Egyptian teenager Nour El Sherbini has become the world’s most successful junior squash player of all-time after winning the WSF Women’s World Junior Championship title for a record third time.

Victory over compatriot Mariam Ibrahim Metwally in the final of the World Squash Federation event at the Hasta La Vista Club in the historic city of Wroclaw in Poland sees the 17-year-old from Alexandria extend the previous women’s double record set by the reigning world number one Nicol David in 2001, and the twin-title men’s record established by Ramy Ashour – also the current world number one – in 2006.

There was an upset in the men’s final – also an all-Egyptian affair – when No2 seed Karim Ayman Elhammamy (pictured below with El Sherbini) beat favourite Fares Mohamed Dessouki in four games to keep the trophy in Egyptian hands for the eighth year in a row.

El Sherbini is no stranger to record-breaking achievements in the sport:  In August 2009 in India – in her maiden appearance in the World U19 championship – the unheralded 13-year-old swept through the field to become the youngest world champion ever.

Two years later she won the Alexandria International Open in her home city to become the first U16-year-old to win two WSA World Tour titles.

And, after winning her second World Junior crown a year ago in Qatar, El Sherbini became the first player to reach a fourth world junior final on Saturday after success in the semi-finals in Wroclaw.

The championship favourite reached the final without losing a game – and faced surprise opponent Metwally, a 5/8 seed to whom she had dropped a game in the 2012 quarter-finals.

Metwally, a year younger than Sherbini, had reached her maiden final after upsets over No2 seed Nouran Ahmed Gohar and last year’s runner-up Yathreb Adel, a 3/4 seed.

But El Sherbini, ranked 11 in the world, could not be stopped:  It took just 34 minutes for the 17-year-old to fulfil her dream, beating Metwally 11-7, 16-14, 11-8 to take the title.

The men’s final brought together the event’s top two seeds – with top-seeded Dessouki not only boasting a world ranking more than 200 places above his opponent, but a victory over Elhammamy in January’s British Junior U19 Open en-route to winning the prestigious title.

But, in a fittingly dramatic climax to the world individual championships in Wroclaw, underdog Elhammamy clinched the title 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 13-11 after 83 minutes.

“I’ve seen a lot of squash: PSA, senior team event, everything. But this – this was just something else,” said the Poland Team coach Marcin Kozik afterwards.  “These boys flew around the court.  What they did there tonight was crazy and I absolutely loved it!”

PICTURE COURTESY OF SquashPics.com

Dundalk Tennis Squash & Badminton Club celebrate their centenary this year and to mark the milestone held an Open day last Saturday and also had 3 exhibition matches in squash, badminton and tennis on the day.

The Irish number 1 Arthur Gaskin played the 17 year old David Ryan from Sutton. David is the number 1 ranked Under 17 in Europe and winner of several major U17 open titles in Europe this season. Dundalk were absolutely delighted to have such high ranking players to play the exhibition match, celebrating their centenary. Squash in Dundalk has been a little quiet in recent years but there is a real appetite and enthusiasm in the club to attract new members and increase participation in the club, especially with junior players.

There will be another Open day in September exclusive for Squash, with local schoolchildren invited to a coaching programme with the aim of getting the children to join the squash club post the programme in January. Dundalk has 3 squash courts with excellent facilities and a fully equipped clubhouse.

The Tennis match featured Conor Niland and the Badminton match Chloe Magee so overall it was a great day in Dundalk with a large crowd enjoying the 3 matches and glorious sunshine where there was a barbeque and plenty of fun for all who attended.

Results

Ellie McVeigh had a great result in the Dutch Open U13 last weekend finishing a highly credible 4th. Well Done Ellie!!

She won 4 matches out of 7 and had a great match against the number 1 seed Ukrainian, Alina Bushma. There is obviously a lot of potential in this talented young player from Belfast.

Scott Gillanders had a very tough draw coming up against the Indian number 1, Vikas Mehra, who was seeded 33-64, clearly a wrong seeding. Scott lost that match 3-0. However he had 3 victories in the rest of the tournament so a good experience for him in his development.

His sister Griffin in the Under 17 event, had 3 victories out of 5 matches so again a good experience in very tough competition.

Well Done to all 3 of them.

Ireland has three players competing in the Dutch Junior Open in Amsterdam this week. The event is at the FRANS OTTEN STADION where the Senior European Championships took place in early May.

