2009 County Championships
The Lincolnshire 2009 County Squash Championships were played at Grantham Squash Club on the weekend of 24th-25th January. There were four mens events contested, with a first round losers plate event. The entry list for all the age categories was not that high but the standard was good. Play started at 10am and the mens first round went according to seeding. At this point the club was plunged into darkness with a power cut, this is all you need with a full program of squash to be played! We lost about two hours of play time but Grantham’s six courts allowed us to recover to schedule quite quickly, and all the finals would be held on Sunday as planned.
Sunday’s finals started with the plate final, where Ady Proctor [Boston] played Dan Carlile [Metheringham]. Ady Proctor won 3-1: 6/9, 9/6, 10/8, 9/7.
The over 55s event saw Paul Tudor [Spalding] beat Alan Beal [Scunthorpe] 3-1: 9/2, 9/1, 4/9, 9/6.
In the over 45s Dave Stones [Boston] beat Martin Mumby [Grimsby] 3-2: 1/9, 6/9, 9/7, 9/1, 9/2.
The over 35s event saw Chris Wilson [Grantham] beat Mark Hildred [Boston] 3-2: 5/9, 8/10, 9/5, 9/1,10/9. This match was a very closely contested game with two experienced players playing to a high standard. Good control and shots was a facet of both their games. Hildred went in to a 2-0 lead, but this had more effect on his fitness than Wilson’s as he won the final with the next three games.
Grantham’s Martin Gibson retained his County Champion title in front of a packed home gallery by beatng a rapidly improving nationally ranked sixteen year old Adam Auckland from Cleethorpes. This was a fine display of top county squash with both players eager to get to and play the ball. Martin was put under pressure in a lot of the rallies but the left hander played a tight game and waited for his opportunities before making the most of them.
Adam showed how quickly he could get around the court with some fantastic retrieving which earned him the second game but also tired him. In the third game Martin played some great shots into the nick and quickly regained the lead. He closed out the match in the fourth with some tight and controlled squash, which led to the younger player making some errors. Gibson won with a final score 3-1 in games.
The presentations were made in the bar after the finals by the championship organiser Phil Hiatt. Martin Gibson made the appropriate thank yous to Grantham Squash Club for hosting the event and all those who helped it run smoothly.