Last Saturday saw the inaugural wooden rackets tournament at the club, held to help raise some funds for our charity partner Stripey Stork. Thirteen club members harked back to their glory days, as they took up their deadly weapons of the eighties; Dunlop Max ply, Ghost Bats and Grays Blue tiny teardrop rackets were pressed back into service after a forty year hiatus. Tom Jenkins was the master of ceremonies and handicaps, as the competitors were split into two groups of players. Red dot ball, rough or smooth, English scoring, two serves, lets off the back wall, powerless drives down the wall, fluffed drop shots, frame shots unerringly finding the nick, all the old memories came flooding back to the venerable competitors.
A few toweling grips were replaced with a more modern version and only one string broke during the day. It was uncanny how well the competitors wielded their trusty wooden rackets (or should that be racquets?).
In team ‘Geoff Hunt’, the tournament organiser heroically martyred himself with an impossible handicap, leaving the way open for the antiquated league secretary Brandon Bratton to win the group, despite some heroic resistance from Richard Allum, Alan Ellerbeck, John Miles, Paul McKay and Ian Drummond.
In team ‘Jonah Barrington’, ‘Mike Pinggera the Very Senior’ saw off allcomers, including Andy Catford, Trevor Ladd, the returning proverbial bad penny Mike Parsons, Roy Taylor, and a strongly performing Colin Waite to head the group.
With Stripey looking on, Mike then proceeded to win the final with ease, taking down Brandon, hardly troubling the scorer in becoming the first holder of ‘Old Git of Reigate Squash Club’. Long may he reign!
Warren Glover then took centre stage with one of his world famous South African braais. Under African skies (or, because of the unseasonable rain, court D’s suspended floor), the maestro and partner in crime Sandra cooked up a sumptuous feast of boerewors, piri-piri chicken wings and burgers, whilst Sarah the salad supremo oversaw the dishing out of potato bake, green salad, pasta salad, more potato salad and lashings of cheese and cookies to the hungry hordes.
A portion of the match fees will be donated to the Stripey Stork cause and a great deal of fun was had by all. Thanks to Tom, Warren, Sandra, Sarah and Paul for the excellent organisation and Sylvia for the pictures.
Start your search for wooden rackets, headbands, impossibly small white shorts and impractical white polo shirts and we’ll see you next year!
Pictures of the day
