                     v                       Jamie  Morton
Bye                                     v                       Steve  Goldie
Ian Morton                       v                       Bruno  Gaultier  Later match

B Competition
Peter Edney                     v                         Peter Irlam
Dan Cussack                    v                          Mark Knott
Keith Gray                       v                          Dave Hall
Martin Davison              v                         Nick  Fecitt

Courts 2 and 3 are booked from 6.40pm Wednesday 1st May (NOT  6.00pm) Awkward numbers meant for a bit of an unusual round in the A  competition with 'byes' and 2 wild card entries (Dan Cussack and Peter Edney)  were needed to make up the last eight in the B, both these players were highest  scoring runners up in the last round, however there should be some interesting
matches to watch all the same. Please come along and support the event.

Chances are there will be some free courts available from 8pm onward if  anyone wants to utilise them. (Obviously no guarantees, all depending on how  matches play out.)   
Ian Mc

After all the first round matches were  played, the draw was carried out by Leslie Old, our ladies team captain and here
is how the A and b competition will progress  on Tuesday evening;

A  Competition
Tony Hedley                        v                       Robin  Ritchie     6pm start
Steve Goldie                        v                       Khizer Khan        6pm start
Andy Lawrence                   v                        Bruno Gaultier   later start
Ian Morton                          v                        Les Carr               later start
Jamie Morton                      v                       Rob Owens         later start

B  Competition
Peter Edney                        v                        Mark  Knott        6pm start
Dave Hall                             v                       Graeme Sneddon later start 
Bye                                      v                        Nick Fecitt
Keith Gray                           v                         Dave Mcrae
Martin Davison                    v                         Dan Cussack
Rory Whaling                      v                         Peter Irlam                

Can players get to Concordia as soon  as they are able, some made me aware that they have work commitments which meant
they may be late but I need players ready to play straight after the designated  6pm matches.
Cheers
Ian Mc  

Concordia Squash Players,
                                              With all the entries in, the draw for the main competition was carried out in
Concordia bar last night (Sunday 14th April) Adjudicated by Jim Bell. Here is  how the names came out.
Tony Hedley (1)                v      Bye
Mark  Livingstone             v      Martin Davison
Les Carr                            v     Rory Whaling
Steve Goldie                     v      Nick  Fecitt
Jamie Morton                   v     Dave McRae
Peter Irlam                        v     Khizer Khan
Dave Hall                           v      Roland Smith
Rob Owens                       v     Keith Gray
Bruno  Gaultier                 v     Dan Cussack
Graeme Sneddon            v      Robin Ritchie
Peter Edney                     v      Andy Lawrence
Ian  Morton                      v     Mark Knott

I will try and give each of  the matches an estimated start time to save people hanging about too much, I've  booked the courts from 6pm. (Earlier than out usual start time.) Please let me  know who cannot make it for 6pm and I'll organise accordingly.
In case you  have forgotten. 6pm Monday 29th April. 1st round losers go into the B  competition on the Tuesday to run alongside the second round of the A comp'. 

Finals on Friday 3rd May

Ian
Mc              

The Miss-Fits (Chris Brock,  Tony Hedley and Mark Livingstone) are the first team to get their name on the  Mini League Shield after they beat the Broken Strings (Michael Jones, Neil  Taylor and Peter McCourt)

Despite Don Pattison giving Tony Hedley a run for  his money in the semi's, Tony remained strong to beat Michael Jones in the  final. Both Chris Brock and Mark Livingstone also demonstrated the value of  their fitness to come through to win their finals matches, Chris beating a tired Peter McCourt and Mark wearing down Neil Taylor despite a valiant  effort.
Thank you to all those who entered the competition as well as those  who turned out to watch and make a night of it.

A special mention to Steve  Goldie and Nick Fecitt for marking the bulk of the games, particularly in the  early rounds.

If the response is  favourable we can have another mini league later in the year, I'm open to any  suggestions on how we could improve the format.
The end of season closed  competion is to run from Monday 29th April with the final on Friday 3rd May.

Can I have your entries in  ASAP so I have an idea of how many courts to book. Entry is free, first round  losers will go into the B competion (plate) to start Tuesday 30th so all  entrants will get to play at least 2 games.
Enjoy your squash.
Ian Mc 

Concordia Squash Players,

  The  draw was done Friday night and the teams/players came out of the hat as shown  below.
 
