Seven of the 10 age-grade events at the Connacht Junior Open went according to seeding, with all five No.1 boys and two No.1 girls winning titles in Galway at a tournament that attracted 103 entries.
Sutton’s Conal Jackson (BU19), Celtic’s Adam Power (BU17), Mount Pleasant’s Michael Lai (BU15), Celtic’s Harry Knox (BU13) and Galway’s Conor Mullery (BU11) all lived up to their top-ranked boys’ status – and four of these five favourites even enjoyed 3-0 wins in their finals.
The events were by no means straightforward, however, with a special shoutout for Leonid Ivlenkov, the 10th seed who made the final in the BU15.
The Mount Pleasant player picked off the No.7, the No.2 and the No.3 seeds in a terrific run to his final where he came up against his No. 1-ranked clubmate Lai.
In the girls’ section, Sutton’s Zoe Yeomans, Galway’s Lucy Walsh and Limerick’s Ruby Carroll upset the rankings with their title wins.
Yeomans was seeded No.2 in the GU19, Walsh No.3 in the GU17 and Carroll was also No.3 in the GU13 but they all picked off No.1s in their respective finals.
Walsh and Carroll were both 3-0 winners, but Yeomans had a thrilling 3-2 battle with fellow Sutton player Ella Walsh.
The two girls’ events that went to seeding were the GU15 and GU11 where the respective No.1s, Mount Pleasant’s Zoe Nyhan and Windsor’s Georgie Ryan, held sway.
While Ryan was a 3-0 winner in her final, Nyhan’s was a close-run 3-2 joust with Belfast’s Gabby Curran.
Connacht Junior Open finals
BU19: Conal Jackson (1) WON 3-0 (11-4, 12-10, 11-1) v Aaron Knox (2)
GU19: Zoe Yeomans (2) WON 3-2 (11-1, 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-4) v Ella Walsh (1)
BU17: Adam Power (1) WON 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-8) v Nathan Walsh (6)
GU17: Lucy Walsh (3) WON 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-9) v Zoe Sheridan (1)
BU15: Michael Lai (1) WON 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 11-4) v Leonid Ivlenkov (10)
GU15: Zoe Nyhan (1) WON 3-2 (6-11, 13-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8) v Gabby Curran (2)
BU13: Harry Knox (1) WON 3-1 (15-13, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4) v Eoin O’Brien (3)
GU13: Ruby Carroll (3) WON 3-0 (11-1, 11-8, 11-5) v Aurora McDonnell (1)
BU11: Conor Mullery (1) WON 3-0 (11-1, 15-13, 11-9) v Dylan Dunphy (2)
GU11: Georgie Ryan (1) WON 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-6) v Anna Maria Deak (6)
Twenty-one Irish players – including recent BU13 Spanish Junior Open champion Harry Knox and GU13 Finnish Junior Open winner Aurora McDonnell – will play at this week’s Danish Junior Open.
The four-day tournament, which starts in Copenhagen on Thursday, is the next step along the newly resourced Squash Ireland Junior Performance Academy pathway involving coaches David Noone and Michael Conroy.
It was August 31st when Knox clinched his title in Girona, and that success now sees him seeded 5/8 in Denmark. Ailong Chen also has the same seeding.
Meanwhile, McDonnell’s August 10th win in Helsinki has also influenced her status, as she is seeded No.2 in her event this week.
Her event has the largest Irish representation as five players are entered, including No.3/4 seed Esme Ring.
Four players who represented Ireland at the World Squash Junior Championships in Cairo in July are also travelling to Copenhagen, with Aaron Knox and Frank O’Flynn entered in the BU19, Riley Slade in the GU19 and Zoe Yeomans in the GU17.
