Junior Development Event – Newport SC Tournament Report

On Sunday Saturday 2^nd August 2026, juniors and parents travelled to Rodney Parade to play in our fourth Development tournament hosted by Newport Squash Racket Club. 20 juniors entered across three grades, A, B, C. The A grade event featured 8 players playing in a knock-out format whilst the B & C grades consisted of two groups of 3 with a play-off match to determine final positions. With players from Newport SC (Host), DL Cardiff, Swansea, Merthyr, Caernarfon, St Mellons, Cowbridge and Rhiwbina we were set for some great squash. 

After the warm-up and the ¾ games were wrapped up, to finalise grades, the tournament kicked off. Across the day there was excellent effort, sportsmanship and competitive squash on show from all grades. Sam Thomas (DL Cardiff) came through a strong A Grade draw to win the main event, while Ioan Jones (Merthyr) battled back to take the A Grade Plate. Hugo Orton (Swansea) claimed the B Grade title after a tight final against fellow clubman Ben Lloyd (Swansea), and Will Parsons (Newport) won the C Grade with two close games against Isaac Pownall (Newport). There were several standout matches, including Indie Davies’ (St Mellons) three-game comeback against Freddie Thomas (DL Cardiff) in the A semi-final, Ioan’s fightback against Isla Thorne (Caernarfon), and Esme (Newport) and Enlli’s (Caernarfon) marathon battle which went right to the wire. Overall, it was another positive development event, giving juniors from across Wales valuable match experience in a friendly and supportive environment.