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News from the NATIONS
Team
managers etc:
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13-Mar:
No Honeymoon for Natalie ...
 Australia's
Natalie Grinham, who married her coach Tommy Berden
last week, wasn't able to take a honeymoon because of her
preparation for the Games. So husband Tommy took one anyway ...
without her.
"He's on a honeymoon with his groomsmen on the Gold Coast, but he'll
be here for the first round," Grinham told AP. The couple married
three days before the Australian squash team entered the athletes
village.
"Obviously last week I had a bit more focus on the wedding, but I've
been training the whole year so one week is not really much
difference," added Grinham, who is the younger of the two Toowoomba
sisters, seeded three to Rachael's two, with the pair top seeds and
strong favourites for the women's doubles.
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"It wasn't that stressful, but here
were some interesting moments for a few days before the wedding.
"when I first got engaged and started organising things it was a bit
stressful, but that was 12 months ago.
"The Commonwealth Games were always in the back of my mind. I always
knew that I was coming back to Australia for two important events,
my wedding and the Commonwealth Games.
"As soon as I arrived I was thinking of the Games.
"I've missed out on a honeymoon, but Tommy has headed to the North
Coast with some friends, so he's having one."
Natalie Grinham
to the Toowoomba Chronicle |
09-Mar:
Team England Delighted
With Singles Draws ...
There were cheers of jubilation in Melbourne when the England squash
squad received the draws for next week's Commonwealth Games singles
action at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
Yorkshireman James Willstrop, the 22-year-old world No5 from
Pontefract making his Commonwealth Games debut, has been named as
second seed in the men's event behind Australia’s David Palmer.
Peter Nicol, the world No7 from London who is aiming for a
record third successive Games gold medal, is seeded four. The former
world No1, who won singles gold in Malaysia in 1998 and doubles gold
four years later in Manchester, is the only man to have won two
medals in both Commonwealth Games.
Nicol and Willstrop have received byes in the first round draw, but
could meet in the semi-finals if the seedings go to plan. England’s
other two men in the singles are Lee Beachill, the world No8
from Pontefract, and fellow Yorkshireman Nick Matthew, the
world No10 and recently-crowned British National champion from
Sheffield.
Matthew is seeded seven and scheduled to meet Willstrop in the
quarter-finals, whilst fifth seed Beachill is the lone Englishman in
the top half of the draw where he is expected to face Australia's
third seed Anthony Ricketts for a place in the medals.
England’s women players do not have the luxury of byes in their
opening round in Melbourne. Tania Bailey, the new British
National champion from Stamford in Lincolnshire, is seeded eight and
takes on South Africa’s Diana Argyle in the top half of the draw. If
the seeds go to plan, Bailey would meet Malaysia's world number one
and top seed Nicol David in the quarter-finals.
Jenny Duncalf, from Harrogate in Yorkshire, is seeded five
and faces Scotland’s Louise Philip in the opening round, while
fourth seed Vicky Botwright, the world No5 from Manchester,
faces Zambian Sharon Chimfwembe. Sixth seed Linda Elriani,
the world No8 from Eastbourne celebrating her third successive
Games, takes-on Jamaica’s Karen Anderson.
Duncalf, Botwright and Elriani all feature in the bottom half of the
draw, along with Australia’s number two seed Rachel Grinham, who
gets a first round bye.
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 "Overall,
we couldn't have wished for a better men's draw – with all the
Australians in the top half of the draw and all but one of our
players in the bottom half."
"The mood here is really upbeat. The facilities are excellent,
the venue is fantastic and we feel we've got great medal
chances overall."
David Pearson
England National Coach |
 "It
was a bit strange waiting for the draw, we usually know
months in advance who we're playing.
"The aim is to get to the semi-finals, you're guaranteed a
bronze if you get there. We're all capable of getting
medals, but the Australians will be thinking the same and
they are the top seeds.
"With squash not being in the Olympics, this is the
highlight of our calendar. Virtually all of the top nations
in squash are in the Commonwealth, so it's a world-class
event."
"Doubles is not played on the circuit, so James and I have
been getting in as much practice as we can."
Nick Matthew
to Sheffield Today |
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Kenyans use Melbourne to
raise squash profile
The Kenyan Commonwealth Games squash
team leaves for Melbourne today hoping for a good performance in
Australia to help raise the profile of the game locally.
