County AGM Meeting 2025

Leicestershire Squash League.
 
Minutes of the Fifty-first Annual General Meeting
 
Held on Wednesday 13th August 2025 at Leicester Squash Club.
 
Present :- Robin Clements (Chairman), Cath Brown (Juniors), Ollie Wood
(Competitions Manager), Rachel Calver (Ladies Manager), Denis Husband (I.T.)
Wayne Carlisle (Media Manager), Mike Blasdale (Secretary) and 19 representatives
from 15 member clubs
Apologies :- Gary Hill (Treasurer), Andy Beel (Racquetball Co-ordinator)
 
Minutes of Previous Meeting :- Approved with no changes
 
Matters Arising :- None
 
Report - Chairman - Robin Clements
Robin opened by thanking the committee for their time in helping to run the League
and County.
 
During the year we lost Keith Platts (Leicester Road Hinckley), John Vivian (New Parks)
and Des Kershaw (Kegworth) one of the early junior coaches in Leicestershire.
The meeting observed one minutes silence in honour of their lives.
 
The Chairman pointed out that Leicestershire Men's Squash League had run for 51
years and in the past 20 years the Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary had all been in
post, giving the league stability and continuity.
 
Report - Treasurer - Gary Hill
Gary apologies for being on holiday. Accounts had been sent out to members before
the A.G.M.. Any queries to be addressed by email to Gary after 27th August 2025.
The annual fees will remain at £25 per team. This season that will also apply to the
racquetball league
 
Report - I.T. Administrator - Denis Husband - Wayne Carlisle
Denis reported that some data had been password protected as requested by
Malcolm Young (Charnwood).
The mandatory entry for away teams to mark the Critchlow Fellowship Cup had been
reinstated into the results system.
Squash levels was updating player levels on a daily basis.
Wayne reported that the initial burst of enthusiasm for the Media reporting had died a
death. Clubs reported they struggled to use it because of necessary protection.
 
Report - Competitions Manager - Ollie Wood
The County Championships did not take place due to lack of numbers entering.
The committee asked for email addresses for their players so we could contact
players directly. Only 1 club provided this information. Thank you to Hinckley SID.
Charnwood outright refused to consider doing so.
A new request list will be send out in an effort to encourage players to enter. It has to
have a reasonable response for it to be a viable competition.
 
Report - Junior Chair - Cathy Brown
County Coaching - We continue to utilise the regional Aspire training programme to
provide additional coaching to our promising youngsters. This replaces county specific
training and is the next step on the coaching pathway for juniors beyond club coaching.
All juniors in Leicestershire are welcome to try out the Aspire training squads (it is
actively encouraged), coaches and junior/parents should contact me or Dan McGinn
(our regional coach) for more information. 3 Leicestershire Juniors represented the
East Midlands in the Regional Team Competition in May (Jackson Bowden, Bella
Gokani, Khia Gokani).
In the spirit of increasing participation, Leicestershire Juniors have also been invited to
join Warwickshire County Coaching programme. A WhatsApp group has been set up
with all Leicestershire coaches who coach juniors, so that dates and information can
be shared. Coaches are asked to share this information and encourage juniors to join
when they can. Anyone is welcome to be added to this group if they are involved in
junior coaching.
Funding - 4 Leicestershire Clubs bid via the County Committee to receive England
Squash funding for various junior and ladies focused sessions. Charnwood (who are to
be congratulated on their proactivity so far), Hinckley, Market Harborough and New
Parks all received funding. We are hoping this funding will increase participation
levels and encourage new people into the game.
It would also be really great to see some of the aforementioned clubs run some
England Squash Bronze or Silver Competitions as this will give our juniors a taste of
the competition circuit and get them on the England Squash ranking table.
Clubs often make money from running these events, I am happy to guide and support
clubs though this process, or if anyone just wants a bit more information, please get
in touch.
Junior Intercounty - We entered 3 teams into the Junior Intercounty Competition
this year Girls U15, Boys U17 and Boys U13 Teams (One more than last year!)
After a successful initial weekend all teams qualified for the finals weekend in Sheffield
which saw the Girls U15 team placed 8th, Boys U13 team placed 8th and Boys U17
placed 11th in the Country. Many of our players are not seasoned tournament goers
so had to dig really deep up against tough opposition, but all the players worked hard,
fought all the way and represented Leicestershire impeccably. We are always looking
for new juniors to join/form teams so please let me know if you have juniors interested
in playing next season.
 
Junior County Closed - Thank you to Richard Holding and Market Harborough Squash
Club for running and hosting this seasons event. We had 21 entrants.
Winners are as follows.
Boys U13 - Oscar Brown
Boys U15 - Finley Brown
Boys U 17 - Jackson Bowden
Boys U 19 - Harry Parkinson
Girls U 13 - Khia Gokani
Girls U 15 - Grace Brown
Girls U 17 - Bella Gokani
Girls U 19 - Bella Gokani
 
Next seasons Junior County Closed will take place at Market Harborough Squash Club
on either Saturday 13th or Sunday 14th September date TBC.
 
