LEINSTER SQUASH

ANNUAL REPORT

2004/2005

LEINSTER SQUASH

COUNCIL

2004/2005

President: Gerry Callanan

Vice President: Paul Byrne

Vice President: Beatrice Byrne

Honorary Secretary: James Flynn

Honorary Treasurer: Gerry Delaney

Junior Administrator: Brian Dolan

Coaching Secretary: Dominick Tighe

Vets Administrator: Patrick Murray

Tournament Secretary: Jackie McCreevey

Referee/Marking Secretary: Marian Birmingham

Schools Secretary: Fr Joe Gough

ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Leinster Squash Leagues commenced in late September early October last year. We suffered the loss of a number of our Clubs due to various circumstances. Spheres Squash Club was closed down and the grounds were to be developed into apartments. This was quite a shock as Albert Livingstone ran a very successful Club and not only did their large number of players lose their home, but also the girls from Ballyfermot Squash Club. They had been playing out of Spheres, in agreement with Albert, due to the fact that their courts were undergoing huge renovations. Naas GAA Club chose to shut down their Squash Courts and hence their Squash members were left homeless too and Portmarnock did not enter any teams as their Squash courts were being used for various different activities and they found it very difficult to keep their players interested and therefore were not successful in filling even one team.

However, despite losing these Clubs we are glad to say that most of the players joined existing Clubs. Leinster Cricket Club and Mt Pleasant (who entered a team in all divisions), gained lots of new members from Spheres and Aer Lingus have strengthened their Ladies teams with the help of BLCO. I have noticed a name or two from Naas and Portmarnock playing for other teams so all is not lost.

We were delighted to have UCD and DCU join the ranks once again. Carlow, while they are no strangers to our League, entered a team of young players and to see these new and young faces give the “ould” lads a run for their money was great. Total Fitness Sandyford were another addition to our numbers, which only left us with a very small difference in entries from last year.

Most League results are being entered through the Website and are then updated daily so each team can follow their Division’s progress by simply checking out the Website for Summary and Detailed Reports. The Leagues and Cups were very much a success this year and on April 16^th we had our Cup finals and presentation of prizes in Fitzwilliam LTC.

As most of you will have noticed the League fixtures and contact details were posted on the web early September. In order to achieve this we need all Clubs to enter their teams and give as much detail as early as possible. Entries must be received, by July 31^st 2005 to avoid disappointment.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in all events and helped in the running of these tournaments for their dedication to the sport. Thanks also to the Squash Council who strive to keep Squash active and healthy in Leinster. We look forward to a welcome rest and a fresh new start next season.

AFILIATION, LEAGUE/CUP WINNERS & RUNNERS-UP

Number of Clubs affiliated to Leinster Squash 22

Number of Men’s Teams 57

Number of Ladies Teams 19

LEAGUE COMPETITION

Statistics were down slightly from last season. We lost Spheres, Naas, Portmarnock

and BLCO but gained three Clubs, DCU, UCD and Total Fitness Sandyford.

League Sponsorship is always a major priority for us but we were unsuccessful in achieving a sponsor for all Divisions this season. We were very grateful to all companies who kindly showed their support by sponsoring an individual Division and by the response they received from their advertising. Many thanks to cfs Cooke Financial Services sponsors of Mens Premier, Sartorius sponsors of both Ladies Premier and Ladies Division 1, Styl-Optik sponsors of Men Division 1 and Fexco Sponsors of Mens Division 3. Should you need the services supplied by any of the above companies please do not hesitate to give them a call. Why look any further?

We would urge anyone who feels they could contribute by putting something back into the game that has given them so much enjoyment over the past number of years to consider becoming a sponsor.

All League matches were completed and some divisions were nail bitingly close. Fitzwilliam A team won the Mens Premier Division very convincingly, however, Sutton LTC Ladies Premier Division had to fight to the bitter end to gain crucial points needed to take their trophy. We had a couple of very tight runs for the top of their league. The Ladies Division 2 was won by Westwood with 155 points and Aer Lingus fought to the last coming a very close second on 154 points. Mens Division 4 had Fitzwilliam and Total Fitness Castleknock both ending on 156 points and after a count back, Fitzwilliam took the title having won more matches during the Season.

Thanks to all players, some of whom travelled through snow and sleet to turn-up for their opponents. Thanks to captains for getting results in early. We must stress that it is vital that results are forwarded in full by 11 a.m. to meet with the Newspaper deadlines.

LEINSTER SQUASH LEAGUE

FINAL POSITIONS AT END OF SEASON 2005

MENS PREMIER Sponsored by Cfs Cooke Financial Services

WINNERS: FITZWILLIAM A 201 RUNNERS-UP: WESTWOOD 177

(Mt Pleasant 167, Sutton 152, Trinity 125, Old Belvedere 122, Fitzwilliam B 108, Sutton B 33)

* * * * *

LADIES PREMIER Sponsored by SARTORIUS

WINNERS: SUTTON 195 RUNNERS-UP: FITZWILLIAM 189

(Mt Pleasant 164, Westwood A 163, Old Belvedere 55, Westwood B 55)

* * * * *

MENS DIVISION 1 Sponsored by STYL-OPTIK

WINNERS: CURRAGH 163 RUNNERS-UP: FITZWILLIAM 159

(Mt Pleasant 136, Leinster 108, Aer Lingus 96, Old Belvedere 84, Westwood 81)

* * * * *

LADIES DIVISION 1 Sponsored by SARTORIUS

WINNERS: SANDYCOVE 184 RUNNERS-UP: MT PLEASANT 162

(Aer Lingus 145, Trinity 128, Fitzwilliam 122, Leinster 120)

* * * * *

MENS DIVISION 2

WINNERS: AER LINGUS 193 RUNNERS-UP: MT PLEASANT 157

(Baldonnel 155, Sutton 152, Carlow 141, Leinster 117)

LADIES DIVISION 2

WINNERS: WESTWOOD 155 RUNNERS-UP: AER LINGUS 154

(ESB Sportsco 141, Sutton 135, Mt Pleasant 109, Old Belvedere 81, Trinity 13)

* * * * *

MENS DIVISION 3

WINNERS: FITZWILLIAM 242 RUNNERS-UP: ARKLOW 220

(Mt pleasant 217, Sandycove 197, Sutton 188, Leinster 184, Aer Lingus 172, Trinity 156, Riverview 153, Westwood 70)

* * * * *

MENS DIVISION 4 Sponsored by FEXCO

WINNERS: FITZWILLIAM 156 RUNNERS-UP: TOTAL FITNESS CK 156

(Old Belvedere 133, Mt Pleasant 124, Aer Lingus 92, Joe May 89, Baldonnel 72)