The 3 players are:

Ellie McVeigh (Ulster) – Under 13

Scott Gillanders (Leinster) – Under 15

Griffin Gillanders (Leinster) – Under 17

GOOD LUCK TO THEM ALL!!

Picture: Scott Gillanders receiving his trophy on winning the Luxembourg Open Under 13 in April.

Would you like to become a better squash coach? Are you interested in helping grow our sport in Ireland and increasing the number and quality of play by juniors throughout the country?

cAs part of our committment to growing Squash in Ireland Irish Squash along with Irish National Coach – Hadrian Stiff would like to invite all interested coaches to apply for a coach development and mentoring programme sponsored by Irish Squash. This programme will take place throughout Ireland and we are seeking between 8 and 16 suitable coaches. This is an exciting new venture for Irish Squash – but it will be a tough (but rewarding) programme for coaches and will involve continuous assessment and review of all coaches involved.

This is a fully funded programme and is valued at €8,000/candidate.

Requirements:

• Coaches will be required to attend at least 6 weekend sessions during a one year period and will gain the opportunity of working with and gaining mentored support directly from Hadrian.
• Candidates may be required to travel with teams abroad or to take part in sessions outside of  Ireland (at national or international events).
• There will be continuous assessment of coach progress throughout the programme
• Successful candidates will be required to complete the new Club Development Coaches course (equivalent to a UK CC Level 3 qualification) during this two year period.
• Candidate coaches will be expected to take responsibility for named players and to have a specific number of sessions with those players working on instructions from National Coach (but will be paid separately for these programmes).
• The programme is a two year (part-time) committment and candidates will be required to sign an agreement committing to this time frame.

All expenses attached with this programme will be covered by Irish Squash.

Selection Criteria

Candidate coaches will be selected by the National Coach in conjunction with the coaching committee. The following will be considered:

• Existing coaching experience and qualifications (in squash and related disciplines).
• Flexibility and availability – coaches must be flexible to travel and participate at all weekends
• Enthusiasm for Squash.

Applications

Applicants should send an e-mail to [email protected] outlining their interest in the programme and explaining their existing qualifications and experience in coaching (in squash and elsewhere). They should confirm their availability and commitment to the programme over a two year period.

Please click on the links below for the invitations and entry forms for the German, Nordic and Danish Junior Opens:

http://www.europeansquash.com/juniors/junior-calendar/details/306-german-junior-open-2014-ss.html

http://www.europeansquash.com/juniors/junior-calendar/details/294-nordic-junior-open-2013-ss.html

http://www.europeansquash.com/juniors/junior-calendar/details/293-danish-junior-open-2013-gp.html

WOMEN

The July WSA World Rankings provide an unchanged top 10 after a quiet month on the WSA Tour.

Madeline Perry remains at world number 8 and Aisling Blake at number 26 in the July rankings.

Nicol David extends her stay at the top of the rankings for an 82^nd consecutive month. Laura Massaro remains the closest that anyone has been to closing that gap in over three years after success at the British Open in May.

Raneem El Weleily, Alison Waters and Joelle King remain no.3, no.4 and no.5 respectively.

The only change in the top 20 sees Sarah Kippax leap frog Nour El Tayeb to no.19, her highest ranking since January 2012.

Outside the top 20 a few players record career high rankings, Emily Whitlock at no.23, Deon Saffery at no.47 and Barossa Valley Open finalist Tong Tsz-Wing at no.49 making four Hong Kong players in the top 50 for the first time ever.

MEN

Arthur Gaskin remains at world number 94 for July after some good points gained in Australia recently. Ramy Ashour is a firm number 1 in the world after his British Open title win. All the other top 20 players are unchanged from the June rankings.

July 2013 – Women & Men:

WOMEN

MEN

1	Ramy Ashour
2	Gregory Gaultier
3	James Willstrop
4	Nick Matthew
5	Karim Darwish
6	Mohamed Elshorbagy
7	Peter Barker
8	Amr Shabana
9	Borja Golan
10	Tarek Momen
11	Omar Mosaad
12	Simon Rosner
13	Cameron Pilley
14	Daryl Selby
15	Alister Walker
16	Stephen Coppinger
17	Tom Richards
18	Laurens Jan Anjema
19	Miguel Angel Rodriguez
20	Saurav Ghosal

WOMEN

The July WSA World Rankings provide an unchanged top 10 after a quiet month on the WSA Tour.

