First it was the news that the British Open would not be held in 2011. That struck me as unfortunate.
Then it was the meager financial backing for the currently contested ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic, the total purse for which is an unimpressive $50,000. The posters for the tournament feature Amr Shabana stroking a backhand, but he didn't bother showing up for the tournament, nor did any other Egyptian, with the exception of Karim Abdel Gawad, at left, PSA #44, who crashed out in the qualifying finals. The tournament is very much a European affair, despite its promotion as a 'classic.'
It's just too bad, that's all. Funding for British squash seems to be drying up.
I'm normally pretty sympathetic to organizations, particularly those involved with squash, which run into unavoidable trouble and have to scramble. I don't want others to act like a jerk to me and I hope I'm not a jerk to others. For instance, I'm in the publishing business, and sometimes ads don't work out quite the way the customer wanted them to. So we run a make-good, or an extra ad in the next issue, or something to let them know we have their best interests at heart. Usually everything works out fine.
Nonetheless, the news that the finals of the ATCO World Series Squash Finals will be indefinitely postponed due to a technical issue with the inflatable building in which they were playing the series elicits very little sympathy from me. So, here comes the jerkiness....
When I originally read that the tournament had created this very odd bubble venue my first thought was, 'Why, dear god, why?' You are playing in one of the great cities of the world, and you create a microenvironment that displays none of the city other than the inside of some latex?
And typically for the PSA, they have released short, constipated press releases that fail to discuss exactly what happened, when the final might possibly be played, who was the fellow responsible for the big balloon, what did it cost, will they get their money back, etc...
I have an idea; both finalists, Matthew and Shabana, will be attending the upcoming Tournament of Champions in NYC -- not in a bubble, but in the magnificent Grand Central Terminal. I say start the tournament off with their final, giving them a bye to recover into the second round. We New Yorkers will show the PSA how these things should be done....
If the sport of squash wants to play with the big boys it will have to do better than this. I'm embarrassed, actually. This sport needs better than this...