* * * * *

MENS DIVISION 5

WINNERS: TOTAL FITNESS CK 237 RUNNERS-UP: TRINITY 214

(Leinster 206, Mt Pleasant 204, Fitzwilliam 197, Sutton 193, Old Belvedere 174,

Baldonnel 121, RTE 178, UCD 106)

* * * * *

MENS DIVISION 6

WINNERS: LEINSTER 234 RUNNERS-UP: TOTAL FITNESS CK 221

(Mt Pleasant 210, Fitzwilliam 134, Total Fitness SY 119, Old Belvedere 103, Trinity 95, Guinness 94, DCU 76)

CUP COMPETITION

The Cup Competition began earlier than usual this season as the selected Cup Finals date was 16^th April. This meant that Mens Division 5 & 6 and 3 & 4 had to start their Cup matches during the League Season and were restricted to playing matches on Saturdays. In fact Mens Division 5 & 6 had all their matches scheduled for Saturdays. After much confusion and disapproval we gave the teams in question permission to rearrange any matches where necessary and hence we were unable to get all match results into Newspapers and up on Aertel as they never came in on the same days. Eventually all matches were played and hopefully we will revert to the other system whereby the Cup Competition begins directly after League so that Division can play their matches on their selected League Night.

The Cup Finals took place in Fitzwilliam LTC on Saturday 16^th April. Fitzwilliam LTC were hosting the Irish Open Championships and had the Final matches scheduled for the same day. We started the Final matches at 12.30 so as to have them completed prior to the Irish Open Finals in order that the players could have an opportunity to witness such wonder Squash. All went to plan as once again, the event was run very successfully by Marian Bermingham, Maria Blair, Gerry Delaney and Gerry Callanan. Thanks to them and all involved. Special thanks to the referees, who have no hesitation in helping out time and time again. Fitzwilliam LTC have expressed their thanks and delight with the athmosphere which added to the final event of the Irish Open Tournament.

Two outstanding matches were battled out between the Ladies Premiers teams, Sutton A and Fitzwilliam A and Mens Div 3 & 4 Arklow A and Fitzwilliam E. Crowds watched as the four teams pushed themselves to the limit to take the respective titles. Sutton A Ladies won the Ivy Hadden Trophy and Arklow Men were over the moon to clinch the Division 3 & 4 Cup. It was great to see such enthusiasm and good spirit between all. These matches along with many more are what Squash is all about and we thank the players for entertaining us throughout the season.

Thanks to Fitzwilliam LTC for a brilliant venue and for providing food for the occasion, which was very welcome after such a long day. Presentation of prizes was held during the Irish Open Finals interval and having gone a different route with selection of Prizes we were delighted with the response from the winners of all sections. We choose only to present the “Winners” of the Leinster Squash Leagues with prizes so that we would have more to spend and thanks to Jackie McCreevey who took on the responsibility of purchasing all prizes. So much thought and effort was put into her choices and the Winning Prizes for both the Leagues and Cups were handmade by an Irish Craftsman. Jackie was responsible for buying prizes for all events, Junior and Senior and we thank her most sincerely for doing such a good job.

We are proud to announce the winners and runners-up as follows:

IVY HADDEN TROPHY

WINNERS: SUTTON A RUNNERS-UP: FITZWILLIAM A

* * * * *

LADIES DIVISION 1 & 2

WINNERS: SANDYCOVE A RUNNERS-UP: FITZWILLIAM B

* * * * *

MENS CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

WINNERS: FITZWILLIAM A RUNNERS-UP: WESTWOOD A

* * * * *

GRAY CUP – MENS DIVISION 1 & 2

WINNERS: FITZWILLIAM C RUNNERS-UP: AER LINGUS A

* * * * *

MENS DIVISION 3 & 4

WINNERS: ARKLOW A RUNNERS-UP: FITZWILLIAM E

* * * * *

MENS DIVISION 5 & 6

WINNERS: TOTAL FITNESS CK RUNNERS-UP: TRINITY

REFEREEING & MARKING

It’s the end of another season and I would like to thank all the referees who gave up their time over all the Leinster weekends. We were unsuccessful with a course this year as only two turned up. I would urge clubs to encourage players to do the course in the future, as the list of referees is getting shorter. By doing the course the player learns a lot more about the game. So don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Leinster Squash would like to thank Marian Birmingham and Brian Williams arranging the referees for our tournaments.

PUBLICITY / MEDIA COVERAGE

The Irish Times Newspaper thanks to Malachy Logan and The Irish Independent thanks to Pat Courtney and his crew continue to print all results on a daily basis. We also have Vets results along with our Tournament results being entered on request. This is especially wonderful for the Juniors as it means so much to them.

Thanks to James Boylan and his team in RTE for giving us space on Aertel. It is great to see the Sponsors names associated with their Divisions in both newspapers and on Aertel Results are updated daily on Networks 2, page 506.

Publicity and media coverage gives a special touch to the work put into all events by both players and organisers and hopefully the more publicity Squash gets the better chance of moving away from the “Minority Sport” title that it seems to have and into the same frame as the “Top Sports”. We seem to be getting closer to successfully becoming an Olympic Sport and it must be stressed that it is only by taking part in competitions and encouraging our Juniors to participate at all levels that we will keep Squash on the Map.

SENIOR CAPTAINS & SELECTORS

Paul Byrne ( Mens Captain ) along with selectors Chris Collins and David Cassidy took on the task of providing us with our Mens ranking lists throughout the season. This entails compiling all the Mens Premier results on a weekly basis along with Ranking Tournament results for the purpose of keeping Leinster supplied with a constantly up to date Ranking List and selecting teams for forthcoming events.

Emma Toolan together with Len Redmond and Rosie Barry provided the Ladies Ranking list. We thank Emma, Len and Rosie for their dedication and would be grateful if they could remain at the helm for the coming season.

SPONSORSHIP

As you will have seen from the Website, Newspapers and Aertel, along with fixtures posted in your Clubs during the season, we managed to get very valued Sponsorship for five of our Leinster League Divisions.

Our thanks go to:

Greg Cooke, cfs Cooke Financial Services, Sponsors of the Mens Premier Division

Arthur Moore, Styl-Optik, Sponsors of Mens Division 1

Shane McElroy, FEXCO Group Marking, Sponsors of Mens Division 3

Ann Mc Clure, Sartorius, Sponsors of Ladies Premier & Division 1

The response from our Sponsors was very positive and they feel that they got very good coverage and were delighted to see their company names in the papers and on Aertel. We would hope to keep them on board for next year and we would like to remind everyone that there are many more League and Cup Divisions available. We would hope to have full sponsorship next season and we will continue to give our Sponsors the respect and coverage they deserve. They are essential in any sport and are giving very valued aid.

