BJO En Bref 2006  Issue #5        2005 En Bref Everything you didn't know you needed to know about the British Junior Open, from Steve Cubbins ...

MISTER CHRIS ... This is Chris Nutley's sixth BJO as tournament director, so we thought we'd have a chat with "Mister Chris" to see if he was getting the hang of the job yet ... What's it like organising such a big event? "It's a lot easier to organise than it was in the early days, you get used to how to do things and find quicker ways around,  but it's still an absolute nightmare from the moment entries close until the first match goes on court.   "Organising that many entries and matches is always going to be tricky, but by lunchtime on day one it starts to calm down and I start to enjoy it, it's a great event after all. But you get a lot of help ... "We have two people on the desk at each venue, Adrian from Horizon doing the results, a tournament referee, assistant referee and 24 referees on duty for the first four days. Then there's all the equipment - computers, printers, photocopiers, stationery, programmes ... one thing I always bring too many of is balls, but we do get through a few! And Sheffield too? "Sheffield are really great, they've been heavily involved from the start, we have two world class venues which are both very supportive, and Sheffield Events provide the transport, which everyone seems to appreciate, and they do everything they can to make the event work well. "It's because of them that Sheffield has become the home of the BJO, and it's an ongoing relationship which everyone is keen to keep going. "We're also very grateful to Powerplaysports, whose sponsorship has enabled the event to have a stable basis, providing t-shirts and other tournament services, and allowing us to keep it as the number one junior event in the world. How does it compare to other events ? "It's probably the best of them, there are people here from all over the world, most of whom you only see once a year but you view them as friends, and of course there's much more squash to be played at this one compared to any of the others. I hear you've been on the radio? "Yes, I was on Radio Sheffield on Tuesday morning, just talking about the event on their sports bulletin. It goes to show how it's become part of Sheffield's sporting calendar, and we were on immediately after the football roundup, so it was nice to feel part of that scene. After six events, any thoughts of retirement? "Every year during the build up I say to myself 'this is my last one, but every year by the time I go home I've changed my mind and can't wait for next year ..."
	ABBEYDALE GOES GOLD Abbeydale Park Rackets and Fitness Club was proud to recently gain the England Squash Gold Charter, recognising both the splendid facilities at the club, including the all-glass showcourt, and the extensive contacts with local schools, currently involving 14 primary schools and four secondary schools. Many of the children who who come to the club for tester and training sessions, are in attendance today, when ES Chief Executive will formally present the award just before the finals.
	No worries Natalie ... "My cast has been on for two weeks now, it's coming off in another three ... in plenty of time for the wedding ..." Tommy Berden    who gets married to Natalie Grinham in March ...

BJO En Bref   Issue #4    Everything you didn't know you needed to know about the British Junior Open, from Steve Cubbins ...

Eric the Eye Protection Enforcer It's been a requirement for juniors to wear eye protection in tournaments for many years now, and no-one would disagree that safety, particularly in youngsters whose life could be ruined by an accident that takes a millisecond to happen, has to come first. Here in Sheffield Eric Cruttenden is the man charged with ensuring that all the players here wear eye protection, that has a national standard for squash. "I've been involved in the Eye Protection issue since 1990," say Eric, one of the longest serving officials of England Squash (formerly the SRA). "The WSF brought in this regulation some years ago, and ES set up a committee in 1990 with the BSI (British Standards Institute) and we now have about 20 models on the list. USA, Canada and Australia/New Zealand all have their own standards. "There are also many models on the market purporting to be for squash, but do not have a standard. Some are little more than fashion items and could be dangerous to the player if an accident occurred." "We are now working towards having a list incorporating all the models that have a national safety standard for squash  to make life easier for players, administrators and referees in all countries to ensure juniors are using safe, tested eyewear." So here in Sheffield Eric is busy checking in all the competitors, making sure their equipment conforms to an approved national standard, and generally ensuring that everything progresses smoothly and safely. So well done Eric, and I'm sure you'll agree he looks very smart in his goggles!	Prize Kit It's totally unofficial, but the En Bref prize for the best team kit goes to South Africa for their colourful and lively shirts which have, according to their girls team manager Margery Taylor, "more than a little of Nelson Mandela in them". Apparently Mr Mandela likes this kind of design, and we have to say we agree ...
	What's in a name? There have been some unexpected requests at the Abbeydale tournament desk, with some Egyptian players asking for their names to be changed on the draws. It's not unusual that some of the 'foreign' names are spelt incorrectly, and England Squash do use what's written on the entry forms, but they're happy to oblige in these cases. The really strange thing in this case though, is that one of the players requesting a name change was a two-time BJO champion and top seed this year! Is it any wonder that the seedings sometimes  look a little strange, and I'll bet the trophy engraver will be pleased!
	Where's Me Lychees? Apparently it's a tradition at these events that Judy Williams, the oh-so-efficient tournament co-ordinator, brings fresh lychees for some of the referees' breakfast. I have no idea whether Lychees make any difference to the decision-making process, but they certainly add something extra to breakfast ...

