On Wednesday 8^th February a small group of squash club members braved the icy conditions and met up at Sport City in Manchester to see how the game of Squash should be played!

Tony Hindley, Ian Hopkins, Tim Slater and Roger Snape attended Day 3 of The British National Championships to watch the 2^nd round men's and 1^st round women's matches. All six glass backed courts were in use and there was plenty of Squash to see all day.

One of the first on was current World Number One James Willstrop who brushed aside Cheshire rival Andy Whip in just 24 minutes 11/4 11/3 11/9. 

Later that afternoon they were able to watch a dazzling performance by Cheshire 'pin up' Sarah Kippax win her 1^st round match against Scottish Lass Lisa Aitken 11/4, 12/10, 11/5.

 Note Roger and Ian both hard at work on the front row!

Rounding off the evening there were entertained by the current World Number Two Nick Matthew against Jamie Haycocks of Shropshire. Jamie took the first game 11/9, could there be an upset on the cards? No was the answer as Matthew had really just been warming up. He went on to take

the next three games  11/5, 11/7, 11/4 to ease himself into the Quarter Finals.

 Tim a man with an eye for the detail.  On the front row.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. Going to watch the 1^st and 2^nd rounds of this competition is great value at only £5 entry fee. You get to see all the big names and get really close to the action. Spectators are free to wander between courts to watch whatever matches they choose.

The next big Squash event at Sportcity will be the The ROWE British Grand Prix from 18-24^th September 2012, World top players compete for the big money prize. This is an event not to be missed if you want to see quality squash at it's very best!