If you are interested in joining the team of Sponsors or know someone who may be willing to help, please contact Leinster Squash LeinsterSquash@eircom.net / 8396299 or any member of the Council. If you would prefer to just make a donation and remain anonymous we would be more than willing to comply with your request.

FIRST ACTIVE have, once again, sponsored our Leinster Squash Senior Closed Championships. This Sponsorship was achieved by Eoin Ryan and Sutton Lawn Tennis Club, who run this annual tournament on behalf of Leinster Squash. We are very grateful to Derek O’Brien and First Active as they provided for a very eventful tournament and an entertaining evening, which was organised by Sutton LTC. Derek was First Active’s new representative after the departure of Gary Donnelly, and he showed his complete surprise at the wonderful show of Squash and great social event following the tournament. Derek has acknowledged his delight in being a part of this competition and with the response achieved from his sponsorship and we hope First Active will continue to support this event.

Thanks also to Tretorn for their value sponsorship of the East of Ireland. Again, this Sponsorship was achieved by Eoin Ryan.

Thanks to Owen Kirk of Rossmere Developments, for sponsoring the Schools Squash with a very generous donation.

And finally, Leinster Squash would like to say thank you to an anonymous Donor who paid for Flights for Derek Ryan to attend some of our Tournaments.

THE LEINSTER SENIOR CLOSED

Eoin Ryan and Sutton Lawn Tennis Club continue to run the Leinster Senior Closed Tournaments on behalf of Leinster Squash. This is one of our most important events and once again Eoin with the help of the committee did a brilliant job. They had an entry of approximately 95, over six individual events with players competing in Mens A, B, C & D and Ladies A, & B. The competition is run over a week to allow for all matches to be played and give players more flexibility with match times.

First Active sponsored the tournament again this year and showed the importance of having a sponsor for these competitions. Derek O’Brien of First Active has informed us that sponsoring this event has definitely shown an increase in customers from the Squash sector. As part of the Sponsorship First Active supplied tokens to have a free drink on the night of the presentations. The entertainment was supplied by “Declan Landy”, a one-man band who played an excellent choice of music.

Thanks to Sutton Lawn Tennis Club for their fantastic Club facilities and friendly welcome. The results are as follows:

MENS A: Nigel Peyton (Fitzwilliam) bt Brian Byrne (Fitzwilliam)

MENS B: Aidan Coppinger (Mt Pleasant) bt Paul Donaghy (Riverview)

MENS C: Gary Donnelly (Sutton LTC) bt Dominick Tighe (ALSAA)

MENS D: Kareem Zaki (UCD) bt Paul Darling (Sutton LTC)

LADIES A: Jennifer Dillon (Westwood) bt Emma Toolan (Sutton LTC)

LADIES B: Orla Howard (ESB Sportsco) bt Emer Spillane (Sutton LTC)

THE LEINSTER SENIOR OPEN

The Leinster Senior Open was held the weekend of the 29^th – 31^st October 2004 in Mt Pleasant Squash Club. We had an entry of approximately 80 players and were delighted to see our very own Derek Ryan take part in the Mens A section.

Our thanks to Marian Birmingham, Gerry Delaney, Eugene O’Sullivan and Maria Blair from Mt Pleasant for running this event and to Marie Bolger of Leinster CC for allowing us the privilege to use their courts also. Thanks once again to all referees and markers for their help during the event. The results are as follows:

MENS A: Derek Ryan bt John Abrahamse

MENS B: Keith Moran bt Aiden Sharkey

MENS C: Dany McInerney bt Tony Maher

MENS D: Stephen O’Connor bt Michael Conroy

LADIES A: Zoe Barr bt Jennifer Dillon

LADIES B: Jenny Moore bt Anne Burgess

SENIOR INTERPROVINCIAL 2005

The Senior Interprovincials was held in Galway Squash Club this Season and Leinster competed with Mens A & B teams and a Ladies A team. A number of our top players were unable to participate for genuine reasons, however we were able to field two Mens Teams and one Ladies. The Tournament began on Friday evening with Leinster playing Munster. Despite having Liam Kenny as the Munster No:1, Leinster’s Mens A team gave 100% and won the match. Arthur Gaskin played Brian Knox in the final match and after an eventful 5 games they celebrated their first victory. Mens B team also had a great win. Both mens teams won again on Saturday morning against Connaught and went into the evening session with everything to play for. Ulster were their final opponents and the competition was very close. Eoin Ryan had yet another tough opponent in David Ayerst losing 1/3. Rory Byrne was next and although he was suffering from a back injury he held in together and won 3/1. Brian took the next match, which put Leinster in a great position as Neal Murphy went on court to play Andrew Browne of Ulster. This was a tight game but the cheers went up when Neal finished the match winning 3/1. The Mens B team were disappointed to lose their last match after coming so far and the Ladies Team were unable to compete with the extremely high standard of their competition.

The best part of the weekend was witnessing the power of teamwork, which is so rear in Squash. All year we have players battling for ranking positions and titles and even though the league is a Club team competition, this event really brings them together as one. It is only when you see it in action that you can understand the importance of the Interprovincials and the Intercounties competitions. Congratulation lads, you were brilliant!! Team as follows:

MENS A MENS B

1. Eoin Ryan 1. Neil Byrne

2. Arthur Gaskin 2. Roland Budd

3. Neal Murphy 3. Sam Olwill

4. Brian Byrne 4. Gerry Callanan

5. Rory Byrne 5. Jim Flynn

6. Brian Parker

Our Ladies Team was as follow:

1. Jenny Dillon
2. Emma Toolan
3. Claire O’Brien
4. Sarah Berkeley
5. Dee Hourihan

INTERCOUNTIES 2005

Unfortunately, Leinster were unsuccessful in entering teams in the Intercounties due to a technical error. This was a great disappointment to the Team as they had gained promotion to Division 1 the previous year. It left us wondering if the promotion would stand for next year and having contacted England recently we have been informed that we can hold on to the position and are guaranteed a place for 2005/2006.

LEINSTER JUNIORS

Report on Junior Squash 2005

My first year as Junior Administrator has been eventful and challenging. There were lots of matters I would have dealt with differently if I was starting again but that is all in hindsight. Hopefully I will be better prepared to ensure 2005/06 runs more smoothly.

The season began with the Connacht Open held in Galway in September. The U/13 category was successful for Leinster with Eoin Dolan winning the boys and Grainne Murphy winning the girls. There were good performances from Aoife Jordan who was Runner-Up in the girls U/13, Roisin Brennan who was Runner-Up in the girls U/17, Ciara Murphy who was Runner-Up in the girls U/19 and Adam Hennessy who was Runner-Up in the boys U/19.

