The Shell club have gone from strength to strength since the arrival of the nomads, who brought with them that winning mentality - to one that was already there - and what a season it has been for them all.
The Ladies team, with Stonehaven's Erica Sinclair a regular participant, stormed to their first ever Ladies Division 1 title. Unfortunately Erica was unable to make last weekend's cup final and the team lost out to ASRC by a mere 3 points.
Alistair Duncan (President of Grampian Squash) and Ricky Towler both helped the first division team, Shell 1 stave off relegation with some very important wins along the way. Shell 2 in the second division, were likewise to struggle in the league but were to cause a major upset in the cup, defeating the league winners in the final, with an incredible display. Alex Sinclair (President Scottish Squash) helped the team build up an 11 point lead going into the last match and what a treat that turned out to be. Danny Selway was able to hold things together for the first half of the 20 minute contest and keep the score tight at 7/8 but tiredness crept in after that and he was soon to be trailing 9/20 with literally a minute to go. Drawing on every last bit of strength he remarkably scored 3 points in that last minute to capture a Shell victory.
Shell 3 were managed by Nigel Shuttleworth in division 3 and he did a sterling job by steering the squad to the league title and promotion, emulating his previous successes at Stonehaven. The team nearly caused an upset in the semi final of the cup narrowly being beaten by Shell 2. Jarod Shuttleworth in particular, excelled this season playing predominantly at No1 and finished his own personal season off in style, by winning the individual knock out title.
Not to be undone Shell 4 with Glen Western alt the helm along with juniors, Robbie Paterson and Andrew Forbes, managed to win the fourth division title as well as sneaking through to the cup final where they met Banchory. The Banchory team which lost their courts over a year ago were to take the early initiative with Mark Everard putting in an excellent display to grab a 12 point lead. Andrew playing at 4 was in complete control as he secured a remarkable victory against the usually stronger opponent, Michael Boyne. Robbie then followed this up with an equally impressive performance in his match, racing to a 10/0 lead, a gap which he retained at the end of the match. Banchory regained the lead in the second string match and Glen was left with just too much to do with Banchory winning through by 5 points in the end. In the individual knockout cup final Robbie was to produce a major upset by defeating Keyheads Richard Wiseman.
None of these results of course would have been possible without the numerous Shell players that make up the squads and of course our friends from Montrose. The Montrose team of John Bulloch, Gordon Allan and Boyd Kidd were to win the Vets final. Once again Stonehaven Squash Club would like to thank Shell for their hospitality and the opportunity to play for their new club.