Lichfield Squash Club News - September 2023

Hi all

Welcome to another packed issue of news from Lichfield Squash Club. It has been a relentless Summer at the Club, with lots going on and so this edition of the newsletter is a bit on the long side, but hopefully, you will read it all to keep yourselves fully updated and informed.

Memberships/renewals

We continue to welcome new members to the club, with total membership now standing at 80 players, which is a phenomenal achievement when you consider the low base at which we started when we relaunched the club membership scheme. Welcome to everyone who has recently joined and we hope that you are finding your way around MyCourts and are able to play plenty of squash.

If anyone requires any help in terms of opportunities to play, just get in touch. There are numerous ways to become more linked up with other players, including the leagues and also our popular Club Nights – we have one for intermediate to advanced players on a Monday and beginners/improvers on a Tuesday.

Following the success of our Squash Start and Squash Elevate coaching programmes, we are soon going to be organizing more regular coaching via our Club Nights, so again, get in touch if this interests you.

Please note that Club memberships will all be up for renewal from 1st October. We will be offering a discount to all who renew within the first month, plus for anyone who joined part way through the year, we will be rebating some of your renewal fee pro rata, depending on the period when you joined. Full details about renewals and rebates will be sent via a special newsletter next month.

Court booking fee increase / court timings

Just a reminder that our court booking fees are increasing from 1st September, to £10.00 per court. We recently sent out a special newsletter to explain the reasons for this, but let us know if you have any queries or concerns.

We are also hoping to offer cheaper ‘off peak’ courts again, i.e. 20:50 weekdays and from 12:00 on Saturdays. We will be discussing this with the school very soon after their return from Summer break.

Please also note that the court times will be aligning across both courts with effect from 1st September, using the current court 1 times as the standard. MyCourts will update the times on court 2 on 1st September, with any bookings already made on court 2 changing to the new times.

Leagues

Well done to Adam Davies for winning the last league Premier Division and to all other Division winners/those getting promoted.

The leagues for August/September are now live and will run for 2 months to 8th October.

Please also note the introduction of the new rule in the Leagues regarding Squash Levels.

SquashFest: 15-17 Seotember 2023 at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club

A fantastic Team and Individual event is shaping up to take place from Friday 15th September to Sunday 17th September, called SquashFest.

Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club is the venue and it will involve a fun and social teams competition on the Saturday, followed by an individual competition on the Sunday.

We have entered a team of 5 players into the Team Competition running on the Saturday.

Point Pursuit Team Squash

An enjoyable inaugural #PointPursuit team squash match was held last Wednesday 23rd August on our courts with our friends from Oak Park Squash Club.

Specially designed to engage players with no previous experience of team squash of any playing level, including beginners, we used an innovative every point counts scoring format, with bonus points for games won.

Squash Stars – coaching for juniors

We will soon be launching the Squash Stars programme, part funded by our #B2022 Fund award from Sport England/Together Active.

Squash Stars is an England Squash initiative designed for 5-9 year olds and will be backed up by a national marketing campaign. Children booking on receive 6 x 1 hour weekly sessions and are also provided with a racket, ball, eye protection, bag and a Squash Stars t-shirt.

Our sessions will commence on Saturday 28th October and we will be marketing this vigorously from next month.

Details of our course are available on the Squash Stars website here, where parents can book their children on as well: https://www.squashstars.co.uk/Course/8a767003-a822-46c5-bdc0-b9a579130084

We are also currently considering the provision of a course for older children, from 10-16. Details to be announced soon.

Club AGM and Social Mix In

Finally, a quick reminder that our Club AGM and Social Mix In will take place on Wednesday 4th October, which is a week later than the originally announced date.

The AGM is taking place from 6.00pm to 7.00pm and will happen on court 1. Please come if you are interested in hearing about the club’s successes and plans for the future.

The squash mix in will take place from 7.00pm to around 8.30pm, is free to attend for all and will include some structured squash games to be coordinated by our coaches.

We will then head into Lichfield city centre, venue to be decided, for some food and drinks.

This is a great opportunity to celebrate the club's recent successes and find out more about how you can get involved.

Let us know if you want to attend either part of this event using the contact details below.

That concludes this bumper edition of the Club Newsletter and we hope that you have found it informative. As always, please direct any queries using the contact details below.

Cheers

James Roberts