COLOGNE, GERMANY 23/28 AUGUST 2010.
GB VETS TAKE 12 MEDALS!!
6 GOLD
4 SILVER
2 BRONZE
Nearly 800 competitors from 60 Countries took part in the 10th World Masters Squash Championships. 77 participants (second only to Germany) were from Great Britain of which no fewer than 48 were members of the GB Vets Club.
| MENS O75 |
GOLD |
MALCOLM GILHAM |
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SILVER |
RAY ROOK |
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| Malcolm lost just one game on his way to Gold – a truly remarkable achievement. |
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| MENS O70 |
GOLD |
BRIAN PHILLIPS |
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Brian played consistently well throughout the tournament, then beating the No.1 seed from NZ comprehensively 12/10,11/2, 11/9 in the final.
GB Vets players: Lance Kinder, Alex Richardson, Gary Williams,John Preston, John Woodliffe, John O’Brien. |
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| MENS O65 |
GOLD |
CHRIS ANSELL |
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Unfortunately the No.1 seed, Adrian Wright your webmaster, sustained a serious injury in his semi final match. He was hit in the eye, went to hospital but is happily now on the mend and will make a full recovery.
GB Vets players: Nigel Belle, Len Froggitt, Barry Skelding. |
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| MENS O60 |
GOLD |
KEITH JONES |
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SILVER |
PETER LEARY |
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4th PLACE |
JOHN SMITH |
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Peter Leary did exceptional well to reach the final having beaten the No.1 seed from Australia in the semis. But he was no match for Keith Jones who ran ½ marathons all summer, and won the final 11/4, 11/9, 11/9.
GB Vets players: Larry Grover, Aubrey Waddy, David Adams, Robert Smith, Patrick Fleming, Harvey Kember, Tony Wheeler. |
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| MENS O55 |
GOLD |
MARK COWLEY |
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SILVER |
PETER ALEXANDER |
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Mark Cowley, the nearest thing to a cage fighter you will ever see on a squash court, powered his way to the final winning 11/9 in the fifth in the ¼’s and 11/8 in the fifth in the semis. Although winning 3/0 in the final against Peter Alexander the scores were close – 11/9, 11/8, 13/11.
GB Vets player: David Taylor. |
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| MENS O50 |
SILVER |
ALAN THOMSON |
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4th PLACE |
RICHARD MILLMAN |
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Alan Thomson beat Richard Millman 3/1 in the semis but lost after a good hard fought battle to the No.1 seed from Australia in the final – 3/0.
GB Vets players: Dermot Hurford, Gordon Kerr, Ian Bradburn, Chris Harland, Duleep Adhihetty. |
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| MENS O45 |
BRONZE |
EAMONN PRICE |
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One of the best games of the tournament for me was Eamonn Price beating the No.1 seed in the playoff for bronze. Having been 2/0 up then 2/2 he came through 13/11 in the fifth.
GB Vets players: Mark Hildred, Mark Woodliffe. |
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| WOMENS O60 |
GOLD |
AVERIL MURPHY |
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Averil successfully defended her title beating the No.2 Australian seed 11/4 in the fifth. She has now won 4 World Masters titles – congratulations!
GB Vets player: Bett Dryhurst. |
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| WOMENS O50 |
BRONZE |
KAREN HUME |
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Karen won all her group matches but then lost to the No.2 seed in the semis.
GB Vets players: Eunice Bond, Lynne Davies. |
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| WOMENS O45 |
4th PLACE |
CLAIRE BAKER |
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Disappointment for the No.1 seed Mandy Akin who lost in the ¼’s to the eventual runner up. Claire Baker improved on her 5/8 seeding by coming 4th narrowly losing to the No.2 seed 9/11 in the fifth.
GB Vets players: Jackie Gregory, Jackie Jones.
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Whilst the squash was of the highest world standard, (even though PARS was inflicted on all age groups!) the organisation was abysmal and a complete shambles. German efficiency was non-existent. The problems became so apparent that the Vice President of the German Squash Federation was replaced after 2 days of the Championships and a free bottle of wine was given to each competitor!
The Vice President of the World Squash Federation, at the closing ceremony, apologised for the many problems encountered and promised that they would never happen again.
In two years time the 11th World Masters will be held in Birmingham, England. Let’s hope we can do a better job – we couldn’t do any worse!
Nigel Belle
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