Ireland’s Danish Junior Open entries
BU13 (3): Josh Archer (17/32), Ailong Chen (5/8), Harry Knox (5/8)
BU15 (4): Alec Gissing, Danny Jones (17/32), John Quigley (17/32), Harry Yeomans (17/32)
BU17 (1): Carl Crowe (33/64)
BU19 (2): Aaron Knox (9/16), Frank O’Flynn (17/32)
GU13 (5): Raghad Aboelela (5/8), Aurora McDonnell (2), Esme Ring (3/4), Faye Ring (9/16), Bridget Whitcomb (5/8)
GU15 (1): Gabby Curran (9/16)
GU17 (3): Shriya Drawid, Rebecca Jackson, Zoe Yeomans (5/8)
GU19 (2): Isabel Fallon (9/16), Riley Slade (5/8)
Ireland have two champions from the four-day Spanish Junior Open in Santa Cristina d’Aro, Harry Knox winning the BU13 and Marcelino Cronin the BU15.
Seeded 3/4, Knox secured a hat-trick of 3-0 wins over Spanish, Polish and English opponents to reach Sunday’s Girona final.
So impressive was the youngster that he only conceded 47 points in those nine games – an average of just over five.
Knox’s final against Tiago Vilas Macias [5/8] was a far tighter affair at Tipi Park. Games one and two were won 14-12 and 12-10 before the Spaniard claimed game three 11-5. The championship title was secured in the fourth, with the Irish teenager winning 11-9.
Cronin, meanwhile, enjoyed an excellent 3-1 success against Szymon Cienciala, the No.2 seed from Poland. Ranked 5/8, the Irish player didn’t flinch when losing the opening game 9-11, and he went on to win the next three 12-10, 11-4, 11-4.
His run to the final began with 3-1 and 3-0 victories over 9/16 ranked Spanish opponents, but he showcased his talent in his semi-final versus Hungary’s Miska Weiner, the event’s No.1 player.
Cronin jumped into a 2-0 lead with 11-1 and 11-5 games. The third went 7-11 against, but his deserved ticket to the final was secured with a 12-10 fourth game.
There were 133 entries across the eight events in Spain, including a total of eight players from Ireland. Aside from the title-winning Knox and Cronin, Alfie Knox was eighth in the BU13, Eoin Mullery ninth in the BU15 and Samuel Hann 19th in the BU17.
Three of Ireland’s representatives at the recent World Squash Junior Championships also took part in the BU19, with Aaron Knox fifth, Frank O’Flynn 21st and Nathan Hann 27th.
The Junior focus now switches to Cardiff with the Welsh Open set to start next Friday, September 5th. There are 15 Irish entries among the 134-strong start list spread across 10 events.
Former world No.7 Derek Ryan will be one of the workshop leaders at this week’s Squash Ireland Junior Performance Academy in Dublin.
The 55-year-old physiotherapist and strength and conditioning specialist is scheduled to deliver two presentations on Thursday at Fitzwilliam LTC, starting with a group of U13/U15 players and then presenting to the U17/19 players.
On his LinkedIn page, Ryan described himself: “A former professional squash player, having competed on the PSA world tour for 12 years and reaching a high of No.7 in the world rankings.
“I am a strength and conditioning coach and advisor to a number of the world’s top-ranked squash players (including three top 10).”
Other workshops scheduled throughout the week for all age-grades are a student-athlete squash talk with Busani Xaba, head coach at Amherst College in Massachusetts, and a Sport Ireland anti-doping session.
There will also be a Sport Ireland performance service session looking at the use of environmental chambers and a Sport Ireland Institute facility tour for the U17/U19 players.
The four-day camp, which is accommodating a total of 31 players, is led by national coach Arthur Gaskin, junior performance coach David Noone and junior development coach Michael Conroy. It marks the new-season lift-off for the strategic development of the best of young Irish squash talent.
Since his appointment last October as head coach, Gaskin has targeted the junior pathway system, and the junior performance camp is viewed as a major first step forward.
