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PSA NIXES GLASS FLOOR

After a referendum held by PSA  members in New York earlier this week, it was decided that from March 1st 2008  the ASB glass floor will no longer be used for PSA tournaments.

Despite  hard lobbying by e-mail to all PSA  members by Horst Babinsky, the founder of ASB courts, the members decided that, after their experience in Bermuda at the World Open in November, the glass floor is too dangerous.

Unlike wooden floors, glass does not absorb moisture – usually the sweat of the players. In Bermuda, the high temperatures  plus humidity were the cause of constant slipping by the players.

It has been reported that six months before the World Open in Bermuda, promoter Ross Triffit was told by ASB that  if it rained play was not possible.  The cost of  replacing the glass floor with a wooden substitute was prohibitive and so the tournament went ahead using the glass floor.

Squash administrators and players alike are at a loss to see the advantages of a glass floor. The makers point out the advantages of having under-floor advertisements and logos but this is only evident with special overhead cameras, which were only rarely used in Bermuda.

ASB Courts have installed glass courts on three cruise ships and it has been suggested that as the courts are open to the elements, where a wood floor would be affected by rain, ASB came up with the idea of a glass floor.

The floor was used in two WISPA  tournaments including  the women’s World Open in Madrid in October. No problems were encountered due to the cold evenings when the final rounds were played.

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