SCOTTISH OPEN 2024 REVIEW!
Our first event of 2024 was the Scottish Open in Glasgow at the wonderful Newlands Tennis and Squash Club on Saturday 27th January. Last year was the first time we visited the club, and we had a blast meeting up with our RASTA Scottish Racketball cousins and doing battle and were looking forward to the return!
It was great to have a good group of English UK Racketballers travelling up to compete and also see some new Scottish faces at the same time. Positive signs for the growth of the game both sides of the border! In the Over 70s we had a really competitive draw of 5 players, all very similar standard. In the end it came down to a three way tie between Joe Hely, Chris Quick and Trevor Musson, all with 4 wins and 1 loss between them! Hely sneaking the title based his on games won/loss % over Quick. Some quality games in this category acoss the day with some incredible court coverage too.
The O60s had 9 entrants across two boxes so was another very busy category. Robin Chipperfield showing his status as top seed by coming through to take the title, but not before he was pushed all the way by Mike Fleming, battling through 2/1 11/8 in the 5th game in a really entertaining and free flowing final. The Over 50s and 40s were a little quieter in comparison, both being boxes of 4, but this didn't stop there being some good match ups. In the O50s Paul Dodds got his first title of 2024 on the board, coming through a competitive group, with fellow UK Racketball Northerner Kevin Dudley finishing in 2nd.
The O40s feautured two of the top players in that age category, as Ryan Loska and Paul Norton took down their Scottish opponents to meet in the Final. Norton to date has never taken a game off of Loska, until now, where in probably the match of the day they fought it out in a brutal showdown. Loska eventually coming through 2/1 winner, 8/11, 11/9, 11/9 to take the title. If this is anything to go on for the rest of this season we could have some real treats in store!
The B Grade was a busy line up as always, with 13 players involved, and it was great to see a load of new Scottish entrants in this category. In the end, Neil Bennett and Jesse Mills both came through their groups to meet in the final, with Bennett's fast paced positive hitting getting him through the control and long reach of Mills in a (tighter than the scores suggest) 2/0 win. We did have a Ladies box of 5 initially but with two (sisters) dropping out due to illness we were reduced to a box of 3, with all playing best of 5 game matches. Another new face to the scene - Sabrina Tengku Nur came through as Champion over Newlands local players Cara Young and Niamh Wilson, her quality movement and retrievals being particularly impressive throughout. Fingers crossed we see the three in action in future events!
Finally the Doubles and the Open. There was one standout pairing out of the 5 teams in the Doubles - Bedwell & Norton, and they lived up to their billing, not dropping a game throughout the event to take the title (and the lead in the new Doubles Series rankings for 2024.) They were pushed by the eventual runners up Manson & Hindmarch, whose knowledge of each other's game and tactics makes them a very experienced and crafty team. We had a really competitive Open draw again this year, with a good mixture of local and travelling players involved. Mike Harris had an entertaining game with Newland's Fraser McCann in his box, scraping past 13/11, 11/9, and Matt Bedwell also was pushed hard by his local team mate Mark Ford, dropping a game on the way to a 2/1 win against the experienced campaigner. In the end it meant a British Nationals Final rematch between the two player coaches, and despite Bedwell rocketing off to a 5/0 lead in the 1st game, Harris was able to slowly reel him back in to take a high quality 2/0 win in 40 minutes of open and varied play.
A really great day of games at a top venue and fun group of players. Thanks to Keith Gristwood for promoting the event around his RASTA (Racketball Around Scotland) guys and getting them involved. Fingers crossed we can keep getting more of our UK Racketball and RASTA players iplaying in each other's events! Thank you also to Newlands and Matt Bedwell for hosting us so well and making us so welcome. We can't wait for next year!
You can find the full draws and results below on Sporty HQ. We also kept the camera rolling through the day so have loads of pictures and videos of the action for you to check out on our UK Racketball Facebook page. Finally, one of our Scottish Racketball compatriots Mike Sutherland did a fantastic job in doing a two camera filming job on the Open Final between Matt Bedwell & Mike Harris, including adding a scoreboard to the footage. Check it out below on Youtube to see some top level Racketball action in a quality 40 minute best of 3 game battle!
