The draw for the competition took place at Concordia bar on Sunday 6th April, thank  you to Derek Railston for pulling the names, adjudicated by Jim Bell. 
Tony Hedley    v   Bye
Keith Grey   v       Andy Pattison
Mark  Knott     v   Peter Irlam
Paul Scott    v       Rory Whaling
Daniel  Monera  v Robin Ritchie
Graeme  Sneddon  v  Dan Cussack
Steve Goldie     v        Nick Fecitt
Ian Morton      v   Bye
Jamie Morton    v    Bye
Andrew Walton    v     Dave Hall
Peter Edney          v    John Ormsby
Rob Owen    v         Mark Livingstone
Bruno Gaultier     v    Chris Brock
Martin  Davison    v         Les Carr
Dave McRae  v      Paul Blakely.
Ian McAllister      v    Bye

I have all 3 courts booked so the first three matches listed above will start  at 6pm prompt. Let me know if you are unable to make it for 6pm, It would  be good if ALL could come up as early as possible to make a night of it, that  and staying back after your match to support the event. I will need a hand with  some marking also.

Ian  Mc      

The 2014 Handicap competition was held on Tuesday 11th March  2014, In  the semi's Rob Owen beat Dan Cussack in straight forward fashion.  Michael  Jones beat Robin Ritchie 2-1 but only because Robin ran out of  steam.  Michael beat Rob in the final quite comfortably. Winner received his  trophy and  £40 prize while Rob collected a similar trophy and £20 for his  efforts. Thank
you to all who took part over the past month or so and special  thanks to Tony  Hedley who oversaw things on the  finals night. Look  out for the details of the  end of season closed competition.
Ian  Mc

The junior sessions have started on Saturday mornings  at 10am.
Those coming along so far are very much  beginners and at the age of 9 years and above.
Anyone out there who has  children/grand children who might  want to give it a  go are welcome
to come along. I need to know if there are any out there  planning to come along so I can structure the session and book the necessary  courts. 
Please let me know ASAP.
Cheers
 Ian Mc
07748653489    

The quarter finals were played on Tuesday 18th February 2014.
Names  were drawn out of the hat on the night and some interesting contests  emerged.
First  up was Michael Jones (-1) v Ian McAllister (-16). Quite a straight forward  affair as it turned out with Michael in good form. He won the match comfortably  21-6, 21-5.
Robin  Ritchie (-2)  was drawn against David McRae (+11). David is a much improved  player this season and it looked a big ask for Robin to overhaul the  deficit in short time however he hung on in the third to win 21-18, 16-21,  21-17. There is no doubt, David had chances, but it wasn't to  be. 
Jamie  Morton (-12) had a similar task playing Dan Cussack (0) This also went to the  wire in the third. Dan took the first game 21-19 but worked hard, Jamie came  back in the second 21-14. Dan
got a second wind as he has done all season in his team games and despite a  'time out' with a foot injury Dan held out and took the match 21-17.
Last  but not least, Keith Grey (+6) and Rob Owen (+7) fought out a close match with  Rob winning 21-19 and 21-20. These lads have played each other many times and  know each others strengths and weaknesses. They don't come much  closer, Keith's league game just before this match might have been  his undoing, who's to say. The semi finals and final will be  on Tuesday 11th March 2014 with a 6.40pm start, not 6pm which proved a  little early for some getting away from work. Please come along and support the  event. 
Ian  Mc 

Ahead of proposed junior squash on a Saturday morning I am holding 
'taster' sessions at Concordia on Monday and Tuesday morning 17th and 18th
February for 9 to 10 year olds. (Half term break) If you have
any  children/grand children around this age who might be interested
can you  let them know.
Starts 10am until 12
noon-ish.  
I will need to  know who is coming along so I can
plan the session and make sure I have  sufficient court time. All they
need is sports attire and clean indoor  gym/training shoes. I have rackets
etc.  The cost will be £1.00 per person  solely to cover the cost of
the courts.
Just drop me an e-mail of text  ASAP.
Ian
Mc
07748653489    

Concordia Squash  Players,
                                             
There is much to report following the 1st round of this years   competition  nearly all of it good in a backhanded sort of way. Matches  were off to a  prompt 6pm start but it was clear by 8pm that time was  going to be an  issue.
Most of the matches were evenly fought and most went to 3. The  warm courts made for some long rallies and some truly  entertaining  squash.
This is how it turned out.
Jamie Morton, Dave McRae, Mark Knott Dan Cussack and Michael Jones all got through to the  knock out stage after they  managed to win both their group matches and  thus scored the maximum 84 points  (2x21 in each match) 
Dave McRae  although playing off a useful +10  played some good squash and held his  nerve to win his games. A much  improved player.
Dan Cussack and  Keith Grey had their now customary battle in Group 6, Dan the victor  however it was so very close  and Keith is the current contender for the  highest scoring runner up with 81
points. Daniel Monera and Robin  Ritchie were oh so close with 80 points  each., such were the fine  margins.
The other 2 groups were unresolved after  the lights went out at 10.15pm. In group 1 Martin Davison ended with a  total of 79 points,  the group to be decided on completion of the match between  Tony Hedley  and Rob Owen. That match is evenly poised at 13-5 to Rob in
the third. 
Group 4 is similar, Dave Armstrong ended with a total tally  of 77 points but  the match between Ian McAllister and Andy Lawrence is  still to finish.  The match stands at 21-18 to Ian, in the 1st, with Andy up  13-8 in the  2nd. 
Both these games need to be finalised ASAP, the knock  out stage is on 18th February so there should be plenty of time.
I'll  keep you posted.
I couldn't help noticing nearly all contenders this year  paid particular  attention to the scores, last years maths might have something  to do  with that ! Cheers Don.
Ian Mc

