Runa Reta - WISPA Squash Pro on Tour on www.squashtalk.com

The beginning of the year always starts off with a flurry of American tournaments, most of which opt to provide billeting for the players, rather than hotel accommodation.

On my recent trip to Greenwich, I was fortunate enough to stay at a family’s place that was so “hooked up” if you will, that I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it featured on an episode of the MTV show “Cribs” before (or was that Missy Elliott’s house?!?)

With its own pool, squash court, tennis court, workout gym, and games room, among other more familiar aspects of a normal household, I really didn’t feel the need to leave the house, and was tempted to try and convince my opponent to come over to the house for the match (in order to facilitate an Indiana-style, “roll-out-of-the-bed-onto-the-squash-court” maneuver…refer to article on Goshen). In fact, the only reason I did leave at all was because I was bribed with a BMW X5 to drive around town (God only knows what made this family believe within minutes of meeting me that I was responsible enough to not crash their car!) In sum, the house was amazing, the family was fun, generous and easy-going, and the use of a car was an added bonus that made this a dream billeting experience.

In general, players enjoy being billeted every once in a while, because it provides a nice change of scenery to the same, monotonous surroundings of hotel life. At somebody’s home, we are able to move around a bit more, and get to know a family in a way that would certainly not be possible otherwise. The only reservations that players have at times with billeting is the ‘X’ factor or namely, the unknown quantity which is the host that is about to take us in.

After years of having traveled and stayed with hosts all over the world, the overwhelming majority of experiences have been positive. However, we as players also have enough stories of billeting-gone-wrong to make us a bit tentative and nervous whenever encountering a new family. So, as I am always trying to bridge the gap of understanding, here are some important guidelines for hosts to take into consideration when deciding to billet a squash player. Although it isn’t a pre-requisite to own a squash court in your house or to offer up your most expensive car for us to drive (neither acts are discouraged, mind you!) a few simple things to remember would certainly help make everyone’s experience a more comfortable and enjoyable one.

Uncertain Intros – I’m sure that there is as great a feeling of uneasiness for hosts as there are for billets upon first meeting. What are they like? What will they want to do? What should we do? The right answers to these types of questions do not come from dropping us off at our room and leaving with an ambiguous “see you later”. Just as you weren’t sure what to do at that point, know WE have NO idea what to do! Generally speaking, a quick tour of the house, of the room where we are going to stay and an open-ended invitation to join in the regular goings-on of the household, will go a long way in easing tension on this front.
Feed your billet – seems like common sense, but one time another player and myself were not offered anything to eat for so long, that we actually considered eating the gift that we had bought for our hosts, just to sustain ourselves! Food doesn’t mean going out of your way to prepare big special meals; in fact, often players are not even at the house a lot of the time. Breakfast is the one meal that players are always there for, so simple foods like cereal, toast, yogurt and fruit will suffice. Depending on what the player’s plans are for the day, meals will vary. However, in general, an offer to set out an extra plate of whatever is being cooked for that evening is well appreciated. If you tell the billet the family’s food plans for the day, either he/she will go along with it, or arrange to get their own food some other way.
One bed per person please! – only take as many players as you can comfortably house. Once a tournament organizer housed so many girls that he himself didn’t even have anywhere to sleep! Because we value a good night’s rest, try to avoid putting more than one person per bed (…or pull-out sofa…yes, this has happened to me too!) Note: owning a studio apartment is a clear indication that you don’t have the space to host a billet!
Proximity to venue – try and avoid hosting players if you live further than a half hour’s drive from the club. Obviously, this cannot be prevented sometimes, but it is always very straining for both host and billet alike if the player is having to be shuttled back and forth to the club once or twice a day.
Ditching – avoid dumping your billet off at the club, assuming that the players will offer each other endless hours of joy and entertainment without even realizing that a full working day has gone by. I was once left at the club so often, that when my billet came to get me, she virtually forgot that I was even staying with her, and after chatting with some friends of hers, accidentally left the club without me! If everyone in the house is gone to school or work all day, allow for alternatives for billets to get back to the house (ie. giving a spare car to use).
Coaching- In many parts of the New England area (where many WISPA’s are held) a new trend has swept through the area, whereby every Tom, Dick and Harry (Jr.) has their own private coach who caters to all their needs (squash and otherwise it seems). Do not mistake the professionals as (free) private coaches for your kids while they are staying at your house. Most players are happy to hit with their host’s children (or overly-competitive parents!) at one point during the week, but I have seen instances where billets have had to hit 3 or 4 times with the kids. This is completely unreasonable and in bad form.
Meeting your significant other – billeting should not under any circumstances be mistaken for an opportunity to court a squash player for the week! True, PSA and WISPA players both tend to fall in the young, athletic, often-unattached demographic, but this in no way justifies trying to start a romantic relationship with the billet during the course of the tournament. Sadly, this cunning form of unawares dating has happened to a few players before, leading to inevitable akwardness, disappointment, and great stories for the rest of us! (note: if you think that as a host you can remain discreet about your attempts to sweep your billet off his/her feet, think again – squash gossip travels so quickly, that everyone will know about your sad antics before you even have the time to say “oops”)
Timing – know how long your billet requires housing. This one applies equally to the organizer of billeting as well as the potential hosts. There is nothing more nerve-wracking than having a host say something like “you’re staying until Sunday?!? I had no idea”. Be clear on how long someone is expecting to stay at the house (easily achieved by simply asking), because sometimes family’s make plans that just won’t be broken no matter what the consequences... (consequences: being left at the house while the family goes out of town for the weekend; being so fed up that the player’s things are packed up and moved to another person’s house in the middle of the night, etc. etc….all true examples by the way).
The Cheering squad – as much as we appreciate having our host’s support (mom, dad and the six kids!) it is not an imperative to come watch, and you shouldn’t feel bad if you cannot make it to the match. In fact, once a player had her whole host’s family come out to her match (with great expectations) only to be walloped 27-0 in about 10 minutes! So it doesn’t always pay to come and watch. But if you do, feel free to heckle the opponent and referee at opportune moments and definitely continue to smother us with compliments following match play!
The Help-yourself attitude – the most important piece of advice from someone who has been billeted many times before is to keep things as casual and informal as possible; when things are too formal (or unnatural) it creates a tangible atmosphere of discomfort. Just treat players like any other guests, and don’t feel as though you have to stray from your everyday routine because we’re around- we will adapt to the surroundings. The two phrases that resonate like music to our ears is “help yourself to whatever you like” and “make yourself at home” (…just be ready for players to make full use of those terms once spoken!)

Like I said before, most of our experiences being billeted are very positive and memorable. In fact, one of the joys of returning to tournaments that offer billeting is being able to catch up with past hosts, who occasionally become on-going supporters and friends of ours. It should also be noted however that as players we tend to compare our billets like comparing lunches at grade school (without the luxury of making trades!) We quietly discuss how nice the family and house is, scrutinize the funny or akward moments, and generally rate how good our hosts are in comparison to other player reviews. When you’ve scored a really nice host (as I did in Greenwich, two years in a row actually) there is a swelling sense of pride, while those who aren’t so fortunate are left with feelings of envy and wrong-doing, as they realize that they are stuck staying 60 miles away, in a one-room shack with a guy who looks at you funny and doesn’t feed you. For the sake of the few who have fallen into the latter category, hopefully these guidelines will help reduce the potential for bad incidents and allow for everyone to have enjoyable billeting experiences in the future.