In The News

COVID-19 Update (30th July)

Please find below all the information you need to return to the club.

Re-opening of Sedgefield Squash Club

I am delighted to advise that the club is now ready to re-open on Saturday 25th July 20 in line with the new guidelines published by England Squash. It has not been easy to navigate the volume of information and I would like to thank the committee and Gordon Peden for their hard work and diligence in understanding and implementing what is required to reopen in a safe and inclusive as possible environment.

An Improved Club

Firstly – some good news, whist the return to squash may not be in the full way that we would all like it to be; when you do return to the club you will see that we haven’t been idle during the lockdown period and have taken the opportunity to make some improvements to our premises. We are sure that you will be as pleased as we are with the result:
- court one is now a glass back court
- both courts have been fully refurbished including walls, floors and the ceiling above the heaters
- the balcony balustrade has been replaced to regulation height with regulation protective glass
We hope you are happy with the improvements we have made, we now have two top quality courts that would compete with any other club in the county. Thank you to Chris Gillespie who has been instrumental in making it happen.

Due to current restrictions we cannot have a grand opening however as soon as this is allowed, we will organise an event to celebrate.

Back to Squash

As you can imagine there is a great deal of information, guidance and regulation that we need to comply with. I have provided an overview of the new procedures; however I would recommend that everyone should read the England Squash Guidelines as it is not possible to detail everything in full. It is the responsibility of every member to comply with regulations and provide a safe way to enjoy squash for all. Link backtosquash

Court Booking and Timings

Courts can only be booked on-line, the booking system in the club will not be operational. Until further notice the club is open to members only, no guests are allowed.
Courts will now be timed at one hour intervals. This will be 40 minutes game time and 20 minutes for changeover (this will be explained later in the communication).
The Co-op have agreed to continue selling light tokens. Ceddesfeld Hall will not yet be open on a regular basis so for the time being plan only to use the Co-op.

On Arrival at the Club

In advance of paying if either player is feeling unwell or shows any symptoms of COV-19 they should not under any circumstances enter the club. All players should arrive at the club in their squash kit and be ready to play no earlier than 5 minutes before their court time. Arrive in your outdoor shoes and change into your court shoes on arrival at the club. To keep a minimum numbers of members in the club at any one time there is no time allowed for pre-match stretches or warm up outside of the court. If this is required it must be done on court and as part of your 40 minute game time or off the premises. The changing rooms and upstairs will be closed and no access is allowed to any member. All players entering the club should sanitise their hands in the units provided and complete the tracking sheet. The only information required is date and name as we have contact details should this be required.

There will be marked areas behind each court for player 1 and 2 to leave their bag and belongings. Any equipment eg drinks, towel, spare racket etc should be taken on court. Once you are on court, you are not allowed to leave during your 40 minute game time.

As we have communicated squash is different from Saturday. Full details of the play available is on the England Squash Website however below is a summary:
- Families who are members and living under one roof are allowed to play full squash
- Members from different families can either play single practice or sides (please watch England Squash website for regulations and rules).

Important changes are only one person servies during entire game, only the server touches the ball and under no circumstances should you touch the walls with your hands.
- 1:1 coaching will resume with social distancing therefore drills will be restricted

Following inserting light tokens in the meter please wipe full unit with spray provided.

The server or a nominated player (if family) should wipe with disinfectant - the squash door handle, middle door handle and exit door handle.

There is no time for allocated for post-match warm down, if required this should be done off premises. As soon as your game is finished pack up your belongings and leave the building maintaining Social distancing. Any chat on the game should be ‘outside’.

The courts require 15 minutes for sweat particles to settle therefore it is important that you leave the court and exit the building immediately after your game.

Rules and Regulations

It is great we can all play squash again and it is imperative that every member abides by both England Squash Regulations and club guidance.

There may be periodic checks by committee members to ensure regulations are being adhered to and if any member is found to be contravening rules, a two-week suspension of playing may be considered by the committee. This has been agreed as the consequence by Durham and Cleveland County Squash Association. We do hope that every member will respect the safe regulations imposed upon the return of squash.

The Club have agreed with Gordon a cleaning regime that meets the current requirements.

