I’m still on a women’s squash high from playing at the Howe Cup in Redwood City, CA in October. Kim Clearkin did a fantastic job organizing the event. The venue at The Pacific Athletic Club was resort-like and the competition was fantastic. It also expanded my appreciation for west coast women’s squash as there were multiple California, Seattle, Portland teams who dominated and won the event, and watching the Stanford women’s teams play demonstrated the powerhouse that Mark Talbott is building on the west coast to rival the traditional east coast college teams.
One of the best parts of my weekend was when I happened to sit with Tina Fuselli and her “AzTxBostonian” teammates at the Friday night dinner, and was immediately drawn to the camaraderie and quick witted banter of this team that had been pulled together from different corners of the U.S. Our team then had to play the AzTxBostonian team on Sunday and they also proved themselves quick footed on the court as well. Tina, coming from England, has a very strategic/Richard Millman-like game. It was one of those Howe Cup meet-ups that makes the weekend very memorable.
I jumped into the conversation with “How many people play squash in Arizona?” Tina told me that she has a database of over 400 Arizona residents who at some stage have played squash. I also found out that Tina is one of the main spokespersons for women’s squash in Arizona. She told me about a WISPA event she was planning for September 2010 which would showcase women playing squash to the Arizona community, and hopefully increase squash awareness and participation among Arizona women. She excitedly told me that she already had sponsors, venues, commitments from fifty non-Arizona players to travel to the event, etc. This was going to be the first US Squash sanctioned event in Arizona, besides the Grand Canyon State Games in 2005, and she wanted to have as many Arizonans and players from out of state come as possible to watch the WISPA event and play in an amateur event. We discussed what would motivate women to come play in an Arizona tournament in September and quickly came up with a team format event like the Howe Cup (except three players to a team versus the five at Howe Cup), which coupled with a resort-like destination would prove a great way to warm-up for Howe Cup 2010. So put this one on your calendars, pull together teams for the A, B, C or D divisions and come to the Southwest Squash Open to play, socialize, gear up for Howe Cup 2010, enjoy a unique part of the U.S., watch the WISPA players and support women’s squash.
When you come to Arizona next September, you’ll meet Tina who has truly been a squash pioneer. Tina is English and started playing at sixteen when neighbors opened a club in Putney in southwest London. She played until she was twenty two at county level and was ranked as a junior. She quit squash at for medical reasons, took seven years off from the sport but was drawn back in her late twenties when she moved to Kent County where there was a local club. In 2002, she moved to the U.S., following her parents to Phoenix, Arizona. She found courts and continued to play, helped to restart “AZSRA” (Arizona Squash Rackets Association), becoming the secretary and making her living as an event planner and representing all the US interests of a British cricket equipment manufacturer. She met up with Garry John, who coincidentally had played at the same club as she in Hammersmith, West London, England where they were both were club champions. Tina teamed up with Garry and now also works for him as his administrator for tournaments and leagues for Lifetime Fitness, Tempe. Tina has run the Grand Canyon State Games in Arizona for the last six years, drawing about eighty players each year.
The Phoenix area squash scene is anchored by two main groups of clubs; one is the “Village Clubs” in Phoenix/Scottsdale with three locations, six international courts, two converted racquetball courts and approximately one hundred and fifty players. The other anchor is Lifetime Fitness which has developed in the last four years with four locations, nine courts and one hundred players. There is also one family within the squash community, Dave and Betsy Foley, who so love the sport that they have built their own squash court at the back of their house.
The Arizona players are led by many expatriates. The base of players is quite seasonal as many players are older and some leave for the summer months. Unfortunately women’s and junior squash has not yet taken off in a big way. Squash competes heavily with tennis, golf and other outdoor team sports. The University of Arizona does have one international court and some private high schools have tried to start teams. Tina knows that once women get exposed to squash, they will see it as a great alternative to tennis in the summer when it is too hot to play outside. Tina has organized a schedule of squash events for the Arizona community that includes fun events such as a wooden racquet/whites only event as well as club championships and the Grand Canyon State Games. Tina and Garry have now been running for the past four months a successful squash league at Lifetime Fitness. She has hosted Friday afternoon women’s and junior’s clinics, similar to the women’s coffee mornings at the squash clubs in England. She is pushing the squash ball forward on every front, feels that she is making progress in attracting women to the game and feels that the WISPA event in September will be a key turning point in her efforts. I’ve got this one on my calendar and I’m gathering my team. I’ll see you in Arizona in September!
But before that, I hope that you’ll also put some other key women’s squash events listed below on your training schedule. Howe Cup is the premier women’s event but women’s competitive squash shouldn’t be a once a year type event. Put The Grand Open in NYC on your calendar. It happens in late January, always has a full women’s draw and allows you to get free passes to see early rounds of The Tournament of Champions in Grand Central Station. For those who are thirty-five or older, the U.S. Masters Squash Championships (“Age Groups”) is a great event. This year it will be held in March in Newport, RI. We’ll be back to Demer Holleran’s fantastic Fairmount Club in April for Skill Levels. Then use the summer to get primed for Tina’s Southwest Open Three-A-Side team event in September and Howe Cup to follow in October/November.
Jeannie Blasberg has passed the reins of the Women’s Committee to A.J. Copeland, Kim Clearkin and I. We’ll be posting regularly to the “Women’s Squash Players” group on Facebook so join and check there to find out who is going to what tournament and to keep connected to those Howe Cup friendships.