“It’s a great opportunity for the players to get many reps in with Squash Ireland’s three coaches ahead of the season. Building continuity by working hard every hour together. Watch out, world, there is more to come.
“It is the first time the players would have got together as this type of squad since launching on June 1st. Michael went to the Dutch Junior Open and David to Cairo for the Worlds. Then this is the first time all the age groups are invited to attend a camp, to get together for a couple of days.”
Like most sports, squash suffers from a big drop in participation amongst girls when they hit their teens. It’s a classic age when many withdraw from sport and physical exercise — and some never return (writes Squash Player Magazine).
Self-consciousness, body image issues, lack of confidence, social pressures or negative previous experiences of sport all contribute to this trend, and over the years sport governing bodies, funders, charities and coaches have sought to address it with varying degrees of success.
Squash Ireland, a national squash federation with a growing reputation for innovation and dynamism, has just launched its own initiative which uses squash as a vehicle to get teenage girls active again.
It may not turn them into the next Irish squash champion, or even into a regular squash player, but that is not necessarily its aim. The scheme is designed to be appealing and beneficial to girls who have self-labelled as ‘not sporty’, get them together with friends, have fun, learn something new, get exercise and want to come back and try it again.
The project is called Disco Squash, and is funded by Sport Ireland as part of its ‘Her Moves’ initiative to empower and motivate teenage girls to find something that gets them moving.
Squash Ireland got the idea from an adults’ Disco Squash night at Leinster Cricket Club in Dublin, where they played squash under UV disco lights, with colourful court lines, dayglo clothing and loud music.
The pilot Disco Squash session, delivered at Limerick Squash Club with 15 girls from Limerick Youth Service, was both similar and very different at the same time.
For two hours per day over the course of a week, Limerick Squash Club’s volunteer coach Avril Cairns led a blend of skill- and confidence-building social activities that the girls themselves said they would enjoy: bracelet making, t-shirt design, art, treasure hunts, aerobics, yoga, Zumba and Tabata workouts, all with their own music playlist playing on a speaker in the background.
Each day, these activities were blended carefully with fun, pressure-free squash activites on court. On the final day, the girls wore their self-designed t-shirts to a glow-in-the-dark disco on the squash court with lights, decorations, neon balls and rackets. They played matches to the beat of their self-chosen playlist.
“Some of them had no experience of sport at all, so it was about making them comfortable first of all, and introducing it to them on their terms,” said Avril.
“Whilst a lot of them would say they’re ‘not sporty’, they are into music or fitness, so it’s about designing squash in a way they might best connect with it by basing it on fun and friendship.”
The programme was devised by Maxine Strain, Squash Ireland’s former Women in Sport Officer (a role funded directly by Sport Ireland). She based it on the pillars of the Her Moves programme:
– Empower girls by giving them choices and a voice in how they move;
– Include all levels by creating safe, welcoming spaces with no prior experience required;
– Make it fun by blending sport with social, creative and energetic activities;
– Build confidence by allowing girls to try something new, move their bodies, and be part of a supportive group.
Maxine said: “It’s not really about the sport, it’s about offering a very social environment, presenting the sport in such a way that it’s totally attainable and accessible to them and they’re not being judged on their level.
“It’s not about teaching them a shot and practising it 30 times over. They paint their faces, choose their own playlist, do some creative activities and enjoy the squash, but it’s deliberately not the main focus.
“The squash content is entirely left up to the coach. It may be movement or strength work, which research shows they need at that age. It’s about the other skills that would be complimentary to the game itself, not just the skills of the game.
“The girls don’t necessary need to compete, just be involved in physical activity so they can come back to it at some point later in their lives and feel confident in themselves.”
She accepts that this method of introducing young people to squash may be completely alien to traditional squash coaches and governing bodies, but insists a radically different approach is what’s needed in order to reactivate this problem demographic.
Maxine says: “I can understand why some squash coaches might be very uncomfortable delivering something like this, but they need to understand what the research says about engaging teenage girls.