Christmas Squash club walk

The annual Christmas Squash club walk was a great success this year and was well attended by member with 15 people on the walk and a few furry 4 legged friends too. Due to poor weather for what seems like an eternity, the walk was changed to be into Durham starting near where the old Cock of the North used to be at Low Burnhall Woods. The walk (after wading through 30 metres of mud to start), took us past the Wickerman where we stopped for the inevitable picture.

The walk then continued through Houghall Woods and past the Rugby club to the river which was followed into Durham where we stopped for a few refreshments. From there we walked back down the river and through the University Sports grounds, past the Pump House and the Equestrian Centre and back to the start.

While on the walk nearly all of us discussed maybe doing a walk once a month to keep a bit of fitness and fresh air, so we propose to do a walk somewhere on the last Saturday of every month, the route being organised by different people each month. To sort this a discussion group on WhatsApp has been set up with an ever growing number of members.

If you fancy doing a little walk in the future and wish to be kept in the loop of discussions around it, drop Craig Muller a text or WhatsApp message on 07557 640974, or drop him an email on craigmuller120574@gmail.com.

Durham & Cleveland Squash Masters Competition 2019

5 players represented Sedgefield Squash Club in this year’s competition with Tom McKay (left)in the Over 35, Andy Black in the Over 45 and Neil Bunney, Gordon Peden and Chris Rowsby (below) entering the Over 55 draws. There were mixed results for all players with Tom reaching the final of his age category but unfortunately losing and Andy Black reaching the final of the O45 Plate but unable to play due to illness.

Gordon Peden and Neil Bunney both made it to the Quarter finals of the O 55 competition with Gordon narrowly losing 2 -3 in his match. An all Sedgefield Quarter Final saw Club Chairman Neil Bunney lose a tight match to Chris Rowsby 1-3 with Chris’s progress eventually being halted in the Semi-final. Rumour has it, Chris R’s annual subscription has been doubled for next year!

Summer Team Competition

The new Internal summer team competition all came down to the penultimate match of the season, with Andy Blacks Battalion overcoming a 7 point deficit over James Knowlson's Knights to claim the title. Its been a great summer of squash keeping people playing in the summer months and introducing lots of new players to team squash. The winning team - NIck Hill, Neil Ross, Andy Black (c), Gordon Peden, Jack Stephenson, Marie Priest and Richard Flanagan. Special mention goes to Shaun Bottomley as a stand in player for the last match who absolutely smashed it and extra special thanks to Craig Muller for organising such an engaging, fun and "flexible" tournament!
Winning Team members - Shaun Bottomley, Gordon Peden, Marie Priest, Neil Ross, Andy Black (C).

Summer Team Competition

Summer Squash Blitz Saturday 31st August saw the annual Sedgefield Summer Squash Blitz being held with 3 teams of 5 players battle against eachother on court for timed periods throughout the afternoon. The simple format of "score as many points as you can" in your allotted time on court is extremely punishing as you don't have much time to rest between games and even less to get warmed up once on court!
A kinetic afternoon of squash saw Team 1 (James K, Colin P, Katy H, Chris E, Ben W and Jonny C) win the blitz with a total of 552 points. A fantastic effort by all and the afternoon was rounded off with a BBQ at Ceddesfield Hall where nearly 40 club members got together and enjoyed some delicious food prepared and cooked by unofficial club chef Andy Black and his wife Gail.
Image: Some of the BBQ attendees hogging the BBQ and making Andy's job even more difficult!.

Summer Team “Fun” Squash Competition

The Summer Team “Fun” Squash Competition organised by club member/trophy hunter Craig Muller has been hitting the headlines in recent weeks due to the seriousness of approach and preparation by some of the teams (Muller’s Maestros) competing!

There have been stories of sponsored playing kit, walk on music and legend has it, post-match beer and pizza as a win bonus/incentive!

Thursday 22nd August sees the desperation to be crowned Summer Team Champions reach new levels when none other than PSA World Number 19, Daryl Selby (not Shelby Mr Chairman) makes an appearance for Muller’s Maestros. In a bid to regain the momentum after their shock defeat to Gillespie’s Crushers, Team Captain Craig Muller has shown he will stop at nothing to win the competition that he created.

Daryl will be charged the agreed £2 playing fee (like all other competitors) and it is hoped that his attendance will draw huge crowds to the club and raise lots of cash for charity! #teambobby #bobbythedazzle

Current standings