BJO En Bref   Issue #3    Everything you didn't know you needed to know about the British Junior Open, from Steve Cubbins ...

The Mexicans are coming ... Sandar Khan is a man with a rich squash history, and Maxico is reaping the benefits. A Pakistani, a second cousin of Jahangir, he has been national coach in the Czech Republic, and for the the last year and a half has been national coach for Mexico. Yesterday he saw the Salazar twins bow out to world junior champion Ramy Ashour, but they are just the tip of the iceberg, he says. "We have many juniors coming through, the squad we brought to the Scottish and British Junior Opens are our best current players, but we have over 300 players in the national squad. "The Mexican government gives big support. Finance is the biggest problem any national federation faces, so the government's help is invaluable, paying for trips like this and the coaching programme back in Mexico. "Compared to the Pakistani juniors we lack experience and the tricky shots they possess, and they also tend to be better prepared physically giving them time to recover, but we are working on all these areas. "My players won't argue, I teach them discipline and respect, and that it is important to play honestly and fairly. "They should know that the referees decision is final, there's no point in wasting time and energy arguing, he's not going to change his mind, so save your energy for the next point." That's a lesson for all of us, not just the juniors, and if the Mexican squad have done well this year, led by the Salazars, something tells me we'll be seeing more of them, lots more, in the coming years ...	Selby's last BJO? As a player you have a limited number of BJOs in which you can compete Some players will probably get to play eight - two years at each age group, maybe nine times if they show great talent at an early age. But as a parent your shelf life is longer. Essex's Paul Selby was reminiscing on this probably being his last BJO as a parent, having brought Daryl, Lauren and Elliot to the last TWELVE championships, and this is the last one any of them will be eligible for. That covers the last time it was held at Lambs in London (when Daryl reached the plate final) plus the eleven times it's been held in Sheffield. Paul says he will continue to attend, 'in parentis' or not, but we'd be interested to know if any parents can beat Paul's parental attendance record of eleven ....  answers on a postcard ...
	Big Hair Some of the English boys here in Sheffield share a common hairstyle that can only be described as "Big Hair". It's dark, it's bushy, and as black kit seems to be obligatory, it's quite hard to tell Chris Simpson, Oliver Pett and Neil Cordell apart when you see one of them on court. Their coaches, and even Chris himself agree ... they need a cut!
	Jon Brown for 2007 Those of you who have been following the forum will know of Jon Brown, that shy, unassuming English youngster who developed quite a following ... Well, we caught up with him to hear the amazing news that he lost in the first round. But the title's a cert in 2007, you have Jon's word on it ...                 John Underhill & Jon Brown

BJO En Bref   Issue #2  Everything you didn't know you needed to know about the British Junior Open, from Steve Cubbins ...

