Squash thrives on the Isle of Wight with successful first Classic tournament

The sport of squash proved it is still thriving on the Isle of Wight at the weekend with the inaugural IW Classic attracting 90 entries ranging from a six-year-old to a competitor in his sixties.

The six-year-old was Jeffrey Fu, from Hong Kong, who was playing in his first tournament, while a lot of mainland competitors also travelled from the mainland, including a whole family from Yorkshire.

At the other end of the age range was Tim Luker, a B grade player in his 60s, who showed great competitive spirit and sportsmanship.

Travel to the event was sponsored by Wightlink.

Westridge Squash Courts saw 172 matches over the weekend, with a special Isle of Wight junior category for local young players who are just making their way in the sport.

There was plenty of Island success with the following victories:

Bronze Event: Millie, girls’ Under-17; Olivia, girls’ Under-13; and Finn, boys’ U11.

Everything Squash Event winners: Marc Burton, J-Grade; Shane East, C-Grade; Freddy Fentum, B-Grade; Oli Staunton, A-Grade.

Chris Husson, event organiser, said: “We created an island junior category so that the juniors with less experience could get a feel for a real tournament.
“The Wightlink travel sponsorship, along with our other support, enabled us to attract mainland players to an Island event, which bodes well for the game on the IW.

Chris added: “There were a lot of families taking part, including the Dukes family from Yorkshire, who entered their three sons, with Cameron winning the boys’ under-17s and Aiden runner-up in the boys’ under-9s.

There was also genuine quality in the team from Winchester Rackets and Fitness Club. Chris said they have a very strong junior programme and the sponsorship enabled them to travel.

“The overall numbers were an even split of juniors to seniors and mainlanders to islanders; this made for a brilliant, mixed, fun event.

“We hope we can repeat this formula each year so people can really rely on an event like this for fun and inclusivity as well as a really high standard.”

Praise from the tournament came from Islander Alex Holbrook, mum of under-13 girls’ winner, who said: “What a fab event – everyone was saying how great it was to have it on the Island.”

Sam Woodman, Wightlink’s Partnerships Marketing Manager, said: “It’s fantastic to see the inaugural IW Classic proving such a success and bringing together players of all ages and abilities from both the Isle of Wight and the mainland. We’re proud to support events like this that encourage people to get involved in sport, inspire young players and help local clubs thrive. We look forward to seeing the tournament continue to grow in the years ahead.”

The other sponsors were One Holyrood Hotel, Hampshire Squash and JPR Combustions.