Welcome to the August edition of the ESF News. Our next board meeting will be in October in Tallinn during the European Nations Challenge Cup so if you have any specific themes that you think should be discussed, please let us know well in advance. Also if you have any information for the newsletter, please send it in.
I was very pleased to see that on the Junior Circuit the numbers are steadily increasing. So I would like to take the opportunity here to say thank you once again to all the coaches and parents who give a lot of time and patience and give the Juniors the opportunity to play all over Europe.
OLYMPICS
Perhaps the most important and also the most disappointing thing for squash has been our application to get into the Olympics.
We all shared the disappointment that squash was ultimately unsuccessful in its bid to be included in the 2012 Olympics. The disappointment was all the greater because the outcome had seemed so positive: firstly with the removal of two sports from the Olympic programme and then with squash being voted as the first choice to take one of the newly created places. However, this has not deterred us and we are supporting WSF every step of the way as they continue working to have squash included in the Olympics in 2016.
WSF Chief Executive Christian Leighton summed it up perfectly in his article in their newsletter Update number 13.
EUROPEAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
This year’s Championships took place in the magnificent Frans Otten Stadion in Hoofddorp, Amsterdam between 27-30 April. It was an excellent event and our thanks go to the Dutch Federation and all at the Frans Otten Stadion for their hospitality and to everyone involved in organising the event.
The new divisional format was used for the first time. Hungary won the Men’s Division 1 play-off with Switzerland and Sweden being promoted to Premier Division; Germany and Spain retaining their places in the Premier Division; and Ireland and Finland being relegated to Division 1.
Austria won the Women’s Division 1 play-off with Spain being promoted to the Premier Division; France, Germany and Denmark retaining their positions in the Premier Division; and Belgium being relegated to Division 1.
The Men’s Premier Division was won by England, who beat France 4-0, and hosts the Netherlands beat Wales 3-1 in the play-off for third place.
The Women’s Premier Division was won by England who beat hosts the Netherlands 2-1. Ireland beat Scotland in the 3rd/4th play-off.
AGM
The Annual General Meeting took place on Saturday, 30 April in Hoofddorp, The Netherlands.
We were pleased to welcome the Ukraine as the 42nd member of ESF.
We were also pleased to see Chris and Martin re-elected as President and Vice-President respectively and to welcome Marianne Grima who was elected female Vice-President.
The 2006 AGM will take place in Vienna on Saturday, 29 April.
EUROPEAN INDIVIDUAL 2005
The 5th European Individual Closed Championships were run very successfully in Prague from 15-18 June. We were pleased to receive 34 entries for the Men’s event and 29 for the Women’s event from 20 countries. In the Men’s event, Gregory Gaultier from France retained his title, beating the local favourite Jan Koukal in the Final. Peter Barker beat Bradley Ball (both from England) in the 3rd/4th play off. In the Women’s event, Vanessa Atkinson from the Netherlands beat Linda Elriani from England in the Final. Pamela Nimmo (Sco) beat Rebecca Botwright, the holder, from England in the 3rd/4th play off.
The Czech Squash Federation is to be congratulated on holding an excellent event.
EUROPEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
Arrangements are well in hand for the European Club Championships which take place from 21-24 September in Paderborn, Germany. The defending Men’s Champions, Paderborn Squash Club, look forward to welcoming all participants and supporters to Paderborn for what promises to be a superb tournament.
Tickets for the Championships - including a special 3 day rover ticket with tournament T-shirt - are available through: email to EUROPEAN NATIONS CHALLENGE CUP OLYMPICS JUNIORS
The 2004/05 Junior Circuit finished with the Dutch Junior Open in Amsterdam in July. The top 8 boys and top 8 girls in the U19 categories received PSA and WISPA membership prizes respectively, which were presented at the tournament by their representatives Mark Chaloner and Natalie Grinham. Our thanks go to PSA and WISPA for their generous contribution towards the prizes.
Our congratulations go to all the winning players but especially to Charlie de Rycke from Belgium who won the Girls’ title for the third consecutive year.