Hardeep Reel, Joseph Ndung'u, Chirag Shah and
Hartaj Bains went through their final training session at the
Nairobi Club courts yesterday and expressed confidence they would
compete respectably and help create more interest in the game among
Kenyans
"It's definitely worth it. The Commonwealth Games is a big
tournament and a great chance for exposure and I'm glad to be here
to represent Kenya," said Shah, a management studies student at the
University of Manchester.
Ndung'u converted from tennis to squash and he is looking forward to
the Games. "It is our first time out on a major tournament and a
good chance for us to improve our game," he said.
The coach, Mordechai Kabamba, is a reminder of the Zambian
dominance of local squash in the past decade. He played in the Kenya
Open since 1997 but has been around since 2003. "I chose to stay
around because there is more squash action here than back home in
Zambia and I thought it would be good to stay back to play and do
training at the same time," he said.
He has been training the Commonwealth Games team for the last four
weeks and wishes he had a little more time to prepare for the
Melbourne Games.
Full story from AllAfrica.com |
07-Mar
 Two
for Cayman Islands
 For
the first time Cayman will send two players to represent a small but
very active squash playing community.
Chantelle Day, under 19 Caribbean junior Champion and last
week became the Cayman Islands National Champ.
Jeff Broderick, slightly older, but with a vast amount of
squash playing wisdom, and currently the over 40's Caribbean
Champion.
The team will be managed by Merta Day and National coach
Dean Watson.
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27-Feb:
Martin's Appeal Dismissed
from Yahoo Sports
Melissa Martin's appeal against her non-selection in Australia's
squash team for the Commonwealth Games has been dismissed by the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
 Ironically,
the ruling was handed down on the same day Martin lost a four-set
match against one of the players she was hoping to replace in the
team for Melbourne.
The CAS Appeals Panel has advised Squash Australia that it had
unanimously dismissed Martin's appeal.
Martin was claiming that she should have been selected in the team
for the Melbourne Games ahead of either Kasey Brown or Dianne Desira
because her world ranking was higher.
But that mattered little as world No.39 Brown came from a set down
to beat Martin in the final of the Charles Butcher Memorial Women's
Open squash tournament in Brisbane winning 2-9 9-4 9-5 9-2.
Squash Australia chief executive officer Norman Fry welcomed the
decision but stressed there was no ill-feeling towards Martin and
her decision to take her appeal to the CAS would not harm her
chances of selection in future Australian teams.
"Squash Australia has an appeals process in its regulations which
allows every athlete the opportunity to have their case heard," Fry
said.
"Melissa Martin was simply taking advantage of the process we put in
place and we respect her right to do that."
Fry said the unanimous decision by the CAS confirmed the original
unanimous decision of the six Squash Australia selectors, the
unanimous decision of the five board members and the unanimous
decision of the Squash Australia appeals committee, one of whom was
the president of another sporting body.
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Aussie Team Confirmed:
Men’s doubles:
Anthony Ricketts/Stewart Boswell,
David Palmer/Joseph Kneipp.
Women’s doubles:
Rachael Grinham/Natalie Grinham,
Amelia Pittock/Kasey Brown.
Mixed doubles: Rachael Grinham/David Palmer, Natalie
Grinham/Daniel Jenson.
Women's singles: Rachael Grinham, Natalie Grinham, Amelia
Pittock, Kasey Brown.
Men’s singles: David Palmer, Anthony Ricketts, Stewart
Boswell, Joseph Kneipp.
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Karen, Eddie & Marlene
Three for Jamaica
The Jamaican contingent will be leaving on the 8th for Oz.
The team is Marlene West, Karen Anderson and our only
male entrant Chris Binnie a 17 year old who is going places -
he just dethroned our local "Legend" Wayne Burrowes for top ranking
in Jamaica in our top 12 Super Series.
The team will be accompanied by team manager Michael West and Eddie
DePass
Eddie DePass |
25-Feb:
 Simpson
the Sole Guernsey Entrant
Guernsey are sending a team of one - Chris Simpson - to Melbourne.
Martin Watts was to be in the team but due to a qualification hitch
he has been prohibited. |
26-Feb:
T&T team 'big on quality'
 Just
a couple players will represent Trinidad & Tobago in squash at the
Games.
However, according to manager Catherine De Gannes, the two-man team
of Josh Pinard and Colin Ramasar is small in size but big in
quality.
"Our expectations are that they'll perform well. We're taking two of
our best squash players." |
24-Feb:
Malaysians will be a threat
Malaysia’s squash players have announced themselves as a threat to
both men’s and women’s titles in Melbourne with comprehensive wins
at the Asian Squash Championships.
