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

A Week in Mulheim, Germany ...

Runa offcourt at the World Games (photo © Runa Reta)

When I was told by my federation that I was to play in the World Games (which featured one male and one female from a host of invited squash countries), I was admittedly lacking in enthusiasm. First of all, it was being played in a place called Duisberg, Germany, which no one seemed to have heard of, and it was pulling me out of my summer training that I so desperately needed. Second, and more importantly, most of us players were unsure of our place and purpose in a multi-sport games that involved events such as tug-of-war, fistball (?), lifesaving, canoe polo, fin swimming, and yes, wait for it, casting too (an educated guess would indeed confirm that this involves casting a fishing line with apparent precision and distance). Now, I don’t want to come across as being a sporting snob- seeing as squash is constantly being put down by other, more popular competitive sports- but to me (and what do I know), some of these events seemed to more closely resemble made up ‘games’ that perhaps counselors at summer camps invented to keep their hyper-active kids entertained, and/or altered sports for the incredibly lazy (I mean c’mon, canoe polo, fin swimming!) What did squash have to do with these obscure sports?!?

The World Games 2005 Squash Venue (photo © Runa Reta)

As squash players, we were told that the World Games provided a perfect platform with which we could showcase all of the great aspects of our sport, in a last ditch effort to influence the IOC vote with regards to our inclusion in the 2012 Olympics. There was just one tiny flaw to this grand scheme though: the vote occurred BEFORE the World Games, thus seeming to make our presence in Duisberg rather unnecessary. However, we were later told that IOC members would indeed be attending various World Games events, and that- with various squash delegates pushing hard to persuade the committee to hold a re-vote- any opportunity we had to aid such a cause was one worth taking. And so, it was in this light that I headed to Germany, unsure of what to expect, but ready for the adventure nevertheless.

Because my teammate- Matt Guiffre- was arriving on a different flight, I was on my own when I first arrived in Duisberg, and thus was glad to see a large number of WG officials milling around the airport, ready to transport me to what I envisioned as the “village”, for accreditation purposes. Once I arrived at the main “Plaza”, I was told to put my luggage in a storage area and was placed in a line with other athletes, in order to get my special pass (which would identify me as an athlete, allow me to view other sporting events, and ride public transportation for free).

It was at this point that I realized how very little I actually knew about these Games that I was about to take part in, nor what level of prestige other athletes assigned to it (I later found out that there were nearly 3,500 athletes competing in 35 sports that were not included in the Olympics, and from what I could gather, it was a pretty big deal). While standing in line, I saw athletes from a myriad of sporting backgrounds and geographic locations: Costa Rica, South Africa, Australia, Hungary, etc. I started to get excited. I was going to spend a week in the World Games village, meeting interesting people like those who surrounded me in the accreditation queue, and experiencing my first ever multi-sport games.

Or maybe not.

When it came time to finding my accommodation, I started to grow suspicious that my notions of sporting comraderie would not come true. The first hint was that I was meant to stay at the “Best Western Hotel”, which did not sound to me like a very communal, village-y type place that could house 3,500 athletes, but maybe the Best Westerns in Germany did things a little different from those that I was used to seeing in North America (not true). The second, and most telling sign was that forty-five minutes into the ride- after having been driven through every nook and cranny of the German countryside possible- I discovered that I was well out of Duisberg and in a completely different city called Mulheim! Something told me that I was not going to see the village again for a long time!

Mulheim was a beautiful, quaint little city, with a very common European feeling to it, except for instead of sipping lattes, locals were seen sipping milkshakes out on the cobblestone sidewalks littered with patio furniture that was brought out and dusted off in these few hot, summer months. We were right in the heart of the place, with shops, restaurants and public transportation (the tube) all at our fingertips. At this point I considered the pros and cons of being in Mulheim (aka convenience central) versus a potentially crowded and uncomfortable hostel-type accommodation, and decided that there would be other times to befriend a korfball player or sumo wrestler in the future. The main village was a good 30 minute drive from where we were, and as a result, I did not get a chance to see any other events during my stay, which was a shame really.

From the time that I landed in Germany, there were several things that occurred that could have been taken as ominous signs for the running of this tournament. First, there was the aforementioned and never-ending trek to the Best Western. Then, upon check-in, I entered my room only to be hit by a heat wave that would have made Tel-Aviv seem pretty cold in the dead of summer. After determining that there was no fan or individual cooling settings in the room, I mozied on down to the front desk to ask the staff to turn on the A/C in my room (oh how naïve I am!) only to be informed that there was no A/C in the entire hotel, BUT that they were going to have it installed….next summer! (how that helped my cause, God only knows).

