President's Corner by ian munro

May 22nd, 2007

The casual feedback that I am getting about our new ladder software and on-line score entry is overwhelmingly positive. There have been some bugs but they have been mercifully, and surprisingly, few. I want to personally thank Adrian and Sylvie for doing most of the heavy lifting on this one and Jas Subhlok and his U of H computing Science Students for bringing it to fruition. And as a reminder, the current ladder is quickly drawing to a close, so please make every effort to play your matches and post your scores.

The 2007 WISPA Texas Open is in the history books and for the intrepid Houston players who made the journey to Dallas, it was a fun weekend. Sanjeeb and his team put on a superb tournament with the highlights being (for me at least since I made an early exit to the consolation draw) the gala banquet at the Westin Penthouse and the superb show band providing the evening’s musical entertainment. Please read Signe Hovem’s report for all the gory details.

It’s never too early to start planning for next year and to that end we have formed a team to organize the 2008 WISPA Texas Open. Paula Coleman, Suzy Willis, Sylvie Desjardins, Pat Nichols, Alan Frink, Martin Langley, Jorge(Coco)Zachrisson, and myself will take up the charge of doing all that needs to be done to host a world class WISPA tournament in Houston in 2008. Of all that needs doing, fund raising is job one so any ideas, leads, volunteers, or philanthropy will be graciously entertained. We’re targeting a date of mid April 2008 and we’ll also be looking for volunteers to help with the tournament logistics as things get a little closer.

The Houston City Championships are slated to return to The WestLake Club, May 31 – Jun 2. We missed this tournament in 2006 due to some unfortunate circumstances, but in previous years, Guy Cowan has always done an exceptional job to make this tournament a marquis event of the Houston squash year. I sometimes get comments from members that they don’t like to play at the WestLake because it’s too far, the courts are sub-optimal, and they don’t like to deal with the I-10 traffic. All valid points, however, it behooves us to support tournament squash at the WestLake and keep it vital, lest it go the way of the U Club and put even more pressure on the remaining Houston squash facilities. So please join me in supporting this tournament and let’s rock the WestLake with great squash and whatever else two kegs of cold Harp will lead to.

After a fabulous spring, the hot summer weather is now upon us in earnest, so start working up your thirsts for an end of ladder social: time and place TBA, watch the website.

Ian

March 10th, 2007

Well it has finally arrived…the new box ladder software is up and running and we’re very hopeful that the web based score entry and the real time update will motivate everyone to play even more than before. It will also make things a bit easier on Adrian, our intrepid ladder commissioner, …eventually. Please keep in mind that this ladder is the maiden voyage for the new software and barring some extreme good fortune or divine intervention, there will be a few glitches. I ask everyone to please be patient and help us work through them so that subsequent leagues will operate with nary a ripple.

The Houston City Championships are returning to the Westlake, March 29-31, 2007. Guy Cowan is the tournament director and, as everyone knows, he runs a good one. There certainly will be no shortage of ice cold Harp. This is the first major tournament at the Westlake in over a year and Guy is committed to put the venue back on the tournament circuit so this event should be a barnburner. The tournament is sanctioned event so results will count towards rankings. Please support Guy, the HSRA, and the Westlake Club and register early for this tournament, come out and play, and enjoy.

February 20th, 2007

January 23rd, 2007

Happy New Year: I wish the membership all the best for 2007, both on and off the squash court.

The second item of business for the New Year concerns the box ladder. The current ladder season ends on January 31 and individuals that have played no matches and have not requested a DL from the ladder commissioner will not be placed in the subsequent ladder. So the message here is that if this pertains to you and you want to be placed on the next ladder, “Chop Chop!”.

We are also going to have a change of commissioners at the end of the current ladder. Adrian Blaber has generously agreed to take the lead from Danny Walker beginning with the Spring ladder in mid February. I’d like to thank Danny for generously donating a year of his valuable time to the most difficult and thankless job on the HSRA executive.  Congratulations Danny, well done…you survived!

Adrian has been on the Houston squash scene for years and brings a wealth of experience in the organization of squash leagues and tournaments. He’ll also be doing some double duty as he is our current HSRA tournament director. I shall be relying on his experience and guidance and I ask that all HSRA members support Adrian as he assumes these key roles on the HSRA executive.

Another minor change for the ladder is that we will try and place new players (as in new to the ladder, not necessarily novice players) in the box appropriate to their skill level.  This is a departure from the past where new players were placed near the bottom, regardless of skill level, and had to work their way up. This change is in response to many complaints that I heard over the past year from new box ladder players and veterans alike that there were too many outliers with respect to skill level, particularly in the lower boxes, and the affected players were frustrated by the situation. I agreed and I hope this change will be positive for all.

