It was a really successful South West Open event at Devon and Exeter Squash & Racketball Club on the 7th September for the Kalar family, with Jasmin, Danni and Dylan all coming away with medals at the end of the day!

​It was a very soggy Saturday down in the Westcountry, a complete contrast to the 30 degree heat of 2023! This didn't deter our UK Racketball Series players though, and with an massive Series event entry of 71 players (not including Doubles pairings,) we were in for a very busy day of action. We had a great mix of travelling regulars and local new or less regular faces and it was lovely to see everyone mixing so socially across the day. The D&E has always been a very welcoming venue and this added to the great atmosphere.

Our Winners for the day were:

O70s - Rob Lathbury - beating O70s Series top dog Graham Greensall in the key group match. A very competitive group of 5 players here though showing the increasing strength of the age group!

O60s - Jon Rycroft - D&E local man Jonny battled through some brilliant matches across the day, notably in his final against Mike Wardle, taking it 12/10 3rd game, 2/1 overall. Both players leaving everything on court! 

O50s - Phil Hall - The Surrey man has been going from strength to strength this season and played some top quality Racketball across the event. He got through his 4 group games without dropping a set, then took down Shropshire's Nick Billington in the final 2/0 as well! 

O40s - Alexis Smith - The O40s category has really been impressive this season, with the top 8 or so players all really driving each other foward, getting wins against each other and always looking for an extra % to get the result. This time round Alexis Smith came through as Champion, beating Craig Chappell in a very hard fought, high quality final 2/1. Smith earlier coming through his group stage without dropping a game, Chappell earning a good win vs Ryan Loska in a brutally long 2/1.

Ladies B Grade - Annabel Wright - We were really pleased to be able to have a separate Ladies B Grade for the first time ever in a One Day Series event! This featured a mix of local club players and also some travelling Ladies, really great to see new faces competing together in a fun and social environment. In the end it was another D&E local - Annabel Wright who managed to win the group, impressing everyone with her ball control and movement for an U15 junior!

B Grade - Natalie Lawrence - Locals reigning supreme! Former British National Ladies O40s Champion Natalie (also from the D&E) was in fine form in a competitive and balanced Mixed B Grade. She made it through her group stage and the Semis without dropping a game, only to come up against James Dean from Bournemouth in a brutal final. Lawrence putting in a fantastic comeback in the 3rd game overturning a heavy deficit and multiple match balls to win 17/15 and 2/1!
  
Ladies A Grade - Jasmin Kalar - A busy Ladies A draw of 8 players in two boxes of 4 had a great mixture again of local players mixing in with others from all over England. Despite the locals best efforts however it was a sister act in the final, with Jasmin meeting younger sister Danni. Both having done well to win through without dropping a set, Jasmin notably beating British Nationals O50s Champion Jo Perriam on the way. In the final she also didn't give Danni a chance to get a foothold in the game, hitting some great quality controlled lines and widths throughout to win 2/0 and take her first Series title! 
 
A Grade - Dylan Kalar - A smaller A Grade this time round with a box of 4 players didn't reflect the quality on display. There were some top games across the day, Kershaw vs Russell (1/2), and Kalar vs Calli Smith (2/1) notable schedule ruiners! In the end Dylan did the business and took the title after some classy play and quality movement across his matches. Kudos to O50s Jason Russell for managing to squeeze the runner up spot over two players much younger than him!
 
Doubles - Norton / Kershaw - The two pairs that made it through to this event's final did so with clinical precision (or as much of that as there can be with Racketball Doubles!) Neither dropped a game in their group stages and so we were left with Norton / Kershaw vs Hall  / Loska to see who could take the win. Loska & Norton are scrapping it out at the top of the UK Racketball Doubles Series rankings at the moment and so every event really does have a big impact on that end game finish! In the end, after having played out a very entertaining and impressively tactical and creative final, it was the North/South buddies that took the win 2/1, giving Norton a big boost as he moves 230 points ahead of Loska in the standings. 

A great day out at the D&E despite a couple of niggly problems with the crazy humidity caused by the relentless rain all day. A huge thank you to the club and its staff for making us feel so welcome and helping sort the court issues when they cropped up. Look forward to being back there in full force again next year!

You can find the full results from the day on Sporty HQ here: https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-8-South-West-Open-Exeter-7th-September

And also photos and video clips from the action here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1445970786350471&type=3

​The next one is our second major of the 2024 Karakal UK Racketball Series - the Maze Property British Racketball Open at Hallamshire in Sheffield! With it being a major for both Singles AND Doubles expect there to be some mighty shifts in the current Series ranking standings post event. Can't wait!

We have a massive month of Racketball action ahead of us, three different events all with important parts to play in the game, the 2024 Series and also 2025 England selection!

- South West Open Exeter 7th September - draws and schedules are now out for this one and with another full event it looks like it will be a great day of action at Devon and Exeter SRC You can see who is in the mix here

https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-8-South-West-Open-Exeter-7th-September

- Home Internationals Racketball Team Championships Glasgow 21st/22nd September - with England, Scotland, Wales and Jersey all coming together to do battle at Over 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s age categories we have a really exciting development for the game as we look to try and push the sport forward.

With other European nations such as Finland, Portugal and Gibraltar also looking keen for Cardiff 2025, this could be a real boost for the sport in the wider context! Good luck to all involved this year (especially the England teams of course) keep an eye out for results and pics as we go!


- The Maze Property Development British Racketball Open 5th & 6th October Hallamshire - with entries already at the same number as the 2023 edition, this event is getting bigger and better every year!

Categories open to suit all ages from Open A/B/C Grades through to O75s, Men's and Ladies, plus Doubles draws too, there really is something for everyone here.

Plus Hallamshire Tennis & Squash Club have done a great job in setting up a top Saturday night Oktoberfest themed party with plenty of entertainment and food & drinks deals. So after a hard day's battling it out you can rehydrate in the appropriate manner...

Event entry via Sporty HQ here:

https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/British-Racketball-Open-5th6th-October-Hallamshire

(Entry closes on the 20th September so not long now to get your name down!)


A massive thank you to all our sponsors for making these events and the Series possible. You have all helped us keep driving our great sport forward and create these new opportunities to grow and develop it!

Exciting times indeed...
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