The next event in the calendar was the Ulster open in Belfast in October. This was a disappointing event for the boys with only one of our Juniors “Rory Byrne” getting to a final where he lost to Chris O’Kane in a close match. For the girls we had three finalists in Niamh Brennan, Roisin Brennan and Grainne Murphy but again all lost in close encounters.

In November we moved to Cork for the Munster Open and matters improved, fortunately. Rory Byrne won the boys U/17 event while Adam Hennessy and Colm Dolan were Runners-Up in the U/19 and U/15 events respectively. For the girls, Roisin Brennan in the U/17 event and Grainne Murphy in the U/13 event lost keenly fought finals.

In November it was back to Belfast for the Irish Open. There was a large overseas entry for this event, which had regained its grand prize status. Everyone enjoyed a great weekend of squash and fun but unfortunately we had no winners on court. The players had earned a well deserved mid term break after this event.

In January the Leinster Open was played in Westwood. We had an exceptional entry, which included a full U/11 section. Particular appreciation should be given to Eoin Ryan and his Sutton colleagues for their efforts in this category. The boys results were disappointing with Rory Byrne the only finalist in the U/19 event which he won convincingly. For the girls Johanna Lawlor won the U/13 event and Sarah Murphy was a beaten finalist in the U/15 event. The U/11 final was an all Sutton affair where David Ryan overcame Ben Cooke winning an entertaining match.

The final event of the calendar was the Irish Nationals held in Cork in February. Again Rory Byrne kept the boys flag flying by winning the U/17 event while Ciara Maloney, Grainne Murphy and Sarah Murphy lost close matches in the girls U/19, U/13 and U/15 finals respectively.

Congratulations are due to Ciara Murphy and Rory Byrne who represented Ireland in the U/19 Team European Championships. The team finished a credible 13^th beating Finland in their final play off match.

Congratulations also to Colm Dolan who was selected to represent Ireland in an U/15 boys tournament in Qatar.

The home internationals were held in Sligo this year and again congratulations to Sean Conroy and Aoife Jordan who were selected at U/13 level and to Colm Dolan and Sara Murphy who were selected on the U/15 team. The teams for the European Championships to be held in Germany in May ’05 include Colm Dolan and Sarah Murphy at U/15 level and Rory Byrne and Roisin Brennan at U/17.

I would like to congratulate all our players who achieved representative honours this year and wish those travelling to Germany later this month every success in their matches.

BRIAN DOLAN

Leinster Junior Administrator

JUNIOR INTERPROVINCIALS 2005:

WESTWOOD SQUASH CLUB

22^nd – 23^rd April

After all qualifying tournaments were completed Leinster Squash Selected the Junior Interprovincial Teams based on the results throughout the season and compulsory Events. We were delighted to be able to field teams in all sections, however, Munster, Ulster & Connaught were unable to field a team in the Girls U/13 section and therefore Leinster had to withdraw their team with great disappointment. Apologies to all concerned and we are sure that the players in question will be back with us next year.

Eoin Ryan (U/19 & U/17 Boys) , Chris Collins (Girls U/15 & U/17), Angus Kirkland (Boys U/15 ), Frank Donnelly (Boys U/13) and Dermot O’Brien (Girls U/13) organised and completed the Squad Sessions with the Juniors. Congratulations to all selected and thanks to Managers and Coaches for their efforts.

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
BU13	Munster	Leinster
BU15	Ulster	Leinster
GU15	Leinster	Ulster
BU17	Ulster	Connacht
GU17	Ulster	Connacht
Mixed U19	Ulster	Munster

Leinster U/15 Girls won their section to the delight of themselves and Leinster Squash. Boys U/13 & U/15 were Runners-Up in their sections. Thanks to all team managers and players for their efforts over this weekend. Teams are as follows:

BOYS U/13 Manager: Henry Gillanders

1. Max Gillanders

2. Adam McCreevey

3. Sean Conroy

4. Daragh O’Brien

5. Conall Murphy

6. Daniel L’Estrange

GIRLS U/13

1. Johanna Lawlor

2. Bronagh Jordan

3. Aoife Jordan

4. Fiona Murphy

5. Katelyn Doran

6. Chloe Molloy

BOYS U/15 Manager: Peter Lawlor

1. Colm Dolan

2. Michael Conroy

3. Eoin Dolan

4. Alan Tighe

5. Alex Swan

6. David Lawlor

GIRLS U/15 Manager: Willeka Lawlor

1. Sarah Murphy

2. Grainne Murphy

3. Susan Kingston

4. Johanna Lawlor

5. Anna Clifford

6. Laura Casey

BOYS U/17 Manager: Dominick Tighe

1. Brian Parker

2. Sean Gannon

3. Karl Jess

4. James Judge

5. Tariq Zaki

6. Cathal Fitzgerald

GIRLS U/17 Manager: Maura Dolan

1. Roisin Brennan

2. Aishling Fitzpatrick

3. Siobhan Cowan

4. Afric Doran

U/19 MIXED TEAM Managers: Dominick Tighe & Maura Dolan

1. David Tighe

2. Patrick Kavanagh

3. James Kavanagh

4. Ciara Moloney

5. Niamh Brennan

6. Grace Dowling

LEINSTER JUNIOR OPEN:

Westwood Squash Club hosted the Leinster Junior Open on the 21^st – 23^rd January. We achieved an entry of 126 Juniors over all age groups. Boys U/11 had a complete 16 draw and Boys U/13 & U/15 entries were such that we had A & B Sections.

