The Lapham-Grant matches between Canada and the United States are believed to be one of the oldest amateur sporting events contested between two countries—dating back to at least 1922. After a thirty-eight year hiatus, this year’s prestigious event heads to London, Ontario, hosted by the London Squash Club, this weekend, April 23-26.
The annual Lapham-Grant matches take place between four different competitions: the men’s singles competing for the Lapham Cup, men’s doubles competing for the Grant Trophy, women’s singles and doubles competing for the Crawford Trophy, and the legends doubles (encompasses all male players over sixty-five years of age) competing for the Lawrence-Wilkins Trophy.
The Grant Trophy matches were inaugurated in 1945, the Crawford Trophy matches in 1999, and the Lawrence-Wilkins Trophy in 2001.
In last year’s Lapham-Grant—held in Philadelphia for the first time in forty-seven years—the United States redeemed its previous sweep by Canada, to take all but one of the four trophies up for grabs—Canada secured only the Lapham Cup, for men’s singles matches by a score of 13-10. The American women though, truly stole last year’s show—defeating their international competition in singles by a 9-6 margin, but dominating in the doubles by a 18-0 sweep.
The Eric R. Finkelman Award—traditionally for bad behavior—is often a highlight of the weekend. Read Squash Magazine‘s coverage of the “Real Finkelman” here.
For more information, visit the official Lapham-Grant Matches tournament page. However, for historical context and reports from previous tournaments, see the  official Lapham-Grant homepage.