U19 Boys
1. Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) U19 Girls The 2005/06 Circuit starts this month with the Swiss Junior Open, closely followed by the Nordic Junior Open in Denmark. There are 19 tournaments taking place in 16 countries, including 6 Grand Prix, 5 Super Series and 1 Gold Event.
U15 & U17 TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
The European Junior U15 and U17 Team Championships took place in May in Böeblingen, Germany with overall entries from 18 countries. 16 Countries competed in the U15 event, with England beating Germany 2-1 in the final and Wales beating France 2-1 in the 3/4 play-off. 17 Countries competed in the U17 event, with England beating Germany 2-1 in the final and Switzerland beating France 3-0 in the 3/4 play-off.
FUTURE ESF CHAMPIONSHIPS
European Team Championships 2006
The 2006 European Team Championships will take place in Vienna, Austria from 26-29 April. We are extremely grateful to the Austrian Federation for stepping into the breach at such short notice and offering to host the event next year.
European Club Championships 2006 2007 Championships
We are seeking hosts for all 2007 Championships except the U15/U17 Team Championships. If you think you may be able to host one of the tournaments, please let us know.
ESF COACHING INITIATIVE
The new ESF Level 1 Coaching Diploma is progressing well. Courses have taken place to date in Serbia, Poland, the Ukraine and Bulgaria and further events are planned for the autumn in the Baltic States and Russia. We have been able to provide these courses in more countries than originally anticipated thanks to a generous grant from WSF.
WSF ANTI-DOPING TRIBUNAL
As you will be aware from the World Squash News, the French player Stephane Galifi has been banned jointly by the WSF and PSA for breaching the WSF Anti-Doping Code. The ban is effective for 2 years from 9 August 2005. During this time, Galifi will not be able to participate in any event or activity authorised or organised by PSA or WSF; as ESF is a member of WSF, this includes ESF events.
WSF AGM
Chris Stahl will be representing Europe at the WSF Executive Committee meeting and AGM taking place in Brazil from 16-19 November.
Chris hopes that as many of you as possible will be able to attend the AGM conference as there will be some interesting discussions about the Olympics, the future marketing of squash and ideas and visions for squash in future in light of the recent Olympic decision. However, if you are not able to attend but you would like Chris to represent your views or raise any issues please let us know by 21 October.
Sporty greetings from,
Marianne Grima Voor meer informatie over de ESF kijk op http://www.europeansquash.com
Dear Friends,
First of all, I would like to say a big thank you to Derv who stepped down at the last AGM after serving her full 6 years as an ESF Vice-President. It was obvious that she and all the work she has done have been well apprebciated so it is not easy to take over her job. Therefore I was very pleased not to be inundated with files and files of work. No, instead Derv offered to give me a very soft handover, for which I am more than thankful. Now I am slowly but surely trying to get down to the ‘nicks’. With the help of Sue and the other members of the Board I am sure I will succeed.
The European Nations Challenge Cup is being hosted in Tallin, Estonia from 27-29 October. Although the closing date was 28 August, late entries are still possible from eligible countries, especially for the women’s event. Further information is available from the ESF office.
The most important thing for squash has been our application to get into the Olympics. Refer to Christian Leighton’s write up in the WSF update number 13 for full explanation of what happened to Squash’s case for inclusion in the Olympics.
2. Chris Simpson (Eng)
3. Sebastiaan Weeninck (Ned)
4. Gustav Detter (Swe)
5. Nicholas Müller (Swi)
6. Shaun le Roux (Eng)
7. Sebastian Victor (Swe)
8. Tom Hoevenaars (Ned)
1. Charlie de Rycke (Bel)
2. Camille Serme (Fra)
3. Leonie Holt (Eng)
4. Tereza Dufkova (Cze)
5. Soraya Renai (Fra)
6. Susannah King (Eng)
7. Lotte Eriksen (Nor)
8. Sarycarmen Diaz (Mex)
The European Club Championships will take place in Malmö following acceptance of Sweden’s offer to host the tournament.
Vice-President
Squashweb.nl
De internet pagina voor Squash in Nederland