Seniors Show Class in River Bay Squash
Nigel ?The Dragon? Griffith had reason to celebrate when the curtain came down on the seventh annual River Bay Seniors Squash tournament on Saturday at the Barbados Squash Club. Griffith, the recently crowned Caribbean Over 40 Champion, overcame former National Champion Mark Sealy in the finals of the Over 40 event. Griffith, a dedicated National Team representative, outran and outplayed the slightly rusty Sealy, in his first competition in more than a year. Griffith, playing very well, relied on his fitness and effective shot selection to wear down Sealy.
Marlon White sought sweet revenge in the Over 35?s event where he defeated John Cumberbatch. Cumberbatch clinched the Over 35 title from White earlier in the year at the Nationals. Junior National coach, Richard Walcott, continued his domination of the Over 45 age group defeating Austin Fields in four games. Fields managed to close out a long first game but things went downhill from there as Walcott went from strength to strength and won the next three games. David Foster, had a decisive win in his final in the Over 50 event when he met David Taylor. Foster and Taylor both showed skill with crisp clean winners, but Foster was definitely the stronger player on the day. Sixty-three year old Errol Pilgrim, wasted no time in defeating all opponents in the Over 55 category. Pilgrim, the picture of vitality, is much admired on the squash scene for his fitness, style and willingness to offer helpful advice to other players.
Pilgrim?s main rival, Ian Pickup, did not have the answers for Pilgrims repertoire this year and had to settle for second place.
In the Ladies event, all players took part in the Over 35 category. Deidre Smith, visiting from Canada, took the title without loss of a game. Ayoni Bradshaw, played well to reach a showdown with Smith but lost in three straight games.
Results
Ladies Over 35
1st Deidre Smith
2nd Ayoni Bradshaw
3rd Caroline Johnson
4th Cyla Seale
Plate winner: Elizabeth Johnson
Plate runner up: Suzanne Griffith
Mens Over 35
1st Marlon White
2nd John Cumberbatch
3rd Rawle Jackson
4th David Springer
Plate winner: Norman Rice
Plate runner up: Andre Donawa
Mens Over 40
1st Nigel Griffith
2nd Mark Sealy
3rd Craig Archer
4th Steve Baker
Plate winner: Dean Straker
Plate runner up: Richard Taylor
Mens Over 45
1st Richard Walcott
2nd Austin Fields
3rd Orson Simpson
4th Nick Paddison
Plate winner: Alan Chung
Plate runner up: Chris Skinner
Mens Over 50
1st David Foster
2nd David Taylor
3rd David Spink
4th Herbie Jackson
Mens Over 55
1st Errol Pilgrim
2nd Ian Pickup
3rd Charles Evelyn
4th Winston Seale
