An interesting week of squash held at the new Johannesburg Country Club courts (wonderfully warmed by underfloor heating) finished on Saturday morning with absolutely nobody complaining about the clash with the rugby. As last year, Chamber were the most represented club with 13 players out of the 30 that played (another 4 that I know of, pulling out for various reasons).
In the A Section we were represented by Jeff Davidson who eventually finished joint second to the run-away winner James Woodroffe who comprehensively drilled everybody 3-0 in the small round-robin section.
In the B section we had 8 entries out of the 14-man swiss-pairing and with seedings 1,2,3,5,6,7 & 8 a good chance of winning the section (so we thought). An early pairing saw George and Nick resume their long-standing battle with George proving (in his opinion) that he always has the edge.
In the semi-finals Phil came up against the un-seeded dark horse (sorry for the pun) of the competition, Tagara and a long hard struggle saw Phil going down 3-2. The other semi saw Chris and John playing with Chris cruising at 2-1 up and 4-0 in the 4th going walk-about to lose that game and take it to a 5th where order was restored with Chris winning comfortably.
Third and fourth saw John pip Phil (yet another 5 setter). In the final Chris started off strongly to take the first 9-6. Those were the last points Chris won for the next 2 games as Tagara hit winner after winner (I don’t remember Chris even serving). At 4-0 down in the 4th and Chris looking extremely tired and frustrated, the match appeared over, but Chris is made of sterner stuff this year, digging in and graciously accepting several lucky shots to take the 4th. The 5th game was neck and neck until , at 8-all Tagara chose 1, and then hit Chris’ serve into the nick. Another nick finished off a great match. Tagara, originally from Zim, and an ex-Zim player, is coming back after a long lay-off and deservedly won the section.
In the C section Michael and Des were doing battle although Des’ 1st match had to be conceded courtesy of SAA being late from Durban. Michael cruised through his matches to reach the final against Dave Wilson. Finding himself 2-1 down, Mike started showing ex-2nd league class to take the 4th and another 5th set cliff-hanger reached 7-all. Two winners though saw Mike through, and euphoric bedlam erupted (well from Mike anyway) with Chris on the next court being refused a let for noise interference.
The ladies section saw Claire and Amanda competing in another small section, but although they tried hard they finished 4th and 5th respectively.
Thanks to Matthew Woodroffe for organizing an enjoyable tournament – it’s just a shame that more clubs and players do not support this event.
A swift COTY nomination though must go to Ryan who when marking Phil and Tagara gave a let to Tagara half-way through the match when he broke a string in the middle of a rally. Nice one Ryan.
The friendly wager with the Old Eds chairman as to which club would field the most players in the tournament resulted in a no-contest. Our prize is currently being manufactured by Gauteng Squash.
The final placings are below:
Mens A
1. James Woodroffe
2. David Cowie
3. Jeff Davidson
4. Neil Baxter-Bruce
5. James Brice
Mens B
1. Tagara Hove
2. Chris Van Heeswijk
3. John Shannon
4. Philip Maxton
5. Capalie Botha
6. Ryan Chegwidden
7. Jeremy Manton
8. Graham Vermaak
9. Mags Pather
10. George Bowen
11. Paul Roussos
12. Peter Carey
13. Nick Papatheodorou
14. Andy Barnes
Mens C
1. Mike Hunt
2. Dave Wilson
3. Andrew Viljoen
4. Reenen Burger
5. Marnus Kruger
6. Des Crossman
Ladies A
1. Sharon Morrison
2. Heidi Marais
3. Collette Hooten
4. Claire Sternberg
5. Amanda Burger
Letter from the South African Deaf Squash Association (SADSA)
Date: 3 July 2007
RE: SADSA Form circulation amongst all squash clubs in South Africa
I am writing to you on behalf of the South African Deaf Squash Association (SADSA).
The aim of SADSA is to promote awareness of squash as a sport amongst Deaf or Hard of Hearing players in South Africa. Participation builds character and would be a positive addition to a person’s life.
We request your assistance in circulating the attached form to all Squash Clubs in South Africa. We are trying to establish how many Deaf or Hard of Hearing players exist in every club so that we can sufficiently cater for the needs of these players. We are currently in the process of developing the SADSA structure and knowing how many people we are dealing with will help us to successfully arrange events as well as the next championship and tournaments in each province.
We have recently completed the SADSA annual championships at The Wanderers club in Gauteng. Ronel van Coller (2nd League - Paarl Squash Club, Western Province) and Max Percival (5th League - Crusaders Durban North Squash Club, KwaZulu-Natal), are the two Deaf champions for 2007. The level of squash amongst the deaf players at the tournament was markedly improved compared to previous years. This was due to an influx of new players who had previously never heard of the SADSA before which is a great shame. We wish to avoid such unfortunate occurrences in future by informing all clubs in South Africa of SADSA and where they can contact us.
Your support will help the entire community and will be recognized by the South Africa Deaf Squash Association who is dedicated to helping and developing deaf squash amongst it’s participants.
