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 Four nations
in each top four
By Ryan Abraham
The 2009 Caribbean Squash Championships will kick off on Monday
17th with the individual events, and the top four seeds will be
represented by different countries in both the Men's and Women's
draws.
Watson at home
In the Mens draw Dean Watson of Cayman Islands has been
seeded #1 after much deliberation. Having beaten the Caribbean's
top two players in the
Cayman Open this year, it was decided to
place him as the top seed. His vast experience as both a player
and a coach gives him a strong advantage in this tournament and
he is likely to be the most feared opponent to be drawn against.
This is Dean's first CASA tournament since moving to Cayman
Islands six years ago.
2008 Southern Caribbean Champion, and multiple Barbados National
Champion, Shawn Simpson comes in at the #2 position. He
was a finalist in the Cayman Open this year as well as the
Trinidad and Tobago Open 2009 Champion. He placed fourth in the
2007 CASA Championships and is looking to improve his placing
this year. Shawn's game has matured a lot in the last couple
years and is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
 Colin
Ramasra of T&T (Trinidad and Tobago) is seeded third and
is the highest ranked PSA player in the draw, currently at #152
on the PSA list. Colin has been very consistent in the last
three years, placing second in the last two Southern Caribbean
Championships, and also finishing runner-up in the CASA 2007
Championships. He is eager to win the title this year and will
also be a strong contender.
Rounding out the top four seeds is Chris Binnie of
Jamaica. A former Caribbean Junior Champion, Binnie will be
trying to add a Senior Caribbean Championship to his name. Since
Binnie placed third in CASA in 2007, he has been playing top
college level squash at Trinity University (NCAA Champions).
Despite being seeded four, he is not a player to be overlooked
by the top three seeds.
Other top players to look out for are Gavin Cumberbatch
(CASA 2007 Champion), Patrick Foster (Bermuda's #1),
Kristian Jeffrey (Guyana's National Champion) and Cayman's
Jake Kelly and Cameron Stafford (Caribbean Junior
finalist).
Fernandes favourite
In the Women's draw Nicolette Fernandes of Guyana is the
top seed and overwhelming favourite. Having been ranked as high
as #28 in the world before suffering with an injury, she is back
on the WISPA circuit and very close to breaking back into the
top 100. Having missed out on CASA 2007, she is back this year
to follow up on her Southern Caribbean victory last year.
Karen Meakins of Barbados will be the #2 seed and no
stranger to competition. Despite just falling short in the
finals in 2007 and placing second in southern caribbean last
year, she is a persistent fighter and only plays to win. Feared
among most women in the Caribbean, she will be eyeing the title
this year as well
 Cheri-Ann
Parris is this year's Caribbean Junior Champion and is
familiar with senior events as well. She placed third in last
year's Southern Caribbean as well as in CASA 2007. She will be
looking to take her game to the next level in order to compete
for the title.
New to CASA as a player is Denise Sommers of Bermuda,
although she has been coaching the Bermuda junior team for a few
years. It has been nearly 10 years since she stopped playing on
the WISPA tour, but with a career-high world ranking of 24 in
the mid 90s her experience can't be discounted.
Other top players to keep an eye on are: Kerrie Sample (T&T), Rhea Khan (T&T) and Keisha Jeffrey (GUY).
Cayman's number one will be former Caribbean Junior Champion
Samantha Hennings.
Juniors abound
This year CASA seems to have a very large group of junior
players representing. The level of junior squash has been
improving every year due to a number of factors such as
introduction of foreign coaches, exposure to more international
tournaments, and a repeating cycle of better and better squash
being available each year.
Although some countries and some top players will be absent from
this year's event, CASA 2009 should still prove to be a highly
competitive one that will produce some amazing squash for the
entire six-day period.
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14-Aug-09:
Caribbean's best head for Cayman
The best squash players in the Caribbean arrive in Cayman this
Sunday.
The Cayman Contractor Store 2009 Caribbean Squash
Championships begin on Monday, with over 100 of the best
athletes in the Caribbean taking part in the event.
Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica
and Trinidad are all sending teams of approximately 20
players each to compete against the best players Cayman
has to offer. The current powerhouses in Caribbean squash are
Barbados and Trinidad, but Cayman will be one of the dark horses
of the event and could easily take some unexpected medals.
 "It's
obviously great for us to host this event at home, and it has a
lot to offer Cayman. It was supposed to be held in Trinidad, but
they cancelled at the last minute due to the Swine Flu pandemic,
so Cayman has quickly stepped forward.
"We have so many great people and sponsors in Cayman that allows
us to host a tournament of this size with only 8 weeks' notice.
"It's great to have the event at home, it brings a group of
sports tourists on island during the quiet time, but it also
showcases to our juniors what the best players in the Caribbean
can do, and what our juniors need to do to get to that level. It
shows them the level of discipline and dedication that are
needed to be the best."
Tournament Director
The Cayman Contractor Store 2009
Caribbean Squash Championships will consist of a men's and
women's championships, followed by a team championships. The top
seed for the men's tournament will be Shawn
Simpson from Barbados, with Cayman's Dean Watson also
leading the event. Cayman's other top ranked men will be
Cameron Stafford and Jake
Kelly who will both be top 10 ranking.
The women's event will be led by Nicolette Fernandes from
Guyana. The former Caribbean Champion has been ranked as high as
28 in the world.
Cayman will be led by Samantha Hennings, with the rest of
Cayman's top female players playing in the team tournament,
including Marlene West, Caroline Heal and
Chantelle Day.
Cayman will be a strong contender to take a medal in the team
event, with John Macrury expected to win his age
category. Former Cayman Commonwealth Games representative and
current over 40s Caribbean champion Jeff Broderick would
have been the favourite to defend his title, but he's still
recovering from hip surgery and won't be able to compete.
The tournament runs from Monday the 17th to Saturday the 22nd
with matches going from 10am to 2pm and 6pm to 10pm. Viewing at
South Sound Squash Club is free.
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