Madeline Perry remains at world number 8 and Aisling Blake at number 26 in the July rankings.

Nicol David extends her stay at the top of the rankings for an 82^nd consecutive month. Laura Massaro remains the closest that anyone has been to closing that gap in over three years after success at the British Open in May.

Raneem El Weleily, Alison Waters and Joelle King remain no.3, no.4 and no.5 respectively.

The only change in the top 20 sees Sarah Kippax leap frog Nour El Tayeb to no.19, her highest ranking since January 2012.

Outside the top 20 a few players record career high rankings, Emily Whitlock at no.23, Deon Saffery at no.47 and Barossa Valley Open finalist Tong Tsz-Wing at no.49 making four Hong Kong players in the top 50 for the first time ever.

MEN

Arthur Gaskin remains at world number 94 for July after some good points gained in Australia recently. Ramy Ashour is a firm number 1 in the world after his British Open title win. All the other top 20 players are unchanged from the June rankings.

July 2013 – Women & Men:

WOMEN

MEN

1	Ramy Ashour
2	Gregory Gaultier
3	James Willstrop
4	Nick Matthew
5	Karim Darwish
6	Mohamed Elshorbagy
7	Peter Barker
8	Amr Shabana
9	Borja Golan
10	Tarek Momen
11	Omar Mosaad
12	Simon Rosner
13	Cameron Pilley
14	Daryl Selby
15	Alister Walker
16	Stephen Coppinger
17	Tom Richards
18	Laurens Jan Anjema
19	Miguel Angel Rodriguez
20	Saurav Ghosal

Westwood Summer Camp, Leopardstown, Dublin

Date      6^th 7^th 8^th and  13^th 14^th 15^th of August (Tuesday – Thursday)

Coach   Ed Dunne

Time      10:00 – 12:00 (including 15 minute break)

Cost       1 x week €50.00

2 x weeks €90.00

The plan is to limit the number of kids attending to only 6 per session – this will allow for individual attention for everyone and an average of only 2 per court.  The camp will focus on playing squash but will also include drills which will improve your child’s

• ·        Balance
• ·        Coordination
• ·        Fitness
• ·        Well being…

Other coaches/players will join in at some stage including:

Derek Ryan –        Ex world number 7, current Irish National Champion and club coach in West Wood

Paul Byrne –         Represented Ireland at national level

Irish Squash | Operations Manager

Irish Squash is the National Governing Body for Squash in Ireland. We proactively develop and promote squash throughout Ireland. We offer a comprehensive range of support and services at International, National, Regional and local levels including:

• Development and coaching for juniors and new players of all abilities
• Support, coaching and mentoring for professional squash players
• Development and coaching for juniors and new players of all abilities
• Coach Education Programmes
• International, National and Regional competitions for all ages and abilities
• Advice on Technical and Maintenance service for courts
• Structured Development Programmes for schools
• Promotion and marketing of Squash in Ireland

We are in the process of recruiting a full time Office Manager to work in Dublin with Irish Squash. Details and pre-requisites attached to the role are outlined below. Interested and suitably qualified candidates should send their CVs to [email protected]  outlining their interest in the position and their relevant experience.

Pre-Requisites for the role

The candidate will ideally be able to demonstrate skills and show experience in the following areas:

• Proficient use of Microsoft Office, Twitter, Facebook, WordPress (or similar) and YouTube
• Demonstrable Marketing and PR experience
• Proven ability to raise money through sponsorship
• A keen interest in sport and a working knowledge of Squash
• A third level degree or equivalent.

Deadline

Applicants should submit their CV to [email protected] by close of business Friday 26th July 2013. No applications received after that date will be considered.

Job Description

You shall, at all times during the course of your employment with Irish Squash, manage, co-ordinate, run and operate the day to day facilities of Irish Squash and, in connection with your role, shall have and carry out the following roles and responsibilities:-

Public Relations:

• Act as the key initial point of contact for Irish Squash and serve as its spokesperson in conjunction with the President or another designated Board Member
• Develop initiatives for the promotion and development of Irish Squash
• Endeavour to develop a relationship with the media, both local and national in order to further the awareness of Irish Squash
• Maintain and update the Irish Squash Website and database
• Represent Irish Squash at various conferences, seminars, workshops, meetings  as may be required from time to time
• Endeavour to initiate at least one fundraising activity per year of employment and to endeavour to obtain sponsors for the Irish Squash organized tournaments annually. These activities will be reported upon twice yearly at the board meetings