SPORTY HQ: SCOTTISH OPEN 2024
FACEBOOK: ALBUM
YOUTUBE OPEN FINAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVRvIJO6xyY
Our first event of 2024 was the Scottish Open in Glasgow at the wonderful Newlands Tennis and Squash Club on Saturday 27th January. Last year was the first time we visited the club, and we had a blast meeting up with our RASTA Scottish Racketball cousins and doing battle and were looking forward to the return!
It was great to have a good group of English UK Racketballers travelling up to compete and also see some new Scottish faces at the same time. Positive signs for the growth of the game both sides of the border! In the Over 70s we had a really competitive draw of 5 players, all very similar standard. In the end it came down to a three way tie between Joe Hely, Chris Quick and Trevor Musson, all with 4 wins and 1 loss between them! Hely sneaking the title based his on games won/loss % over Quick. Some quality games in this category acoss the day with some incredible court coverage too.
The O60s had 9 entrants across two boxes so was another very busy category. Robin Chipperfield showing his status as top seed by coming through to take the title, but not before he was pushed all the way by Mike Fleming, battling through 2/1 11/8 in the 5th game in a really entertaining and free flowing final. The Over 50s and 40s were a little quieter in comparison, both being boxes of 4, but this didn't stop there being some good match ups. In the O50s Paul Dodds got his first title of 2024 on the board, coming through a competitive group, with fellow UK Racketball Northerner Kevin Dudley finishing in 2nd.
The O40s feautured two of the top players in that age category, as Ryan Loska and Paul Norton took down their Scottish opponents to meet in the Final. Norton to date has never taken a game off of Loska, until now, where in probably the match of the day they fought it out in a brutal showdown. Loska eventually coming through 2/1 winner, 8/11, 11/9, 11/9 to take the title. If this is anything to go on for the rest of this season we could have some real treats in store!
The B Grade was a busy line up as always, with 13 players involved, and it was great to see a load of new Scottish entrants in this category. In the end, Neil Bennett and Jesse Mills both came through their groups to meet in the final, with Bennett's fast paced positive hitting getting him through the control and long reach of Mills in a (tighter than the scores suggest) 2/0 win. We did have a Ladies box of 5 initially but with two (sisters) dropping out due to illness we were reduced to a box of 3, with all playing best of 5 game matches. Another new face to the scene - Sabrina Tengku Nur came through as Champion over Newlands local players Cara Young and Niamh Wilson, her quality movement and retrievals being particularly impressive throughout. Fingers crossed we see the three in action in future events!
Finally the Doubles and the Open. There was one standout pairing out of the 5 teams in the Doubles - Bedwell & Norton, and they lived up to their billing, not dropping a game throughout the event to take the title (and the lead in the new Doubles Series rankings for 2024.) They were pushed by the eventual runners up Manson & Hindmarch, whose knowledge of each other's game and tactics makes them a very experienced and crafty team. We had a really competitive Open draw again this year, with a good mixture of local and travelling players involved. Mike Harris had an entertaining game with Newland's Fraser McCann in his box, scraping past 13/11, 11/9, and Matt Bedwell also was pushed hard by his local team mate Mark Ford, dropping a game on the way to a 2/1 win against the experienced campaigner. In the end it meant a British Nationals Final rematch between the two player coaches, and despite Bedwell rocketing off to a 5/0 lead in the 1st game, Harris was able to slowly reel him back in to take a high quality 2/0 win in 40 minutes of open and varied play.
A really great day of games at a top venue and fun group of players. Thanks to Keith Gristwood for promoting the event around his RASTA (Racketball Around Scotland) guys and getting them involved. Fingers crossed we can keep getting more of our UK Racketball and RASTA players iplaying in each other's events! Thank you also to Newlands and Matt Bedwell for hosting us so well and making us so welcome. We can't wait for next year!
