John Creek

John Creek was a huge influence on squash in Sevenoaks and we sadly have to share the news he has passed away. We reproduce the tribute from his daughter below.

RIP John.

My dad was a devotee of the squash club and I know he would want me to share this news with you all (though he would suggest 2 sentences, without sentiment was ample!) He's not here to stop me so I'll say what I feel.

Some of my earliest memories of spending time with my dad involve sitting on the balcony of the squash club with my little brother and watching a lot of sweaty people hitting the ball noisily and occasionally swearing before realising there were children present. We'd always be allowed dry roast peanuts and juice from the golf bar afterwards, providing we were well behaved and had the right shoes on. I became really fond of the place eventually as it always made me feel close to dad.

I could always see how much my dad loved competing and even more, winning - though I also think he made a gracious(ish) loser (especially when losing became the norm.) I know how much of his identity was bound up in the club and the game and how difficult it was for him to eventually put down his racquet and responsibilities once the cancer progressed too far.

I saw his commitment to you all off the court as well. We used to joke that the squash club was his second career or his other wife when he was furtively checking squash emails while on holiday.

My husband Matt also made the mistake of humouring dad (after he was diagnosed) by coming along to an 'open to all' night at the club for a friendly game with the poor old chap, only to run himself ragged while dad stood still and hit the ball into tricksy corners and at awkward angles. Eventually Dad told Matt to 'stop playing the warm up rally and actually start trying to beat me.' Cancer never took away his wry sense of humour.

He'd long since stopped being able to horrify his family by physically climbing up ladders and fixing ceilings for the club but I know he was still checking the league tables and keeping up to date with how you were all doing. I think he was even trying to help with electric meter reading dramas up until 2 weeks ago. When my dad was committed to something, he always stayed that way.

It seems truly ironic to me that someone so fit and vital could have died from lung cancer. The doctor did say that if he hadn't been so fit he would never have been able to live as long as he did at Stage 4, so we'll always be grateful to his time on the court for that.

He died peacefully at home with family and it was quick at the end. He never wanted to have to go into a hospice so we are grateful he got to go on his terms and with dignity.

Thank you to the club for being such a huge part of dad's life and legacy. I'd love to come and sit on that balcony again soon.

Summer tournaments

Following a winter (and a little bit) of hard fought squash congratulations to the following for winning their respective competitions.

Club Championship: James Hall

Club Championship Plate: Tim Handel

Open Handicap: James Hall

Senior Open: Michael Stuttard

Senior Handicap: Tim Handel

Vets Open: James Hall

Vets Handicap: Chris Ivey

Doubles Handicap: Jo Thompson and James Hall

Doubles Winter Final

This year a smaller number of players than usual joined the tournament. So few that in fact both pairs made the final. To make the day more interesting David, James, Jolyon (Jo) and Tim decided this should be a round robin event with each pair playing every other pair. This made the handicapping much more fun. David though worked all out and also for games to 15 or 11 depending on how long the matches were taking to get through.

The four finalists

The opening match saw David and James against Tim and Jolyon. Some excellent squash from both pairings. James sportingly offering tips to Tim mid match and the usual challenges of keeping track of who was serving and the let v stroke debate did not stop both pairings from playing some fantastic squash with all players finding their rhythm. The game seesawed as neither pairing could stamp their authority on the match. In the end David and James did enough to sneak it in the fifth. The handicap in this match was clearly about right with only two points different by the end of five games.

David & James vs Tim & Jo: 15-11, 13-15, 15-13, 11-15, 15-13: 3-2

Repairing saw David and Tim take on Jo and James. After the near hour long marathon just played it was agreed to reset to a games to 11 for this match and see how that worked. This first game started with James and Jo making a very strong run early on in the first game taking 8 or 9 straight points. Tim and David fought back strongly but were not able to get the score line as close as the squash deserved. All players were slightly suprised when Jo announced at 11-6 that’s 1-0 as we had forgotten we were not still playing to 15. James and Jo kept the hammer down and took the second again quite comfortably. Sadly in the third game Tim started to struggle more with the injury sustained on team duty earlier in the week but pushed on regardless although David and Tim were not able to push it to a fourth game.

