25th Annual Convener's Cup

It was a full slate with 20 mixed doubles teams from across the province, including some of the top ranked players in North America.

There were no big upsets on the way to the finals but some great matches were witnessed. The Convener's is such a unique tournament as there is only one open draw but we get many B level teams supporting this event. They truly enjoy the opportunity to play against such top level teams that they would never normally meet in any tournament. After that the B level teams compete in a very competitive consolation round which takes 6 matches to win it all!

HARDBALL DOUBLES EXHIBITION

The WSF Management Committee (ManCom) scheduled for Canada in early September gave those ManCom members who had not been exposed to Hardball the opportunity to watch some action. While I had done so several times, seeing matches on adjacent courts while squash events were taking place in US clubs, not everybody had done so.

As a Brit, seeing the cricket pitch when we arrived at the Toronto club of that name was reassuring. Now, that is a real sport! But we were here for an inside game, albeit one with a pretty big playing area too. We were ushered in and given a real treat. No, not the sport but an extensive supply of beer vouchers - something much less of a system elsewhere, mores' the pity.

Into the seats, and warming up in front of us were four greats. Well, maybe only three as Shahier Razik had let on to me in Germany a couple of weeks earlier that he was inexperienced, but as a splendid softballer it would hardly show. Knowing Willie Hosey, Jonathon Power and Gary Waite while they played the squidgy ball game I was intrigued to watch them as top exponents of the North American game……and to ensure a WSF viewing to support the tub thumping that Gary had done on its behalf.

WSF Exhinition in Toronto

The board of the World Squash Federation was treated to a top level hardball doubles exhibition at the Toronto Cricket Club.  We hope the WSF loved it and will include us in future talks about doubles internationally.  

All the games from Hardball Doubles Exhibition on September 9^th 2011 for the WSF Showcase are now available for viewing.

Squash Canada WSF Showcase - Game 1 from SportZtime on Vimeo.

The Maine/Maryland at Meadow Mill (M4) Doubles Tournament

The first major doubles tournament of the 2011-2012 season offers an opportunity to win a state championship (for future recognition), to contribute to a worthy urban squash program and help keep hope alive for returning doubles to the great state of Maine.

The Maine/Maryland at Meadow Mill (M4) Doubles tournament will be held September 30 – October 2 at Meadow Mill Athletic Club in Baltimore, and other clubs as necessary. Seven draws are scheduled: an Open, a Women’s draw, a B, and under 30, and three age draws, 50s, 60s and 70s.

It will be the second time this event has been held.  A 2009 tournament drew nearly 50 players from Maine to Maryland, Montreal to Miami and a few cities in between. This year’s event already has that many players committed - from California to Canada, Wilmington, Philadelphia and New York - and promises to be an even more exciting tournament, with limited prize money available in the Open draw.

The tournament also will seek to raise funds for SquashWise, Baltimore’s urban squash and education program.  The after-school program for middle school students is based at Meadow Mill, a popular squash and athletic club operated by Nancy Cushman, and host to the Women’s Howe Cup Team Championships and the National Skills Level Championship for 2011/2012. 

The Maine/Maryland tournament (or M4) was conceived by Fred Hill, a retired State Department official and avid doubles player, and several friends in Baltimore with whom he played doubles at Meadow Mill for many years, notably Paul Harris and Hugh Anderson.  Hill moved to Maine in 2006 to write a book on his family’s 19-century shipyard, and bought a house just 15 minutes from Bowdoin College, which had the only hardball doubles court in the state.

2011-12 Intercollegiate Doubles Championships

Philadelphia, PA — The 2011 – 2012 Intercollegiate Doubles Championships will be held September 30, 2011 – October 2, 2011 in Philadelphia, PA.  The tournament will be hosted by the Racquet Club of Philadelphia.

In the 2011 Intercollegiate Doubles Championship finals, Franklin & Marshall’s Gabe DeMelo and Ryan Mullaney defeated Penn’s Trevor McGuiness and Dan Judd in five games to capture the Ketcham Cup (Men’s Championship).  In the inaugural women’s championship, Harvard’s Cece Cortes and Sarah Mumanachit won the title.

Building on the expansion of last season’s championships, the 2011 – 2012 event will include a singles lightning round as well as a mixed doubles event.  Each school is guaranteed one spot in the men’s, women’s, mixed, and singles draws.  Please visit the tournament information page on the U.S. SQUASH website for more details or email doubles@ussquash.com.

The 2011 US Open Squash Championships will be held in Philadelphia, PA, (Drexel University) from September 28, 2011 – October 6, 2011. Entrants in the 2011 – 2012 Intercollegiate Doubles Championships will receive complementary tickets for the US Open.

Summer Vacation and Doubles

Going on vacation this summer and looking for a doubles game?  You may be surprised to find out that it is easier than you think to get on a doubles court.  There are many summer vacation spots in the United States that now have doubles courts like Nantucket and the Hamptons (click for a complete list of courts).  For those of you who don't like to go a week without a game, these locations may be just the ticket.  As we all know, finding four players for a doubles game can be difficult, so there are usually opportunities to hop into a game at both private and public clubs.  Doubles courts can also be found at destinations such as Santa Fe, Vail, Vero Beach, Sea Island and Kiawa Island.  

Squash doubles is now more interactive!

Ah, the power of Google maps.  Ever wonder where exactly all the squash doubles courts are in North America?  Check out this interactive map of courts in the Canada, Mexico and the U.S.  Locations are color coded based on number of courts at each club.  The Cedar Springs Racquet & Sportsclub in Burlington, ON has three doubles courts.    

Historical data on all U.S. Squash doubles championships is now available as well.  Please check out the Wikipedia page on hardball doubles as well as the past champions page.  Please send any suggestions or updates to doubles@ussquash.com.