You can find the full draws and results below on Sporty HQ. We also kept the camera rolling through the day so have loads of pictures and videos of the action for you to check out on our UK Racketball Facebook page. Finally, one of our Scottish Racketball compatriots Mike Sutherland did a fantastic job in doing a two camera filming job on the Open Final between Matt Bedwell & Mike Harris, including adding a scoreboard to the footage. Check it out below on Youtube to see some top level Racketball action in a quality 40 minute best of 3 game battle!
SPORTY HQ: SCOTTISH OPEN 2024
FACEBOOK: ALBUM
YOUTUBE OPEN FINAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVRvIJO6xyY
WE ARE BACK FOR 2024!
After a really successful inaugral 2023 event we are back in 2024 for the second edition of the Scottish Racketball Open. Once again at the lovely Newlands Club in Glasgow we are looking forward to rejoining our Scottish counterparts for some more great Racketball battles.
Event and entry info all below, we hope to see you there!
Event and entry info all below, we hope to see you there!
What: Scottish UK-Racketball Open
When: Saturday 27th January
Where: Newlands
Postcode: G43 2QE
Club Webpage: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/NewlandsLTC
Cost: £17.50 for Singles event / £25 for Doubles event
Closing Date: Friday 19th January
More Information: Email [email protected] or call Mike on 07789 394617 if your enquiry is urgent.
Entry via Sporty HQ - https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-1-2024-Scottish-UK-Racketball-Open-Newlands
When: Saturday 27th January
Where: Newlands
Postcode: G43 2QE
Club Webpage: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/NewlandsLTC
Cost: £17.50 for Singles event / £25 for Doubles event
Closing Date: Friday 19th January
More Information: Email [email protected] or call Mike on 07789 394617 if your enquiry is urgent.
Entry via Sporty HQ - https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-1-2024-Scottish-UK-Racketball-Open-Newlands
2023 - OUR FIRST SCOTTISH RACKETBALL OPEN A SUCCESS!
*English players manage to scrape through this time round*
Our fouth tournament of the 2023 Series took place at another new venue for the year. This time it was at Newlands LTC in Glasgow for the Scottish Open, and it was great to be able to mix in with the Scottish Racketball fraternity! We had a good bunch of English UK Racketballers making the trip up too, so some great match ups were on hand across the day.
In the Open event, match of the tournament was between Luke Bishop and Newlands Head Pro Matt Bedwell. They hadn't come across each other before and proved to be a really balanced match up. Bedwell prevailing 2/1 in games in about 45 minutes of intense play. Mike Harris came through the other side of the draw relatively unscathed, and managed to see off an very determined Bedwell in the Final 2/0 in nearly 40 minutes. Harris' first event of the 2023 calendar as he starts looking toward the British Nationals in July.
The B Grade had a great mixture of Scottish and English interest, with Paul Knocker Norton registering his third B Grade title of 2023, managing to get past Eddie Prust 2/0 in a quality final. Norton with patner Danny Weights then managed to secure his second win of the event by beating pre tournament favourites Luke Bishop and Amber Marshall in a brilliant Doubles final. This was a top example of how Doubles Racketball can be both entertaining and hard fought, with very few decisions to be made and lots of great exchanges of play throughout.
Marshall took her first title of the 2023 season in the Ladies Open event. The first one that we have had run this Series! It was nice to see a mixture of ages competing here, with the youngest player being 15 and the oldest O50. A great draw and Marshall showing her National Champion quality to come through it.
In the Over 50's there was a Scottish victor, with Mike Sutherland from Fife the victor in a really closely fought event. It was great to see a full draw of Scots here, hopefully see some of you guys in the British O50's draw in July! English Over 60's regular John Cordeaux showed his class in his category, taking the event without dropping a game in a strong draw. And finally in the O70s, Graham Greensall registered his first loss in that age group this year to Colin Cruickshank from Edinburgh, in a high quality 3/1 battle.
