June 25th, 2024

LEAMINGTON LOOMS - THE LAST SERIES EVENT PRE NATIONALS ON IT'S WAY 6TH JULY...


That is right! The last event of this first half of the 2024 Karakal UK Racketball Series is here and we are back to one of our longest hosting venues - Leamington Tennis & Squash Club. It is always a great place to visit, with 6 fantastic Squash Courts and a lovely and welcoming bar and club area.

This year's event is another Series sellout with some big draws across the various categories. Clearly lots of our fraternity looking to get some last minute matchplay before the British Nationals later in the month!

Outside of the normal service of Series ranking points being up for grabs (more on that later,) there is added spice to this event for several players, as this is the last qualifying tournament for the Road to selection to represent England in the inaugral Home Internationals Racketball team event in September in Glasgow. While most of the line ups have already been selected, there a very literal Head to Head for selection between these players:

Over 40s - Colin Griggs & Barry Talbot
Over 50 - Jason Russel & Nick Billington
O70s - (fighting it out for 2 spots) Stephen Uttley, Hans Billson, Geoff Wright, Francois De Villiers

So pending the results from the event, the above could be selected for England! Good luck to all of them and we can't wait to see who battles through.

On the Series ranking front, there is a rare chance for the chasing pack in both the Singles and Doubles rankings to catch up with Paul Norton as he is away for this event. This means that Ryan Loska who sits in 2nd in the Series and 3rd in the Doubles will be keen to steal back some ground. Robin Chipperfield, Patrick Osborn, Alexis Smith and Paul Dodds (the next in line in the Series) will all be looking to push their cause forward too! 

With some very busy draws - 16 in the O60s, 12 in the 40s, 50s and B Grade, and 8 in the 70s, it is going to be a great day of matches. Can't wait to get stuck in.

Thanks to Jason Pike and the team at Leamington LTSC for hosting us for another year, keep your eye out on the day for some more live stream action, and of course the usual photo and Instagram update shenanigans!

You can find the full draws and schedule on Sporty HQ here:

https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-6-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-6th-July-Leamington