2002 British Nationals

February 20

BRITISH NATIONALS GROW IN STATURE The British National Championships are underway in Manchester and are assuming the importance of a major tournament. This is very strange as they carry no world ranking points because they are national championships.

The first reason that the Brit players are getting so worked up about Manchester is that after the great Tournament of Champions in New York, there is no other major tournaments until March when some brave fellows may brave the sanities of warring political despots in India and Pakistan and participate in the Pakistan Open. (Every player guaranteed six guards armed with Uzis?) So in order to keep their skills sharpened, the British Nationals is brimful of world-class players.

Secondly, the British Open was today confirmed for April. But not the British Open of old where prize money was around $150,000 and the venues were opulent. No, the 2002 British Open has been saved by the omni-present Mike Corby, owner of a dozen or so fitness and squash clubs around London, president of England Squash, president of England’s Hockey Association (green stuff, not ice) and vice president of the World Squash Federation. (And if he has his way, President of the WSF when Susie Simcock retires this year).

He has once more stepped forward as the saviour of this venerated and much admired event, which 20-30 years ago was regarded as the world championship.

He saved the Open three years ago by putting up £45,000 ($70,000) of his own money to ensure that it took place in Birmingham Arena when a sponsor could not be found.

Once again this year, with Fablon/Eye Group in all sorts of trouble and litigation boiling between them and England Squash, the eight- year deal was dumped and once more the Open had no sponsor. Corby has taken over, waving the Union Jack, telling everybody just how great the Open is and what a fine tradition it has and that everybody should be honored to play in it. That they should want prize money too fills Corby with palpable indignation.

The early rounds will be played at Lambs Club in London, the flagship of his fitness empire. Then the tournament will move to Manchester to play in a sparkling new facility built for the Commonwealth Games in July.

Prize money for the men is just $40,000, in PSA terms a four-star event which puts it below both the US Open and the Tournament of Champions. The women get even less, $25,000 giving it a WISPA ‘silver’ status, the same as the WISPA event at the Tournament of Champions, which was only a 16 draw compared to the Open 32 player draw.

Aye, but here’s the rub: Corby has failed to register either tournament with WISPA or PSA which means that the Open will not carry world ranking points and, holy moly! the players will be advised not to participate! (I never use exclamations marks, but sometimes a writer’s gotta do what a writer’s gotta do).

Now, you may ask, what’s gotten into this Corby dude. Well, dear reader, we must go back in history a little here. (This preview could become another War and Peace).

Some years ago the PSA awarded the Melbourne Squash Festival the Men’s World Open Championship for 2001. But lo! Cometh another wise man from the East (India, actually) who had a camel called Procam and he offered unto PSA a real deal. He would put on the Men’s World Open for five years. Gawain Briars, the executive director of PSA and Robert Edwards, journeyed fourth to India, and, without one shekel changing hands, signed a piece of paper and the 2001 Men’s World Open was torn from Australian hands and given unto the camel Procam to carry.

Huge cries of ‘Blimey’ and 'bloody poms' were heard from the antipodes. In stepped Ted Wallbutton of the World Squash Federation, to create the WSF Men’s World Championship. Eye Group said they would put up the $120,000 prize money and all was saved. The PSA gave the event its blessing and Melbourne paid PSA the $5,000 registration fee.

But weeks before the WSF Men’s World Championship started Eye Group said they were a bit short of greenbacks and wondered whether they could halve the prize money. The PSA put the proposition to the players, who took a vote and rejected the offer and so boycotted it. Melbourne asked for their registration fee back and the PSA said no.

Well I don’t want to get into who is right and wrong here, because there are so many strands to consider, but Mike Corby is absolutely flaming, volcanically angry with Briars and the PSA for refusing to refund the money. He is saying to all who will listen that he doesn’t care about ranking points and whether some players will listen to the PSA and not play. This the British Open dammit!! Those who play will have the chance to win and he/she will then be able to call themselves British Open Champion forever more.

So, to get back to my first paragraphs, if the British Open carries no world ranking points, then it is no better than the British Nationals in importance. Or to put it the other way around, the Nationals will be just as important as the Open.

AND A WORD OR TWO ABOUT THE SQUASH.
In the first round, Simon Parke, who might have been seen to be a contender for the Nation Champ title, was unceremoniously bundled out in the first round by young James Willstrop, the player everyone expects to win the world junior title in India in August. This was a very fine victory for Willstrop who will now meet Nick Matthew, a member of the victorious England team at the world junior championships in Princeton in 1998. Willstrop had a similar experience in Milan in 2000, but despite his two year seniority, Matthew is nowhere near the superbly talented player that Willstrop is.

Adrian Grant is another England hope but once again got an unlucky draw. After beating his first round opponent, he now meets Peter Nicol who beat qualifier Peter Barker in 32 minutes. Anywhere else in the draw and Grant could have made the quarters.

On present form, and assuming he has gotten over his ankle problem that bothered him in New York, Peter Nicol should sail through to the title. Only the reigning champion Lee Beachill has shown that he has the skill, fitness and strategy to beat Nicol. His dominance of Nicol when he beat him in the British Open last year was quite marvellous and even Nicol admitted that the tall Yorkshireman had simply taken the court away from him.

Chris Walker had to withdraw after eating a pizza that contained more than pepperoni and cheese. (Was the botulism extra or did it come at no charge?) This is a real pity because he has shown over the last 12months that he has both the experience and fitness to beat anyone. So I predict that Nicol will be meeting Nick Taylor (who will be too strong for Willstrop in the quarters) in one semi-final while Beachill will face Mark Chaloner in the other. Mind you, if Paul Johnson can back to decent form, he could oust Chaloner.

In the women’s draw Cassie Campion should take the title without dropping a game. Even if Linda Charman-Smith, the second seed gets by Tania Bailey, she won’t be able to handle Campion’s game. Unless of course, Cassie has one of her well known mental blowouts.