All matches were completed and the Presentation of prizes was in Westwood at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Results and Prizes awarded are as follows:

BOYS U/11 WINNER: David Ryan

RUNNER-UP: Ben Cooke

3^rd PLACE: Conn Lawlor

PLATE WINNER: Ciaran Maher

BOYS U/13 A WINNER: Jordan Annett

RUNNER-UP: Rory O’Connor

3^rd PLACE: Matthew Mullen

PLATE WINNER: Rory McHale

BOYS U/13 B WINNER: Conal Murphy

RUNNER-UP: Daniel L’Estrange

3^rd PLACE: Conor Lavin

GIRLS U/13 WINNER: Johanna Lawlor

RUNNER-UP: Catherine Abernethy

3^rd PLACE: Grainne Murphy

BOYS U/15 A WINNER: Ben Craig

RUNNER-UP: Joey Roberts

3^rd PLACE: Rohan Ramasubbu

BOYS U/15 B WINNER: James Judge

RUNNER-UP: Michael Ross

3^rd PLACE: Frank Kelly

PLATE WINNER: Philip McWilliams

GIRLS U/15 WINNER: Sarah Howley

RUNNER-UP: Sarah Murphy

3^rd PLACE: Niamh O’Hare

BOYS U/17 WINNER: Conor O’Hare

RUNNER-UP: Gordan Harpur

3^rd PLACE: Ben Ramasubbu

PLATE WINNER: Frank Kelly

GIRLS U/17 WINNER: Sarah McCracken

RUNNER-UP: Kirsten McAllister

3^rd PLACE: Louise Concannon

GIRLS U/19 WINNER: Ciara Moloney

RUNNER-UP: Aisling O’Connor

3^rd PLACE: Roisin Brennan

BOYS U/19 WINNER: Rory Byrne

RUNNER-UP: Niall Caheny

3^rd PLACE: Brian Healy

Congratulations to all Juniors for travelling and competing at such high levels of Squash. Thanks to Brian Dolan, Maura Dolan, Dominick Tighe, Henry Gillanders and all others who helped out. Thanks to Westwood Squash Club for the fantastic venue and to Gerry Callanan, President of Leinster Squash, who presented the prizes.

LEINSTER JUNIOR CLOSED:

The Leinster Junior Closed was held in ALSAA Squash Club on the 4^th – 6h March. We had an entry of 80 Children from all over Leinster. Unfortunately, the weekend clashed with Confirmations and some sections suffered as a result but all in all, the tournament was a great success.

The U/11 boy and U/15 Boys entry was so big that we had to have qualifying rounds to make the Top 16 Draw. The losers of this section went on to play a round robin for 17^th – 20^th place on the ranking list. This worked out very well and gave the players something to work towards. The U/13 Boys section was also full and U/17 Boys had an 8 Draw.

The Girls sections suffered mostly from the confirmations so we held Round Robins for all Levels. The Girls U/13 played a Round Robin between 6 of them and this was a great success. All Girls got a chance to play each other and were delighted to get a substantial amount of games over the weekend.

All matches were completed and the Presentation of prizes was in ALSAA at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Results and Prizes awarded are as follows:

BOYS U/11 WINNER: Sean Conroy

RUNNER-UP: David Ryan

3^rd PLACE: Jack Macken

PLATE WINNER: Harry McGonigle

ROUND ROBIN WINNER: Conor Macken

GIRLS U/11 WINNER: Katy Atkinson

RUNNER-UP: Ashleigh Grant McNamara

BOYS U/13 WINNER: Max Gillanders

RUNNER-UP: Adam McCreevey

3^rd PLACE: Darragh O’Brien

PLATE WINNER: Rory Harpur

GIRLS U/13 WINNER: Johanna Lawlor

RUNNER-UP: Brona Jordan

3^rd PLACE: Aoife Jordan

BOYS U/15 WINNER: Michael Conroy

RUNNER-UP: Colm Dolan

3^rd PLACE: Eoin Dolan

PLATE WINNER: Frank Kelly

ROUND ROBIN WINNER: Fiach Whelan

GIRLS U/15 WINNER: Sarah Murphy

RUNNER-UP: Susan Kingston

BOYS U/17 WINNER: Rory Byrne

RUNNER-UP: Brian Parker

3^rd PLACE: Sean Gannon

GIRLS U/19 WINNER: Niamh Brennan

RUNNER-UP: Roisin Brennan

BOYS U/19 WINNER: Adam Hennessy

RUNNER-UP: Patrick Hennessy

Congratulations to all participants and thanks to them for a wonderful and entertaining weekend. Thanks to Brian Dolan, Maura Dolan, Dominick Tighe, Jackie McCreevey, Tony Crowley and all others who helped out. Thanks to ALSAA Squash Club for the fantastic venue and to Beatrice Byrne, Ladies Vice President of Leinster Squash, who travelled from Carlow to present the prizes.

ONE DAY TOURNAMENTS

The “One Day Tournaments” are Squash Competitions held for the juniors and are taken into consideration for ranking lists. The Events are usually individual age categories e.g. U/11 Boys & Girls on one day, U/13 Boys & Girls on another day etc. It is encouraged that all Clubs with Juniors hold these One Day Tournaments at regular intervals to give the juniors a chance to compete throughout the season. This year Sutton LTC Squash Club were the only Club to successfully cater for the competitions and they had four events in all. U/9, U/11, U/13, U/15 & U/17 and U/19. Eoin Ryan ran all sections and was delighted to have full draws.

It is important that we get all Clubs to hold these tournaments and they should become a normal part of the calendar for each season. We find that they are very successful as Juniors and Parents have only to commit themselves to one day as opposed to full weekend tournaments. They are also a great preparation for the bigger events.

Thanks Eoin and Sutton LTC Club for this and all your work throughout the season.

TRETORN EAST OF IRELAND JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS:

After a ten year lapse, we are proud and delighted that Sutton LTC resurrected this Squash Championships, which was held on the weekend of the 19^th - 21^st November 2004. The East of Ireland was always one of the best junior events and players looked forward to coming to Sutton, not only for a weekend of great Squash but the wonderful feeling of camaraderie and friendship. It was welcomed wholeheartedly by the squash playing community and indeed received a record level for a junior tournament this year.  Players, once again, traveled from all over Ireland to compete and the standard of play was an inspiration to all.

Huge organizational work went into the running of the Tournament but it is all fully repaid when all goals are achieved. There were record entry levels, excellent quality of play, inspirational atmosphere within the club and a marked rise in interest levels of juniors in squash. Thanks to Tretorn who sponsored this Tournament and thanks to Eoin Ryan and the Squash Committee in Sutton who revived the event to its former glory. It is here to stay!!! Result of all sections are as follows:

BOYS U/11 WINNER: Sean Conroy

RUNNER-UP: David Ryan

GIRLS U/11 WINNER: Fiona Murphy

RUNNER-UP: Melanie Ni Bhroin

BOYS U/13 WINNER: Eoin Dolan

RUNNER-UP: Max Gillanders

GIRLS U/13 WINNER: Johanna Lawlor

RUNNER-UP: Grainne Murphy

BOYS U/15 WINNER: Alan Tighe

RUNNER-UP: Alex Swan

GIRLS U/15 WINNER: Sarah Murphy

RUNNER-UP: Aishling Fitzpatrick

BOYS U/17 WINNER: Rory Byrne

RUNNER-UP: Eugene Devereux

JUNIOR INTER CLUBS LEAGUE:

The Dublin Junior Inter Club League involved 25 teams from five clubs, ALSAA, Blackrock, Fitzwilliam, Mt Pleasant and Sutton. It is encouraging to see the level of activity and enthusiasm at junior level in these clubs.  This is only possible with the support and commitment of coaches and parents. Hopefully this will continue.

