Jill Campion Wins British National Squash Age Group Title for the 6th time

Jill Campion, who lives in Bix and is a member of the Henley Squash Club which plays at the Henley Lesure Centre, won the over 65s British National Squash Championships held at Colets Club in Thames Ditton last weekend.

Campion, who plays for Wales, her country of birth, was seeded 1 and got a bye into the quarter-finals where she faced Sue Pynegar, an experienced English international. Campion dominated the first game barely conceding a point, but Pynegar got into her stride and took the second. Campion then upped the pace and grew in confidence, pulling through to win 3-1. Her opponent in the semi-finals was Tammy Bennet, another experienced English international, who has just come into this age group. “Tammy is strong and fit. She can play with pace but also has great touch shots, especially on the volley. Having watched her quarter-final match I knew I would have my work cut out,” said Campion speaking after the match. “The first and second games were both tight, with Tammy inching ahead. I really focused at critical points and managed to sneak home in both. The third game didn’t go well for me and, having pulled back to being 1-2 down, Tammy was keen to keep a fast pace in the fourth, which she won 13/11. So it was all down to eh fifth game. My game plan of playing straight and low to the back, then looking for opportunities to play winners worked well and I drew ahead from the start, winning it 11/8.”

In the final Campion played her long-time rival Karen Hume, back from nearly a year off due to injury. The first two games were neck and neck with Campion upping her game when required to go ahead 2 games to 0. Hume got off to a fast start in the third and Campion couldn’t quite manage to catch up. With the game score 2-1, Campion dominated the fourth game, putting Hume under physical pressure, and won it 11/4, giving her her sixth British National Masters title.

Speaking after the final Campion said “This was a very competitive tournament. I needed to be playing my best and luckily I did. I am delighted to have won this title again, after not being able to compete last year due to knee problems. I am now looking forward to the Masters Home Internationals being held in April and May, and hopefully helping Wales at least maintain their 2025 achievements in this competition.”