St Edward's Chronicle Spring 2018

39 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Squash By Simon Palferman, Master i/c Squash

Sanders Lau, Marc Chan, Alexia Drouliscos and Danielle Lim

The Autumn Term’s busy schedule of boys’ fixtures looked like a fairly daunting challenge for our relatively inexperienced Squash V, shorn of many of the now departed stalwarts behind the successes of recent years. It was to their enormous credit, therefore, that regulars James Curtis, Giles Wordsworth, Hamish Smart, Harvey Elvidge and Joe Courtier, as well as reliable stand-in, Charlie Watson, battled hard throughout the term. Impressive victories were secured against both Rugby and The Oratory. Near misses against much more experienced Winchester College and Bromsgrove teams showed what might have been with a more ruthless and savvy killer instinct, especially in those games where the School initially took the lead, only to relinquish it in epic tussles. Having mentioned those departed stalwarts, it should also be noted that it was wonderful to welcome back three recent leavers – Edward Beccle, James Moore- Stanley and James George – for the School vs. Martyrs match on 10th September. It was

to play the sport regularly, and this will no doubt lead to greater competitiveness in the long term. Pleasingly, much of the growth in school squash has been seen in the number of girls participating in the sport at Teddies. Securing willing and suitable opposition for inter- school girls’ matches has not always been easy. However, last season our leading six girls – Danielle Lim, Alexia Drouliscos, Maria Gorovator, Sophia Majzub, Vania Lay and Pippa Smith – played friendly fixtures against both Marlborough College and Cheltenham College. Much of the credit for the continuing development of the sport at Teddies must go to our wonderful coach, Ross Gore. He works tirelessly and enthusiastically with the full range of our pupils, many of whom had never played the sport prior to arriving at St Edward’s. Watching some of these boys and girls blossom into technically correct and tactically astute squash players is a joy, and a real testament to his skill and commitment.

perhaps somewhat galling, however, to see these erstwhile top three seeds for the School’s 1st V (in the 2016-17 season) contribute so much as the School’s opponents! By way of providing opportunities for high level competition this term, the School entered the National Schools Championship, organised by England Squash. Being drawn in the same pool as relative regional powerhouses such as Eton, Wellington, Abingdon and Bradfield meant that Teddies inevitably struggled to win more than the odd game, but these fixtures really added to the development and experience of our players. Since a couple of the current 1st V, who are still in their Fifth Form year, gained enormously from the challenge and insights gleaned this term, the prospects for future years look promising. This is particularly true in the light of the gaining popularity of squash as a sporting option for our Sixth Formers this year. Over 60 seniors, as well as 20 juniors, now elect