Downer down but not out You may have noticed that some of the English boys have been having a bit of fun on the forum. I couldn't track down that elusive superstar Jon Brown, but I inadvertently caught up with Robert Downer, another forum regular. At first I thought it was a French boy warming up on court, the kit seemed to suggest that, but Robert is from Hampshire. "I should win my first match," he said, "then I've got an Egyptian, seeded 9/16 this evening. If I play well I can win that, but then I'd face the Pakistani who I lost to last year. He's very good, he basically overpowered me and I think he'll probably win the tournament." We have to report that Robert lost his evening match - "too powerful, he's a bit older than me and it showed" - but we're sure he'll be back, on the forum and on the court ...

The Youngest Spectator? "He's been watching squash since he was born, we've always taken him to the courts when we play and he just loves watching squash." Young Oscar Mann comes from a squash family. Mum Clare met his dad David while she was out in Australia - playing squash, naturally - and brought him back with her. David is now in charge of physical education at Lansing College, who have a number of competitors here. There a little bit of torn loyalties, but David is leaving most of the coaching of the Australian squad to Jeff Davenport. As for Oscar, at at seven and a half months old it will probably be a while before he enters his first BJO, but by then he will have witnessed all the world's best in action and will be a force to be reckoned with. Today he was wearing his England shirt, but I'm sure Dad has his sights set on Oscar playing for Australia ...

No, THAT right-hand side During yesterday's 'match of the day' referee Tony Parker often had trouble making himself heard over the hubbub of Pakistani and Mexican supporters. At one point, having told one of the players several times, to no effect, that he should be serving from the right, he finally pointed and bellowed "from THAT right-hand side ...".  That did the trick.

The Other Aussie Team Australia tends to send a boys team to the BJO one year, and a girls team the next. This year it's the boys' turn, but there is one girl competing, after her dad brought her along under their own steam. Mark Beveridge - who sports a South African accent, which fooled me for a while - brought daughter Tamryn to compete in the U17 event. "We used to live in Cape Town, and were on holiday there, so we came over and caught up with the Boys team in Edinburgh for the Scottish. It's great to be here, and hopefully Tamryn can come with the rest of the girls next year." Tamryn won her first round match against Holly Cox 9/3, 9/0, 9/6 in 20 minutes, although not before dad got a withering glare after a loud "Come on Tamryn" just as she was about to serve on match ball ...

BJO En Bref   Issue #2 Everything you didn't know you needed to know about the British Junior Open, from Steve Cubbins ...

Missing Peter When the referees assembled for their briefing this morning, a familiar face was missing. Peter Kramer was a regular at the BJO, quite naturally since he was a Sheffield man. His untimely death has left a big gap to fill, and his good humour, friendly manner, and of course his "bag of decisions" will be sorely missed this week in Sheffield. Rest in peace mate, wherever you are, everyone is thinking of you.

Early Breakfast With twelve matches due on at 9am an early start was essential for the tournament team - Chris Nutley, his helpers, the referees, and so on. "Breakfast a seven see you there," was Chris's parting shot last night. Well some of us were there for seven but guess what, we'd forgotten that Monday was a bank holiday, and the restaurant was empty because breakfast wasn't being served until 8am, which would have been too late to get to the clubs in time. So the helpful staff at the Beauchief Hotel pulled out all the stops, provided tea, toast and cereal, and a cooked breakfast well before eight 'o clock for those needy souls who were off to a long day at the BJO ...

New Technology You quickly get used to new things, don't you. Before broadband we were all on dial-up connections via a modem, and if you try that now it's soooo slow it's painful. And only a couple of years ago it was a surprise and a delight when my new Centrino laptop popped up with the occasional "such-and-such a wireless network is available, would you like to connect?" message. Nowadays it's a disappointment when you fire up your laptop at the airport, hotel, or other likely locations to find the "wireless connection unavailable" message. So when no network was found at the hotel, I enquired at reception if there were any facilities available other than the phone line in the room. "Unfortunately our wireless broadband is down at the moment," the helpful man on the desk said. That sounded good. "When will it be back up?" I asked. "Oh, not for months," came the reply. "Apparently they had big problems, they've got to knock down some walls and do lots of re-cabling ..." I decided not to enquire further ...  So this week I'm on a modem, and I'm sure I'll learn to love it ...