David & Tim vs Jo & James: 6-11, 5-11, 6-11: 0-3

Despite the struggle with his back Time carried on, aided by joining forces with the very mobile James for the last game. Starting with games to 11 led to the first game being taken to next point wins at 10-10. A good rally eventually won by James and Tim. As games had started to speed up the next game was played to 15 and so the handicap adjusted David and Jo pushed hard to try and stop James winning all of his games. Some excellent work from both players had James moving hugely as Tim’s movement was still hampered. David and Jo were able to keep the ball just out of reach and took the game to tie things up. As again this playing to 15 lark was taking too long the score was pulled back to 11 and another handicap adjustment. The next game saw David and Jo pull out some of their best squash to put take the game 11-5. This was followed by another strong performance and the match 11-5.

David & Jo vs Tim & James: 10-11, 15-7, 11-5, 11-5: 3-1

A lot of fun for all with nearly 2 hours of intense squash played. It was decided that the strongest pairing of the night had been Jo and James, although had Tim remained at full fitness their could have been some different results. Hopefully we all get to do it again soon.

Jo and James after the doubles marathon

Box League Winners - March

March saw Knole experiment with a larger number of smaller boxes. This seemed to work well and congratulations to all the winners. We are keeping the new system for April. Good luck to all players

Box 1: Damon Reynolds
Box 2: NA
Box 3: Wesley Bradshaw
Box 4: Peter Peté
Box 5: Mark Semple
Box 6: Pedro Cubillo
Box 7: Matthew Evans
Box 8: Mark Gorman
Box 9: Gareth Colesmith

John Creek Two Shot

This year the John Creek Two Shot Tournament was introduced in appreciation for the all tireless work John has put into the club over the years. The format was doubles, with each player getting one serve each (the rules slightly amended as we went along...), with tie breaks taken to a sudden death point played with the serve decided by a spin.

Each of the five teams played each other in a round robin, with the top two teams with the most wins making it into the final. David Hampton & Karl Pople had the most wins so they went through. Tim Handel & Bob Crawford and Peter Peté & Mark Cooper were on even points, however Tim & Bob were through on point difference. In the end the strongest team won out with David & Karl taking the match 3-1. Thank you to all those that took part. Now established, this will be an annual event.

Mark Johnson One Shot

On the 7th December Knole Park held the annual One Shot Tournament in memory of Mark Johnson. The one rally per match thows up surprises, action and for one player the chance to put their name on the honour board.

The video showing all matches can be seen at the link below. Some fantastic shots in there.

Congratulations to the winner, David Hampton.

View the whole tournament

Doubles Handicap Finals

The final round of the round robin in the summer doubles took place over the weekend. The tournament had been delayed due to injury of players and finally two long term injury withdrawal and a new partnership later the games began. Following two tight games against the Tim/David partnership Mike/Karl and Anita/Jolyon were left with a winner take all final game. With a -8/8 handicap the game was set for a battle where the experienced Mike/Karl partnership would need all their skill to overhaul the deficit against the newly formed Anita/Jolyon playing only their second game as a partnership.

The first game saw only limited impact on the handicap from Mike/Karl as they started to find their rhythm however having warmed up the just missed drops and lobs that had plagued the first game were now finding their mark with ruthless precision. From both long and short rallies the handicap was relentlessly chipped away until the two teams stood at 14-14 and a winner takes all point. again the superior control from Mike/Karl crafted the point to take a well earned second game to tie the score.

The third game was played in a very similar manner to the second with, if anything, longer rallies as both pairings found their stride. Some beautiful shots from both teams brought the game to another tense 14-14 rally. This time however the recovery skills of Anita/Jolyon kept them in long enough for a loose ball to be put away and restoring the lead. The fourth game though underlined why Mike/Karl have been the dominant pairing at the club for a few years with a combination of tight drops, impeccable length lobs and returning anything thrown at them saw the handicap gone at 10-10. Not content with that they dominated the final rallies to take the game 15-11 and set up a final game of winner takes all.