“Governing bodies tend to say, ‘We want teenage girls playing our sport, but we want them on our terms.’ That’s a problem. They have to accept that to get participation, you have to shape it around them in order to successfully engage them.
“It was so enjoyable to see them singing to the music and dancing while they were waiting their turn to hit the ball. That’s what made me realise that what we’d delivered was really impactful.”
Squash Ireland CEO Scott Graham says the federation is now looking to roll out the programme across other clubs across the island of Ireland.
“We’re always trying to be innovative and this programme is about designing sport so it works for teenage girls. We’re not saying, ‘This is what we do, why not come along?’ We’re asking them, ‘What do you like to do?’ Let’s give them that and weave a bit of squash in it, get them active and having fun with their friends.”
Squash Ireland’s new Junior Performance Academy will take a huge leap forward this coming week when 31 players from four age-groups gather in Dublin.
The four-day camp, led by national coach Arthur Gaskin, junior performance coach David Noone and junior development coach Michael Conroy, marks the new-season lift-off for the strategic development of the best of young Irish squash talent.
Three U19s – including Aaron Knox and Nathan Hann, who played at the recent World Squash Junior Championships in Cairo – will be in attendance along with six U17s, 12 U15s and 10 U13 players.
It was October 2024 when the American-based Gaskin, a 14-year PSA tour professional and an eight-time National champion, was appointed head coach following the publication of Squash Ireland’s high-performance strategy.
Listed amongst Gaskin’s targets was the creation of a junior pathway system, and the upcoming camp at Fitzwilliam LTC is viewed as the academy’s major kick-off.
“It is the first time the players would have got together as this type of squad,” enthused Gaskin. “It launched on June 1st.
“Michael went to the Dutch Junior Open and David to Cairo for the Worlds. Then this is the first time all the age groups are invited to attend a camp, to get together for a couple of days.
“It’s a great opportunity for the players to get many reps in with Squash Ireland’s three coaches ahead of the season. Working hard every hour together will help build continuity. Watch out, world, there is more to come.”
Squash Ireland JPA camp – Dublin, August 18th-21st
U19 (3): Aaron Knox, Advik Ajay, Nathan Hann
U17 (6): Danny Jones, Eoin Mullery, Matthew Bailey, Roisin Murphy, Samuel Hann, Vinny Knaggs
U15 (12): Chloe Jordan, Daisy Morrissey, Finn Conroy, Izzy Bailey, Jamie Morrissey, Liam Cupitt, Maisy Evans, Michael Lai, Raghad Aboelela, Saibh Darcy, Zoe Nyhan, One other player (TBC)
U13 (10): Ailong Chen, Arthur McDonald, Aurora McDonnell, Bridget Whitcomb, Caoimhe English, Eoin O’Brien, Harry Knox, Juliette O’Gorman, Ruby Carroll, Tom Hardiman
Ireland had two players competing in Finland last weekend, Aurora McDonnell securing a first-place Junior Open finish in the GU13 and Myles Fitzpatrick finishing fourth in the Masters Open MS60.
There were 85 entries spread across seven junior events, and McDonnell raced through her four matches to the title, defeating three Finnish players and a German 3-0.
She was especially on top of her game in the final, giving her opponent, Stella Monto of Finland, just a single point in an impressive 11-1, 11-0, 11-0 win.
Switching to the Masters, Fitzpatrick, the only Irish player among the 64 entries spread across eight categories, enjoyed a hat-trick of comfortable MS60 Group B wins over a trio of local players to make the semi-finals.
His winning run was halted when beaten by another Finnish opponent, Raimo Yliranta, in straight games.
Fitzpatrick then contested a five-game thriller with Olli Marjomaa, his fifth match against Finnish opposition across the weekend. Having led 2-1, he lost 3-2 after missing out 11-6 in the fifth.
