Honours by tournament

The final of the plate competition in the 2018 Summer Handicap was played between Richard Patrick and David Sledge, both having been previous winners. These two last played a handicap match in the final of the 2016 Winter Plate which Richard won 100 - 99. That time around, David squandered 7 of his initial 10 point advantage in consecutive points at the start and so Richard didn’t bother giving him any this time around.

Starting at 75 all, David got this final of to a belting start by serving into the tin then followed up with an equally nervy return of service into the same place before the pair settled down to play a fairly decent game of squash provided you aren’t particularly interested in short stuff. Having found his rhythm, David fell into his usual routine of chasing everything down and trying to keep the ball alive whilst Richard tried to direct proceedings from the T and pick off any loose balls. After several attempted kills from Richard hit the tin, David took the lead and from that point was never behind until the latter stages of the match.

David was still 5 or 6 points ahead going into the 90s but then Richard found a purple patch and pulled back to overhaul him before he made 95. Another push from David saw him regain the lead and serve for the trophy at 99 - 98 but a lapse of judgement saw him gift the point when he ought to have called for a let. So, Richard regained the serve on the magical 99 all score and served up a corker which David only just managed to dig out offering a simple opportunity to kill the ball. There are no simple chances on double match point, however and the ball hit the tin once more gifting David the trophy in a direct reversal of that previous final.

James Jirgens won the Plate competition in the 2016 Rob Milliner Summer Handicap Tournament by beating Rakesh Gulati in the final on Sunday 2 October. Starting level on 75 all, James got off to a good start by taking the first few points before Rakesh recovered and made the most of the central passage of play and looked to have a commanding lead as the scores entered the 90s. James managed to pull his game back together, however and finished strongly to take the match 100 - 97.

Earlier in the evening, Rakesh had won the first Summer Racketball Tournament by beating Richard Crosbie 3 - 1 in the final.

Paul Adams won the Plate competition of the 2015 Rob Milliner Summer Handicap Tournament by beating Richard Patrick in the final before the main event on Sunday evening. Paul had started on 70 to Richard's 65, reflecting their relative league positions of 4 and 3 respectively, with Paul sealing the win at 100 - 96. Both finalists were previous winners of handicap tournaments, most recently in 2012 when they shared the victories with Paul taking the Summer honours and Richard the Winter.

Richard is a massive presence on the court and will overshadow the 'T' if you let him, forcing opponents deep into the corners with strong low drives but Paul found the antidote by skipping round him to take the pace off the ball and forcing Richard to use up energy around the court. Overall, Richard will probably be a little disappointed by his performance but it was an enjoyable match for the crowd as a starter for what was to come later.

The beaten finalist in last year’s Summer Handicap Tournament, Chris Hockin won the 2014 Plate competition by beating newcomer Fredrik Wolff in a thrilling final that ebbed and flowed before reaching a highly satisfying 100 - 99 conclusion. He adds the Plate trophy to a long list of honours at the club especially, though not exclusively, in the Handicap Tournaments.

Starting from an opening scoreline of 65 - 75, the league 1 regular, Chris took the first 8 points of what initially looked like being a quick affair. With his handicap having almost evaporated, Fredrik found his feet and started to fight back managing to claw back a few points here as the exchanges grew in length. A brief run of rallies in Fredrik’s favour saw him leading 93 - 86 and at that point, it looked as if the momentum had switched as Chris swapped rackets at the final break. Chris is not one to give up, though and a good run for him saw the scores level on 95 each. From that position, they went point for point before Chris sealed the match on that magical 100 - 99 scoreline.

View Chris Hockin's Honours list

The final of the 2011 Summer Handicap Plate competition saw Andy Youngs matched against David Sledge. This was an amiable battle between two regular league opponents from League 3 of the September Leagues. The starting handicap was 70 to Andy and 75 to David who promptly gifted the first 7 points to his opponent before finally getting off the mark with a fluke.

The unseasonally hot weather favoured David's game more than Andy's and he brought his usual industry to the match to keep the rallies going and his nose in front on the scoreboard (even recovering from a fall in one rally).

A burst ball following the second break threatened to affect the game briefly but after a period of ebb and flow, David gratefully reached the target with Andy on 96.

Tim Ryan won the 2010 Rob Milliner Summer Handicap Tournament on Sunday 3rd October beating Michael Jacobs in the final. The final score was 100 - 79 after a starting point of 80 - 45. Whilst the match was frequently entertaining, Michael never really got going and was unable to reproduce the form which saw him limit Vince Paul to just seven points in the semi-final.