Concordia Squash Players,
                                            This is how the draw came out on Friday night.
Group 1.
Tony Hedley (-19) Rob Owen (+7) Martin Davison (+2)
Group 2.
Jamie Morton (-12) Don Pattison (+4) Graeme Sneddon (+1)
Group 3.
Mark Livingstone (-10) Dave McRae (+11) Andy Pattison (+6)
Group 4.
Ian McAllister (-15) Andy Lawrence (-1) Dave Armstrong (-2)
Group 5.
Steve Goldie (-6) Mark Knott (+1) Robin Ritchie (-2)
Group 6.
Daniel Monera (-2) Dan Cussack (0) Keith Grey (+6)
Group 7.
Michael Jones (-1) Peter Edney (+10) Chris Brock (+3)
Round Robin format so all play 2 matches on the night, best of 3 games to 21. Every Point counts, the highest scoring runner up will make up the eight to go through to the knock out stage in February.
See you Tuesday at 6pm (28th January)
Ian

Concordia Squash Players,
                                             
I plan to start regular junior coaching sessions on Saturday mornings in  the new year.

If anyone has any family or friends who's children (8  years +) who may be interested in coming along can you let them know about  it.

 If I can muster sufficient interest I plan to introduce an internal  junior ladder, some internal competitions and in time, an opportunity to play  against other club juniors. 

Can anyone interested get in touch with me  so I have an idea of numbers and can plan accordingly.
 
Thank you
Ian Mc   

By popular request there is a Handicap Mini League competition on Sunday 8th  December and Sunday 15th December 2013. Probably looking at a  5.20pm or  6pm start with the courts booked no later than 8pm.
Format will largely  stay the same but may need to be tweaked depending on the number of teams
entered.
Can I please have your 3 man team submissions (with team name) by  Sunday 10th November. 
Enjoy your squash
Ian Mc   

Some in the club are already aware that I've obtained my level 1  coaching  badge and am able to offer squash coaching. Part of the club's  development is  to re-start a junior section and offer junior sessions on a Saturday  morning to encourage younger layers into the club. Funding   is an issue.
I need a minimal amount of equipment to get started.  Rackets,  a variety of balls suitable for beginners and beyond, safety  goggles  etc.
If anyone has an old graphite racket (racketball and  mini squash  rackets also) gathering dust which I could use on a Saturday morning,  please let me know.   
Ian

I’ll start with the men’s second team who played their first home game of the campaign against Consett on Wednesday 2nd October. Doesn’t time fly.

The lads won the match 3-2 but not without drama.

Steve Goldie had a tight game against an opponent who played in a very similar style and managed to win 3-2. Nick Fecitt battled through a difficult match with a feisty opponent who made marking the game a difficult task, thank you to Don Pattison for helping out there, Nick won the game 3-2.

Bruno also won his match, 3-1 working out a wily  old fox who has much experience of team squash. Khizer came across a strong opponent loosing 3-0. Mark Livingstone also lost 3-0, this came as no surprise after being clobbered in the hand with his opponents racket in the second game which meant he could barely hold his own racket. After a tight 14-15 first game, who knows how the match might have gone.     

The other two men’s teams were in action the following week with the first team away to Ashbrook, Sunderland. Ashbrook have both their 1st and 2nd team in division 1. Concordia had the easier of the two fixtures playing their 2nds on Tuesday. A comfortable 4-1 win doesn’t tell the whole story with Tony Hedley and Ian McAllister just winning 3-2. Andy Dolan once again showed his class with a display of quality squash on a very hot court. A good win for Jamie Morton also.

The men’s third team were home to Tynemouth 4ths and lost the match 2-3. The away team turned up late and this rattled Paul Blakely who was on a tight schedule playing with other things on his mind. He lost 0-3. Keith Gray also lost 0-3 against a strong opponent. Good 3-2 wins from their captain Mark Knott and Dan Cussack meant the team came away with some points.

Andy Lawrence added to the tally with two more points loosing his match 2-3 after a strong start.

Ian McAllister.

     

Concordia Squash  Players,
                                             
My mathematics is as good as my organising skills.

In match 1, The Miss Hits  were drawn against Norfolk and Chance.
Peter Edney beat Mark Livingstone 21-8  and 21-3. 
Chris Brock beat Roland Smith 21-16 and 21-19.
With the
match at 1 game all, Ian McAllister stood in for Miss Hits Tony Hedley to play  David Mcrae.
Ian just scraped through with a 21-19 21-19 win. A close  match however the total points were even closer.
Norfolk and Chance go  through to the final with 96 points against Miss Hits 95. I got that bit  correct.
 
Match 2. Broken Strings were drawn against Gangnan  Style.
In a nutshell my adding up was rubbish and Broken Strings are  going to be disappointed. 
Both Keith Gray and Andy Lawrence won their  matches for Gangnan posting 42 points each for their team.
Keith 21-16, 18-21  and 21-13. 
Andy 21-17 and 21-9
Broken Strings anchor man Dan Cussack  gave good account and managed to beat  the wily Don Pattison 21-17 and
21-15 to give his team 42 points,  however Don's points tally was  crucial. 
When the best two scores of  all the players were added up the  scores were Gangnan Style 116  (42,42,32) and Broken Strings 107 (42,37,26) In  fact Gangnan Style won  by quite a margin. Apologies to the 'Broken Strings'  lads for my hasty  and rather poor adding up on the night. 
The final is  at 6pm Sunday 8th September 2013.
Ian Mc