While many students up and down the county are looking forward to a further two weeks of chilling – in some cases more – before they return to university, that is not the case for Mark Toseland.

That’s because Toseland, 30 and a mature student at the University of Gloucestershire, is busy organising next month’s Gloucestershire Closed Squash Doubles tournament at Riverside Sports and Leisure Club in Gloucester.

It is the first time that Riverside have hosted the event and the timing is as sweet as a Jonah Barrington forehand back in the day because the club have just had their three courts refurbished.

“It’s great for the club,” said Toseland, who is head of junior coaching at Riverside and Chairman of the Gloucestershire Squash Association. “The new courts are in great condition. This will be the first year that the singles and doubles tournaments are taking place at different times.

“The singles were held at East Glos in April and now we’ve got the doubles. Having the singles and doubles events on the same weekend was too much and separating them gives us the chance to take squash to as many parts of the county as possible.”

It is hoped that the tournament will attract anything from 16 to 32 pairings and the event is open to both men and women.

Toseland, who has already entered the tournament with Riverside team-mate and county over-35 player Craig Webb, came late into the sport.

“I didn’t start playing squash until I was 23,” he said. “Up until then I’d played rugby from the age of nine. I was a student at Hartpury and I also played rugby for Cheltenham Tigers and Chippenham.

“I didn’t even know what squash was until I started working as a personal trainer at Riverside.

“I remember looking over the balcony one day and seeing these people playing the game, had a go and fell in love with it straight away.

“It was great. I didn’t get wet, I wasn’t getting muddy, it wasn’t cold and I wasn’t getting hurt like I did in rugby!”

Toseland has proved to be a quick learner and is now breaking into the county set-up.

He’s at a good place, too, because Riverside have a good squash pedigree and can count former world number five Fiona Geaves and Alex Parker among their ex-players.

Toseland, who lives in Frampton and is studying sports development coaching at university, is enjoying helping to bring through the next generation of players at the club and the doubles tournament on the weekend of 16th and 17th September will certainly help raise the profile of the sport.

Anyone wishing to enter the tournament should visit www.glossquash.com where there is an online entry form on the home page.