So there we were, 30+ degree weather, and not so much as a fan in the room! (on another note regarding the cooling mechanisms in German suburbia, the all-glass court on which we played was installed in the tennis pavilion, in an area that had a grand total of 3 tiny fans which mocked us from 100 feet above, and made for some intensely hot conditions on court). And lastly, once I had settled into the hot but nice hotel in Mulheim, little did I know that finding the actual location of the courts would be such a challenge.

With much help from the front desk, I was able to gather that I had to take the underground railway to the HeiBen Kirsche stop (apparently, you don’t pronounce this as heiben kirsh, and received some appalled looks of disgust from the locals, as I continued to bastardize the name!) Well, with a train stop in hand, what more info could a girl need? (in my head, none). So I packed my squash bag, made my way to the tube and proudly found the right stop without making a single error. Only problem was that once I left the subway, I lacked the vital follow-up directions that would have made my finding the venue possible. “Please let the courts be right in front of the station,” I thought. I thought wrong. So, after wandering down random streets aimlessly, trying desperately to tap into my “if I were a squash court, where would I be?” intuition, I finally gave up, went back to the hotel and despite my best efforts of trying to ward off major jet-lag, fell asleep at 7:30pm.

Notwithstanding these incidents, the event itself was run incredibly well, with the kind of efficiency that would make any German proud. To be fair, most of the confusion that arose with regards to the details and venue occurred because I had arrived a day early, before the main organizers themselves had come (most had driven to Mulheim from various parts of the country). Therefore, most of the hotel staff were unaware of the details regarding the tournament. Once these organizers arrived however, everything ran very smoothly. In addition to the head coordinator, Peter Koeck, we were assigned an extremely helpful assistant- named Bitta- whose sole purpose was to remain at the hotel and see to the players’ needs and questions regarding the event. Between these two, and the countless other volunteers who were always available and on hand to provide assistance at the club, all of the players were well looked after for the duration of the tournament.

The club that we played at boasted 15 squash courts, a fitness area, spa, restaurant/bar, and a huge tennis pavilion, among other things. While we did not know what to expect from the show-court, the set-up was impressively and professionally done. In addition to the court, the surrounding areas were used to provide player profiles and draws, as well as kiosks for various different brands/sponsors, selling their equipment and apparel to spectators.

Speaking of spectators, we as players were all pleasantly surprised (well, more like astounded!) to see so many people attending the matches, every day. As one player noted, there were more people here than at many WISPA events during the year! Despite having to pay to watch, the Germans came out in throngs, packing the stands in the front court, and disproving the myth that squash is not well-appreciated or watched, even in the smallest of communities. The crowds had a finely-tuned understanding of the game, applauding technically difficult shots, quietly lending sighs of disapproval at questionable calls, and most emphatically, rallying support to players on the losing end of things, with slow rhythmic clapping akin to a tribal pulse. With so much energy in and around the courts, no one could have asked for a better setting to host some of the best squash in the world.

Both men and women came out for 4 days of competition, showing off a very diverse and talented group that spans the globe. Because there were no points at stake, the players were able to compete with fewer inhibitions, thus taking more risks, playing with greater flair and showcasing the more extravagant side of the sport, to the delight of the fans. Both final matches (between Rachael Grinham and Nicol David, and Thierry Lincou and Peter Nicol) ended with hugs and amicable handshakes, thus illustrating that despite the competitive nature of this sport, there is still room for respect and comraderie amongst these top athletes. All in all, it was a great week of squash, and any delegate from the Olympic committee who may have witnessed any part of it, would likely be wondering- as we all are- how this sport, with its astounding physical demands, its ability to woo crowds and bring them to their feet in virtually any setting, in any space big enough to hold a court, has not yet earned its place amongst the other top Olympic sports. Let us hope that the strong showing at the World Games is the first of many steps in reversing such fortunes.

(Many thanks go out to all the organizers, particularly Peter Koeck of the German Federation. Hosting 3,500 athletes is an enormous feat that was successfully carried out with amazing thought and precision. The athletes are indebted to all of them for putting on such a great event).