This year for the first time the League included an U9 section. This was in addition to U/11, U/13, U/15 and U/17 categories. This was also the first year Mt Pleasant Squash Club entered Junior Teams in the League. We hope your teams will be back fighting hard next season.

Sutton LTC set a high standard winning the U/9, U/11, U/13 and U/15 Leagues with ALSAA a close 2nd. ALSAA were victorious in the U/17 section with Sutton a close second.

The Cup matches have not yet been completed, the finals are due to take place towards the end of May. Presentation of prizes for League and Cup winners will be made at this stage.

Once again thanks to all the parents and coaches who trained and organised the teams, it would not happen without your input. It is wonderful to see children get so much enjoyment chasing a ball around a court. Hopefully their enthusiasm will be nurtured.

Maura Dolan

LEINSTER SCHOOLS SQUASH COMPETITIONS

Another successful year was enjoyed by Leinster Schools Squash in the promotion and development of squash in schools in 2004/05. It gives me great pleasure to report that the schools programme has gone well and that young talent is being coached and nurtured at the various age groups.

We ran four competitions again this year for both boys and girls in the age groups of U/13,U/15, U/17 & U/19. The league was run from November to mid-December, the Shield Competition in January to mid-February and the Cup/Plate Competition from February to mid- March.

All Leinster Schools were circularized in early September regarding entries for this years’ competitions. Thirteen schools entered the competitions and 48 teams participated in all (40 boys teams and 8 girls teams). The boy’s schools were Blackrock College, CBS Carlow, Gael Colaiste Cheatharlach, Gonzaga, Knockbeg, St Conleths, St Fintans, St Marys and St Michaels. The girl’s schools comprised of Caritas, Gael Colaiste Cheatharlach, Our Lady’s Templeogue and St Leos.

The League Competition started in early November and four teams were placed in each division. Games were played on a home and away basis and therefore each team had six matches. Games were played in accordance to the American Scoring System. Practically all games were played and the league was completed before Christmas. The winners and runners-up in each division received prizes.

The Shield Competition took place in January and some new teams were entered. The top two teams in the League were taken out of this competition and played for the League Cup. Then the top two teams in each division were promoted. This ensured that there would be new winners of these divisions. Scoring in this competition was based on the Cumulative Scoring System i.e. every point counts. This creates quite a lot of excitement and enthusiasm among the players. It also ensured the keeping of accurate scores.

The Cup Competition took place from mid-February on a knock-out basis. Teams knocked out in the first round went into the plate competition, so every team had at least two games. The Cup finals took place in Fitzwilliam LTC on Wednesday 10^th March. This was a great occasion for Schools Squash.

Prizes for all the competitions played throughout the year were made on this occasion. The guest of honour was the President of the Leinster Squash, Mr Gerry Callanan. Sixty trophies were presented in all and 324 individual prizes. The Schools Committee would like to thank Gerry for his continued support and interest in Schools Squash and Fitzwilliam LTC for allowing us the use of their excellent facilities, once again. The winners of the various age groups in the Leinster Finals have qualified to represent Leinster in the All Ireland Schools Squash Finals, which take place towards the end of April.

The Leinster Schools Squash Committee would like to thank Leinster Squash for helping to pay for the prizes and supporting schools squash. A special thanks is due to Mr Gerry Callanan, the President of Leinster Squash, for his continued support and interest in the promotion of Schools Squash. Thanks to Brona Nyland for again monitoring the girl’s competitions. Mr Eoin Ryan deserves special thanks for his coaching of so many school players in Sutton, Fitzwilliam and Blackrock College. Mr Dermot O’Brien continues to do trojan work in promoting squash in the Carlow area.

This was reflected in the two Carlow Schools winning six of the eight cups this year in the Schools Finals. Dermot also ran a schools Competition in the Carlow area for the promotion of squash in the local schools.

There are areas of concern for the schools programme in that apart from Blackrock and the Carlow Schools the game is struggling to survive in all others. This must be addressed by the provision of coaching in schools by Leinster Squash. The decline in the number of girls teams is a serious concern.

Clubs have been generous in giving their facilities to the schools for their competitions and they are to be commended for this. We would continue to urge them to offer concessionary rates to Junior members and to enrol the players from their catchment area. Clubs should seriously consider providing coaches for squash in the schools nearby, and thus ensure junior members and their own survival.

In general it was another satisfactory year of squash for schools and the standard remains high. A great effort was put in by a lot of people, and the teachers and coaches are to be commended for their efforts in encouraging their schools to participate. But a lot more needs to be done to continue to promote squash in schools and to get more schools involved, particularly girls schools.

Fr. Joseph A. Gough CSSp / Schools secretary.

Leinster Squash Council understand the importance of developing Squash at schools level and we thank Fr Joe Gough and his committee, most sincerely, for their commitment and hard work in the running of all the School Competitions.

All Ireland Schools Competition

Carlow schools captured 3 All Ireland Schools Squash titles in Thurles, when St Leos won the U13 girl’s event and the Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach winning the Girl’s U17/19 titles.

For both Carlow schools the victories were very sweet, Leos U13’s winning their first All Ireland squash title, the Gaelcholáiste retaining their U19 title for a 4^th consecutive time and the U17 title for a 2^nd time.

Carlow's CBS were runner up in the U17 boys event to a very strong Methodist College from Belfast, the team of Brian Parker, Sean Gannon and Eugene Devereux defeated Summerhill Sligo in the semi's. Knockbeg late arrivals to the U15 event were not strong enough at all for Methody and the surprise team St Paul’s of Waterford were runner up.

Results:

U13 Girls: Winner - St Leo's Carlow R/Up - Scoil Mhuire Thurles
U13 Boys: Winner - Methodist College Belfast R/Up - Rathcormac NS Sligo

U15 Girls: Winner - Banbridge Academy R/Up - Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach
U15 Boys: Winner - Methodist College Belfast R/Up - St Pauls Waterford

U17 Girls: Winner - Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach R/Up - Ursuline College Sligo
U17 Boys: Winner - Methodist College Belfast R/Up - Carlow CBS

U19 Girls: Winner - Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach R/Up - Banbridge Academy.

