RN Squash Rackets Association

Sponsored by Flagship Training Limited, Babcock and Gieves & Hawkes, the Royal Navy Squash Rackets Association (RNSRA) is affiliated to the English Squash Association. The objects of the Association are to encourage squash in the Naval Services, arrange fixtures for and select Representative teams, conduct the annual Navy Squash Championships and Inter Command Championships, and arrange the team Inter Service and individual Combined Services Championships when it is the turn of the Royal Navy to do so.

With Admiral the Lord Boyce GCB OBE DL as the Patron of the Association is organised and controlled by a committee. The day to day running is conducted by an Executive Committee: Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Team Captains, Treasurer and Coaching Coordinator. The full committee also includes: Honorary Women’s Secretary and the Area/Command Secretaries.

Membership

New members are always welcome from serving and retired members of the RN/RM and MOD civilians. For a modest joining fee you become eligible to benefit from coaching and serving members could be picked for tours and representative matches. Commitments mean that the premier players cannot make all the events and matches are therefore often targeted at a slightly lower standard to maximise all players’ chances to participate in and enjoy representative sport. Anyone eligible to join who wishes to do so can readily find further information in the Defence Intranet or by contacting the Secretary on 02392 723741.

Tour & Sponsorship

The RNSRA Tour to South Africa from 21 Apr – 4 May was supported by our sponsors Flagship Training Limited, Babcock and Gieves & Hawkes, and also by the RN&RM Sports Lottery. The tour included visits to Cape Town, Robben Island, Table Top Mountain and Kruger National Park as well as mixture of matches and coaching sessions. The tour kicked off in the historic Olympic Sports Club, once frequented by Edward VII whilst he was the Prince of Wales, with a 7-3 victory against the WPCC. This was followed with another 7-3 win for the Royal Navy, this time against Western Province but clearly word had got out the Royal Navy had a strong side right through the seeds so the Varsity Old Boys beefed up their side to give a very good showing, narrowly winning 6-4. Entering the final match at Camps Bay the Navy was determined to end the Tour victorious and did, narrowly winning on a points difference with five matches each

Events

Looking to the future the Navy Championships will be held in October and include Men’s open, Women’s open, Under 25, Veteran’s, Vintage and doubles competitions whilst Inter Command Championships for both men and women are arranged annually. All those serving in the Naval Services are eligible to compete in these tournaments. The AGM on 16 May will fix the dates for this and other events and coaching sessions through the year.

Coaching

Portsmouth Command Players meet at Temeraire from 1630 to 1900 most Mondays of the year for a mixture of competitive squash, coaching and drills. Once a month a professional coach (Paul Chaplin) comes in and provides training to improve racket skills, court awareness and general honing of skills through a variety of training routines. These sessions are from 1415 to 1800 and are open to all members of the RNSRA.

The RNSRA also embraces the game of Rackets and is affiliated to the English Squash Association. Objectives of the Association are:

To encourage squash in the Naval Services
To arrange fixtures for and select Representative teams, Veterans, Senior, U25 and Womens.
To arrange and conduct the annual Navy Open, U25, Veterans, Vintage and Womens Squash Championships
To arrange the men and women’s Inter Command Championships.
To arrange the team Inter-Service and individual Combined Services Championships when it is the turn of the RN to do so.
To participate in the Inter-Service and Combined Service Championships.

Contact
Secretary: Lt Cdr D Cooke
[email protected]
Tel: 02392 723 741