Royal Marines quash squash opponents

Peter Mallett, Lookout PO1 Timothy King of Fleet School welcomes Colour Sergeant Richard Hall, of the Royal Marines Commando Training Unit, Exeter, England, to Naden Athletic Centre on May 9. Squash players from the base battled their rivals from abroad in a one-day, eight match tournament.

Peter Mallett, Lookout
PO1 Timothy King of Fleet School welcomes Colour Sergeant Richard Hall, of the Royal Marines Commando Training Unit, Exeter, England, to Naden Athletic Centre on May 9. Squash players from the base battled their rivals from abroad in a one-day, eight match tournament.

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

A touring squash team made up of players from the British Royal Marines cruised to a 7-1 victory over players from the base.

The 10-member team dominated eight challengers from the base in over eight matches on May 9 at the Naden Athletic Centre.

Esquimalt was the Royal Marines final destination in a two-week tour of British Columbia, including stops in Vancouver and CFB Comox, where they compiled an overall record of three wins, one draw and one loss in their other four stops, which were 10-match fixtures against civilian and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) opposition.

“The tour isn’t really about wins and losses but more to do with getting military people together in an effort to develop and encourage camaraderie between like-minded individuals in the military,” said Royal Marines Captain, Colour Sereant Richard Hall who works at the Marines’ Commando Training unit near Exeter, England.

Hall noted that part of his team’s competitive edge has much to do with the omnipresence of “squash culture” in the British military community, and the abundance of courts at most military installations in Britain.

PO1 Timothy King, a supervisor with Fleet School, helped coordinate the visit with assistance from Personnel Support Program staff, and pulled together a team of challengers made up of players from the Formation.

He congratulated the opposition for their sportsmanship and performing like “a well-oiled machine”, and also for the opportunity to help them promote the game of squash to CAF personnel.

“They [Royal Marines] were both humble and elegant competitors to face and represented their corps and country very well,” said PO1 King.

“It was a pleasure playing against them and the players [from the CAF] also appreciated having the opportunity to promote the sport of squash at CFB Esquimalt.

While PO1 King said the base currently doesn’t have an official team or squash club he is hopeful that one will be formed in the coming months.

He encouraged anyone interested in meeting other squash players from the base to drop by the squash courts at Naden Athletic Centre, Mondays to Thursdays between 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

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