Cheeky chiquita tops off County Champs weekend

March 21, 2024
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UK Padel’s Over 50’s County Championship was the largest ever age group padel tournament held in the UK – and it concluded at Rocket Padel, Bristol, home of the 2024 tournament series.

Thirty-eight teams and 145 competitors battled it out, with Gloucestershire being the standout county of the tournament, reaching the finals in all three events – Men’s, Women’s and Mixed. Only the strong Yorkshire Ladies team prevented them claiming a clean sweep, winning convincingly in a hard-fought final.

UK Padel CEO Nick Baker said: “It was brilliant to see another wonderful tournament played at Rocket Padel, which is perfect for a tournament of this scale. There was some great padel, using balls from sponsor Slazenger Padel, some useful physical back-up with massage beds from sponsor Back in Action and a really fun players party on the Saturday night with food and drinks from sponsors Paella Ca’Luciano, Shandy Shack, Laylo and Lost & Grounded.  Already looking forward to the next one!”

Results

Men’s:   Gloucestershire beat Surrey 2-1

Women’s:  Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire 2-0

Mixed:  Gloucestershire beat Yorkshire 2-1

The winning Gloucestershire men’s team: Stuart Beattie, Kingsley Harris (Captain), Robert Elvidge, Ian Bloomfield, Keith Frith, Nick Baker (UK Padel CEO).
The victorious Yorkshire ladies (from left) Helen Cowlrick, Sally Bickerton, Nicky Horn, Sally Fisher (Captain), Audrey Henderson, Gilly Smail.

Camaraderie

Yorkshire winning Ladies captain Sally Fisher said: “Hats off to UK Padel for delivering another amazing tournament. We had such fun both on and off the court – the atmosphere and camaraderie was brilliant. Wouldn’t it be great if the LTA would now come on board to support UK Padel with these mass-participation events and encourage even more county teams to get involved!”

And the triumphant Gloucestershire Mixed team (from left) Nick Baker (UK Padel CEO), Seb Poccard, Heather Sheridan (Captain), Marie Bell, Roger Bell, Neil Howitt.

The Mixed final was cheered on by all the players enjoying their players’ party on the Saturday night – and the Men’s and Women’s finals concluded within a minute of each other on facing courts on the Sunday afternoon. 

The Men’s final could not have ended in a more dramatic way, with Gloucestershire winning the shoot-out tie-break 10-8 with a chiquita from Kingsley Harris, which clipped the top of the net, rolled over and bounced out of the door. Check it out on UK Padel’s Instagram.

Full results from the weekend here. Watch the action on the UK Padel YouTube channel.

 

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