Sally Faulkner         v     Peter Edney
Craig  Tuck             v     Andy Pattison
David  Mcrae          v  Ian McAllister
 
Tony  Hedley          v       Keith Gray   (Never fails to happen eh Keith ?)
Mark  Livingstone   v     Rob Owen
Chris  Brock           v     Bruno Gaultier
 
Andy  Lawrence     v     Michael Jones
Dan  Cussack        v     Neil  Taylor
Mark Knott             v     Peter Mcourt
 
Rory  Whaling       v   
Steve  Goldie        v
Nick  Fecitt            v
As  stated already, the third highest scoring team from the top two matches will  play Rory, Steve and Nick unless we had a last minute entry from another  team.
5.20pm prompt on Sunday 24th March
Ian Mc 
        

Concordia Squash Players,
                                   
I have 7 teams (see below) submitted for the Sunday Mini league. (24th  March) I'm looking at a prompt 5.20pm start. The first 4 teams out of the  hat play their match. Same Handicap format. All points scored count. Best of 3  games to 21, American scoring. Negative handicaps to be reasonably  adjusted.
The winners go through to the finals night. The third highest  scoring team get a second bite of the cherry and make up the four to play  later that evening. Similarly the 2 winning teams go through to the finals night  on  Sunday 7th April 2013. 
 
Concordia  Tomatoes.          Dan Cussack (0) Andy Lawrence (+3) Mark  Knott (+5)
Broken  Strings.                    Michael Jones (-3) Neil Taylor (+7) Peter Mcourt (-2)
Macrae's  Team                    David Macrae (+10) Sally Faulkner (+12) Craig Tuck (+10)
Miss  Hits                              Mark Livingstone (-8) Tony Hedley (-20) Chris Brock (+8)
Norfolk +  Good.                   Peter Edney (+10) Andy Pattison (+9) Ian McAllister (-10)
Second  Strings                    Nick Fecitt (-6) Steve Goldie (-8) Rory Whaling (-6)
Les  Escargots                      Keith Gray (+5) Bruno Gaultier (-6) Rob Owens (+4)
 
£3.00 per man  should cover the cost of the courts. It is difficult to predict how  long matches will take so can I ask that those teams due to play in the second  'four' still come up in good time (say no later than 6.15pm)   and support the event. 
I'll do the draw on Friday evening (8th  March) at Concordia when there are people around to witness it  all.
Ian Mc    

Concordia Squash Players,                                     
The final took place last night (Friday 1st March) with Don Pattison putting up a valliant effort against Ian Morton.
With an age difference Don wouldn't  want to mention, he did well to take the first game 21-15, Ian however was  just too strong in the final third of the match and managed to overhaul the -10  to +6 deficit in a measured fashion and won 21-19, 21-16. Match to  Ian 2-1 to take away a trophy and winners prize of £40. 
Thank  you to those who turned out to watch the match, I'm sure the finalists appreciated the support and enjoyed the game all the more playing to a crowd. Thanks to Les Carr who turned out throughout the weeks to mark games during each round of the competition. 
Watch out for the closed competition after Easter. 
Ian Mc 

Concordia Squash Players,
                                    
  The semi finals took place last night (Monday 25th February) Don  Pattison played Keith Gray and Mark Livingstone played Ian
Morton. Don and Keith were closely handicapped at +6 and +4  respectively. As always Keith gave 110% and worked extremely
hard to return many of Don's deceptive and often delayed shots. Don  was just too accurate and showed his experience in mixing things up  throughout the match. Don won 2-1 but truthfully, on another day, it could have gone the other way. A great game to watch.
The other semi was similar  in that both players were closely handicapped. (-8 and -10) Mark  Livingstone has improved massively this season, his introduction to team squash  has seen his game go up to another level in both technical ability  and court movement. Both of these players are fine hitters of the  ball, there is no doubt that Ian has gone through the junior coaching
programme and shows us all how it should be done. This meant for a great  battle with many long rallies to the back of the court as well as  some very hard work by both players retrieving each others drop shots on a  cold court. This also went to the wire with Ian just getting there in the third  game winning 21-17.
There was a good turn out to watch the games  which was great to see. Thank you to Steve Goldie for marking Ian and
Mark's game. 
The final is at 6.40pm on Friday 1st March. Please
come along and watch the match.
Ian Mc      

Concordia Squash Players,
                                    The quarter  finals of the Handicap Competition took place last night (Monday 18th February)
All four matches were fiercely contested and produced some thoroughly  entertaining rallies.
There was virtually nothing between Keith Gray and  Mark Knott, the pair having already played each other several times leading up
to the competition, it could have gone either way however Keith got over the  line first winning 21-14 in the third.
Don Pattison showed his experience and  made good use of his points advantage over Nick Fecitt who just couldn't make
ground. Don took it 21-16, 21-18.
Both Mark Livingstone and Ian Morton  managed to overturn their deficit to catch Chris Brock and Andy Lawrence
respectively but both had to battle hard to do so. Mark beat Chris 21-17 in  the third while Ian beat Andy 21-19, also in the third. They don't come closer  than this.
A big thank you to Les Carr who marked 2 of the games and to those  spectators who made it an event.
The draw for the semi finals, Dave Buckle  doing the honours, came out with Keith Gray (+4) playing Don Pattison (+6) and
Mark Livingstone (-8) playing Ian Morton (-10).
Both of these semi's will be  played on Monday 25th February, 6.40pm start. The final is on Friday 1st March,  also 6.40pm.       
Ian Mc    

