The French Junior Open

Seventeen squash players from Wycliffe College travelled to Lille, France, during the February half term to participate in the European Gold event, the French Junior Open 2024. The players gained invaluable experience playing against some of the top junior squash players in Europe.

One of the stand our performances was from Ryan G, who faced the 5/8 seed early on in the 16th Round. After an intense, hour-long battle, with match balls, Ryan narrowly lost 3-2. Despite this early setback, Ryan didn’t lose a match afterward and finished in 9th place.

Emilie also had a strong showing, making it to the semi-final where she face a fellow French player. Although she lost in three games, Emilie gave it her all in the next match to try to finish on the podium. She played against the No.1 seed, but lost a very close 3-2, finishing in 4th Place.

Another notable performance came from Viggo, who showed great form throughout the tournament, After just losing out in the quarter-final, he faced English plater Dylan Roberts in a great match, but narrowly lost 3-2. Viggo placed 7th overall.

The squad had a fantastic trip with many positives to take away from the experience. The players represented Wycliffe with great sportsmanship and skill, and the experience of competing at a high level with benefit their future development in the sport.

The final standing for the Wycliffe Squad were:

GU13: Emilie – 4th

BU15: Seamus – 19th, Eishin – 21st, Henry – 23rd, Arthur – 31st, Oakley – 52nd, George – 53rd

GU17: Violet – 10th

BU17: Viggo – 7th, Julian – 11th, Owen – 13th, Oliver – 24th, Will – 30th, Caspar – 31st

BU19: Ryan – 9th, Alex – 33rd, Sacha – 45th

The school and coaching staff are proud of the players’ achievements and look forward to supporting their continued growth in the sport.