Anita/Jolyon decided to change their tactics for the final game and gave Mike/Karl a different look. This led to some early quick points for the Anita/Jolyon partnership. In trying to adapt their game Mike/Karl caused some confusion in their partnership which allowed Anita/ Jolyon to sneak to 14-1. Despite some excellent backs to the wall squash the mountain proved to great to climb with Anita/Jolyon finally securing the game, match and doubles victory 15-6.

Vets handicap final

Tim +4 v Mike -4 Vets Handicap (Summer).

The balcony was treated to a 5-set thriller between Tim and Mike in this summer's vets' handicap final.

The first game was a perfect indication of how closely and competitively the final would play out: Tim getting off the blocks with a series of low forehand winners to go 11-1 up. After settling into his stride, Mike turned the tables in his favour by carefully eliminating unforced errors from his game and pulled it back: 16/14 to Mike.

The second game saw Tim push ahead again in the early points to reach a 11-0 lead. Never write-off Mr Wright when he's behind... once again Mike got into his stride to win 7 points in a row. This time however, Tim closed out the game with excellent late pressure to take it: 15-9 to Tim.

Mike didn't allow Tim to build an early cushion in the 3rd game and fought hard to draw level at 10-all before putting himself ahead again: 15-11 to Mike.

The fourth game seemed like it would be a fast romp to victory for Mike, taking the first 4 points with no reply. Tim, however, had other ideas. The quality and length of rallies improved considerably at this stage of the game, neither player gifting unforced errors to the other. Hard work from Tim brought the scoreline back to 10-5 which proved to be a big enough advantage: 15-11 to Tim.

The fifth game was a see saw, with Tim taking the initail lead 10-2, but Mike making an excellent come back with some deft front court drops and boasts, to bring the game to 11-7. Tim pushed on again with some great short forhand drives to get us to 13-10. Mike harried and fought hard for each point to take it to 14-14, but ultimately Tim was the victor on sudden death. An excellent match of high quality played in good humour.

Open handicap summer final

Open handicap James +3 Nick-3

Having spent two hours in traffic, Nick was never at the races in the first game, not even closing the handicap gap and losing 15, -1.

In the second,James raced to 10/4 before Nick hauled him back steadily and took it 15/13. Jamescame right back and was at 10/3 before Nick appeared to be giving up on the game - saving himself. 15/4 to James.

At this point both players appeared spent intermittently. And it was nip and tuck until Nick edged it 15/13.

2-2 Nick blasted out of the blocks in the 5th, rapidly closing the handicap and stretching out to an 8/5 lead. However, surprisingly for a handicap, the lower ranked player pulled out his best stuff, clawed his way back to level and after a couple of lung-busting rallies James took the title 15/12. Phew. Worth noting that the Knole Park supporters greatly outnumbered the Poultwood ones. Some shouts of encouragement even coming from the other court. Nick will have to wait until Winter is over before he can again challenge for the Honours Board.

Winter is Gone

The last two Winter competitions have finally reached their nail-biting conclusions - just before the Summer Finals roll around.

Winter 2021-2 Open Handicap. Mike Wright (R - Winner), Tristin Retzlaff (L - Runner-up)

Tristin Retzlaff’s hip was good enough to collect his Runners-up trophy for almost playing in the final of the tournament. Unfortunately, his incapacitatedness prevented him from competing. He was delighted to accept his mug, though, together with a free curry.

Winter 2021-2 Club Championship Plate Final - Mike Wright (R - Winner) James Woodman (L - Runner up)

After much chasing, both on and off the court, Mike Wright was at last able to add this plate to his cabinet. The Plate competition was suspended during Covid, so this was the first final for 3 years. The actual plate was unavailable, but Mike received a small replica to keep.