Over in Cairo, Marcelino Cronin placed 43rd in the BU15 at the Egyptian Junior Open. Cronin won four of his seven matches at the tournament, including his five-game round of 128 encounter versus the higher-ranked Khalil Altayeh of Jordan.
Ireland have finished 12th in the women’s team section at the World Squash Junior Championships in Cairo, with the men’s team ending their campaign in 20th place.
It was a frustrating conclusion results-wise for the 15th seed women as their performance on Thursday against 14th-ranked South Africa, who went on to secure a 10th place finish, was excellent and the 1-2 outcome cruel.
Ella Erickson got the team off to a flyer with her 3-0 win and after Zeo Yeomans went down fighting in a 1-3 loss, Ella Walsh produced a heroic effort before losing a five-game thriller 2-3.
That left Ireland facing an 11th/12th place match on Friday versus New Zealand (No.9 seed), and the tie was clinched 3-0 by the Kiwis after 0-3 losses for Erickson, Yeomans and Slade.
Meanwhile, the 17th-ranked Ireland junior men’s team wrapped up with a 0-2 loss against Kuwait, the No.20 seed. Danny Lynch and Christian Dromgoole were both defeated 0-3 and the Aaron Knox match didn’t go ahead with the result already decided.
On Thursday, a very competitive Irish team were pipped 1-2 by the 13th-ranked Switzerland. The hard-working Lynch went down 0-3, but an impressive 3-0 effort from Christian Dromgoole saw the fixture go all the way. Conal Jackson, though, lost out 0-3 in the deciding match.
WOMEN’S JUNIOR 9/16 RESULTS:
Friday – Ireland (No.15 seed) LOST 0-3 v New Zealand (No.9 seed)
Ella Erickson lost 0-3 (11-13, 8-11, 6-11) v Ella Hill
Zeo Yeomans lost 0-3 (3-11, 1-11, 4-11) v Anabel Romero Gemmell
Riley Slade lost 0-3 (5-11, 9-11, 0-11) v Aria Bannister
Thursday – Ireland (No.15 seed) LOST 1-2 v South Africa (No.14 seed)
Ella Erickson WON 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-7) v Dene Van Zyl
Zeo Yeomans LOST 1-3 (13-15, 5-11, 11-5, 6-11) v Makayla Naidoo
Ella Walsh LOST 2-3 (11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 11-5, 7-11) v Chante Leppan
MEN’S JUNIOR 13/22 RESULTS:
Ireland (No.17 seed) v Kuwait (No.20 seed)
Danny Lynch lost 0-3 (5-11, 5-11, 9-11) to Khaled Walead Al Fouzain
Christian Dromgoole lost 0-3 (11-13, 2-11, 1-11) v Abdul Rahman Al Sanea
Aaron Knox DNP v Abdulrahman Alkandari
Ireland (N0.17 seed) LOST 1-2 v Switzerland (No.13 seed)
Danny Lynch lost 0-3 (5-11, 11-13, 2-11) v Fabian Seitz
Christian Dromgoole won 3-0 (13-11, 12-10, 11-9) v Michael Von Aesch
Conal Jackson lost 0-3 (5-11, 5-11, 8-11) v Leandro Vogel
My father is a massive sports fan and I’ve grown up listening to him say regularly how cruel sports can be, writes Ireland junior performance coach David Noone from the World Squash Junior Championships in Cairo.
The finest of margins can make the difference… In squash, a few millimetres on the tin, a referee’s decision, the frame of a racket. Thursday was one of those days for the U19 girls.
They were within a whisker of a top 10 finish in Cairo. The total score was actually 116-111 in favour of Ireland, but South Africa got the victory by winning matches 2-1.
Ella Erickson got us off to a flyer, chopping up their No.1 with a powerful performance. She bossed the court, never letting her opponent settle. Very impressive.
