Stuttgart & Pontefract Win European Club Titles

Germany and England shared the honours in the 2006 European Club Championships when Sport-Insel Stuttgart beat English champions Bishop's Stortford to secure the men's title - and Pontefract, the Yorkshire club celebrating their fourth successive year in the women's final, claimed the other trophy after beating Austria's Euro Finanz Service in the European Squash Federation (ESF) event in Malmo, Sweden.

The drama came in the men's semi-finals when the tie between Bishop's Stortford and Germany's defending champions Paderborner could neither be settled by matches won, nor games countback, nor points countback! The rule book judged that the outcome of the top string encounter would decide the tie - thus Anthony Ricketts' 5-9, 9-3, 10-8, 9-5 victory over the now retired Englishman Peter Nicol gave the English team the place in the final.

Australian Ricketts scored the only win for the English side in the final when he beat France's Gregory Gaultier in four games - but straight games wins by Joey Barrington, Patrick Gaessler and Simon Baker gave Sport-Insel Stuttgart a 3/1 win which kept the title in German hands for the fourth year in a row.

Pontefract stalwart Rebecca Botwright survived a nail-biting battle with English compatriot Emma Beddoes in the women's semi-final against Austria's Euro Finanz Service, ultimately prevailing 9-3, 5-9, 9-10, 9-0, 10-9 to keep a clean sheet for last year's runners-up.

It was a similar tale in the final against French team L'Hermine de Rennes after club regular Kirsty McPhee put the Yorkshire team ahead with a 5-9, 9-6, 9-0, 9-6 win over Italian Sonia Pasteris. Botwright had to fight back from two games down to overcome Laurence Bois 4-9, 5-9, 9-3, 10-9, 9-1 to guarantee Pontefract the title

Men's Final:
Sport-Insel Stuttgart 3 Bishop's Stortford 1
Joey Barrington bt Daryl Selby 9-2, 9-8, 9-4
Gregory Gaultier lost to Anthony Ricketts 6-9, 9-3, 4-9, 0-9
Patrick Gaessler bt Galen le Cheminant 9-1, 9-2, 9-3
Simon Baker bt Harry Leitch 9-4, 9-6

Women's Final:
Pontefract 3 L'Hermine de Rennes 0
Kirsty McPhee bt Sonia Pasteris 5-9, 9-6, 9-0, 9-6
Rebecca Botwright bt Laurence Bois 4-9, 5-9, 9-3, 10-9, 9-1
Lauren Siddall bt Charlotte Delsinne 9-2, 9-2