LEINSTER SCHOOLS SQUASH

WINNERS & RUNNERS-UP

BOYS	LEAGUE	SHIELD	LEAGUE CUP	CUP	PLATE
U/19 Div 1	Blackrock A St Fintans A	Blackrock B Blackrock C	Blackrock A St Fintans A	St Fintans A Blackrock A	Blackrock B Blackrock C
U/19 Div 2	Blackrock B Blackrock C
U/17 Div 1	Blackrock A Knockbeg	St Michaels Blackrock B	Blackrock A	CBS Carlow Blackrock	Blackrock B Blackrock C
U/17 Div 2	Blackrock B St Michaels	Blackrock C Blackrock D
U/17 Div 3	Blackrock C Blackrock D
U/15 Div 1	Blackrock A St Fintans A	St Fintans B Blackrock B	Blackrock A St Fintans A	Blackrock A St Fintans A	Blackrock C Blackrock D
U/15 Div 2	Blackrock B St Fintans B	St Conleths Blackrock C
U/15 Div 3	St Conleths Blackrock C	Blackrock D Blackrock E
U/13 Div 1	Knockbeg Blackrock A	Blackrock B Blackrock C	Blackrock A	Knockbeg Blackrock A	Blackrock B Blackrock C
U/13 Div 2	Blackrock B Blackrock C

GIRLS	LEAGUE	SHIELD	LEAGUE CUP	CUP	PLATE
U/17 Div 1	Gael Colaiste Caritas	Caritas B Our Ladys T		Gael Colaiste	Our Ladys T Caritas A
U/15 Div 1	Gael Colaiste Caritas A			Gael Colaiste
U/13 Div 1	St Leos Gael Colaiste		St Leos Gael Colaiste	St Leos Gael Colaiste

Best Overall Boys School: Blackrock College

Best Overall Girls School: Gael Colaiste

Best Individual Girl U/13: Grainne Murphy (St Leos)

Best Individual Boy U/13: Alex Swan (Knockbeg)

Best Individual Girl U/15: Afric Ni Bhriain ( Gael Colaiste)

Best Individual Boy U/15: Colm Dolan ( Blackrock College)

Best Individual Girl U/17: Ami Ni Schlataine ( Gael Colaiste)

Best Individual Boy U/17: Eugene Devereux (CBS Carlow)

Best Individual Boy U/19: Steve McDonnell (St Fintans)

OPEN CLUB TOURNAMENTS HELD IN LEINSTER

The Club Open Tournaments are a crucial aspect of Squash and we would like to thank the organisers and players of The Mt Pleasant Open, The Old Belvedere Handicap Open and The Aer Lingus Open. We would also like to thank Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club and their Squash Committee who brought some of the best Squash players to our shores to play in the IRISH OPEN.

MT PLEASANT OPEN

The Mt Pleasant Open was held on the weekend of the 28^th – 30^th January. It was the usual success and Mt Pleasant have to thank Leinster Cricket Club for the use of their courts to complete all matches. Thanks to Gerry Delaney, Marian Birmingham, Maria Blair, Eugene O’Sullivan and all the referees for helping to run a great tournament. Food was supplied by David McKinney of “The Sandwich Deli”. Results are as follows:

Mens A: Winner: Neil Murphy Runner Up: Chris Hilliard

Ladies A: Winner: Bernie Geoghegan Runner Up: Claire Bergin

TECHNIFIBRE CARLOW JUNIOR SQUASH OPEN

The Carlow Junior Squash Open sponsored by Tecnifibre/OBSport/Esb was without doubt the best we had yet in the 4 years we are organising it. The event was confined to 90 players with 18 overseas entries coming from the Liverpool/Stockport area.

With just three courts our local players started on the Thursday and this did help the logistics somewhat. Using the Swiss system in order to ensure that players get 4 matches in as many sections as possible, it caused a late finish in the Sunday. Each participant received a unique CJO clock as a momento. Already the English visitors are booked in again for next year. Results as follows:

Dermot O’Brien / Carlow Squash

BOYS U/11 WINNER: Sean Conroy

RUNNER-UP: Jack Macken

3^rd PLACE: David Ryan

GIRLS U/13 WINNER: Bronagh Jordan

RUNNER-UP: Aoife Jordan

3^rd PLACE: Katelyn Doran

BOYS U/13 WINNER: Ryan McHale

RUNNER-UP: Conor Caheny

3^rd PLACE: Conall Murphy

GIRLS U/15 WINNER: Sarah Murphy

RUNNER-UP: Amy Caton

3^rd PLACE: Aishling Fitzpatrick

BOYS U/15 WINNER: Jonathan Patel

RUNNER-UP: Michael Conroy

3^rd PLACE: Colm Dolan

GIRLS U/17 WINNER: Aishling O’Connor

RUNNER-UP: Roisin Brennan

3^rd PLACE: Rebecca Connick

BOYS U/17 WINNER: Brian Parker

RUNNER-UP: Sean Caheny

3^rd PLACE: Paul McSweeney

GIRLS U/19 WINNER: Katie Grant

RUNNER-UP: Grace Dowling

BOYS U/19 WINNER: Matthew Sherman

RUNNER-UP: Andrew Grove

3^rd PLACE: Eugene Devereux

Another great Squash Event! Thanks to Dermot O’Brien, Squash Committee and Technifibre, this Tournament grows in popularity every year. As seen in the results we have a number of unfamiliar names, which is due to entries from Killarney, Sligo and England. It is great to see Juniors travelling for such competitions and we wish Dermot and his crew continued success for future events.

“ELASTOPLAST” OLD BELVEDERE OPEN 2^nd – 8^th JANUARY 2005

Championship and Handicap Tournament

Mens Championship :

There were 12 entrants for the Mens Championship Section which was won by Dara O’Flynn, beating Neal Murphy 3/0 in the Final. The Plate Final was won by Jim Flynn ( Hon Scretary Leinster Squash) who beat Gerry Callanan ( President Leinster Squash) 3/1. Can you see a resignation coming on!!!

Mens Handicap :

There were 23 entrants for the Mens Handicap Section which was won by Jimmy Carroll who beat Jim Coyne 3/2 in the Final. The Plate Final was won by Simon Rogals who beat Brian Dowley 3/1.

Mens Vets Handicap :

There were 21 entrants for the Mens Vets Handicap Section which was won by Peter Shine, narrowly beating Brian Williams in the Final 3/2. The Plate Final was a thrilling match between Patrick Murray and Hugh Fitzsimons – Patrick eventually just getting the better of Hugh in a 5 setter that saw Patrick winning three sets, all with a score of 10/8.

Ladies Handicap :

There were 13 entries for the Ladies Handicap Section which was won by Rosie Barry – beating Dolores Molloy in the Final 3/1. Vivienne Doran beat Fiona Reddin to win the Plate Final.

