Thirst First in Norfolk Open

Sunday 23rd April, saw over 40 juniors take to the East Anglia Tennis and Squash Club courts to compete for the prestigious Norfolk Junior Squash Open titles in their respective age groups. With matches commencing from 09:30, the courts were filled right through till the late hours of the afternoon. From the Girls under 11’s age group to the boys under 19’s there were entertaining, respectful and close matches throughout the tournaments duration.

The day started with the younger age groups, competing in their earlier rounds, with girls under 11’s up first. Emma Logan started the day strong, with a 2-0 win and continued her impressive form throughout the day going on to win her age group without dropping a game.
In the smaller, Girls under 13 draw, an all Norfolk final was played out between Abigail Cramer and Jasmine Thirst, two friends who play often together. Jasmine played some great squash to come out the eventual Girls under 13 Norfolk Junior Squash Open Champion.

Onto Boys under 11 and under 13 draws.  After some seriously competitive squash played in both age groups, Dylan Kalar won the boys under 11’s group title, and in the under 13’s Harry Green was the eventual winner after playing out many tight matches throughout the day.
The Girls under 15 draw saw many Norfolk players competing, but none could prevail, with Danni Kalar and Abi Wilkinson reaching the final here Abi won a close 2-1 to claim the Girls under 15 title.

The biggest draw of the tournament was in the Boys under 15 age category. This draw saw many out-of-county players compete. Travis Tatum of Essex and Alfie Green of Buckinghamshire, played out an exhausting final, where Alfie won 2-1. Many spectators said it was the longest 3 games of squash they have seen!

The Girls under 17 draw came to its conclusion with a Norfolk v Suffolk Final. Kirstie Johnson of Norfolk gave it all she could against Suffolk’s Ella Hall. In the end Ella had too much and won the match with a convincing performance, to gain the under 17 title.

The Boys under 17 draw, saw Kian Howard win the title without dropping a game in his age category, with convincing performances so far in the day, it came down to the final where he continued his impressive performance to come out the 2-0 winner over David Bennet.

The Girls under 19 was another Norfolk dominated draw, where the final saw close rivals Katie Cox and Bonnie Butler play it out for the title. Katie went 1-0 up and led for most of the second before Bonnie brought it back to 1-1. Bonnie was able to take the next game and the title with it to become Norfolk Junior Squash Open Girls Under 19 Champion 2017.

In the Boys under 19 draw, this was again Norfolk dominated. The final saw two Norfolk Players and regular training partners William Henden and Robert Thirst go all out for the title. This was a tense and very tight affair with all three games going right to the wire. Eventually Robert was able to prevail, winning 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 and with that taking the Boys under 19 title.

​Congratulations to all players, Norfolk Junior Squash hope to welcome you all again next year.