Achievements -
Finlay and Oscar Brown - selected to play for England in the Home Internationals in
April 2025.
 
Oscar Brown ranked no 1 Boys U13 & British Junioe Champion
Finley Brown ranked no 2 Boys U13 & English Junior Champion
Bella Gokani ranked no 4 Girls U15
Grace Brown ranked no 10 Girls U15
Khia Gokani ranked no 11 Girls U13.
 
Congratulations to Harry Parkinson for becoming the youngest ever fully qualified
England Squash Referee.
 
All in all, Leicestershire Juniors are achieving great things at a National Level - but we
just need to get more juniors playing, so that we have greater depth in the county
which will secure a positive future foe all clubs in Leicestershire.
 
Senior Team Manager Report - Rachel Calver.
The Men's team consisted of Paul Stroud (Capt) - James Hodson - James Kettle - Ali
Mutch - James Bowden - Issac Green and Matt Ysart.
Leicestershire hosted stage 1 at Hinckley Squash Club on 1st Feb against Derbyshire
and Nottinghamshire.
Leicestershire beat Derbyshire 3-2 with 4 of the 5 matches being 3-0 either way. Only
James Kettle had a 3-1 match which he won. Derbyshire then beat Nottinghamshire
4-1 which gave Leicestershire a good chance to top the group. Unfortunately we lost
a close match 3-2. Derbyshire won the group by 1 point and advanced to the
play-off finals. Thanks to Hinckley for hosting the fixture, really supportive and
hospitable, with good player feedback.
Thanks to James Kettle and Issac Green both making their debut for Leicestershire
and adding quality and strength to the team.
 
The Ladies team was Jess Morgan - Cath Brown - Laura Holding - Sara Gardener -
Leanne Herbert - Georgia Mutch and Captain Rachel Calver.
A 2 1/2 hour drive to Ipswich on 1st Feb to face Essex and Norfolk in stage 1 of the
Intercounty Championships. Despite the early start and long drive Leicestershire
started with a 4-1 win over Norfolk. With only Rachel Calver losing at No. 1. Essex
proved tougher competition later in the day with Laura and Cath putting up strong
fights against 2 Essex players, one with multiple England representation and another
young player on an upward trajectory. Georgia was also finding her match much
tougher but proving to be equally strong opposition herself with the match score tied
at 2 all. Georgia finished the stronger, taking the match 11-7 in the 5th, giving us a
fighting chance. Rachel was struggling to get ahead of her opponent, going 2 0 down
before taking the 3rd 11-9. the 4th and 5th also went to Rachel putting the match at 2
all with Leanne still to play. Despite losing the 1st game Leanne took the next 3 games
12-10, 11-9, 11-7 to give Leicestershire the win and a place in the Play-off Finals.
Those finals were held at Market Harborough Squash Club with the Premiership
Intercounty Finals being held down the road at Daventry Squash Club over the same
weekend. For a neutral location we couldn't have been happier, until the seedings
were made with Cheshire being the strongest team by far and toping their group
somehow seeded 6, (Finished overall Play-off winners) and Leicestershire their 1st
round opponents. Needless to say it was a very tough match with quality players for
Cheshire from 1 to 5 string. Leicestershire lost 5-0. Due to a bye in the next round
Leicestershire returned on Sunday to play Avon for 5th/6th place. This was a much
more competitive match with both Sara and Georgia getting off to strong starts with
3-1 and 3-0 wins respectively, both coming out on top in a couple of 12-10 games.
Jess had a very tough opponent and found herself 2-0 down with11-9 and 11-7 game
scores which went against her. Jess fought back taking the next 2 games 11-5. At 2
all the 5th game was a battle to the end which Avon took 11-7. Unfortunately Leanne
and Rachel were face with 2 Bristol Academy players, both fantastic players but very
clinical with Leicestershire Losing both matches 3-0 and finishing 6th overall in the
2025 Play-Offs.
Special mention to Laura Holding who dropped everything in February, 2 days before
our fixture in Essex, making herself available to play for the County. A 5 hour round trip
drive ensured we fielded 5 players. If she hadn't we may not have made the Play-Offs.
Thank you Laura.
 
Another special mention to Market Harborough Squash Club for hosting the Play-Off
Finals, potentially 16 teams (* Men's and 8 Ladies, 80 players) would descend upon
the club to play over the weekend, a daunting ask for any club. Not that you'd have
known, everything was thought of and covered, really welcoming and friendly staff,
again great feedback from travelling players. Hopefully England Squash will be back
next year.
 
Racquetball - Andy Beel
Andy has to be at work and apologies for not attending.
 
He provided a statement of the season and future events read out by Mike.
 
Report - Secretary - Mike Blasdale
Cleaver have had some unground work carried out which hopefully will prevent and
further flooding. Jack McElvenny confirmed that 4 pumps had been installed which
would sent any flood waters back to the canal.
 
