The Tell-Tale

New Mexico Squash Racquets Association

Winter, 1999

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

There has never been a better time than now for joining the NMSRA/USSRA. At the Santa Fe Open you can enter a tournament and join the most influential organization that Squash has in this country at the same time.

Squash is a small sport in comparison to a variety of other sports in the US. As a matter of fact it is not even an Olympic sport. Volleyball, Racquetball, Table tennis (ping-pong), Badminton are all Olympic Sports and yet Squash is not.

The USSRA is the coordinating organization for squash in America. It organizes and manages all squash activities, and provides a link with the World and Professional Organizations. It helps to develop junior players and maintains records for tournaments. By joining you are supporting squash in a simple and inexpensive way. Sign up for the Santa Fe Open and help support the sport.

MEMBERSHIPS AND THE NMSRA/USSRA

The USSRA has adopted a "Rolling Calendar Year" for memberships. In the past the membership year has been from May 1 till April 30. Now your membership is good for 12 months from the time you become a member. So, no matter what time of the year you join you get the maximum benefit from membership.

RATINGS AND SANCTIONING

If players are interested in playing on a "level playing field" the best option is to get rated and get other players rated. When a rated player plays another rated player in a tournament the results are recorded by the USSRA. Ratings change according to the results you achieve in a sanctioned tournament. If you’ve been "Sandbagged" this is the best way to prevent it in the future.

UPCOMING EVENTS

-January 22-24 Lessons and Clinic with Guy Cowen.

-January 29-31 Hi-Tec Santa Fe Open.

-February 12-15 National Skill Level Championships.

-Feb. 16-21 Guillermo’s Tournament and Century Handicap Doubles Tournament.

-Feb. 25-28 Berger Funds Women’s Pro and Amateur Singles.

-March 17-21 United States National Championships.

-April 7-11 Colorado State Singles And Doubles.

-April (?) Los Alamos Open.

Contact Los Alamos YMCA, (USSRA Sanctioned?).

-May 14-16 Green Dot Desert Classic.

-June ? First State Games.

-July (?) Talbot Agency Albuquerque Open and Pro Tour.

-October 1-3 Not the Vegetable.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Albuquerque Open, November 6-8. Midtown Sports and Wellness

This fall’s Albuquerque Open attracted a large group of juniors and beginner-intermediate players. Thanks in large part to the efforts of local pro Leslie Sanchez, who seems to have tapped into a segment of the population that squash, in general, needs to develop to stay a viable sport. More than one seasoned "A" player said that it was great to see so many younger players on the courts.

Although I was able to stay for only part of the tournament I did get to see several good match-ups. Joe Ramirez won a hard fought match with Rick Rennie. Randy Kahn continued his domination of the Albuquerque squash scene. The A final was won by Kahn over Gary Sanchez (one of many racquetball converts in Albuquerque.)

The B Division was won by Leslie Sanchez by default over John Ransom from Pagosa Springs. The C Division was won by Peter Hurley over Dave Ruggles. The D Division was won by Brad Page. Women’s Division was won by Dawn Schackel of Santa Fe over Jean Paterson.

In the Juniors, Joel Dupree defeated brother Tomas Dupree. Coed Juniors was also won by Joel Dupree over brother Tomas. Girls Division was won by Amy Dupree over Emily Gleason.

The Kiva Classic, Santa Fe, December 5-7

The Kiva Club’s "Classy" CLASSIC has become a "must" for many doubles players from all over the country. They return year after year to compete in this prestigious and highly competitive event. Even though all divisions, singles and doubles are sanctioned, the primary attention is focused on the "dubs". A Masters only tournament for players 40 years and older, socializing and good camaraderie is as important to these excellent players from all parts of the country and Mexico.

Experienced players in well-established partnerships prevailed in each of the doubles events. In singles it was the seasoned players with a thorough knowledge of "narrow" court strategy that took the day. This may the last year for this necessary adjustment as the Kiva has plans for converting court 2 into New Mexico’s first "International" court.

As I understand the plans, the viewing gallery of the Doubles court will also look into the new international court. Perhaps more of the out of town entrants will attempt the singles competition since the court will be more like their home courts. Certainly the gallery will be more occupied. In most singles events only best friends, or other intimates were in attendance. Which was too bad because some excellent games were played.

During most the doubles events the gallery was packed. Perhaps one of the most thrilling matches was a semi-final between defending champions Fred Duboc and Alan Dille from Denver and Peter Jordan and Richard Prince from the Minneapolis-St. Paul. Richard is the Minnesota State Soft Ball Champion. Fred and Alan are both ranked as 5.5 players.

40+ Doubles: Semifinals, Tomy O’Brien and Ted Brooks St. Paul defeated Walter Burke and David Barker of Santa Fe. Fred Duboc and Alan Dille of Denver defeated Pete Jackson and Rich Prince of St. Paul. Final, Duboc and Dille defeated O’Brien and Brooks.

50+ Doubles: Semifinals, G. Peters and E. McWilliams defeated W. Palmer and E. Briggs. D. Driscoll and M. Tramutt defeated C. Castleman and Burt Wong. Finals, Driscoll and Tramutt defeated Peters and McWilliams.

55+ Doubles: Semifinals, John Amos and Ifan Evans defeated Bob Weight and Rich Weight. Taylor Quick and Dick Rice defeated Hank Palmer and Courtney Carswell. Finals, Quick and Rice defeated Amos and Evans.

60+ Doubles: Semifinals, Bones Jones and David Matthews of Santa Fe defeated P. Gaylor and Ivan Glover of San Francisco. R. Bowers of Rochester NY and David Flemingwood of Santa Fe defeated D. Boyko of Boston and M. Smith of San Francisco. Finals, Jones and Matthews defeated Bowers and Flemingwood.