All of the above means that Paul Norton leapfrogs Graham Greensall to top the 2023 Series rankings for the first time! There is some movement in the middle order too, this can all be seen on the lists linked in below.
It was the first time we have run a UK Racketball Series event in Scotland and were very grateful to Newlands LTC in Glasgow for hosting us, and RASTA (Racketball Around Scotland) for helping promote the event among their players. It's great to see such a strong uptake in Scottish players for the event and it we are looking forward to doing battle with them once more in future Series tournaments. If any UK Racketball players fancy getting stuck in with the RASTA events you can check out their calendar on their Facebook page.
Full draws from Saturday's Scottish Open can be found on Sporty HQ HERE
And the current 2023 Series rankings after the results have gone in from Saturday are HERE
*English players manage to scrape through this time round*
Our fouth tournament of the 2023 Series took place at another new venue for the year. This time it was at Newlands LTC in Glasgow for the Scottish Open, and it was great to be able to mix in with the Scottish Racketball fraternity! We had a good bunch of English UK Racketballers making the trip up too, so some great match ups were on hand across the day.
In the Open event, match of the tournament was between Luke Bishop and Newlands Head Pro Matt Bedwell. They hadn't come across each other before and proved to be a really balanced match up. Bedwell prevailing 2/1 in games in about 45 minutes of intense play. Mike Harris came through the other side of the draw relatively unscathed, and managed to see off an very determined Bedwell in the Final 2/0 in nearly 40 minutes. Harris' first event of the 2023 calendar as he starts looking toward the British Nationals in July.
The B Grade had a great mixture of Scottish and English interest, with Paul Knocker Norton registering his third B Grade title of 2023, managing to get past Eddie Prust 2/0 in a quality final. Norton with patner Danny Weights then managed to secure his second win of the event by beating pre tournament favourites Luke Bishop and Amber Marshall in a brilliant Doubles final. This was a top example of how Doubles Racketball can be both entertaining and hard fought, with very few decisions to be made and lots of great exchanges of play throughout.
Marshall took her first title of the 2023 season in the Ladies Open event. The first one that we have had run this Series! It was nice to see a mixture of ages competing here, with the youngest player being 15 and the oldest O50. A great draw and Marshall showing her National Champion quality to come through it.
In the Over 50's there was a Scottish victor, with Mike Sutherland from Fife the victor in a really closely fought event. It was great to see a full draw of Scots here, hopefully see some of you guys in the British O50's draw in July! English Over 60's regular John Cordeaux showed his class in his category, taking the event without dropping a game in a strong draw. And finally in the O70s, Graham Greensall registered his first loss in that age group this year to Colin Cruickshank from Edinburgh, in a high quality 3/1 battle.
All of the above means that Paul Norton leapfrogs Graham Greensall to top the 2023 Series rankings for the first time! There is some movement in the middle order too, this can all be seen on the lists linked in below.
It was the first time we have run a UK Racketball Series event in Scotland and were very grateful to Newlands LTC in Glasgow for hosting us, and RASTA (Racketball Around Scotland) for helping promote the event among their players. It's great to see such a strong uptake in Scottish players for the event and it we are looking forward to doing battle with them once more in future Series tournaments. If any UK Racketball players fancy getting stuck in with the RASTA events you can check out their calendar on their Facebook page.
Full draws from Saturday's Scottish Open can be found on Sporty HQ HERE
And the current 2023 Series rankings after the results have gone in from Saturday are HERE
Scottish open introduction
For the first time in our history, UK Racketball travels up to Glasgow to one of Scottish Squash's top clubs, Newlands LTC. This lovely venue has a great Racketball uptake and is a hub for Scottish Racketball, having already hosted several Scottish National Racketball Championships in the past few years.
With top local players such as Head Coach Matt Bedwell (a National Championships regular), Scottish Masters team player Mark Ford, and also several semi pro Scottish Squash players in the mix, our A Grade regulars are likely to have their work cut out at the top end!
