THE WORLD’S ALL HERE
For a world women’s junior championship, a lot of senior people turned up in Herentals, Belgium. The USA team seemed to attract a lot of names. Mark Allen, naturally was there as National junior coach but then so was Natalie Grainger in her role as assistant coach. Then suddenly there was Chris Walker and Paul Johnson. Chris is now the US national senior team coach and was there to add his experience during the team tournament. He was also keeping an eye on Amanda Siebert, the number three in the US team. Mum and Dad Siebert were also on hand to keep an eye on their very slim daughter (I bet she never gets hit with the ball). Chris coaches the Siebert clan back in the States.

Liz Irving appeared to keep an eye on the emerging talent but kept the closest watch on Joshna Chinappa who goes to Amsterdam every so often to get the benefits of Liz’s wise coaching.

Liz’s has also coached Vanessa Atkinson and Nicol David who are surely destined to take over the top two WISPA spots. Is Liz the next Neil Harvey? Will the squash world’s young contenders all want a piece of that obviously very effective advice? You can bet on it.

And then Baj appeared -known officially as Satinder Bajwa, Harvard coach and SuperSeries Final supremo. He has also had a hand in the development of Chinappa as future senior champion. He was scouting around for new talent for his Harvard squad and was particularly interested in two of Britain’s leading juniors.

He won’t however, be getting Joshna on his team. Mrs, Chinappa, Joshna’s very beautiful mother, told me that although offers of an Ivy League education have been made, Joshna has said very firmly that education is not her thing and she wants simply to concentrate on squash.

And then there was Jack Wyant new coach at Penn U who was also on a scouting trip,. The new Ivy league’s squads could be interesting reading over the next 13 months.

DARK MUTTERINGS AT THE OLYMPICS
Following on from my pieces on the International Olympic Committee and their appalling screwup regarding the inclusion of squash and karate after baseball and softball were thrown out, an Australian newspaper came up with their own conspiracy theory. It goes like this: there was an anti-USA bloc vote caused by the Iraq war. Some countries wanted to punish the States so they voted out those two American sports, baseball and softball. The pro US bloc then retaliated by failing to give squash the 60 percent vote needed for inclusion in 2012 Games.

SQUASHTALK NOT OPEN TO CENSORSHIP
Two days after my editorial rant (The Five Ring Circus) appeared on Squashtalk, Ron Beck got a request from the WSF that the piece be removed from the site because it would offend the IOC and because there was a chance that another vote could be held in the future.

Ron quite rightly did not remove it. What is wrong with the WSF? The IOC has never been swayed by journalistic opinion, has never taken notice of one word written by a journalist, so why should they take the slightest bit of notice of my rantings and ravings?

One very well respected British journalist – not a squash writer – made a very succinct case for squash’s inclusion, his piece based on pure logic. Did the IOC take any notice? Did they even read it?

And I can bet you a large slice of your wallet that when the WSF reads that they are accused of attempted censorship, they will be mortified. What else would they call their requested for excision?

A COSTLY DEFEAT
When Charlie de Rycke, the Belgian number one, got knocked out in the quarters, there were a lot of very glum faces around, especially those of Belgian squash officials. Had Charlie gone on to win the world junior title it would have encouraged the Belgian government to put some much needed money into squash. But the opportunity in the junior ranks has passed and Charlie (pronounced Sshharlie) will just have to do it in the senior ranks. She will too: she is a great player and sliced through the opposition playing one for Belgium in the team competition.

DECISIONS, DECSIONS, WASH, WASH WASH, SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP

Waters - Respected Referee, on court cleaning duty at Herentals. photo© 2005, Martin Bronstein

Who is squash’s new domestic goddess?

One who washes balls whiter than white, one who sweeps the court (*see photo) spotlessly clean. And in his spare time referees the odd squash match. Why it’s Graham Waters, the Canadian referee. Useful man to have around the house, our Graham. And around the court too, as a a player. Did you know that Graham Waters beat Jonathon Power in a squash match?

Absolutely true. Mind you Power was only eight years old at the time, but chronology does not alter a result.

NATALIE CLOSE TO AMERICAN TEAM INCLUSION
I’ve been wondering over the last year about Natalie Grainger’s status regarding her eligibility to represent the USA in the next team champs. She tells me that in order to get her US citizenship she has to have held a green card for five years. Well she got her green card back in July 2001 which means her five years are up; now it’s a matter of how long it takes for the paperwork to get through to get the passport. As the next world senior team champs for women is not due until late 2006, there is a very good chance that Natalie will lead the US team. Probably team mates are Latasha Khan, Michelle Quibell. Louisa Hall, Amy Gross, Meredith Quick and surely Lily Lorentzen.

HONG KONG HAVE ARRIVED
You will have heard by now that Hong Kong won the world junior women’s team title. This is great news for the sport. Once world titles were being won by Australia and England with all other nations as poor also rans. Not any more. Just look at the top five finishers: Hong Kong, Egypt, England, USA and Malaysia. How about that for encircling the globe.

THE EL BOROLOSSY EMPIRE GROWS
I hear that Omar El Borolossy, that fine Egyptian player who retired from the circuit two years ago, has now opened his own player management company. One of his first clients is the new world junior champion Raneem el Weleily who is now sponsored by Harrow rackets,( the company started by Canadian Gary Waite, king of the hardball doubles). El Borolossy has also opened his own squash academy in Cairo and is breeding future squash champions. He and his wife Salma Shabana (Amr’s sister) now have two children.