Veterans & Junior Championships - Season 2005-2006 - 26/03/06

Jimmy Cassidy & Sandy Stewart

Not one of the largest entries for the Thurso Squash Club Veteran's and Junior Championships but the group that did make themselves available provided some excellent squash and entertainment, which kept the on-looking crowd waiting in anticipation to view the eventual winners of the silverware.

Unfortunately, the club is lacking in some young girls coming through the ranks and the trophy for the Girls' Juniors was battled out between the two stalwarts at the club, Lauren Gunn and Lauren Sharp. With assured trophies going their way, it was down to the 'nitty-gritty' of who was going to parade the winners' trophy to their proud watching parents. In this tussle, after losing the first set, it was Lauren Gunn who had the nerve and extra ability to just out play, Lauren S in a closely contested final.

This was Scott Davidson's last season of being able to play in the '14 & Under' section and as current holder of the trophy, it was going to take something special from the young and ever improving, Jamie Henderson to steal the spoils away from him.
Going into the final, Jamie had taken the scalp of experienced player, Martin Gunn and was definitely 'in-it-to-win-it'. But, although Jamie was the more agile around the court of the two, the stronger frame of Scott just had the beating of him with powerful drives which forced the young lad to scramble in the corners and eventually, concede defeat to the now double winning champion.

Sean Miller is one of the club's most dedicated young starlets and is accustomed to being found on court, or hanging around for extra tips and tricks from the senior groups. So much so, that his parents are beginning to think he lives in the club. With this in mind, it was good to see him managing to reach the final of the '18 & Under' trophy against John Georgeson.
John was seeded number one for this group and is beating senior players in the top half of the leagues, which made young Sean's task all the more difficult. After Sean gave his all and provided some excellent rallies, it was the bookies' favourite that lifted the prize to go with the County Junior trophy, from the past weekend.

The Over 45 Veteran's was to be a replay of the County Veterans' match between, James Henderson and Stuart Greig. Once again, it was James who stifled, baffled and twisted the debutant, Stuart into submission - leaving the Barrock man with the runners-up prize for the second time in succession.

The Over 55's - or 'Super-Vets', as they prefer to be called were the highlight of the event. At this age, it would be recommended to stretch your legs by walking the dog, at the very most but the competitors in this tournament prefer to go for the extreme option and become contortionists to reach a bouncing ball.
The final brought together the pairing of Jimmy Cassidy and Sandy Stewart, who - in their later years have provided some excellent confrontations. This was to be no different but with Jimmy consistently playing in the leagues and Sandy deciding to take more of a back seat approach, it was apparent that Jimmy had a slight advantage. Sandy pulled one set back in a contest that provided thrills, spills and heartaches but Jimmy went onto lift the trophy he has wanted for a number of years.

Congratulations to all who took part and the club is always looking for new juniors to come and try this excellent sport.

Results

• 14 & Under - Scott Davidson beat Jamie Henderson - 3-0
• 18 & Under - John Georgeson beat Sean Miller - 3-0
• 18 & Under Girls - Lauren Gunn beat Lauren Sharp - 3-1
• Over 45 Veterans - James Henderson beat Stuart Greig - 3-0
• Over 55 Super-Veterans - Jimmy Cassidy beat Sandy Stewart - 3-1

Photos

Winners and Runners-Up of the Veterans & Juniors' Thurso Club Championships. Lauren Sharp missing from photo.

Lauren Sharp & Lauren Gunn	Sean Miller & John Georgeson
Jamie Henderson & Scott Davidson	Jimmy Cassidy & Sandy Stewart
James Henderson & Stuart Greig	Les Mackay's daughter Emma sat and drew a portrait of her favourite TSC squash player. click here to find out who it is.....

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