Squash Committee

Mandy Forster

Secretary

Introduced to squash by her late father Alan Ford who was an active member of Boldon Squash Club from the late 1970â€™s, although she never had quite the competitive edge that her father had! Fell back in love with the game through participation in Squash Girls Can, Sunday Socials and the Tuesday Evening Random Players (Terps) and now plays regularly every week.

Mandy has been the Squash Committee Secretary for the past 4 years and is a squash representative on the Club Executive Committee and is also the Squash Club Safeguarding rep.

Kevin Forster

Internal Leagues and Competitions Organiser/Coach

Been an active member of the Squash Club since 1981 and undertakes a number of voluntary roles to ensure the club membership goes from strength to strength and that the facilities are maintained to the highest standard at the lowest financial impact on the Club finances.

Kevinâ€™s passion for squash prompted him to become a registered Level 2 Coach and he uses his knowledge and experience to co-run Junior Coaching which has been successfully running since 1996. Kevin encourages people of all ages to join the club through the implementation of his â€˜Try-Itâ€™ sessions which has successfully brought in a number of new squash players. He also co-runs the monthly Sunday Social sessions, various in-house squash competitions and the fun Christmas 3 Racket Challenge.

Kevin is also a squash representative on the Club Executive Committee.

Tracey Coats

Competitions Organiser/Coach

Been an active member of the squash club since 1984, regularly playing in the internal leagues and in-house competitions. Traceyâ€™s passion for squash and promoting it motivated her to become a registered Level 2 Coach and use her skills and experience to co-run the Junior Coaching with Kevin since 1996, and she undertakes a number of voluntary roles within the club to promote squash and keep the club maintained to the highest standards.

Tracey has been on the Squash Committee for many years, including a stint as Secretary until handing on to Mandy Forster. Tracey is also actively involved in Squash Girls Can, Sunday Social, â€˜Try-Itâ€™ sessions and organising numerous club competitions.

Mick Barnes

Mick joined the Squash Club way back in 1977 and since that time he has been part of the club management in a number of roles including Squash Club Secretary, Squash Club Captain and Club Executive Committee member. He was also an active member of Northumbria County Squash Committee with the responsibility of the administration of the County Squash Leagues and the selection and captaining of county squash teams.

Mick was proud to play a number of years for Boldon Squash Club in the Northumbria Premier League and Durham Squash Club in the Durham & Cleveland Premier League. Additionally, he is honoured to have represented his clubs and County in a number of National Team Competition Finals.

Marc Shipley

Chairman/Teams Representative

Marc didnâ€™t take up squash until he was 19 but has played regularly since then at Washington and Crowtree Leisure Centres and what is now David Lloyd Club at Doxford International. He became a member of Boldon Squash Club in 2004 and has represented the teams for several years.

Marc joined the committee in 2015 and succeeded Dave Leonard as Chairman in 2020. He is also responsible for liaising with Northumbria Squash regarding teams and fixtures.

Mark Flynn

Mark was introduced to squash in 1991 by a family member at Boldon Community Centre, after playing at Boldon Colliery for 5 years Mark moved to Clegwell Community Centre in Hebburn. In 2015 Mark decided to join Boldon Squash club to gain more experience and joined the leagues within the club.

Mark brings a wealth of experience to our club, including taking part in committee meetings and still being an active member of a local registered charity.

Connor Snaith

Started playing squash with his brother at Temple Park around the age of 15 before joining Boldon a few years later. He has played squash regularly since joining Boldon and finds it equally good for his mental and physical health. Connor has represented the teams at Boldon for several years, gradually improving his game and working his way from the 3rd team to the 1st team. He joined the squash committee in 2021.

Ian Davies

Ian has been a member of Boldon Squash Club since 1995 and has served in a number of capacities on various Committees in that time. Roles have included Social Committee Member, Executive Committee Member and Chair of the House Committee in addition to member of the Squash Committee.

Squash experience has included playing for various Teams in the distant past. Ianâ€™s current onerous challenge is trying to keep control of the TESPs, the Thursday night squash rabble that has welcomed many new members to the Club over the years.

Anita Hammond

Anita was introduced to squash at Boldon Cricket and Squash Club in the late 1970â€™s by her dear friend Dougie Gordon. She soon became addicted to squash and joined the Ladies leagues.

Over the years she has been involved in the running of the Ladies section, having served on the Ladies Committee for a number of years. She ran the Ladies internal leagues for a few years also. Anita played team squash for Boldon Ladies and also Sunderland Ladies and was team captain for both clubs.

Anita joins in most of the Sunday social afternoons and has for the last 40 years kept in touch with the Wednesday morning coffee ladies, who are all very close personal friends, as a result of meeting at Boldon Cricket and Squash Club decades ago.

The Club has been a major part of her life over many years. It has not just been a squash club to keep fit and enjoy competitive sport, but a place where she and her family have made many memories. Anita is now very pleased to a member of the committee and aims to contribute towards the growth and future of the club for generations to come.

Russell Hughes

I started playing squash in 1978 with my dad at Ashbrooke playing for their junior and senior teams. I then moved onto Whitburn squash club playing with a number of current Boldon players in leagues and teams.

After a break of nearly 20 years I started playing again at Boldon in 2016. This has improved my general fitness, stamina and flexibility at an age when this can start to wane.

Boldon is a great club with competitive leagues, a friendly and vibrant social scene and well maintained courts Iâ€™ve made some good friends and to me this is as important as the physical side of the game.