​ROAD TO ENGLAND SELECTION UPDATE - ONE EVENT TO GO!

With just the Cheltenham Open (4th July) left in the current RTS period, let’s take a look at the standings for one final time before it is all decided…

MEN’S OPEN:
QUALIFIED - MIKE HARRIS / BILLY JONES
IN THE MIX - BEN BRYANT / CALLI SMITH / LUKE BISHOP

THE SITUATION:
Ben - 900 points, Calli - 895 points, Luke - 770 points
Two slots remain in the England side.
With all three in Cheltenham, plus the banana skins of Mike Harris and Ali Mutch in the mix, it’s very very tight!
If Luke fails to reach the final then Calli and Ben go through. If he does, then Calli is out and Ben goes through with Luke. If both Calli AND Luke reach the final (technically possible) then Ben is out. 

HOW CLOSE IS THAT?!


WOMEN’S OPEN:
QUALIFIED - AMBER MARSHALL / JASMIN KALAR
IN THE MIX - ALI BILLINGTON / KAREN BEALEY / LINDA PRITCHARD
THE SITUATION:
Ali - 790 points, Karen - 730 points, Linda - 720 points
One slot remains in the England side.
Once again all three players are in the Cheltenham event! 
If Ali reaches the final she goes through automatically. Otherwise, either Linda Karen need to reach the final to overtake her. With the latter two in the same group, whoever can make it through gets the spot!
O40s:
QUALIFIED - PAUL NORTON / RYAN LOSKA / ALEXIS SMITH / ADAM GILES
THE SITUATION:
This is the one and only category where all is set and done! Solid showings from Smith and Giles in Cardiff have secured their spots. Great work guys!

O50s:
QUALIFIED - PHIL HALL
IN THE MIX - STEVE SMITH / ANDY SPEAKE / CHRIS MORRIS / NICK BILLINGTON / CHRIS WASE / PAUL DODDS / ANDY MURRAY 
THE SITUATION:
Steve - 1,325 points, Andy - 1,235 points, Chris M - 1,210 points, Nick - 1,080 points, Chris W - 775 points, Paul D - 545 points, Andy M - 470 points

This is now a slightly safer category than it was before. While Phil is the only one with his spot confirmed, and all the remaining are fighting it out against each other in Cheltenham, there are three spots remaining PLUS there is the likelihood that we will run an England B side in this category too. So for those in the mix above, it’s a battle to see who can come through the three tough group stages to reach the semis / final and guarantee their first team spot! Wase and Dodds are not in Cheltenham so it’s a chance for Muzza to leapfrog them into the B side!

O60s:
QUALIFIED - PATRICK OSBORN / JOHN CORDEAUX / CHRIS DAVEY
IN THE MIX - JIM MUIRHEAD / ROBIN CHIPPERFIELD 
THE SITUATION:

Jim - 1,055 points, Robin - 915 points
Jim isn’t playing Cheltenham so it is up to Robin to pull one out of the bag! He needs to win the Cheltenham event to leapfrog Jim to take the 4th spot in the side. It’s in your hands mate!


O70s:
QUALIFIED - ANDY MITCHELL / JOHN HERBETKO
IN THE MIX - PAUL LOSKA / ROB LATHBURY / RICHARD FIRMIN / PAUL HUDSON OLDNALL / PETER MARSDEN
THE SITUATION:

Paul - 945 points, Rob - 855 points, Richard - 740 points, Paul - 595 points, Peter - 490 points

Bit of a mixed bag this time! Just one spot up for grabs in the A side and Paul Loska should have enough in the bank to hold the other off. 
We will be running an England B team though so there are three more spots up for grabs out of the rest of the players. 
Lathbury & Firmin aren’t playing Cheltenham but should have enough points to be safe. Hudson Oldnall and Marsden are however playing Cheltenham, and if simply put, whoever wins their group match and comes higher in the group will get the last slot!
​
So all in all, lots still to play for on Saturday 4th July, let’s see who can do the business!

On Saturday 20th June we headed back to Cardiff Squash Club for the second edition of the Welsh Open Racketball Championships. This year saw more local entrants than ever before at one of our competitions in Wales, and it was fantastic to see them mixing with our regular travelling players. The game continues to grow steadily across Wales, with a number of clubs now boasting strong box leagues and club night setups. We're excited to see how the sport develops over the coming years.

On to the action! While it wasn't quite as hot as the temperatures forecast for the rest of the week, it was certainly warm enough, and everyone had to battle hard to secure their wins in the heat.

With all draws well subscribed, there was top-quality action throughout the day. The excitement started from match one, where in the A Grade Doubles, Gregory and Giles narrowly escaped defeat against Smith and Cassley, grinding out a hard-fought 2/1, 45-minute victory.

That match set the tone for the rest of the tournament, with plenty of excellent contests taking place across all categories. In fact, only two title winners made it through their draws without dropping a game. In the Men's A and Ladies' events, Mike Harris and Roxy Keshavarz came through unscathed, winning every match 2-0. However, both faced spirited resistance in their finals from Calli Smith and Linda Pritchard respectively.

In all the other draws, the champions had to work hard for their titles. Carl Elsby coming through a tough group stage to eventually take our Frankie Pill in the final. (Great to see another Junior in the mix for these events, great stuff Frankie!) Alexis Smith defeated Mike Gregory 2-1 in the Over 40s, while Andy Speake upset Chris Morris in a titanic 70-minute Over 50s final. Richard Murphy was also pushed all the way by Nick Billington in the Over 60s.

One of the standout matches of the day was the Over 70s final between John Herbertko and Graham Holmes. John emerged victorious 2-1, but both games went to tie-breaks, making it an incredible battle from start to finish. (10/12, 13/11, 12/10!!)
Speake and Holmes then teamed up to win the B Grade Doubles title, while Giles and Gregory overcame some early-morning sluggishness (hangover??) to claim the A Grade Doubles crown.

A huge thank you goes to Cardiff Squash Club, James and Archie Turnbull, and Rhian Davies for hosting us so well. We look forward to returning at the same time next year.

Full results can be found here:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-5-2026-Welsh-Racketball-Open-20th-June-Cardiff

Pictures from the day here:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1971851823762362&type=3

And our Youtube stream of the show court here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNX9bpL4wjU&list=PLnyCpoPOuc9y-GSNN5_Dqfm-ofTEfLGY_

In the meantime, there is still time to enter our July, August and September events. None of them are fully subscribed yet, so check out the links below and get your name in the mix!

BRITISH NATIONALS - 17TH/19TH JULY:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/The-British-National-Racketball-Championships-2026

LONDON OPEN BEXLEY - 8TH AUGUST:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7A-London-Racketball-Open-8th-August-Bexley

HARROGATE OPEN SATELLITE - 8TH AUGUST: 
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7B-2026-UK-Racketball-Harrogate-Open-Satellite-2026

IPSWICH OPEN SATELLITE - 5TH SEPTEMBER:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-8-2026-Ipswich-Open-Satellite-5th-September