WRONG RACKET
FOR LAUREN
Steve Cubbins reports
  
As official racket of the tournament several top of the range Slazenger rackets are given away each day to  lucky ticket-holders, their seat numbers pulled randomly out of the hat.

Having just lost her semi-final to top seed Lauren Briggs, Pontefract's Lauren Siddall received some good news as Malcolm Willstrop, her coach, pulled her seat number out of the hat and called her down to receive her prize (insisting that it wasn't a fix!)

Sadly for Lauren the news wasn't all good, as she happens to be sponsored by Slazenger's sister company Dunlop, and would be in trouble if seen playing with the wrong bat!

So, back into the pot went the racket, ready for the next 'lucky' recipient ...

This year, Tim Garner and Co are thinking about putting him on the payroll, as the man is promoting the event, giving radio interviews, welcoming the guests, commenting on the matches, and to tell you the truth, I start to be slightly worried for my Editor’s job at SquashSite… Alan is what Malcolm Willstrop calls “a dream sponsor”, as he really belongs to the tournament, and insufflates his sense of humour and passion of the game to all around him.

And no wonder Mamut is doing great with the influence of such a jolly character of a Managing Director. Their products are now used by more than 100,000 small businesses, they are present in 6 countries (Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, UK and the latest addition, also under Alan’s jurisdiction, Ireland), and they just added 60 more staff, making a total of 230 all based in Oslo. And to crown it all, the company has received for the second time consecutively the “Small Business Software of the Year”, which is unheard of!

So, what is new at Mamut this season…

“Last year we offered free online backup for everybody, this year, we have a new baby, a “startup” software, a free product designed to help budding entrepreneurs, which includes a business planning tool, that allows you to check that your ideas make sense, to present them well to investors or banks, a free website to attract and manage potential suppliers and customers, and also allows you to invoice your first customer. Why? Because Mamut has a vested interest in helping small businesses to start and eventually succeed.”

Using Mamut software won’t ruin you either, a licence will cost you between £79 and £799, and the monthly support, between £7 and £29. “It comes down to less than £1 a day to be more efficient in your business. Every company should have one pound per day to spend!”

Peter Nicol, our revered Boss, has also been contributing to the expansion of Mamut, and now proposes his “Top Ten Tips” within Mamut software. “Peter’s experience in his career in the Squash World is extremely relevant for people who want to succeed in the business world, you need the same passion, desire, belief and hard work. If you want a 9 to 5 job, do not start your own business!”

Alan has been delighted with the progression of the Mamut English Open. “Last year, we had 5 of the top ten players, this year, we got 8 out of the top 10, which reinforces the international flavour. The event is getting even more media coverage, TV, radio, local and national, and that’s very positive for all the parties involved. And it has to be said that the Tournament is now one of the 10 most prestigious in the world, a five star, that has it all, Prestige, Quality, and Location.”

On a more personal level, Alan has a deep and real admiration for the Boss, who will be retiring soon. “I think that Peter has done an extraordinary job for the event, but more generally, for English Squash, and Squash in general. He is such an Ambassador for the sport and his life long battle against all odds and adversity has been an inspiration for me.”

Although a badminton player, Mr Moody plays the occasional squash game, and describes the sport as “playing chess at 100 m/h!”. And when you ask him if he is having a good time in Sheffield, he answers,

“I no longer feel like I’m gate crashing the party and what a party it is!!!!”
   

MAMUT, take two

Stafford Murray, the analyst from England Squash got married, along with David Palmer’s Coach Sean Moxham (more about that one later), a few weeks after David’s wife Mel gave him an adorable little girl Kayla.

And of course, Thierry who also tied the knot on the 22nd July…

  
COMEBACK MAN GETS MARRIED… AT LAST!

The first part of the wedding took place in Marseille, the civil ceremony that is. The Church wedding will happen in La Réunion, at the end of the year, and the whole island will be invited more or less… Because yes, Thierry Lincou EVENTUALLY married Céline.

I say eventually, as those two were living together for 10 years, and have already the superb Jade together. “I didn’t want to rush into anything”, laughed Thierry. “She was ready though…”

I tell you, the woman is a SAINT. Because living with a champion is not a piece of cake, that’s for sure. But she knows that he won’t be travelling for ever. And she waits. Patiently. He’ll be back…

Hannah’s the name, and the clever Nick has actually chosen his soul mate close to home.

Well, home really, as the very attractive lady is also a Tennis Coach… at Hallamshire (Nick’s homeclub).

Those two make a lovely couple, it has to be stressed, and when I asked Hannah to describe Nick, she simply said, “he is thoughtful…. sometimes!”

Beauty with brain…..

You couldn’t make it more obvious if you wanted to….

In other words, he is adorable, charming, talented, and if Vicky doesn’t, hell, I’ll marry him!

How was your summer?
I went back to Australia for about six weeks, and trained most of the time with Anthony back at the AIS, along with the young players like Aaron Franckomb who live over there. Rodney Martin was back from America, and it was nice to be able to train with him day in day out.

With whom do you train at the moment?
Well in the mornings, I train on my own, my five years in the AIS and also my years in Reading taught me what I’ve got to do, and then in the afternoon, I go to Halifax, Pontefract, wherever I need to go to play a game with the great players that live around here.

So still based in Manchester?
Yes, I came back there a year ago after my injury, I’ve also taken the train a lot to go to Reading, but now Mike Johnson is leaving for Canada, I won’t be going much there anymore….

It must be weird for you and Anthony to see Mike go?
Yes, it’s like the end of an era that has lasted a long time. But Mike’s son is out there, and he is looking for the life outdoors. I know he’s been trying for a few years now to get it all sorted, and it’s still in the process, but it would seem that it’s going to be soon now.

Do you find it too difficult to work on your own?
In a perfect world, I would love to have Rodney with me every day. But I prefer to work on what he taught me on my own, and get to work with him a few weeks when I go to the US, than working with somebody I don’t feel comfortable with.

You are very disciplined then…
Reasonably… I just know what I’ve got to do. And you know, it’s part of squash to do a fair bit on your own. You should know exactly what you have to do, or/and figure it out by yourself…

Are you happy about succeeding to come back at the top of the game?
Well, I’m still a bit uncertain about my form. I hope that the hard work I’ve produced lately will be enough to get back to where I was, and hopefully, still room for improvement.

You’re never enthusiastic about your achievements, are you?
I don’t want to get carried away, there is always something to work on. Coming back from 300 in the world to the top 15 has been the easy part. Now the real work starts, challenging the top guys a bit more than I did last year. It’s a Make or Break year!

Jayden

Like father like son ?

Alex