65+ Doubles: Semifinals, D. Boyko of Boston and M. Smith of San Francisco defeated Mark Bosterli of Santa Fe and E. Lockhart. Ed Helfeld of San Francisco and P. Fisher of Lafayette CA defeated S. Yost of St. Helena CA and Charlie Perkins of Santa Fe. Finals, Boyko and Smith defeated Helfeld and Fisher.

70+ Doubles: Semifinals, Bill Haynes and Tim Tyler of Denver defeated Frank Wolack of Albuquerque and T. Popowitz of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Lee Hill and C. Gilmore of Denver defeated Bud Kelly of Santa Fe and L. Lowart of Colorado Springs. Finals, Hill and Gilmore defeated Haines and Tyler.

40+ Singles: Semifinals, Randy Kahn of Albuquerque defeated Rich Prince of St. Paul. Bob Marshall of San Francisco defeated Walter Burke of Santa Fe. Finals, Kahn by default.

50+ Singles: Semifinals, Bill Krauser of Los Alamos defeated Warren Young of Dallas. J. Dolejs of Albuquerque defeated C. Castelman of Denver. Finals, Krauser defeated Dolejs.

60+ Singles: Semifinals, Dick Silbar of Los Alamos defeated J. Herman of Portland, OR. Mark Bosterli of Santa Fe defeated H. Palmer of Fresno, CA. Finals, Silbar defeated Bosterli.

65+ Singles: Semifinals, Dave Matthews of Santa Fe defeated P. Jordan of Mexico City. Mark Bosterli by default. Finals, Matthews defeated Bosterli.

70+ Singles: Semifinals, Frank Wolack defeated Tom Berry of Vernon NJ. Hoffman of Santa Fe defeated G. Wadsworth of Mexico City. Finals, Hoffman defeated Wolak.

RACQUETS AND SUPPLIES

Are you having a hard time trying to keep your racquet bag filled with your favorite sticks? Do you want to try some of the newest racquets made from space age materials and exotic stringing patterns? Are your sneakers giving you the kind of support that the demanding game requires? Does your string have enough "bite" or have you got the right grip?

New Mexico has a relatively small squash population and no real "Squash" Pro shops. Whenever I go into a sporting goods store I go to the racquet section to see what is being carried in the way of squash. Most of the time there are a few models at the lower end of the quality scale. Most supplies (string, grips, glasses) are aimed at the tennis or racquetball market.

The best alternative has been to get quality equipment shipped from a mail order business that specializes in squash. BUT, did you know that you can get most of the same equipment right here in New Mexico, and perhaps with better service? There may be others, but I do know that:

Leslie Sanchez at Midtown Sports is a representative for Dunlop / Slazenger. She can get racquets and supplies from these companies and may have racquet demos, so you can "try before you buy".

Randy Kahn is on the Prince Pro Advisory Staff. He has most of the current racquet models for demo and can get you the racquets at a discounted price. The "Power Ring" series is a great step forward in racquet technology, providing a huge sweet spot on the racquet.

Walter Burke at El Gancho is an agent for the more obscure Karakal from Belgium, Pointfore from England and Canadian BOZ racquets lines and Hi-Tec Court Shoes, the number one choice for squash players. All racquets are far below retail and the court shoes from Hi-Tec are priced slightly less than mail order companies. Walter also carries IX Optical Protective lenses.

GET A GRIP

I play squash with lots of different people in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and sometimes out of state. One of the things that I have noticed about most racquets that people have is the deplorable condition of their grips. This overlooked and inexpensive piece of hardware is the first layer of contact that a player has with the ball. To hold the racquet which hits the ball that everyone wants to control you have to hold the grip.

Everyone that I speak to likes a different feel to the handle of the racquet. A top player I know likes a very thin handle. Another likes a larger feel to the handle. Either way it is essential that the grip provide a dry and slightly tacky connection with the player’s hand, ridged or flat is a matter of personal preference. If your racquets twists when the ball is hit it is time to change your grip. The twist of the racquet may cost you a point, and most of the time you don’t want to give up a point to any one.

Grips are cheap! They cost no more than a ball most of the time and last longer. They are easy to change! Most grips are a polyurethane backed with an adhesive tape. Pull off your old grip and put the new one on in its place. If your hands sweat a lot do it often. A good connection with your racquet allows you to grip the racquet less tightly, so that soft shot can be soft and the hard shot has the authority that it demands.

Try overgrips which are applied over the original grip. This creates a slightly larger handle. Karakal pioneered the PU Super grip so popular with top players. But, on inspection the PU grip sold by other racquet companies is very similar if not identical. Black Knight makes the T.U.F. grip, which stands for Totally Ultimate Feel. This ridged grip is standard issue on any of their racquets. The blue grips endorsed by Pete Sampras are not as much to my liking as some of the other products on the markets.

Try out several different brands and styles until you come up with something that you like and then buy a bunch and keep changing them. It’s cheap and easy, qualities we may not look for in our life partners, but acceptable and desirable for our grips

SAN DIEGO ROAD TRIP FOR NEW MEXICO SQUASHERS

A couple of years ago Randy Kahn led a group that made a pilgrimage to San Diego for a weekend of squash. If anyone is interested in going along to the California coast for a weekend of squash and relaxation, this is an excellent opportunity. Contact Randy if you are interested, and let him know what three weekends in January or February would work for you. He will pick the weekend that has the most available players.

WORLD NEWS

For the first time ever a North American Player is ranked #2 in the World and World Champion. Jonathan Power moved to the #2 spot from the #3 in most recent rankings. After tearing his Achilles tendon last year and making a slow recovery he has regained his form and most recently defeated World #1 Peter Nichol from Scotland at the Mahindra World Championships. For more up-to-date information check out the Internet Squash Federation web site at www.squash.org/