Strategy & Planning:

·         Assist the Board in designing and implementing an annual strategic plan for the promotion and development of Irish Squash

Administration

• Manage the Irish Squash office and day to day administration on a full-time basis
• Ensure that the Irish Squash office is manned during the relevant opening hours in the working week in accordance with the hours advertised to the public on the Irish Squash website
• Ensure all legal, regulatory and tax requirements are complied with including filings and returns.
• Monitor compliance with laws and regulations (including missives from the Irish Sports Council)
• Retain records and notes on all matters relating to the day to day running of Irish Squash

Tournaments:

• Assist Board Members and Provincial Representatives in the ‘timely’ preparation of the Irish Squash tournaments calendar
• Oversee the timely and structured organisation of Irish Squash teams playing in international events including but not limited to:
• Entering teams into tournaments
• Booking flights for teams
• Booking accommodation for teams
• Managing the team gear required for tournaments including Irish flags, pennants, national anthem music
• Preparing appropriate first aid kits for teams and organising vaccinations where required
• Delegate and liaise with relevant bodies and persons in the organisation/preparation of tournaments run by Irish Squash including but not limited to:
•     Irish Senior Nationals
•     Irish Junior Nationals
•     Irish Junior Open
•     Senior Grand Prix Tournaments
• Research and report to the Board on any international events which could be held under the auspices of Irish Squash and report at Board Meetings on the suitability of Irish Squash hosting these events. Liaise with any relevant bodies and organisations as necessary to seek information and arrange events.

Board Assistance:

• Attend at Board Meeting and prepare reports to the Board and the Irish Squash Council as and when required
• Assist the Secretary in the drafting and circulation of Board Meeting minutes
• Co-ordinate Board Meetings and Sub-Committee meetings
• Advise board on any matters that require consideration and action

 Financial:

• Prepare all relevant grant applications including liaising with the treasurer of Irish Sport
• Prepare annual grant application for submission to the Irish Sports Council
• Prepare reports to the Irish Sports Council as may be required
• Assist the Board in setting, allocating and tracking budgets throughout the year including reporting to the Board on any budgetary issues that arise
• Responsible for invoicing all affiliated clubs and members and reporting to report on collection of payments
• Ensure all cheques issued on behalf of Irish Squash are signed in accordance with the Irish Squash finance and banking rules
• Report to board on a monthly basis on income and expenditure of Irish Squash for the previous month and advise on any cash flow difficulties that are anticipated

You agree that the title of the job which the Office Manager is employed to do is specified above but Irish Squash reserves the right, as a condition of employment, to require you to carry out other duties associated with your function that are within your capabilities at such place of work as the organization from time to time reasonably require and specify and you specifically confirm, acknowledge and agree to the reservation of this right by Irish Squash and that the duties that might follow from the exercise of that right shall fall within the terms of your employment with Irish Squash.

Junior Squash

‘So what did you like about Squash?’ I asked the kids at City Quay School in the heart of Dublin City.

‘Well it was a bit smelly!’ someone volunteered.

One couldn’t argue with that, but I suppose it depends what you are comparing it with. Most of the girls in the class do dancing and majorettes outside of school time so that can’t be too ‘smelly’, but the boys nearly all play soccer – enough said.

This was a group of sixth class primary school children who have been getting free squash coaching at TCD over the last two years, courtesy of Irish Squash. Elvy Da Costa with the help of six Trinity students has given them a great grounding in the sport teaching all sorts of ball skills as well as how to score and ref the game.

‘Watching the coaches playing was a great experience for them,’ their teacher said. ‘They saw how to implement the skills which they were learning’.

These children are now leaving Primary School and may not get another chance to play squash for years to come, but having had such an excellent grounding at a very impressionable age there is a good chance that some of them will come back to it in the future.

A number of schools have jumped at the chance of the free lessons, but it is always  a struggle to get schools on board as Squash is competing with so many other sports which have a higher profile and well financed sporting bodies behind them. Apparently school principals are inundated with calls from every sport one can imagine.

Irish Squash is to be congratulated on its efforts to promote the game of squash nationwide paying coaches to provide free lessons for any schools willing to make a commitment either during school hours or after school.

Deirdre Davys