We greatly appreciate your help in this matter. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
PP Claire Sternberg Vice Chairperson
Email: claire@egmaud.co.za
Cell: 082 886 5688 (sms only)
Andre le Roux
Chairperson
RE: SADSA Form circulation amongst all squash clubs in South Africa
I am writing to you on behalf of the South African Deaf Squash Association (SADSA).
The aim of SADSA is to promote awareness of squash as a sport amongst Deaf or Hard of Hearing players in South Africa. Participation builds character and would be a positive addition to a person’s life.
We request your assistance in circulating the attached form to all Squash Clubs in South Africa. We are trying to establish how many Deaf or Hard of Hearing players exist in every club so that we can sufficiently cater for the needs of these players. We are currently in the process of developing the SADSA structure and knowing how many people we are dealing with will help us to successfully arrange events as well as the next championship and tournaments in each province.
We have recently completed the SADSA annual championships at The Wanderers club in Gauteng. Ronel van Coller (2nd League - Paarl Squash Club, Western Province) and Max Percival (5th League - Crusaders Durban North Squash Club, KwaZulu-Natal), are the two Deaf champions for 2007. The level of squash amongst the deaf players at the tournament was markedly improved compared to previous years. This was due to an influx of new players who had previously never heard of the SADSA before which is a great shame. We wish to avoid such unfortunate occurrences in future by informing all clubs in South Africa of SADSA and where they can contact us.
Your support will help the entire community and will be recognized by the South Africa Deaf Squash Association who is dedicated to helping and developing deaf squash amongst it’s participants.
We greatly appreciate your help in this matter. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
PP Claire Sternberg Vice Chairperson
Email: claire@egmaud.co.za
Cell: 082 886 5688 (sms only)
Andre le Roux
Chairperson
Squash is breaking ground
Squash is breaking new ground. Squash goes on the sea. In the future All-Glass-Courts will travel across the ocean on modern cruise ships. ASB and AIDA make it possible. ASB, the company from Bavarian Stein, innovative global market leader in the building of squash courts, brings the fast
game on the high seas.
From now on all squash fans can pursue their hobby squash during their sea voyage in the All-Glass-Court on deck of the AIDAdiva. The latest cruise ship of the AIDA "fleet", the AIDAdiva is now on a voyage after completion and after a breathtaking naming ceremony in Hamburg.
On the uppermost deck, directly behind the huge chimney of the big ship you will find the object that people long for: The absolutely sea-worthy ASB SquashCourt. For the first time it was installed on a cruise ship - on deck, open-air - with a view to the surrounding sports facilities and even a better view on the ocean, the clouds and the landscapes passing by.
The court was newly developed and it is completely made of glass. Even the floor is made of a glass surface, which is mounted on a sprung aluminium base. The floor is antiskid. All fittings and connections are seaworthy. The big panes, made of safety glass, are elastically fixed to a newly developed supporting frame, as on the sea high demands are placed on the material.
The glass floor developed by Horst Babinsky has an elastic substructure with seaworthy aluminium parts. The huge glass floor panes made of a double layer of safety glass are placed onto the sub-frame by rubber parts and this ensures protection of the players' joints. The floor's anti-skid surface guarantees dynamic matches even under moonlight. For squash players it will be a new experience to play all over the world, open-air, at sea on an ASB GlassCourt.
It will soon be four AIDA-cruise ships that will be "decorated" with an ASB GlassCourt. For the second cruise ship, the AIDAbella, the traditional lucky cent was laid under the first of a total of 55 building blocks in the beginning of May. Each of the four AIDA cruise ships is 252 metres long and 32 metres wide and 2050 passengers can be accommodated in 1025 cabins. Four diesel engines produce 50 000 BHP, and the cruiser can reach speeds of up to 22 knots.
- On the following web link you will find a photo selection at your disposal : http://www.squashnet.de/squ/aida_eng.htm
Weekly Roundup
Well, the mighty have fallen eventually – the Ladies 4th league SLK convertible and the 7th league Juggernaut both came to a shuddering halt. This leaves only 1 undefeated team at the end of the 1st round, that being the 9th league A team (as all squash connoisseurs will know, this is an amazing performance considering the characters making up this team). COTY nomination to Colin Bullen for dropping both his No 1 and his most consistent player for the same match.
Overall possibly the worst week of the season with only 4 teams winning.
Complaint about the press
"Characters making up" 9th "A" team ? We detect an element of defamation in this statement. Or is it your intention Mr. Chairman to plead truth and public benefit in due course ? ( which may well be sustained, we concede ). Whatever the case, the truth will be told next Wed --- that is to say 18 JULY --- when the local derby of the season takes place. Yes indeed, it's 9th "A" vs. 9th "b" at home in the ice chamber. No fancy under floor heating, only cold beer on offer.
Ticket sales are open via Patricia.
May the Gods help the "b" team. Otherwise they're stuffed.
George
Honorable representative "A" team
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