Fourteen year old Henry Kross from Parkes is working hard to achieve his dream to compete on the biggest global stage in the world for junior squash – the British Junior Open.

Henry has recently returned from the Australian Junior Championships, where he was crowned the Australian Under 15 Champion. This caps off a stellar year which has seen him win the NSW State Championships, NSW Combined High School Championship and represent Aus­tralia to win the Trans-Tasman Test Match earlier in the year.

Henry was also selected as the Num­ber 1 Australian player for the Australian All Schools in New Zealand earlier in the year, following on from his success in NZ last year where he won the Oceania Un­der 15 Championship. Henry is also in the Next Gen Squash Australia Squad and the Squash NSW Talent Squad.

To get to the British Junior Open, being held in Birmingham, England from 2nd to 6th January 2025, Henry is busy fundrais­ing to cover the substantial costs involved.

Only limited Internationals are able to en­ter the event, and once Squash Australia extended his invitation he has been busy.

He is collecting cans and bottles from the community to cash in at the return and earn stations, running a mega raffle (drawn 11th December) which local businesses have really got behind with great prizes and is also running a lamington drive (orders close Friday 1st November).

Henry will also be holding a Longest Drive Competition at Parkes Golf Club on 10th November from 2pm. Everyone is welcome to come along on the day to com­pete or spectate, Henry would love to see a big crowd.

You can follow Henry’s squash results and find the details of how to get involved in Henry’s fundraising which is on his Face­book page – Henry Kross Squash.

Thank you to everyone who supported the 2024 Parkes Services Doubles event. We had a great weekend, with a massive 77 teams competing. Thank you Parkes Ser­vices Club our major sponsor. Join us in February for our next Doubles tournament.

A massive congratulations to Parkes High School student Henry Kross, who has just made it into the top 20 squash ranking in the world for his age group. This is such an amazing achievement. Well done Henry!

Parkes’ Henry Kross is through to the semi finals of the Under 15 Boys Division at the Australian Junior Open in Melbourne. Henry had a big day on court, having to dig deep to beat Malaysian Nevellton Jinggan 3-2 to advance to the quarter finals, where he found form against Kaveen Kohombange getting up 3-0.

He faces Azan Ali Khan from Pakistan tomorrow in the semi final and is the only Australian remaining in the Under 15s draw. Goodluck Henry.

In other news Parkes also had Max Jones and Riley Jones in the Under 15 Boys. Both boys had a bye in the first round, and both had tough 3-0 losses in the 2nd round. Max will play off in the 17- 20 bracket, and Riley will play in the 29-32 bracket.

In the 13 Boys Cooper and Lockie Jones also had first round byes before going down 3-0. Lockie will play off in the 17-24 bracket, and Cooper will play in the 25-32 bracket.

Lucas Jones is competing in the Under 11s draw, and will play off in the 19-21 bracket after going down in his first two matches.

Former Forbes resident, Regan Acret has claimed the title of Australian National A Grade Champion after competing in the Australian National Squash Championships on 26th – 27th June at Thornleigh Squash Centre. 

After winning three preliminary games to secure his place in the final, Regan went on to win the final in three games to one. Regan will now represent Australia when he travels to compete in Fiji in October this year. 

Regan has always had a passion for squash, and began playing at the age of 14 in his home town of Forbes, where he grew to be a strong, competent and competitive player. He learnt a great deal from fellow players at the Forbes Squash Club. 

In his junior years, Regan played many Central West tournaments and represented the Forbes High School in 2017 before his selection in the NSW team. In 2018 he was selected in the U19’s NSW Blue Tongues competing in Darwin for the NSW Australian Junior Championships. 

Regan moved to Wyong on the Central Coast in 2019, to further his squash career. He completes in tournamnets in, and around Sydney and Newcastle, and heads home to Forbes and Parkes for singles and doubles tournaments most weekends. 

His family and friends are extremely proud of his achievements, espcially hi greatest supporter, his mum Kim. The entire Forbes community wish you the very best of luck in Fiji, Regan.

Parkes squash player Henry Kross is number one in Australia after winning the NSW State Championships for boys under 13 in Coffs Harbour recently. 

He was number 2 heading into the championships, but after a tough final against James Boswell from Queensland the new title pushed him into the number 1 spot. He came back from 2-1 down to win the title 3-2. 

Henry was also number 1 in January for a short while, but each tournament is worth points and graded and weighted. 

He has a busy time ahead of him as he is off to Daisy Hill, Queensland with the NSW CHS team in August, and a NSW State team camp in Sydney early in September before he flies to Perth with the NSW Bluetongues at the end of September for the Australian Junior Championships. 

He also has to perform well at a few regional tournaments and camps as his aim is selection for the Australian under 13 team to compete against New Zealand in Sydney during December. Only two players per age group will be picked which makes it very tough with some very talented players vying for selection. 

A total of 11 Parkes Juniors were part of the 2022 Western Region Squash team that recently competed at Dapto, Wollongong in the annual Green Shield Championship. 

Backing up the team’s win last year, they once again dominated and won nine titles to be named the champion region for 2022. The Western team played five other regions – Sydney, Hunter, North Coast, ACT and Southern. 

The Parkes players in the team were: Marley O’shannessy, Clara Rice, Lillah Smith, Laila Kelly, Henry Kross, Max Jones, Riley Jones, Kye Kinsela, Cooper Kelly, Cooper Jones and Lockie Jones. The rest of the team came from Dubbo, Guerie, Molong, Grenfell, Forbes, Yass, Canowindra and Cowra. 

He might have a national title under his belt, but a young Parkes squash player keeps on shocking his parents with his wins. 

Last weekend Year 7 student Henry Kross was keen to build on his success of winning the Under 13 Boys ACT State title last year. He managed a second consecutive win at the 2022 ACT Junior Championships becoming the Under 14 champion, and then decided to go one up and also enter the Under 15 Boys division. 

He had a slow start in the semi-final, but persevered to win his second title at the championship. “He really shocked us,” said his proud mum Judy Kross. 

Building on his success Henry will be representing Western with fellow Parkes High student Harry Bligh at the Combined High Schools (CHS) State Championships in Sydney from 7th June. 

The following week is the Green Shield competition in Dapto, Wollongong with 12 Parkes in the 24 players Western team, while the next major event is the NSW State titles in Coffs Harbour. Henry will play for the Under 13 title and is hopeful of making the NSW team to head to Perth in September.