Played over last week-end the 14-16^th April this is the first international tournament to be staged in Norway since I started my role as the National Coach.

There were plenty of quality matches with international Players from Denmark Sweden and Finland mixing with the best Norwegian Juniors. Congratulations to Sigurd Dhale who won the under 15 title, an age group in which Norway have a number of promising Junior’s.

A big thank-you to Toppform for the use of their facilities and the members of Hafrsfjord Squash Club for working in partnership with the association to establish this event. The Club members worked tirelessly before and during the event to ensure it was a big success.

This event needs to be expanded over the coming years to become the pinnacle of junior squash in Norway. I would like to welcome Wilde Siem who has agreed to help the association seek sponsorship to expand squash activities in Norway. Anyone with contacts in companies that may be interested in promoting themselves should contact me at Denne e-postadressen er beskyttet mot programmer som samler e-postadresser. Du må aktivere javaskript for å kunne se den. .

Sunday 7^th April saw the last of this season’s round robin league gatherings played at Condis centre in Oslo. Five teams competed fiercely on all 6 courts for almost 2 hours.

It was great to see a number of new players participating for the first time with a completely new team from Aas squash club. Fantastic!

Baerum once again came out on top on the day and their consistent performance through the season means they are this seasons Oslo and district junior league champions. Congratulations to them!

Can I take this opportunity to thank all the parents and officials from all the clubs who have help make this seasons league a great success.

Let’s try to make it even better next season!

Fingers crossed for the Olympics!

Blizzard weather conditions descended over much of England at the week-end! This coincided with a planned trip with 7 juniors to participate in the Queens Junior Open 22-24 March. Originally the tournament was to be played in Halifax but was moved to Bradford due to developments at the Club not being completed on time.

The snow caused some delays and disruption to the event but there was still enough players to make the trip worthwhile. Clearly the players felt at home in the snowy conditions and it did not detract from their performances on the court. All the players are showing good progress with a number winning matches against quality opposition. Indeed, one finished runner-up in his category the first trophy that has been won by a Norwegian player in the main event during any of these trips to England Squash sanctioned events.

Well done to all the players and a special mention for Gard who unfortunately was unwell during the event and could not participate. I hope you recover quickly!

Last week-end 15-17 March Nine players represented Norway at this prestigious event. Three girls Andrea Chloe Lotte and six boys Morten Trym Daniel P. Bjorn rune Filip P. Sigurd.

It was a hectic few days with lots of matches organised with German efficiency.

The tournament has ESF Super Series status and this year attracted players from 27 countries as far away as Japan and New Zealand. Consequently the standard was very high but the improvement in the Norwegian players is clear to see by their results. In comparison to previous years a number of players won matches against quality opposition Trym and Morten both winning three!

Full results can be found at http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/events

Well done to all the players who attended for their hard work to achieve this!

Next week-end a squad of younger players are travelling to play in a tournament in Yorkshire in the north of England. This is an England Squash Bronze sanctioned event and should give them valuable international experience and the chance to compare themselves to their peers in another country.

Lets hope they can do just as well!

This year’s international round robin between Denmark Sweden and Norway took place in Harlev in Denmark over the weekend. Ten players 2 girls and 8 boys represented Norway.

The tournament gave a good insight into how the players are progressing relative to their peers in other countries. In the inaugural event in Malmo last year none of the Norwegian players won a match or even a set.

This year a number of players won matches and in particular Sigurd Dhale and Filip Pinto deserve a mention they both won two matches against quality opposition.

Next year’s event will be staged in Norway over the same week-end. If the same improvements can be made over the next year then a Norwegian team victory looks a realistic possibility.

Well done to all the players who participated!