This led some observers to question the handicap but that would proably be unfair.

The handicap was certainly not in question in the plate final where David Sledge narrowly beat newcomer Peter Bano in an energetic match. David won the match by the close margin of 100 - 98 after starting at 70 - 75. David currently holds the plate for both the Summer and the Winter Handicap Tournaments.

The final of the plate competition in the Summer Handicap Tournament pitched Malcolm Mackay against David Heavyside.

From a starting point of 65 - 80, Malcolm (league 5 in the newly posted October league) looked to be making short work of the handicap in the opening passage of play as he quickly made ground against the left-hander David (league 9). However, once they had reached parity, with the score around 90 - 90, David rose to the challenge and the pair of them went point for point for the remainder of the match.

A final decisive point came very late on following a long rally with both players at the front of the court. David sent up a high lob down the centre of the court. Malcolm instinctively jumped up, reaching up with his racket. He managed to make contact with the ball which hit high up on the front wall and fell to ground with David still recovering from his shot. It could just have turned the match in David's favour if fortune had smiled the other way but it gave Malcolm match point and he didn't need a second.

Rakesh Gulati won the Rob Milliner Summer Handicap Trophy on Sunday by beating Vince Paul 100 - 79 in the final. Starting from an opening handicap of 75 - 60, Rakesh matched Vince more or less point for point. Tough matches against Kevin Popely and Robert Rickman in the quarter and semi-finals may have cost Vince the final as he never really got into his stride. Rakesh, a finalist on two previous occasions, now adds the Summer Handicap Trophy to the Winter Trophy he won in 2000.

The trophy was presented by Rob Milliner, the former committee member who instigated the handicap tournament formula back in 1985. Rob was returning to the club for the first time since leaving in 1992 having made contact earlier in the year. The trophy bears his name and the tournament was renamed the Rob Milliner Summer Handicap a few years ago.

In the plate competition, Clifford Fox took the honours beating Deidre Pope 100 - 92 from a starting score of 70 points apiece.

The Rob Milliner Summer Handicap Tournament came to a dramatic conclusion on Sunday 1st October with Toby Francis taking the honours in a breath-taking final against Andy Morris. Starting from 70 points to Andy's 65, Toby took a little while to find his touch but having done so was able to recover the deficit and then trade point for point despite furious industry from Andy.

Andy has been a regular on recent finals nights having won the tournament in 2003 and been runner-up in both this and the winter tournament. The crowd were familiar with his prodigious work-rate and passion which saw him recovering from polishing the floor with the seat of his pants to continue rallies on several occasions and twice within the same rally at least once. (Perhaps he should get the contract to clean the courts.)

Toby, who has recently returned to the club after several years, previously won the Summer Handicap in 1995 whilst a junior. Having regained his original points advantage, he eventually won the match by 100 - 94.

In the plate final, Akshay Gulati kept his head to beat Keith Marsh whilst managing to maintain the starting handicap points difference. Starting from a position of 75 - 60, the final score was 100 - 85.

Congratulations to both Akshay and Toby!

Sunday October 2nd saw the culmination of the ever popular Summer Handicap Tournament with a top of the table clash between Kevin Popely and Chris Hockin.

I must admit that I didn't get to see any of the squash but I was there to soak up the atmosphere and there certainly seemed to be a lot of it about.

A good crowd packed three deep on the balcony saw KP triumph by 100 to 97 with Chris breaking his racquet to end the final rally.

Paul Sutcliffe beat John Woodford by 100 to 94 to win the Plate competition (I believe).

Kerrie Sample was belatedly awarded the trophy for the Ladies' Tournament which was held earlier in the year.

Congratulations to all concerned and thanks once more to Richard and Anita for giving up their time to organise the event.

Of course, KP was lucky to get past the first round if you ask me!

Colin Ward was lucky. I saw this game

Congratulations to Colin Sawyer who won this year's Summer Handicap Tournament defeating Dominic Redmond in a thrilling final watched by several people.

Yes it was standing room only on the balcony of Gerrards Cross Squash Club as these two gladiators of the court tussled in a front-to-back and side-to-side battle of wits and sweat. The thrilled spectators many of whom had their own stories of desperate rallies and tough handicaps to tell oohed and aahed from their vantage point near the makeshift bar. Many were even inspired to renew their membership for another year (Reasonable rates, everyone welcome - see the membership section).

Congratulations also go to Colin Ward who triumphed over David Scott in the final of the Plate competition.