Concordia Squash Players,
                                     In a world of  internet websites, blogs, twitter, facebook and heaven knows how many other
means of communicating that I haven't got my head round yet, I was surprised to   receive a bundle of good old fashioned newspapers in the post.
The new  publication of the Professional Squash Association called 'Squash-Xtra' has been  sent to squash clubs around the country. I have put our club copies on the  counter to the left of Concordia reception. Please take a copy next time you are
passing.
The newspaper has some good coaching tips, interesting articles on  past masters and some injury advice. Well worth a read.
If you are not  throwing red roses over a candle lit dinner table our men's 1st team are playing  at home tonight (Thursday 14th Feb') you will see some top quality squash.
7.20pm start.
Ian Mc 

Concordia Squash Players,
                                     The first of
the knock out rounds were played on Monday (11th February). The 6 match winners  plus the two highest scoring losers went into the draw for the next round. Thank  you to Dave Buckle for hanging back to draw the names out of the hat, he had a
bottle of lager to finish anyway.
This is how the draw came out. 
 
Andy Lawrence (+3)          v             Ian Morton (-10)
Keith Gray    (+4)               v             Mark Knott (+5)
Don Pattison    (+6)           v             Nick Fecitt  (-6)
Mark Livingstone (-8)        v             Chris Brock (+8)

Keith Gray who always gives 110% reaped the rewards of  his hard work by going through as one of the highest scoring losers (33pts).
Nick Fecitt (30pts) was the other after a hard fought battle with Mark Knott who  is much improved this season and who had a 11 point advantage. Mark went through  winning 2-1.
The quarter finals to be played 6.40pm Monday 18th February  2013. Please come along and support the event.
Ian Mc

Concordia Squash Players,
                                    The draw for the knock out stage of the competition was carried out at Concordia bar last night (Friday) with the names drawn by Geoff Armstrong from behind the bar and adjudicated by Jim Bell who used to play squash 50 years ago.
This is how the matches came out. 
Kizer Khan (-8)           v     Andy Lawrence (+3)
Tony Hedley (-19)       v     Ian Morton (-10)
Nick Fecitt (-6)            v      Mark Knott (+5)
Don Pattison (+6)       v     Keith Gray (+4)
Mark Livingstone (-8)  v     Steve Goldie (-8)
Roland Smith (+3)      v     Chris Brock (+8)
 
All the games to be played on Monday 11th February 2013. (6.40pm start) The above list is the order in which the names came out of the hat and not necessarily the order of play.
The six match winners plus the two highest scoring losers go through to the last eight. Same format as before, best of three games to 21, American scoring. 
The quarters are scheduled for Monday 18th February 2013, 6.40pm.
Please come along to support the event.
Ian Mc        

Concordia Squash Players,
       Groups 6 to 10  played their 1st round matches last night (Monday 28th January) and here are the  results.

Group 6 Winner      Tony Hedley
Group 7 Winner      Ian  Morton
Group 8 Winner      Andy Lawrence
Group 9 Winner      Kizer  Khan
Group 10 Winner    Steve Goldie

All 5 group winners went through  having won both their matches scoring the maximum 84pts. Chris Brock joined  Roland Smith and Peter Edney on 80pts as highest scoring runners up however on  count back Roland and Chris go through. Sorry Peter but that single tin at 20-20  in the first game against Mark Livingstone was the clincher. Chris and Roland  managed to take a game (1-2) while beaten by Steve Goldie and Andy Patterson  respectively.
The points tally for the other players were as follows; Dave  Hall 42pts, Findlay Mclean 78pts, Dave Mcrae 74pts, Martin Davison 63pts, Jamie  Morton 72pts, John Ormsby 78pts, Neil Taylor 77pts, Rob Owen 73pts, Peter Irlam  71pts.

Those 12 successful players will play in the knock out stage on Monday  11th February 2013 (6.40pm start) I'll do the draw at Concordia bar on Friday  1st February. All handicaps will stay as they are.
A big thank you to Les  Carr and Graeme Sneddon who came up to watch the games and ended up marking  throughout the evening.
A special mention to Rob Owen and Martin Davison who  stepped in at the last to make the round robin format a success.

Cheers
Ian Mc  

Concordia Squash Players,
            Anyone at a  loose end Saturday tea-time, the men's 1st team have a home cup match against  Alnwick starting 5.20pm Saturday 26th January 2013.

Come along to Concordia  to support the team and watch some high quality squash.
Ian Mc