By Jenny Brown
There isn’t a definitive record of when the Deloraine Squash Club was founded but it is believed to be around 1962/63 when the game was played in what was then the Deloraine Little Theatre. Fast forward 61 years and the brand new Deloraine Squash Courts were opened on 5 December 2024 and the inaugural Jesse Youd Deloraine Open Squash Tournament was held recently from 31 May to 1 June 2025.
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Through the support of the Meander Valley Council, the Deloraine Squash Club was able to showcase the newest set of squash courts in Australia at the Tournament – everyone who came along were blown away by the state-of-the art facility and gave their whole hearted approval to the new courts.
The Deloraine Squash Club was amazed by the support shown by clubs around Tasmania in what was an epic weekend of squash, friendship and a whole bunch of community spirit thrown in.
One of the main comments from competitors and supporters was the overwhelming welcoming spirit of the Deloraine community.
There were 75 competitors competing in 10 Divisions over the two days with 3 separate juniors division. We were particularly excited by the number of junior entrants and this will be one of our focus areas to build on for the next year. There were some great games played over the weekend through all divisions and players were aged from 6 to 83 years of age.
The highlight of the weekend was Jesse Youd’s sons, Casey and Dawson unveiling a plaque commemorating their Dad and naming Court 1 in his honour. A great tribute to a very talented and magical squash player that started his squash journey at the Deloraine Squash Club.
The support from local businesses sponsoring events and providing raffle prizes has been overwhelming and has helped make this Tournament a huge success.
A grant from the Community Bank Deloraine & Districts enabled the Club to build four purpose built moveable grandstands which we were able to manoeuvre around the Jesse Youd No 1 Court for the Open Championship Final.
The final was watched by over 110 people and was a fine end to a great weekend of squash. Congratulations to Jack Hudson from Eastside Squash Centre for winning the inaugural Jesse Youd Memorial Deloraine Open Squash Tournament defeating his brother Ben, 3-1.
Following on from the success of the inaugural Tournament, the Committee has already started planning for next year to make it even better.