Second seed Ong Beng Hee upstaged teammate and top seed
Mohd Azlan Iskandar in the men’s final in Taipei to pick up his
fourth consecutive individual title.
Beng Hee gained revenge for a loss to Azlan in the final of the
Kuala Lumpur (KL) Open last week, winning the match 9-1, 9-4, 10-8
in 35 minutes.
“Azlan beat me in the final of the KL Open last week and he held the
advantage,” Beng Hee told The Star. “But I played my best game in
the championships and surprised him by winning in straight sets. He
was not in the best of form and after I won the first set, I was
confident that I would retain the title.”
The men’s singles event will attract a world class field with seven
of the current top 10 players, led by World No 1 David Palmer of
Australia, vying for honours and Beng Hee is clearly aware of the
challenge he has to overcome to win a medal.
Beng Hee looks good for at least a silver medal in the mixed doubles
with Nicol David but the former believes that a medal of any colour
in the singles would be the high point of his career.
And world champion Nicol David went one better on her record,
picking up her fifth consecutive title when she defeated second seed
Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong.
Ms David - who was the winner of the title in 1998 (Kuala Lumpur),
2000 (Hong Kong), 2002 (KL) and 2004 (KL) - defeated Chiu 9-7, 9-2,
9-4.
Malaysia have won both the individual titles but Beng Hee said that
the team had yet to complete their mission in Taipei.
“We want to make a clean sweep by winning the team titles as well,”
he said.
The women's team won the title at the last championships, but the
men were defeated by Pakistan in the final and are expected to face
them again this year.
Both Nicol David, the world’s number one women’s player, and Beng
Hee, ranked 14 in the world, are expected in Melbourne where they
will play in the Commonwealth Games Squash competition at the
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre from 16-21 March.
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24-Feb:
Decision awaited on Aussie squash team
selection row
The Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) hearing into Melissa
Martin's appeal against her non-selection in the squash team for
this year's Commonwealth Games has been completed.
CAS president Justice Tricia Kavanagh, Justice Henric Nicholas and
Alan Sullivan AC heard the appeal, and a decision is expected over
the weekend.
 Martin claims she has a better world ranking and overall singles and
doubles results than two of the women selected in the 10-person
Games team to represent Australia in Melbourne next month.
The 29-year-old - currently ranked 31 in the world - says she is
better qualified than world No.39 Kasey Brown of NSW and Victoria's
Dianne Desira, ranked 41.
A Squash Australia appeals board has already rejected Martin's
appeal, causing her to take the matter to the CAS.
If Martin's appeal is successful, the affected party, either Brown
or Desira, then has the right to appeal that decision. |
 "A
men’s singles medal in the Commonwealth Games is very special
and something I will remember for long. The event is as tough
as the World Open and nothing will make me happier than to
return with a medal."
"I may have to beat at least three top class players but I
will give it my best shot.
"We have a fighting chance for gold in the mixed doubles and
if I can win a medal in the singles, it will be fantastic."
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23-Feb:
Joseph Desira to
represent Malta
Malta Squash is very proud of the fact that Joseph Desira
will be representing Malta in squash for the first time. Joseph
turned professional in 2003 and has represented Malta in the 2003
Malta GSSE where he was instrumental in helping the men’s team win a
silver medal. He has also competed in the European Individual Games
and last October formed part of the Malta team which won the bronze
medal in the 2005 ESNST in Cyprus.
Joseph’s representation in Melbourne is a landmark for a sport which
has given Malta so much success. Joseph’s parents hail from Zejtun
and he now resides in Thomastown, Melbourne. He is currently ranked
188 in the world, 24 in Australia and number 1 in Malta.
Squash was included in the Commonwealth Games for the first time in
1998 when they were held in Kuala Lumpur.
With 10 out of the top 16 world seeds competing, these games are
considered to be virtually a world championship for both singles and
doubles and mean a lot to the players.
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10-Feb:
Scottish Squad Announced
Scotland 's squash team for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in
Melbourne has been announced as: John White (Scottish
Institute of Sport), Harry Leitch (East Institute of Sport),
Louise Philip (East Institute of Sport) and Frania Gillen-Buchert
(East Institute of Sport).
Scotland 's former World Number 1, John White, will be a force to
contend with in the Men's Singles on familiar turf and will be
looking to improve on his recent injury-hampered performance at the
World Doubles Championships with Leitch. Leitch's solid performance
with the injured White will stand them in good stead as both look
forward to being fully fit and seeded for the Games.
