01/11/11….Record entry for National Racketball Doubles championship

THE National Racketball Doubles Championship, this year held at Racquets Health and Fitness Club in Thame, attracted a recorded entry.

A full sixteen draw in the Men?s event was closely followed by a near capacity turn out in a quality
based, Mixed tournament. The Ladies category was played as a round robin with pairs guaranteed four matches over the weekend.

The England Squash & Racketball Championship was run in partnership with Simon Martin from Racquets with both parties very pleased with the event?s success. Simon commented: “As a club we are very proud to be associated with such a prestigious tournament and hope
that the refurbished facilities that were kindly funded by ESR were to the liking of all competitors”.

The Ladies’ Championship was won by the Dorset pairing of Bev Vatcher and Vic Jarvis, narrowly overcoming a fierce challenge from Sam Mueller and local girl, Beth John. It was testament to the event that all pairs were in with a chance of winning on Saturday evening,
such was the overall quality of the draw.

In the Mixed final, the Somerset pairing of Natalie Lawrence and Robert Watkins were no match for the 2008 champions, Julie Lawton and Jim Lord. The experienced Lawton and the stylish Lord completed a comfortable 3-0 victory.

The Men’s clash proved an absolute classic between two times Champions Matt Baker (Devon) and Jim Lord (Yorks) and challengers Christian Turner (Devon) and Rob Watkins (Avon). Most of the capacity crowd anticipated a comfortable victory for the pairing of Baker and Lord but the opposition had very different ideas as they stormed into a 2-0 lead.

The reigning champions showed their determination as they rallied to level at 2-2, and once again many felt experience would tell in the deciding set. It was not to be as Turner and Watkins continued with their strategy of power and strength and prevailed 12-10 in the fifth set to a standing ovation.

Full Scores
Men’s Final:
Christian Turner and Rob Watkins bt Matt Baker and Jim Lord 3-2 (12/10, 12/10, 8/11, 8/11,
12/10)

Mixed Final:
Julie Lawton and Jim Lord bt Nat Lawrence
and Rob Watkins 3-0 (11/8, 11/9,
11/7)

Ladies Winners:
Bev Vatcher and Vic Jarvis (13 points)

Ladies Runners-up:
Sam Mueller and Beth John (12 points)

Mixed Final Winners: Julie Lawton and Jim Lord

PHOTO: Mixed Final Winners: Julie Lawton and Jim Lord