Last, but certainly not least, we hope to trial some new software for the Spring 2007 Ladder. This software was developed by a group of UH Computing Science students under the tutelage of our own Jas Subhlok (that’s Doctor Subhlok to you and me). The most anticipated feature of the new software is that ladder players will be able to post their own match results via a web based interface and the ladder scores will update in real time.  There are some other cool features as well, but I don’t want to go into too much detail here. I just want to give you a heads up that the change is coming and watch the HSRA website for further details. I am looking forward to a busy year on the court in 2007 and hope y’all are as well.
Ian

October 18th, 2006

The change of seasons is upon us and as the leaves turn color and drop from the trees I am reminded that squash, as the seasons, indeed as life itself, is a cycle.

In this time of change we congratulate our intrepid Ladder Commissioner, Danny Walker, on his recent nuptials and welcome him back from the jungles of Nicaragua with a huge sigh of relief. This recent scare has pointed out the risk of having only one person in such a key (and demanding) role and what can happen if said person gets hit by the proverbial beer truck – particularly when said person spends a lot of time in locations where beer truck traffic is exceedingly high. Therefore, the HSRA executive will be getting Danny some help and hopefully the ladder will operate with nary a ripple henceforth.

We also bid a fond farewell to two active HSRA members, namely Octavi Sado, who is moving to Norway, and Jorge Covarrubias, who is moving to Venezuela. Such is the sweet sorrow in the energy capital of the world.

September saw the last ICS Top 32 Tournament to take place at the University Club. This tournament has been an institution in Houston Squash and has been well appreciated by both players and spectators alike. Hopefully, the HSRA can continue this event at a new venue in 2007 and do Andy Forster’s legacy proud.

And it is a legacy indeed. Andy has been a fixture and a huge driving force on the Houston Squash scene for the last 30 years. But alas, all good things do come to an end and Andy and family are moving to Denver in December (to coincide with the start of ski season perhaps? Or maybe he just couldn’t face the closure of the University Club where he has been a member for 30 years). We wish Andy all the best for the future and I fully expect to see him in Houston from time to time. And after playing all that mile high squash, he’ll be playing with a renewed vigor at sea level – watch out! 

And watch out for:

Rishad Alikhan’s highly recommended Rules and Refereeing Clinic, Sat Nov 11 at The Met. See the website for details.

The last squash tournament ever (in all likelihood) at the University Club. Guy Cowan’s annual Christmas affair, Nov 30-Dec 2. Guy hosts a great tournament in the friendly confines of the U Club squash courts and German Newell offers his impeccable hospitality for the Saturday night party. Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one more change. You’ve probably noticed that the HSRA website has been looking a bit sprucier these days. There is a reason: Sylvie Desjardins has taken over the job of content manager with a vengeance and she assures me we ain’t seen nothing yet. Actually the website is one of the most used and appreciated resources provided by the HSRA, so please give Sylvie a compliment the next time you see her…and compliment her on the website work too.

See Y’all at Mission Burritos this Saturday,

Ian

August 1st, 2006

How about the Sanders, Morris, Harris Championships?  Was not the final between Shahier Razik and Joey Barrington just about the best squash match that we have ever seen or are likely see in the near future?! Thanks to all the sponsors, players - pros and amateurs alike, volunteers, and especially Muhammad Sadiq for running a superb tournament and treating us once again to great squash. All amateur results have been posted in USSRA’s Railstation and your rankings will be updated accordingly.  For a complete list of winners and runners up, click here. Speaking of rankings, one of the opinions that many HSRA members have expressed to me is that they would like to see more current and more accurate rankings for the HSRA membership. I couldn’t agree more. By way of explanation, the USSRA is the owner of the US national squash players ranking system and player rankings are calculated based upon the win loss record in sanctioned tournaments. Therefore, to keep your ranking current, you must be an HSRA member and play in sanctioned tournaments. To that end, I shall advocate for the sanctioning of more Houston tournaments and the timely entry of the results into Railstation. To date, we have held two sanctioned tournaments in Houston, namely the 2006 Texas Open and the aforementioned Sanders Morris Harris Championships. I would like to increase this number to at least four per year so I will be soliciting the cooperation of the individual tournament directors at the appropriate times. For more details on the ranking system and to view the current rankings, please visit the USSRA website at  http://www.us-squash.org/ratings/index.htmlOne last note on the Sanders Morris Harris Championships: it was a watershed event for one of our longtime and intrepid HSRA members, one JP Smith, who finally managed to convert one by winning the M2.5 consolation. Congratulations JP on a job well done!I also encourage everyone to play his/her ladder matches. The current ladder is scheduled to end on Aug 31 and the box ladder works best when the matches are played. Please also remember that protective eyewear is not only a good idea, it is mandatory for ladder matches as per USSRA rules.

It’s long and it’s hot….it’s the Houston summer and squash (and the post game quaff) is the perfect antidote for it – just do it!

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