John Welton of the Lansdown Club won the Avon County Closed 2018-19 in Sunday’s final, held at the Redland Green Club in Bristol. In a tightly contested final against Richard King, Welton came through in five tough games to win 3-2 (11-7, 5-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-3).
On the women’s side, Natasha Burrett took the title with a 3-1 win against Alice Clark (11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10). Overall, more than 50 players competed in the tournament, which was sponsored by SquashLevels, Mushram and RestringMe.
Professional player Todd Harrity (US no.1 and current world no.44) was on hand to award the prizes to the winners. Currenly training in Bristol, Harrity is part of the growing squash community in the city, which is also home to several other professional players.
This depth augurs well for the future of the sport. With high-level competition through the Premier Squash League, thriving junior programmes at several clubs and respected coaches, Bristol’s squash community is set to go from strength to strength.
