Congratulations to David Ryan!
Well done David Ryan who is currently ranked at the top of the ESF U13 rankings and to Michael Craig who is in the top 10 at no. 8

All-Ireland Schools Championships 2009:
Many thanks to Gerry Connaughton and Thurles Squash Club for hosting the All-Ireland Schools Championship this season and well done to the participants.

Junior Interprovincial Championships 2009:
The winners and runners-up in this competition are listed below. Well done to all juniors who played and a big thank you to Mount Pleasant and Belvedere for the use of their facilities for the event.

Irish Teams:
The following players have been selected to play on Irish Teams in the up-coming Internationals and will be written to in due course about arrangements. Please be sure to attend your next squad as selection criteria are quite strict on this aspect of team preparation.  All players will be required to undergo a fitness test prior to departure. Congratulations on your selection and good luck in the competition. [Please note that a non-travelling reserve is a player who will be called on in the event that one of the team cannot make the trip for whatever reason].

U13 'Home Internationals' - Boys: David Ryan (L), Philip McSweeney (M), Stephen Quigley (C) and reserve Ryan Luther (L). The non-travelling reserve is Daniel Pender (M). Girls: Fiona Power (C), Griffin Gillanders (L) and reserve Róisín O'Shea. The non-travelling reserve is Aoife Turley (L).

U15 'Home Internationals' - Boys: Seán Conroy (L), Ben Logan (L), Jack Macken (L) and reserve Cillian Dunne (L). The non-travelling reserve is Shaun Hennessy (L). Girls: Órna Murray (M), Breanne Flynn (L) and reserve Labhaoise Dunbar (M). The non-travelling reserve is Fiona Murphy (L).

U15 European Championships - Boys: Seán Conroy (L), Cillian Dunne (L) and Reserve Shaun Hennessy (L). The non-travelling reserve is Ciarán Maher (M). Girls: Órna Murray (M) and reserve Breanne Flynn (L). The non-travelling reserve is Labhaoise Dunbar (M).

U17 European Championships Boys: Brian Dunbar (M), Conor O'Shea (C) and reserve Daniel L'Estrange (L). Girls: Cathryn Abernethy (U) and reserve Claire Hanley. The non-travelling reserve is Elaine Ware (C).

U19 European Championships: Boys: Neil Martin (U), Joey Roberts (U) and reserve Hugo Diamond (U). The non-travelling reserve is Alan Tighe (L). Girls: Niamh O'Hare (U) and reserve Sarah Corcoran (M). Sarah Murphy (L) is the non-travelling reserve. The Irish Squash U19 Team at the European Championships 2009 pictured with coach Eddie Murphy and manager Emma Toolan. Back row, Hugo Diamond, Joey Roberts and Neil Martin and front left Rachel Black, Emma Toolan and Niamh O'Hare.

Irish Junior Nationals:
This season's Junior Nationals produced some great squash and some exciting matches. As usual there were some surprises and upsets. Gary Power made the trip from the U.S.A. and took the BU19 title to stake a claim to team selection next season. Gary, whose mother is a Corkwoman and whose father is from Waterford, was a welcome visitor, played some very good squash and is sure to be an exciting Irish player of the future.  In the U19 Girls Niamh O'Hare was an emphatic winner while season-long opponent at U19 grade, Cathryn Abernethy took the U17 Girls title. Rory Birtwistle decided in favour of the U17 competition and duly won that event. Rory, whose mother hails from Ulster, will also be a valuable asset at U19 level next season and we look forward to seeing him return. In the U15 girls it was the turn of Orna Murray to take a title while in the U15 Boys, Seán Conroy justified his top seeding in winning that competition. At U13 Boys, David Ryan added the National Championship to his season's haul and in the U13 Girls Fiona Power was the winner.  The following are some of the winners at the Irish Junior Nationals in Cork: (The pics can be found here)

Irish Juniors Success abroad:
Congrats to Oisín Dunne who made it to the final of the U11, to David Ryan who won his U13 final and to Seán Conroy who was runner-up in the U15 at the Welsh Open.

Irish Squash Squads:
If you are on the panel for an Irish junior team for this season then you will need to keep in touch with your coach regarding your squad sessions. Attendance at these is, of course, compulsory if you wish to make a team. (See selection criteria).

Breanne O'Flynn, Labhaoise Dunbar and Orna Murray pictured with coach Deirdre Byrne during a squad session in Thurles.

Leinster Junior Open:
This competition was held at Mount Pleasant and Belvedere and Ray Byrne and his team did a great job! The winners and runners-up are listed below. The 2-Day tournament was an experiment and early indications are that it was a success. Other pics will be on the Leinster Web Site.

Event	Winner	Runner-up	3rd. Place
BU11	Oisín Dunne (Leinster)	Luke Logan (L)	Dylan Pippett (L)
GU11	Stephanie Ryan (L)	Casey Luther (L)	Abegail Silke. (C)
BU13	David Ryan (L)	Stephen Quigley (C)	Philip McSweeney (M)
GU13	Roisín O'Shea (C)	Sophie Morris (U)	Aoife Turley (L)
BU15	Seán Conroy (L)	Ben Logan (L)	Cillian Dunne (L)
GU15	Labhaoise Dunbar (M)	Fiona Power (C)	Ornagh Murray (M)
BU17	Daniel Harkin (L)	Brian Dunbar (M)	Conor O'Shea (C)
GU17	Claire Hanley (C)	Elaine Ware (L)	Jennifer Hegarty (C)
BU19	Neil Martin (U)	Joey Roberts (U)	Hugo Diamond (U)
GU19	Cathryn Abernethy (U)	Niamh O'Hare (U)	Sarah Corcoran (M)

IACT Irish Junior Open 2008:
Winners and runners-up are listed on the tournament page. Well done to David Ryan who won the BU13 event and to Labhaoise Dunbar who was runner-up in the GU13.

