|
|
|
||||||||||||||
THE
NOT SO GOOD… I’m
not going to go through the whinging again, you know what I’m on about…
The extortionate charge for internet/fax service, the price of food on the
premises, some over zealous volunteers who tried to prevent me from
working in the beginning, the utter lack of seating/viewing on all the
outside courts, and of course, the fact I was never included in the event,
kept away from where more or less everyone else could go, players, teams
and their families, obviously, refs, organisers, promoters, sponsors, all
broadcast people, most of the helpers/volunteers, workforce, etc, etc, but
the frog…And I stand by what I wrote earlier, if all the events were like this one, I would stop writing. But then again, if all the tournaments were that strict, it would probably mean that we’d made it as a top game, that we would actually have to protect the players from the undesired attention of the media. So in the scheme of things, the fact I was very unhappy here has absolutely no relevancy… Now, let’s talk for a minute about the doubles.  I
also stand by my previous statement, I’m not mad about them. And I feel
that somehow maybe some rules could be established to prevent the "getting
away with murder", as in playing any shot and getting a let no matter
what...And please, once again no offence to the players who gave their heart and soul during the doubles event, but I’m sure there must be a way, making the court wider, the tin lower, I don’t know, something to make this discipline more exciting. Because there were moments where I was begging for a mercy killing, I tell you… |
||||||||||||||||
|
THE EXCELLENT ... The weather, which started slightly cold and wet to end gloriously, so I hear, because very few participants had much chance to enjoy it much. But still, eating your sandwich sitting on the grass, watching the fountain spill water everywhere is a good change of scenery from overcoats and cold windy days….  The
intensity that the players experience here is second to none. I’ve
seen some pretty disappointed quarter finalists in my time, but never like
here. Tears were overflowing from some of the players’ eyes, and their
disappointment/frustration was flowing all over the backstage…The quality of the matches was just stupendous, and so from the first round. The motivation, the involvement of the players was tangible, and nobody, from the medal contenders to the “amateurs” came here to go through the motions… The presence of so many players’ family members or friends that came from all over the world to support or console their relatives. People do forget that those players are still kids and that they basically need the help, care and love of their family. And for the Australians, who so seldom come home, it must have been a pure joy to be able to perform in front of and for them… |
||||||||||||||||
The volunteers, hundreds and hundreds
of them that came from thousands of kilometres, just to be “united by the
moment”, and were helping us all over town, at the tram stations, near the
venues, indicating the way to get in or out. And within the venues, we had
them everywhere, even on tennis empire chairs, guiding us, greeting us,
helping us to make our task as easy as possible…  A
very tight security that obviously prevented any major upset and not
one bomb alert throughout the week, a threat I’m sure must have been on
the mind of the organisers… So many people came to see the Games, it could
have been a prime choice target for terrorists…A schedule followed to the minute, and excellent refereeing throughout, not one complaint I could observe or hear of through the whole tournament… Mind you, we had among the crème de la crème, here didn’t we, Graham Waters, Chris Sinclair, John Massarella, Wendy Danzey, Roy Gingell, Mike Collins and so on… And they all worked pretty hard, take my word for it. So many matches on at the same time, and for two very long weeks… |
||||||||||||||||
 The
perfect press service we got, results and quotes being brought to us
all the way up there in the Gods (I want to personally thank the
organisers to have taken care of my fitness, as I climbed those stairs so
many times I could do it in my sleep), smiles all over, they even gave me
sweets bless them, and accuracy and precision of the score sheets. And a big thanks to the Press liaisons who by the end of the event, made sure that I had prime position to speak to the players in the “corridor of mixed emotions”…Not to mention that we were able to write from the stand, with a TV next to us, showing the excellent broadcast. If we’d have had internet it would have been heaven on earth. But close enough. Thanks to Jenny and all her team for all the efforts, time and dedication they all put in their jobs…  Now,
let’s talk about the Broadcast. “You’ve been raving about it”
commented a colleague back in the UK. Yes, I have, because it shows that
with the appropriate budget (they had so many cameras/cameramen, crew of
all sort, runners, coordinators, you name it…!), and the appropriate
guidelines (not the “just shoot from the back” we get from Sky TV back in
the UK), the result is astonishing. DO NOT let ANYBODY tell you that
squash doesn’t look good on television…. |
||||||||||||||||
 And
the time difference between the UK and Australia suited SquashSite
perfectly. By the time the second session would start, Steve would be
waking up, and would be able to upgrade the site for first thing in the
morning for our European readers. I know, our apologies to the Australians
who had to wait till the morning to find out what happened in the evening
session…On a more personal basis, I would like to thank the people who welcomed me into their home. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to cover this event at all, as the CWG organisation didn’t help us in any way, shape or form to cover the event, not even a meal voucher...So Bob, Clay, sorry for the early mornings and late nights, the driving all over town, and the empty fridge... thank you so much, you’ve made it all possible … |
||||||||||||||||
And how not to mention the extraordinary
performance of two great champions, Natalie Grinham, who
established the record of records, getting the three gold medals, and the
farewell two gold medals from the Boss, who’ll leave us on yet another
stupendous achievement (with a "little help from his friend"...) to add to
his track record, making a total of four medals in all. I know that the
English fans will remember his final against David for years and years to
come. And just a thought for “the Marine”, who wanted to do so well here,
at home, but illness prevented him from performing at his best… But the winner…. The Winner is… AUSTRALIA. I just fell in love with the city of Melbourne, the way of living, the excellence of public transport, the cleanness of the town, the quality of food, and so on, and so on. I was told by some English Team members that they’ve never seen so many beautiful women as here. Well, trust me, it’s not too bad in the male department either … It’s such a shame that the players have got to get away from their country to make a living out of squash. Now I’ve seen a tiny bit of this continent, I understand completely why they just can’t wait to come back here… I can’t wait myself….  The Frog, signing off… Framboise |
 |