Yorkshire and Hampshire earn 2025 Senior Inter County victories

Yorkshire and Hampshire were crowned men's and women's champions respectively at the 2025 Senior Inter County Squash Championships held at Daventry and Market Harborough squash clubs.

Yorkshire's men won a tight Premier division final 14-8 against Surrey to lift the trophy for the first time since 1999.

England U17 no.1 Gabriel Chak gave Surrey an early advantage with a straight-games victory over Yorkshire's Adam Taylor, but White Rose veteran James Earles levelled the scores by beating Gabriel's older brother Michael in a five-setter.

Another youngster, Luke McBride, re-established Surrey's lead with a fine victory over New Zealand national champion Lwamba Chileshe, but Yorkshire took control at the top of the order via three-game wins by England international Ben Smith and Scotland's Commonwealth Games silver medallist Rory Stewart, who is based at Pontefract.

Hampshire beat Avon to claim third place for the loss of just one game. The bottom two teams, Merseyside and Essex, will be relegated to Stage 1 for 2025/26, where they'll have to play for the right to entry into Division 1. They will be replaced in the top tier by Northumbria and Hertfordshire who both reached the Division 1 final, with Herts winning by a narrow 16-9 scoreline.

Top seeds Hampshire retained the women's Premier division title courtesy of a 17-8 victory over Buckinghamshire in the final.

The first two matches were shared as Megan Thomas won rapidly for Hants before Heather Joy recorded a four-game victory in riposte for Bucks. Natalie Machin outlasted GU17 British Junior champion Harriet Broadbridge in a marathon five-setter to nudge Bucks ahead, but Megan Light and Olivia Besant brought the trophy home for Hants with top-order wins, both in four games.

Warwickshire beat South Wales 20-7 to claim the bronze medals, while Lancashire and Gloucestershire will be demoted to Stage 1 next year where they will battle for a place in Division 1. Cheshire and Middlesex achieved promotion by reaching the Division 1 final, which Cheshire won 11-6.

The Senior Inter County Championships provide competitive opportunities for players beyond club level in a team environment, and the opportunity to represent their county. The Inter County Championships is the largest competition run by England Squash with more than 2,000 players representing their counties throughout the season across Senior, Masters and Junior categories.

England Squash's Competitions Project Lead, Vickie Prow, said:

"It was wonderful to see such a high level of competition once again at the 2024/25 Senior Inter County Championships.

"For the first time, we had more entries in the women's event than in the men's which shows we have equity across our counties, as well as a high quality of players."

To see the full results, click here.