Junior Secretaries
The Provincial Junior Secretaries for season 2008-9 are:

EMC Munster Junior Open:
Well done to Jacqueline Hunphries and all on Munster Squash for organising this competition. The winners and runners-up are listed below and the pics can be found on the Munster Squash Website.

Ulster Junior Open 2008:
This competition was held at the Queen's University Physical Education Centre, Belfast and Belfast Boat Club. Well done to Kieran Doherty and Martin Woods as well as Frank Marks and all the team for another great event.  

Connacht Junior Open:
Well done to the organisers for another great junior event and well done to all who participated. The winners and runners-up are listed below and the full results can be found on the tournament site (follow the link and click on the competition to find the full results).

Team Managers:
Managers are needed to help look after the following junior teams so adults out there with the required enthusiasm should feel free to express interest to the Junior Secretary.

Coaches:
The coaches for 2008 - 2009 are listed below and we wish them well for the coming season.

Selection Criteria for U13, U15 and U17 Irish Teams 2008 - 2009:

1. Players must be eligible to play for Ireland (see Byelaw 7) and be under the relevant age on the final day of the competition and be selected by the selection committee.

2. Selection committee comprises: The Junior Administrator, The Team Coach, and The Team Manager

3. Team Selection will be based on the ranking points gained from a player’s best three competitions from The Connacht Open; The Ulster Open; The Munster Open; The Leinster Open; The Irish Junior National (Closed ) Championship. The Irish Junior Nationals earns higher points than the provincial opens.

4. Players wishing to be considered for selection must play in the Irish Junior Open, although that competition will not earn any points.

5. If a player is unable to compete in a tournament (or complete all matches over a tournament weekend) due to illness/injury a doctors/physiotherapists certificate/letter must be submitted to Irish Squash in the week following the tournament.

6. The selection committee will also consider a player's general behaviour on and off court, attendance at squad sessions and commitment to training programme as designated by Team Coach.

7. Once a player receives notification of selection, all monies must be paid by the required date, otherwise their selection will be revoked.

8. Players will be selected to play on teams in their own one age group only.

9. Players moving up from one age group to the next during the season will carry over 30% of the points gained at the younger age group.

10. Where players enter a tournament in an older age group the points thereby earned will also be credited to their actual age group.

Players should discuss the above with their coaches/managers and parents so that they are clear on what must be done.

Selection Criteria for U19 PANELS 2008 - 2009: (The team will be selected from the panel by the selection committee)

1. Players must be eligible to play for Ireland (see Byelaw 7) and be under the relevant age on the final day of the competition and be selected by the selection committee.

2. The Selection committee comprises three members: The Junior Administrator, The Team Coach, and The Team Manager.

3. The following tournaments are compulsory for those wishing to be selected during the 2008/09 Season: 1. Irish Junior Nationals; 2. Irish Junior Open; 3. Leinster Junior Open; 4. Irish Senior Nationals

4. Points will be gained on the junior scale from Irish Junior Nationals and Leinster Junior Open. The points earned at these two tournaments together with results of head to head matches in the other two compulsory tournaments will determine the U19 panels. The selection committee will then select the team from the members of that panel based on what they consider will result in the strongest team.

5. The selection committee will also consider a player's general behaviour on and off court, attendance at squad sessions and commitment to training programme as designated by Team Coach.

6. If a player is unable to compete in a tournament (or complete all matches over a tournament weekend) due to illness or injury a letter or certificate from the doctor or physiotherapist must be submitted to Irish Squash in the week following the tournament.

7. Once a player receives notification of selection, all monies must be paid by the required date, otherwise their selection will be revoked.

8. Players will be selected to play on teams in their own age group only.

9. Players moving up from one age group to the next during the season will carry over 30% of the points gained at the younger age group.

10. Where players enter a tournament in an older age group the points thereby earned will also be credited to their actual age group.

Players should discuss the above with their coaches/managers and parents so that they are clear on what must be done.

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Ranking points explained.
The points to be earned in this season's junior tournaments follow the method in use on the Senior Tour.
They are explained in the following table: Players transferring from one age group to another during the season carry 30% of the points already earned at the younger age group.

Seeding and draws for Junior Tournaments 2008 - 2009:

U13, U15 and U17:

Under 19

Competition Draws

1. After rankings have been completed for each competition the junior secretary will complete the draw for the competition according to the Swiss 16 system of 1 v 16, 2 v 15 etc.  Where there is an 8 player competition the draw will be 1 v 8, 2 v 7 etc.  Other numbers of entries will give rise to a variety of round-robin alternatives.
2. Where there are more than 16 entrants then the lowest ranked players will be required to play a preliminary round in which the seedings will be based on rankings with the highest ranked player playing the lowest ranked player and so on. The qualifiers will then be entered into the draw.
3. Players will be seeded for the Junior Nationals based on their rankings at that time taken from the points earned from their best three finishes. In the U19 competition players the seeding of players will be determined by their selection committee.

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