Last season went well with no major issues, apart from the lack of Critchlow Cup
Scores being entered. This coming season teams need to be aware that for the away
team the system will not accept the entry without a Critchlow Fellowship Cup Score.
This will mean automatic fines with no right of appeal. Make sure your Captains are
aware that they need to enter the CC score.
Mike told a brief tale of the history and start of The Critchlow Fellowship Cup.
Pointing out it was part of the drive to maintain the social aspect of playing squash.
 
Making players aware of activities is difficult at the best of times, but all secretary's
can play a greater role in making players aware.
 
The Loan List and System.
This was discussed at length. Essentially any player may be placed on the Loan List.
Only players on the list may be used to complete teams. No more than 2 loan players
may be used by a team in a match.
The idea is to replace a player with one of similar standing, not to strengthen the team.
It was observed that players tended to be from a narrow Squash Level band. This is
because other players are not added to the list. All players have spare games which
could be utilized if they so desired.
A schedule for Loan List players will be sent to all secretaries, please see if your team
players are interested.
 
Rules of the League :-
The removal of the split strength rules was agreed unanimously
The proposal to remove Men from the League title was approved by 12 votes to 10.
This was a very contentious proposal and the vote in favour has already caused
problems that the league will be hard pushed to resolve.
 
Presentation's : Robin made the presentations to the winning clubs
 
Winter League 2024/2025
Division 1 - Rugby Stags
Division 2 - Hinckley Squash 2
Division 3 - Hinckley Squash 3
Division 4 - Huncote
 
Critchlow Fellowship Cup 2024/2025
Division 1 - Market Harborough 2 8.80
Division 2 - Leicestershire Tennis 2 9.25
Division 3 - David Lloyd 4 8.89
Division 4 - Hinckley Squash 5 8.80
 
Overall Winner - Leicestershire Tennis 2 9.25
 
The Handicap Cup -
Winners this year were Mike's Marvels who beat New Parks 2 with a new team who
proved that handicap squash is open to everyone.
The uptake for this free competition was again tiny and it was discussed as to whether
it was worth continuing. The forms will be sent out and if 10 teams commit the Cup
will be played. The main problem seems to be getting team captains to speak to each
other and arrange matches. Frankly it's embarrassing that grown adults cannot
manage to arrange a single match. New Parks are exempt from this criticism.
 
The Robin Clements Cup
Finlay Brown (Hinckley) has made tremendous progress this year and is the winner.
 
League Structure.
The proposed leagues were sent out in early August. Regretfully Burton Squash have
lost a good number of players and feared that their 3rd team would fold or not play at
all if they remained in division 2. The meeting was advised that the leagues would be
redrawn with 8 teams in Div 2 and 12 in Div 3. The div 2 teams would then play each
other 3 times. Fixtures to be prepared asap.
The league starts on Sunday 14th September 2025
This is very tight for getting the fixtures loaded onto the system. Therefore, if this has
not happened please use the fixtures lists sent out to each club on Mike's Excel
spreadsheets.
Due to term times and examinations the fixtures for Loughborough Students will be
crammed into a much shorter time frame than usual. For Division 1 please make
sure you read the fixtures properly as there is little room for manoeuvre.
All secretaries were advised to read the fixtures to ensure the dates are correct.
Any errors please inform Mike asap.
 
Election of Officers:-
The meeting was asked repeatedly for nominations from the floor to no success.
It was made clear to the meeting that neither The Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary nor
Competitions Manager would be continuing due to the destruction of the Leagues
history by the vote for Charnwood's proposal.
Without people willing to take up a position on the Committee the meeting effectively
ended with no formal vote to re-elect anyone.
This leaves us in a position of the 4 committee members not continuing but will
perform their duties until the playing season ends in April 2026.
The 4 remaining members will I assume continue with their duties.
The meeting was ended at 9-35p.m.
 
A.O.B.
No A.O.B. was discussed after the shock of 4 committee members resigning.
 
What should have been advised to the meeting was as follows.
 
Hinckley Squash hosted their 2nd Challenger Event at the end of the season. Some
excellent squash was presented and Tim Solley deserves much praise for his
dedication to organising this event.
 
On the International arena George Parker is currently ranked 49 in the world and
Simon (JJ) Herbert is 56.
 
Advance notice of an E.G.M.
In April 2026 there will be an E.G.M. for the purpose of electing new members to fill the
vacated positions and re-elect the 4 Committee Members who are remaining.
From my reading of the constitution, which appears to be outdated having been
created by a defunct old County Committee, and the Rules Of The League as we have
them, there is no mandatory need to attend. However baring in mind the importance
for the smooth continuance of the League and County all clubs are encouraged to
attend.
The main item will be election of officers. However any member club may make
proposals to be heard and voted on by the E.G.M. just as at an A.G.M. Any such
proposals will have to follow the 7 day rule so all clubs have the opportunity to discuss
them inhouse.