Summary :

Its always difficult to work out handicaps that are fair to all concerned, but the Handicappers felt they had done a good job when 11 matches (including 3 of the finals) went to 5 sets. Every one seemed to enjoy themselves and grateful appreciation was expressed to our Sponsor – ELASTOPLAST and to the organising committee and Old Belvedere Squash club for running the event.

Brian A Mc Nally (Tournament Committee)

DUBLIN VETERANS 2004/2005 SEASON

DUBLIN VETERANS SECTION - ANNUAL REPORT

2004/2005 SEASON

LEAGUES: We had two less teams this year – Aer Lingus and Fitzwilliam each dropping a team. The teams per division were –

Division 1 – 5 Teams

Division 2 – 6 Teams

Division 3 – 7 Teams

Teams played each other 3 times during the season on a ‘home’, ‘away’, and a ‘drawn’ venue basis. The results were as follows -

DIV	PTS	WINNER	PTS	RUNNER-UP
1	164	Guinness/Curragh	161	Baldonnell A
2	189	Fitzwilliam A	167	Mt. Pleasant A
3	220	Coombe	211	Sandycove

CUPS: The Cup matches for each Division were played in March/April with the Finals in Mt Pleasant Squash Clubon Thursday 14^th April. The Cup results were as follows:

DIV	WINNER	RUNNER-UP
1	Guinness/Curragh	Baldonnell A
2	Fitzwilliam A	(Walk over)
3	Coombe	Fitzwilliam B

SponsorshiP

The Veterans section is indebted to two generous players from RTE for the sponsorship of the Leagues and Cup matches and to Guinness Ireland for their sponsorship of the finals night in Mt Pleasant Squash Club.

COMPETITIONS

Leinster Veterans Open – was sponsored by Mantwood Investments and O’Connor Property Group and held in Fitzwilliam on 5^th to 7^th November 2004. Results were as follows -

Leinster Veteran Open Results
SECTION	WINNER	RUNNER UP
MENS OVER 45	Martin Mc Donnell	John Young
MENS OVER 50	Jack Allen	Geof Irwin
MENS OVER 55	Stanley Campbell	Terry Norman
MENS OVER 60	Eamon O’Reilly	Noel Murphy
LADIES OVER 45	Len Redmond	Christine Lowry
LADIES OVER 50	Eileen Mc Carty	Maeve Spotswood

Irish Veterans Open – was sponsored by Fitzwilliam and held in Fitzwilliam from 18^th to 20^th February 2005. Results were as follows:

Irish Veterans Open Results
SECTION	WINNER	RUNNER UP
MENS OVER 45	Martin Mac Donnell	John Young
MENS OVER 50	Geoff Irwin	Bob Todd
MENS OVER 55	Brendan Barry	Stanley Campbell
MENS OVER 60	George Hewitt	Eamon O'Reilly
LADIES OVER 40	Ruth Sweetnam	Rosie Barry
LADIES OVER 45	Len Redmond	Christine Lowry
LADIES OVER 50	Christine Mc Ilroy	Myrtle Shannon

(Hon. League Sec. – Dublin Veterans Squash)

Leinster Squash would like to thank Brian and the Vets committee for their continued hard work running the Dublin Vets League and Cup Competitions. We are delighted to see another successful year completed and look forward to seeing you all again next season.

SATURDAY LEAGUE 2004/2005

The Saturday Leagues are run by Arthur Moore and Tom McKeon and continue to be a success. This years results are as follows:

MENS 1^st DIVISION

LEAGUE WINNERS: SPORTSCO A RUNNERS-UP: AER LINGUS A

CUP WINNERS: AER LINGUS A RUNNERS-UP: SPORTS CO A

* * * * *

MENS 2^nd DIVISION

LEAGUE WINNERS: LEINSTER B RUNNERS-UP: AER LINGUS B

CUP WINNERS: AER LINGUS B RUNNERS-UP: LEINSTER B

* * * * *

MENS 3^rd DIVISION

LEAGUE WINNERS: COLS BOYS RUNNERS-UP: MT PLEASANT

CUP WINNERS: COLS BOYS RUNNERS-UP: MT PLEASANT

* * * * *

MENS 4^th DIVISION

LEAGUE WINNERS: AER LINGUS C RUNNERS-UP: COL TROOPERS

CUP WINNERS: AER LINGUS C RUNNERS-UP: PHOENIX B

The Jim Humphrey's Trophy Competition Results are as follows:

MENS 1^st DIVISION

WINNERS: PHOENIX A RUNNERS-UP: SANDYCOVE

* * * * *

MENS 2^nd DIVISION

WINNERS: SPORTSCO B RUNNERS-UP: OLD BELVEDERE

* * * * *

MENS 3^rd DIVISION

WINNERS: FITZWILLIAM RUNNERS-UP: ACCENTURE

* * * * *

MENS 4^th DIVISION

WINNERS: COL TROOPERS RUNNERS-UP: SPORTS LINK B

* * * * *

LADIES 1^ST DIVISION

LEAGUE WINNERS: ACCENTURE RUNNERS-UP: RTE A

CUP WINNERS: ACCENTURE RUNNERS-UP: RTE A

* * * * *

LADIES 2^ND DIVISION

LEAGUE WINNERS: COL CHICKS RUNNERS-UP: PHOENIX GIRLS

CUP WINNERS: PHOENIX GIRLS RUNNERS-UP: COL CHICKS

Kind regards

Arthur Moore

GOLF

The Golf Classic is held annually and is organised by Gerry Delaney and Brian Williams. Beech Park Golf Club was the chosen Venue for last years event and was so successful that it has been booked for this year. The Classic is to take place on Friday 13^th May and we wish you another great day out.

CONCLUSION

It must be said that, with the evidence put before you, the Juniors in Leinster are showing great promise. Our season does not only evolve around the senior Leagues and Cup Competitions but very much around the events involving our hundreds of Juniors. I have spoken to many players from day to day and in passing, while giving out about the fact that they cannot field teams from week to week, they talk of the young players in their Clubs and yet some of these Clubs in question do not actively encourage these juniors. Whether you have a few or many, it is up to the existing players to help by giving their time and energy if needed into organising events or even invitation nights, whereby they could play these juniors of all ages, giving them confidence to progress. Although we have huge numbers competing at present, they are predominantly from the same few clubs. At the age of 14 years they are eligible to play league and should be encouraged to do so despite the effort of having to drive them around and of course the strain on the social side. Please find a way so as to keep this interest close to home.

With this Season at an end, I would like to thank everyone for their patience and although many of you are very busy in your work life you are always willing to take a call from me whether it is at the top of your agenda or not.

Thanks again to Brian McNally, who continues to assist me when called upon and to the Council who give their support whenever and wherever.

Thank you

____________

Suzanne Ryan

Leinster Squash Administrator