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 GREAT EVENING…
How do they do it?
How does Eventis get those ideas?
Come on, they never stop, do they?
English Open, then
Canary Wharf
Classic, and then, their last baby, the World Squash Awards.
Guys, I had the time of my life…
Imagine a room filled with great players, from yesterday, today and
tomorrow, coaches, club managers, officials… in other words, a room
filled with people you know and respect…
On every table, famous faces. Smiles all around. Memories floating
from table to table. People that hadn’t seen each other for years.
All superbly dressed. Looking stunning. The men like the ladies…
Come on, even the journalists looked stunning, each and everyone of
them… And that, my friends, tells it all…
I was sitting between Chris Simpson and Thierry Lincou. It can’t get
much better, thanks Tim Garner…
And Adrian Davies’s presentation and interventions made it
all perfect, I must say. He was funny, he was witty, he was
emotional when need be, especially when he talked about his
friendship and admiration for Peter Nicol… His jokes about retired
famous players were so “right on the nail” I found myself laughing
like I haven’t done for a long time… And his friend, who followed
him, another member of the Welsh-connection, Brian Voyle-Morgan,
completed the evening superbly…
Each player who got an award was actually in the room, so we had the
chance to hear a few words from each of them, it was really perfect…
And of course, of course, how can I not talk about my Hero, probably
yours as well, Mr Jahangir Khan, who got the “Lifetime
Achievement” Award. Did you know that he was unbeaten for 776
matches? Seven Hundred and Seventy Six matches…
Nobody, nobody will never EVER beat that. In any sport. EVER.
And the All Mighty was there, and he made a long speech. And he said
that yes, he received awards in his life, but that this one, for a
“Lifetime Achievement” Award, this one was special, and you know
what, the little trembling in his voice tells me that he really
meant it…
He went on stressing how the WSF was fighting hard to try to get our
sport in the Olympics. May God, whatever name you refer to him as,
hear our prayers…
Yes, guys, it was a perfect evening. I missed a few people that
weren’t there, not sure why they weren’t. I hope they’ll be there
next year…
Because I hope that there’ll be a next year. And a next. And a next.
And I’m sorry I didn’t take any pictures of the evening. For once, I
wanted to enjoy myself.
And you know what, I did, I really did…
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Jahangir Khan
dominated the squash world through the eighties and into the
nineties, winning a record 10 British Open titles and six World Open
crowns.
He established a remarkable record - believed to be unequalled in
any sport - when he maintained an unbeaten run for five and a half
years, winning countless matches in events all over the globe, from
10 April 1981 until 11 November 1986!
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Thierry Lincou
combines success on court with professionalism and a winning
personality off it.
Adapting his game quickly to the demands of the new PSA scoring, he
captured three major championships, including the World Open, in the
last half of 2004 to regain the world No1 spot in January, which he
has retained throughout this year. |
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Vanessa Atkinson
won every final she played in 2004, claiming eight major WISPA
championships! Recognising the opportunity presented by the
retirements of England's Cassie Jackman and New Zealander Carol
Owens, Vanessa worked out how to improve her game to take
advantage.
She moved from No5 to No2 during the season, and has brought to the
forefront of women's squash a great head-to-head rivalry with the
Australian sisters Rachael and Natalie Grinham.
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James Willstrop
is both exciting on court and mature off it. A star of the future,
the 21-year-old from Pontefract in Yorkshire has brought to the
court a wondrous blend of tactics, power, speed and invention -
allied to an ability to learn from each encounter.
After a much heralded junior career (in which he won the world
title) and a successful rookie season on the PSA Tour, he shot from
No18 to No5 in the PSA rankings in a single year, and won the
Pakistan Open in December to earn his first Super Series victory.
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The panel highlighted the fact that
there are few women with the same range of technical ability or
tactical awareness as Nicol David
... and certainly not at her age.
The 21-year-old from Penang reached the finals of three world class
WISPA tournaments in 2004, won the Kuwait Open in March and has
risen to a career high of No4. Nicol is hugely popular in Malaysia
and was invited by her government to carry the Olympic torch on its
way to Athens for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
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24-Apr-05:
Nominations for the inaugural
WORLD SQUASH AWARDS
 The
nominees for the inaugural World Squash Awards were announced today
by event promoters Eventis Sports Marketing.
Taking place at the RAC in Pall Mall (London) on Friday 6th May
2005 the awards will be celebrate a year of fantastic squash with
the winners of each category being announced on the night.
MALE Player of the Year
- Lee Beachill
- Thierry Lincou
- James Willstrop
FEMALE
Player of the Year
- Vanessa Atkinson
- Natalie Grinham
- Rachael Grinham
YOUNG MALE
Player of the Year
- Ramy Ashour
- Chris Simpson
- James Willstrop
YOUNG FEMALE Player of the
Year
- Nicol David
- Omneya Abdel Kawy
- Alison Waters
There will also be a
Lifetime Achievement Award
that will be presented on the night. |
The independent World
Squash Awards Panel was made up from all areas of the
squash fraternity as follows:
- Journalism,
Colin McQuillan (The Times)
- Promoter,
John Nimick (Event Engine)
- PSA, Mark Chaloner
(PSA President)
- WISPA, Andrew Shelley
(WISPA Executive Director)
- WSF, Joyce Buckley (WSF
Management Committee)
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11-Apr-05:
EVENTIS ANNOUNCE A FIRST:
WORLD SQUASH AWARDS
Eventis
Sports Marketing this week announced that they will be hosting the
inaugural World Squash Awards at the RAC in Pall Mall,
London.
Taking place on Friday 6th May 2005, the awards will be an
evening affair with champagne reception, four course dinner, awards
and guest speaker.
With the backing of WSF, PSA and WISPA, Eventis have sought to
create an occasion that will give the squash world the chance to
celebrate everything that has taken place in the previous 12 months.
 Speaking
from the PSA Masters in Bermuda, Eventis director, Peter Nicol
MBE explained the reasons behind the concept.
"We felt squash needed a high profile evening that can bring all
parties together to enjoy what has gone before and also discuss the
exciting times ahead. All other sports have such an occasion and we
are delighted that the RAC was willing to give us the chance to host
the event in suitably splendid surroundings that are intrinsically
linked with the sport."
This year’s awards will comprise of the following categories:
-
Male Player
of the Year
-
Female
Player of the Year
-
Young Male
Player of Year
(U23)
-
Young Female
Player of the Year (U23)
-
Lifetime
Achievement Award
The nominations and winners will be
decided by a panel drawn from the three world bodies, journalism &
event promotion.
With the awards dinner timed to take place the Friday before the
Brit Insurance Super Series Finals
at the Broadgate Arena it is anticipated that all the leading
players will be in attendance.
Nicol explained "one of the squash’s strengths is the
approachability of the players, and we are sure this will help to
ensure the success of this event."
Nicol went on to say "as with all our projects, we will be seeking
to put on a high calibre event and will be using Horizon to show
images of squash at its best. We are taking a gamble putting on the
first ever one but are sure that the squash fraternity will embrace
it and that it will grow into a ‘must attend’ event in years to
come."
Tickets are priced £75.00 and include champagne reception,
four course dinner with wine and guest speaker. Tables of 10
can also be booked - numbers required by 22nd April.
For further details please contact:
Tim Garner
Eventis Sports Marketing Ltd
07973 817468
tgarner@eventis-sports.com |
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