Scotland 's doubles specialists, Philip and Gillen-Buchert, have
been training hard following an excellent performance at the World
Doubles Championships. Their doubles experience showed at the recent
World Championships as they defeated two 5/8 seeded pairings; a
performance which is expected to result in them also being seeded
for the Games. Philip, Gillen-Buchert and Leitch will also compete
in the singles events.
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05-Feb:
Aussies set stiff target
 The
Australian team predicted to be the strongest squash team ever has
set its sights on capturing more than half the gold medals on offer
at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.
The ten member team includes recently crowned world doubles
champions Anthony Ricketts and Stewart Boswell, mixed doubles
champions Rachael Grinham and Joseph Kneipp, and world number
one David Palmer.World
number three and reigning British Open champion Anthony Ricketts was
also crowned Australian Open champion last month.
 Sisters
Rachael and Natalie Grinham have become the second set of siblings
named in the Australian team, joining brothers Clive and George
Barton who will compete in the skeet shooting.
Rachael, who recently took out the women's Australian Open title,
will be making her third games appearance, striving to better the
two bronze medals she took home in Manchester.
Dan Jenson, Kasey Brown, Dianne Desira and Amelia Pittock will make
their Commonwealth Games debuts.
Australia's 2006 Commonwealth Games Squash team is:
Men: Stewart Boswell, Dan Jenson, Joe Kneipp, David Palmer, Anthony
Ricketts
Women: Kasey Brown, Dianne Desira, Natalie Grinham,
Rachael Grinham, Amelia Pittock
Manager - Norman Fry, Coaches - Byron Davis, Geoff Hunt
Australia has achieved great success in every Games since Squash was
introduced, taking home five medals including two golds in Kuala
Lumpur in 1998 and seven medals with only one gold in Manchester in
2002.
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20-Jan:
Power opts out of Games
Canada's Jonathon
Power won't attempt to defend his squash gold medal at the
Commonwealth Games in March.
 The
No. 1-ranked player in the world has withdrawn from the March 15-26
Games in Melbourne, Australia due to a "scheduling crunch."
Power defeated archrival Peter Nicol of England in the 2002 final in
Manchester, England. He won silver at the 1998 Games in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, losing to Nicol.
Power, 31, won five tournaments in 2005 to regain the No. 1 spot in
the world rankings for the first time in four years. He is the
oldest player to be ranked No. 1.
Linda MacPhail, executive director of Squash Canada, says the
squash competition at the Games is almost equivalent to a world
championship with most of the top players from Commonwealth nations
such as Canada, England and Australia.
"The Commonwealth Games is the biggest exposure squash will get in
Canada and internationally," she said. "Certainly we were hoping to
see Jonathon competing and also getting some of the media spotlight
he deserves. We respect his decision. Jonathon has been a great
ambassador for Canada and the sport for more than a dozen years."
Power's spot on the Canadian team will be taken by Shawn DeLierre of
Brossard, Que. The other Canadian men's team members are Graham
Ryding and Shahier Razik, both of Toronto, and Matthew
Giuffre of Edmonton. The women's team member is Runa Reta
of Ottawa.
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10-Dec:
Nicol aims for
Third Games Gold
Peter Nicol, the only man to win two squash medals in both
the 1998 and 2002 Games, has been selected to represent England in
the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, in March.
In the five-player men's and women's squads announced today by
England Squash, Londoner Nicol will be joined by Lee Beachill,
James Willstrop, Nick Matthew (all from Yorkshire) and
Kent's Adrian Grant; and Linda Elriani (Sussex),
Vicky Botwright (Lancs), Jenny Duncalf (Yorks), Tania
Bailey (Lincs), and Alison Waters.
After winning gold in the Men's Singles and bronze in the Men's
Doubles for Scotland in 1998, Peter Nicol claimed silver for England
in the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games Men's Singles and gold
with Lee Beachill in the Men's Doubles. In the Women's Doubles,
Tania Bailey was a silver medallist and Linda Elriani won bronze.
England finished in second place in the 2002 Games squash medals
table, behind New Zealand but ahead of Australia, Canada and
Malaysia.
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"We picked our Commonwealth
Games squads early to give the players maximum time to plan for
the event.
"It will also give us the chance to work on our doubles
partnerships, details of which we will announce later."
England Coach |
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Despite
having retired since winning the Commonwealth Games singles gold
medal four years ago in Manchester, Australian squash legend
Sarah Fitz-Gerald will still play a part in the 2006 Games which
get underway in her home town of Melbourne this week.
"It
was a very awkward decision for me but the way things were
shaping up I couldn't do everything and something had to give.
