JERSEY Squash held its Island Junior Championships last weekend, where a fantastic 49 entries contested 88 matches played over the course of the day.
In the Under 11s bracket, James Cleverly and Alice Chesnay both secured a first tournament win against very talented younger opponents in Wilder Binet and Elizabeth Dobbing respectively.
The boys’ events were dominated by the McMahon and Turpin boys.
Gerry and Patrick McMahon won in the Boys U13 and U15 titles respectively, and Alex and Will Turpin won in Boys U17 and U19 titles.
In the Girls’ events, Evelyn Boleat won the U15 bracket, and Tyler McAllister won the U17s.
A highlight match on the day was the Boys U13 final between Gerry McMahon and his younger opponent, Ollie Turpin.
McMahon took the first game quite comfortably, but then Turpin moved up the gears, determined to get back into the game, which be did by taking the second.
Turpin was flying, producing some excellent squash and earning himself several game ball points in the third, but he couldn’t quite close out and the game eventually went to McMahon 15-13.
Similarly, in the fourth game, Turpin again had a couple of game ball points, but couldn’t quite take it to a fifth game.
McMahon held on firm, eventually taking the fourth game 13-11 and, with it, the title.
These two boys are setting a new standard for junior squash in Jersey, with both selected to play for Dorset County and having great success in England Squash Sanctioned events.
Another close final in the Boys U17 event was the match between Charlie Le Lay and Alex Turpin.
Most recently, Le Lay had won against Turpin in team league. However, the stakes of an Island title seemed to raise Turpin’s game on the day.
Turpin was the eventual winner, coming through a nail-biting fourth game 15-13.
Both boys, who had played six matches on the day, showed that the game of squash combines physical skills, stamina and mental strength.
Jersey Squash would like to congratulate Will Turpin, Sienna Bobus and Tyler McAllister, who will all be representing their Island in this year’s senior inter-insular match against Guernsey on Saturday 8 March.
Will Turpin has also been selected for the Jersey team at the Orkney Island Games.
Tournament organiser Susan Turpin spoke after the event, saying: “It was a huge success. We were really pleased to have a record number of girls enter this year.
“The addition of more female coaches in the Junior Academy set-up has helped to attract more girls to squash and make it fun for those who take part.
“Our involvement in a Schools Programme is also driving a lot of interest in junior squash in Jersey.
“Thank you to our event sponsors TLC Finance, in particular Dave Tupper from TLC Finance came down to watch and present prizes to the winners.”
For anyone interested to find out more about the Junior Squash Academy, please email Susan Turpin, info@jerseysquash.org.je
