Luke Danby took on the holder Ivan Snell in the annual squash final. In front of a packed gallery both players hitting their peak performance and thrilling the spectators with breath taking rallies.

Ivan managed to find Luke's Achilles heel and won the title for the second year in a row.

In the Veterans' comp newcomer Barry Downer took on seasoned vet Simon DeHalpert in a great five-set match, which Barry won after being 2-0 down.

Seacourt now have four squash teams in the Hampshire League, all performing well, with two promotions this year.

A big thank you to the captains Steve Pierce, Brain Paterson, Jerry Way and the rest of the team.

This year's Lawn tennis competitions got off to a flying start with the fun mixed doubles event in May. Josh Dodgson and Jan Woods teamed up to win the event with a fine win over Janet Stubbs and Nick Jones.

Annual mixed doubles holders, James Adams and Tessa Loat met the new pairing of Josh Dodgson and Sue Edwards in this year's semi-finals and the latter caused an upset by knocking out the number one seeds to reach the final.

The second semi saw Hugh Latham and Jane Robertson take on Mark Dipple and Caroline Mac Dowell in a well-fought contest which saw the latter pairing reach the final., which was played in glorious sunshine.

The tennis was as hot as the weather as Mark and Caroline dominated the match until they were one game away from lifting the title.

But Josh and Sue with nothing to lose started to open up with the big shots putting their challengers on their back foot.

Riding high on new found confidence, Josh and Sue took the third set in true style and won the championship.

The category 2 competition standard was very high with Mr and Mrs Champions - Phil and Sara Sykes - adding another title to their collection with an incredible three-set match win against Spencer and Sharon Davies.

REAL TENNIS
Seacourt were proud to host once again the Ladies Real Tennis Association (LRTA) handicap mixed doubles sponsored by Addison Law. Bruce Burton and Gill Goddard went toe-to-toe with Jill Newby and Mark Piper in a brilliant game, which went to 5-5.

Bruce and Gill won through to the semi-finals where they met John and Ross Hedges, who also had a very tough match against Audrey Yeung and Walter Thorpe, who had improved with every match.

Again the match went to 5-5, but John and Ross's experience shone through and they took the set 6-5.

The first semi saw Susan Castley and Pete Harding come flying out the blocks with aggressive hard-hitting tennis, which caught Claire Weatherall and Richard Williams by surprise.

And by the time they had counter attacked Sue and Pete had secured a dominant lead which couldn't be surmounted and won 6-2.

Burton and Goddard used similar tactics against the Hedges. The latter fought hard and countered the attack but Bruce's athleticism and Gill's formidable volleys proved too telling in the end and they reached the final with a 6-3 win.

The final was for the taking with both pairs in fine form, producing first-class tennis and trading points, games and chases until they were still locked at 6-6. Game on!

Bruce and Gill snuck the 13th game to 30 and Sue and Pete battled back and pressured their opponents to 40-40 in the 14th game.

An intense rally pursued in which Bruce hit a winning nick under the grill to win the match and title.

Many thanks to Chris Haliwell for his generous sponsorship through Addison Law, the LRTA and especially Alex Garside whose work behind the scenes was hugely appreciated.

A big thank you to Dan Jones and the Seacourt team for providing hospitality that is the envy of the Real Tennis world.

BADMINTON
AFTER an absence of more than 20 years Seacourt entered a badminton team into the local Portsmouth & District United Churches Badminton League.

With a skeleton squad of three ladies and three men and 10 games later, their record of nine wins – eight by 6-0 margins - and a draw, they were crowned champions.

With interest in the sport at Seacourt on the increase, planning for 20008/9 season has begun. A mixed team and a men's team will be entered in the Portsmouth & Havant League as well as teams in the Churches league.

If you are interested in playing contact Danny or Adam at Seacourt on 9246 6122 or captain Angela Williams on 9246 0849.
By DAN JONES