The 2023 Howe Cup was a huge success with records being broken for attendance, the New York teams doing incredibly well, and, as always, new friends being made and a lot of fun!
This year saw the event held in Philadelphia at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center from November 10th to 12th. The center, home to the US Squash team, was the perfect place for the huge event, boasting 18 singles courts (2 of which being all-glass) and 2 hardball doubles courts.
Women competed in teams of 5 with cities including NYC, Philadelphia, Atlanta and San Francisco all being represented. Teams usually consisted of players from those regions, but with last minute drop-outs and injuries, some players kindly represented a different city from where they play.
The atmosphere at the courts was incredible with all 18 courts and 2 doubles courts filled with teams cheering on their players from early in the morning to late at night. Fairness and respect, amongst competitiveness, were the values most important to the tournament. So, whilst fierce matches were being played, the tournament remained positive and exciting, no matter the result of your team.
The NYC teams didn’t get any titles, unfortunately, but we did have 2 teams finishing as runners-up in their respective divisions. Congratulations to Squash Squad and Double Trouble! All the results from the NYC singles teams are as follows:
NYC A1 - Squash Squad - 2nd place
NYC A2 - Court Cadets - 3rd place
NYC A3 - Stealthy Strikers - 7th place
NYC B1 Team - Smash and Dash - 10th place
NYC B2 Team - Court Jesters - 9th place
NYC B3 Team - Double Trouble - 2nd place
NYC B4 Team - Squash-tastic Five - 6th place
NYC C1 Team - Agile Aces - 6th place
NYC C2 Team - Game Changers - 9th place
NYC D1 Team - Boast Brigade - 9th place
NYC D2 Team - Racquet Rally - 7th/8th place
NYC D3 Team - The Squash Bunch - 6th place
We also had representation in the doubles tournament, which was an exciting watch as usual! A huge congratulations is due to Joanne Schickerling and Katiria Sanchez who won the B division doubles tournament! All of the doubles results are as follows:
Joanne/Katiria - B Division Champions Beth/Ella - B Division 3rd/4th Nicole/Alexia - B Division 3rd/4th Rokaya/Khissaiyia - D Division Finalist
In more exciting news, this year’s Howe Cup had a record-breaking participation of 300 women, making it the biggest women’s tournament in the world, which is huge news for women’s squash, and we are so happy to have been a part of this feat.
It was also announced that next year’s Howe Cup will not be held in Philadelphia, and they are on the search for a new city for 2024!
New York Squash was able to provide the New York teams with both hoodies and t-shirts for the event, which were happily received by all our teams, and they looked great wearing them!
Outside of the squash court, on Friday night there was a cocktail party sponsored by Bluecoat Gin and Saturday night was the famous party at Cynwyd Club with an open bar and DJ, a party that is widely renowned as one of the best in the squash world!
All of our teams enjoyed a wonderful weekend of squash and socializing, and we can’t wait for next year’s!! We wonder where it will be...