New Year News from Lichfield Squash Club

Hi Members

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2023 full of happiness and squash playing!

A quick update about what the club has planned for the early part of 2023 ...

1. Club Plan

As mentioned in our Christmas greeting message, the Club is looking to develop a Development Plan to grow squash participation in the Lichfield area.

We have an immediate opportunity to bid for some Commonwealth Games legacy funding to help achieve our ambitions, so we are looking for ideas to help shape these ambitions.

Please therefore provide any ideas or suggestions as to how we can increase squash participation, particularly by attracting a wider demographic of people who want to play. Questions that need answers to include: what kind of programmes, events and activities should we be looking to put in place? How can we better promote the sport of squash and the Club to appeal to more people?

We also need some help to shape this plan and also deliver it. If you have any relevant expertise, e.g. coaching, events/programme/project management, finance etc, and are willing to spare a few hours here and there, then please get in touch using the contact details at the end of this newsletter.

2. Club Leagues

We have just refreshed our internal club box leagues, which are an integral part of the club and provide opportunities to meet other members and play a wider variety of people. You can access the new league here: https://lichfieldsquash.co.uk/league/

We are particularly pleased to welcome 5 new players from Burntwood to the leagues, who have mostly been added to the higher divisions due to their level of play. This has inevitably shunted a few Lichfield players down the divisions and/or meant some promotions from the last leagues were not possible.

We hope that anyone affected understands the reason for this and is not overly disappointed, especially as these new players provide more strength and depth to the leagues, making all divisions more active as a result.

We are also pleased to welcome some of our new members to the leagues and hope they enjoy their experience of league squash. Any members are always welcome to join the leagues - just get in touch using the contact details below.

3. Red Dot Challenge at Burntwood

We were pleased to hold the above event at Burntwood on Wednesday 28th December, using red dot balls to highlight the need to chose the right ball according to court conditions. Burntwood has heating issues at present, so the red dot ball as vital in ensuring good squash was possible.

You can view a full report of the event on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/137398409703581/posts/pfbid0vLT6LCuNUrYgSJJW1uQ7kePPStzvf9erJmaacvfq7UwWjDd9LchFL8jwEchZUu8dl/

In addition, local news website Lichfield Live did a feature about the event, highlighting the issues at Burntwood: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2022/12/30/squash-players-see-red-over-cold-courts-in-burntwood

We encourage all players to have a range of balls available to use, such as single yellow dots, red dots etc and to select the right ball for the conditions. We also encourage beginners and improvers to mostly use the blue dot (beginner) and red dot (improver) balls.

4. Club Open Night

We are holding a Club Open Night on Wednesday 11th January from 7.00pm to 9.00pm. This in particular is to allow members to come along to expand their playing network, find out more about the club, how it operates and to obtain some coaching tips.

The courts are booked and Club Coaches, Gary and James, will be on hand to answer any queries about the club and provide some coaching. You will also be able to enjoy some play on court with fellow members, such as 3/4 court.

It is completely free to attend and no booking is necessary - just turn up ready to play. Also, if you know anyone who is interested in taking up or returning to squash, please bring them along.

That brings you up to date with Club news and plans for 2023. As always, if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch using my contact details below. I also hope to see as many of you as possible at the Open Night on Wednesday 11th January from 7.00pm.

Cheers

James

James Roberts

Lichfield Squash Club

Email: jimbob1965@btinternet.com Phone/text/WhatsApp: 07816 620504