The British National Squash Championships are the national

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

championships for players from the United Kingdom & Ireland. They are held annually in early February, currently in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. The Championships were inaugurated in 1974 are not to be confused with the

British Open Squash Championships The British Open Squash Championships is the oldest tournament in the game of squash. It is widely considered to be one of the two most prestigious tournaments in the game, alongside the World Squash Championships (prior to the establishment of ...

which is open to all nationalities and is the oldest squash tournament. The championships also involve masters events for British squash players in different age groups. The categories for men are:- Over 35, Over 40, Over 45, Over 50, Over 55, Over 60, Over 65, Over 70 and Over 75. The categories for women are:- Over 35, Over 40, Over 45, Over 50 and Over 55.

History

The first championships were held for men in 1974, with the women's tournament added the following year. Initially held in December of each year, the championships were moved to January/February in 1991. Many leading male players boycotted the 1993 tournament in protest over a range of issues, including the amount of prize money on offer and the Squash Rackets Association's selection criteria for the England team. In 2004,

Cassie Campion Cassandra "Cassie" Jackman (born 22 December 1972 and competing in some years as Cassie Campion) is a former English squash player who won the World Open in 1999. She was England's leading player throughout much of the 1990s and early 21st ce ...

(during her final competitive year) surpassed

Sue Cogswell Sue Cogswell (born 7 September 1951 in Birmingham) is a retired squash player from England. She was runner-up at the 1979 Women's World Open Squash Championship, where she lost in the final to the Australian player Heather McKay 6–9, 9–3, 9 ...

's record by winning her sixth title. This remains as the women's record today. The men's Over 70 event was added in 2005 and the men's Over 75 event was added in 2011. The 2012 men's final was contested between the reigning

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and World No.1,

Nick Matthew Nicholas Matthew (born 25 July 1980 in Sheffield) is a former English professional squash player who has won the two most prestigious tournaments in the professional game, the British Open and the World Open, three times each. He reached a c ...

, and the reigning World No.2,

James Willstrop James Willstrop (born 15 August 1983) is an English professional squash player living in Yorkshire, England. He was born in North Walsham, Norfolk, England. Career Willstrop has a large build for a squash player, being and . He trains at P ...

. Matthew won 3–1 to claim his fourth British National title and equal the record set by

Phil Kenyon Phil Kenyon (born 7 May 1956) is a former English professional squash player. Born in Blackpool, he became the English number one in 1982. Kenyon was part of the British team that won the 1979 Men's World Team Squash Championships in Brisbane, Au ...

. During the year that Matthew retired (2018) he extended the record to ten titles.

Venues

The championships were held at the

National Squash Centre The National Squash Centre is a squash venue in Eastlands, Manchester, England, which was constructed for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The National Squash Centre is part of the Sportcity complex. Costing approximately £3.5m, the facilities inclu ...

at Sportscity in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

from 2003 to 2018. "Full details from recent events", webmaster – Steve Cubbins. Retrieved 13 February 2011 The women's tournament began in 1975 and was initially hosted at

Edgbaston Priory Club The Edgbaston Priory Club is a private members' tennis, squash and leisure club in Birmingham, England. The club is the host of the annual WTA Tour stop, the Nature Valley Classic. The 'Ann Jones Court' stadium has a capacity of 2,500 people ( ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, before moving on to

Dallington, Northamptonshire Dallington is a former village about northwest of the centre of Northampton, the county town of Northamptonshire, England. Dallington is now a suburb of Northampton. At the 2011 census the population was listed in the Spencer ward of Northampto ...

(1976–77), Carriages in

Hellingly Hellingly (pronounced 'Helling-lye') is a village, and can also refer to a civil parish, and to a district ward, in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. Geography Hellingly contains the confluence of the River Cuckmere and one of its ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

(1978),

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

(1979) and Wembley Squash Centre (1980–82). From 1983 the women's and men's championships were held in the same location.

Past results

Men's finals

Women's finals

References

External links

Official National Squash Championships website

Official England Squash & Racketball website

List of British National Squash Championship past winners – Men

List of British National Squash Championship past winners – Women

List of British National Championship Masters winners

List of British Junior National Squash Championship past winners – Men

List of British Junior National Squash Championship past winners – Women
{{Squash competitions Squash tournaments in the United Kingdom United Kingdom sport-related lists 2003 establishments in the United Kingdom Recurring sporting events established in 2003 Sport in Manchester