More Masters success as women retain crown in Nottingham

Following a stunning success for the WO60s in Galway last weekend, four teams travelled to Nottingham looking to make a strong impression in the Midlands.

The MO35s, MO55s, MO75s and WO55s were in action – and in the city known for the legend of Robin Hood, the teams were hoping to steal a little glory of their own.

The Scottish women pulled off the result of the weekend once again, with a stunning defence of their WO55 title – while two second place finishes ensured a weekend that will live long in the memory of the travelling Scots.

First up, the Scottish teams took on Ireland, with the WO55s, MO55s and MO75s all successfully completing the opening “raid” of the weekend.

Kim Byers, Donna Cruickshank, Sue Strachan and Helen Cordiner all emerged victorious, while Julia Horsburgh was unlucky to miss out in an epic five game battle.

The Scots were similarly dominant in the men’s matches, with Peter Buchan, Paul Jenkins, Andy Meldrum, John Kynoch and Andrew Scott all proving too strong for their opponents in the MO55 and Ian Ross and Alex Everingham delivered in the MO75.

Friday night had gone well, and spirits were high as they looked forward to Saturday’s fixtures.

It was Wales next, and the women were at their best to clinch a stunning 5-0 win, without dropping a single game.

In fact, the Scots proved too strong for their Celtic cousins in the older men’s age groups too, with a 3-0 win for the MO75s and a 3-2 win for the MO55s.

That proved to be one of the fiercest contests of the weekend, with all but one of the matches finishing 3-2 – three of which went the way of the Scots, allowing them to escape with maximum reward.

Going into the final fixture against England, three Scottish teams still had the chance to secure overall glory in what proved to be the toughest test of the weekend.

Strong wins for Ian Ross and Paul Jenkins in their respective age groups kept spirits high, but the hosts ultimately proved too strong across the men’s matches, claiming the crown in all age categories and leaving the Scots a strong second in O55 and O75.

That left it down to the women, who secured the title with a 4-1 win against strong opposition.

In a fitting end to their Nottingham adventure, there were no shortage of merry men and women in the Scottish camp on Saturday night, as they celebrated a great weekend of squash, and an even greater set of performances.

WO55 captain Donna Cruickshank said: “I knew we had a great team going into the event, being fortunate enough to have four players from last year’s winning O55 team and three of the winning O60 players from last weekend, but we all still had to work hard to get the wins against determined & focused opposition.

“I was super proud to captain this group of amazing and inspiring women who come from all over Scotland – Kim Byers, Sue Strachan, Rosie Wilson, Julia Horsburgh and Helen Cordiner.

“The camaraderie and support for each other across all the competing age groups in Nottingham made for an amazing, competitive & fun weekend.

“You really can’t beat coming together to make new friends & catch up with old friends across the four nations.

“A big shout out to England Squash who hosted a great weekend and to all the players, supporters, Scottish Squash, sponsors & everyone else who has helped us on our successful journey.

“I’d also just like to highlight Julia’s success being in the winning O55 teams in both 2025 & 2026 and in the winning O60 team last week – fantastic!

“We’re looking forward to seeing the results from the next two rounds of home internationals in Aberdeen and Cardiff in the coming weeks”.