After never having previously
hosted a world team squash championship, France
is on the verge of staging two events within the next three
years.
Accompanied by Jacques Fontaine, President
of the Federation Francaise de Squash, World Squash
Federation CEO Andrew Shelley has now
inspected the planned facilities and accommodation for the
two championships.
First stop was the southern French city of Nimes,
dating from Roman times and dominated by its Roman
amphitheatre. It is here that the Women’s
World Team Championship will be played in
2012.
Shelley gave the green light to the excellent facilities of
the Le Parnasse, a handball stadium geared
up to the needs of the all-glass showcourt, with substantial
seating, general requirements and the specific needs of TV
production.
Early rounds will be played at the eight-court Squash
Des Costieres.
“To have a large adaptable hall which can be dressed to
provide a really top class finale for the Women’s Teams
2012, together with a suitable club and hotel arrangements
in hand, is really good news,” Shelley told the mayor M.
Jean Paul Fournier when they met at the city hall.
“And to bring the teams from all over the world to this
historic city will be memorable.”
The second leg of the French double will be hosting the Men’s
World Team Championship the following year,
with the planned host city being Chartres,
located sixty miles south west of Paris.
A tourist destination centred round the Cathedral, a World
Heritage site, it now boasts a new squash facility which was
completed three months ago. Horizon Des Beaulieu,
a city-built eight-court centre, will host men’s teams from
thirty two nations for the 2013 championship – but,
according to Fontaine, will certainly be the home of many
French championships before then.
Shelley confirmed that all was well with the centre at a
press conference attended by Karine Dorange,
the City Sport Adjoint au Maire, and explained that the next
stage would be to finalise the glass court venue from the
options already identified.
“France’s plans to become a magnet for the top men and women
of the squash world are on track,” said the WSF CEO.
Fontaine added: “The French Federation is committed to
hosting these championships to the highest level for our own
players and enthusiasts, as well as for our visitors.”
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Pictured: Dominique Fontanon,
President of Languedoc Roussillon Squash; Jacques
Fontaine; Mayor Fournier; and
Andrew Shelley
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