Zoe Yeomans got off to a great start in her first game. It went the distance, but the long and powerful South African took it 15-13. Carrying that momentum into the second, she took it 11-5 and while Zoe pulled one back in the third, she could force a fifth game.
So at 1-1, Ella Walsh played Chante Leppan in a real nail-biter of a match. Every game was close and Ella poured all she had into it, chasing every ball down, playing her shots with conviction and emptying the tank.
She had game balls to go 2-0 up and, if converted, that may have made the difference. But heartbreakingly, it wasn’t to be.
It was a huge team effort from the girls and on Friday they will face New Zealand for 11th place, well above their original seeding of 15.
The lads played Switzerland, a tough opposition. As with most teams here, the No.1 string is almost all professional level. Fabian Seitz is one of Europe’s best juniors, a very tough and skilled player.
Danny Lynch had the unenviable task of facing him. He played very well and, quite similar to his match on Wednesday, he raised his level and competed so well in every point.
With game balls in the second, it would have been just for him to level the match. But it wasn’t to be and the Swiss ran away with the third.
Christian Dromgoole played very well in his match, getting himself pumped up for the big points and that was where it mattered with each game going the distance as he won 3-0 to force a decider.
Conal Jackson was the man to take on the challenge. Conal has played so much squash in this two-week campaign and has produced some real quality, but this match was a bridge too far and his energy levels were depleted. Despite this, Conal played pretty well and fought hard. But it wasn’t to be.
It made for a slightly sombre mood at the dinner table on Thursday evening but Friday is another day. The girls will play New Zealand and the lads Kuwait. We had some fun on the padel courts beside our hotel and got an early night. One more push for the two teams.
Wednesday was one of our more relaxed mornings at the World Squash Junior Championships with the start times slightly later, writes Ireland junior performance coach David Noone.
12:30pm for the first match was nice. Everyone got a much-needed longer sleep and the bodies got a chance to recover a little more.
The girls were up first in their 9/16 match against Macau China, with a playing order of 2, 1, 3, meaning Ella Walsh, Ella Erickson and Zoe Yeomans were in action.
Ella W controlled her nerves very well. There were some very difficult points and she was much more composed than her opponent, playing the more mature squash and getting us over the line for a 1-0 start. Things were looking good.
Ella E then sealed the victory for Ireland when her opponent retired in game three of their match. Ella, who had been gaining great momentum, looked like she would have run away with it before an ankle injury forced the retirement of the Macau player.
Zoe finished off the impressive victory with relative ease, and a delighted Irish contingent have now moved into the 9/12 bracket and will play South Africa on Thursday for the chance of a top 10 in the world finish. Exciting times.
The lads, with a team line-up of Christian Dromgoole, Danny Lynch and Aaron Knox, had the ominous task of taking on the Kiwis in their 12-22 match. Christian got proceedings underway and got to work quite quickly.
Building himself a 2-0 lead, things were looking good. But the match tightened in the third, tension got into his swing and the slightly looser squash freed up the centre for the tall New Zealander to attack.
The contest wasn’t without dramatic rallies, dives and some big refereeing decisions and after it levelled up at 2-2, the fifth game didn’t go as planned and Christian unfortunately couldn’t find a way through.
Danny was on next for a rematch of his round one opponent from the individuals, Ollie Dunbar, who is a serious player and ranked in the top 10 world juniors. Dunbar was on fire, but so was Danny and an enthralling battle produced some incredible squash.
It was corner-to-corner stuff and some of the best squash I have ever seen Danny play, but it still wasn’t enough. Danny did have three game balls in the third, but it wasn’t to be.
Aaron won the dead runner best of three, 2-1. He has been in superb form and if Christian or Danny had gotten a W, Aaron would have cleaned up for us. Thursday heralds another tough battle… Switzerland.
The matches keep coming thick and fast and thank goodness for Breanne Flynn, keeping the bodies in working order with multiple daily physio sessions. Two days to go here in Cairo. Plenty more squash to be played.