We are also looking forward to having a few post event beers with out Scottish counterparts, and hopefully aim to build up a top event with bigger and better to come going forward. Due to there being so many players travelling up and staying over we will be looking to sort out a social post event! Stay tuned with the event details to find out more closer to time...
With top local players such as Head Coach Matt Bedwell (a National Championships regular), Scottish Masters team player Mark Ford, and also several semi pro Scottish Squash players in the mix, our A Grade regulars are likely to have their work cut out at the top end!
We are also looking forward to having a few post event beers with out Scottish counterparts, and hopefully aim to build up a top event with bigger and better to come going forward. Due to there being so many players travelling up and staying over we will be looking to sort out a social post event! Stay tuned with the event details to find out more closer to time...
online entry through sportyhq
For 2022 UK-Racketball have partnered with SportyHQ to make online entries work even smoother
Follow this link to enter online - https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-4-Scottish-UK-Racketball-Open
We have created a user guide to walk you through the process and make it as easy as possible - follow this link to access online - https://www.uk-racketball.com/series-faqs.html
Follow this link to enter online - https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-4-Scottish-UK-Racketball-Open
We have created a user guide to walk you through the process and make it as easy as possible - follow this link to access online - https://www.uk-racketball.com/series-faqs.html
main tournament details
What: Scottish UK-Racketball Open
When: Saturday 6th May
Where: Newlands
Postcode: G43 2QE
Club Webpage: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/NewlandsLTC
Cost: £17.50 (£9.50 for high quality, quick dry, sublimated print tournament t-shirt)
Closing Date: Friday 28th April
More Information: Email [email protected] or call Mike on 07789 394617 if your enquiry is urgent.
When: Saturday 6th May
Where: Newlands
Postcode: G43 2QE
Club Webpage: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/NewlandsLTC
Cost: £17.50 (£9.50 for high quality, quick dry, sublimated print tournament t-shirt)
Closing Date: Friday 28th April
More Information: Email [email protected] or call Mike on 07789 394617 if your enquiry is urgent.
Grades
It is important to remember that UK-Racketball Series events are designed to be inclusive. Although the A grade does attract the best racketball players in the country the events really are for players of all ages and abilities. We have never had a competitor who felt they were not good enough for an event when they took part.
A Grade – County, national or good club player
B Grade – Regular club player
Women’s – All ages and abilities, these events have a great range of players which makes for a fun and competitive day.
Over 40’s – For players over the age of 40
Over 50’s - For players over the age of 50
Over 60’s – For players over the age of 60
Over 70's - For players over the age of 70
Doubles – limited to 8 pairs, Racketball rules apply, follow this link for more information - http://www.uk-racketball.com/racketball-doubles-rules.html
If you are unsure which category to enter please email [email protected] or if your enquiry is urgent call Mike on 07789 394617.
A Grade – County, national or good club player
B Grade – Regular club player
Women’s – All ages and abilities, these events have a great range of players which makes for a fun and competitive day.
Over 40’s – For players over the age of 40
Over 50’s - For players over the age of 50
Over 60’s – For players over the age of 60
Over 70's - For players over the age of 70
Doubles – limited to 8 pairs, Racketball rules apply, follow this link for more information - http://www.uk-racketball.com/racketball-doubles-rules.html
If you are unsure which category to enter please email [email protected] or if your enquiry is urgent call Mike on 07789 394617.
Club Facilities
Newlands Squash Club has a fantastic set up of 5 glass backed courts. 4 of which run back to back with each other with ample viewing and seatiung for spectators. It is one of the Premier venues in Scotland and also has a great bar and social area to boot. We are really looking forward to starting up at this venue and mixing in with the Scottish contingent!
Club Location
Newlands LTC
18 Mochrum Rd,
Glasgow
G43 2QE
Website: clubspark.lta.org.uk/NewlandsLTC/Squash/Squash
Contact: [email protected]
18 Mochrum Rd,
Glasgow
G43 2QE
Website: clubspark.lta.org.uk/NewlandsLTC/Squash/Squash
Contact: [email protected]
