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WELCOME from Hugo
Hannes
 To
all the athletes, coaches and supporters
On behalf of the Flemish Squash Federation I would like to
welcome you all to ‘The Flemish Squash Centre’ in Herentals that
is the host venue of the European Individual Closed
Championships 2013.
I wish to thank all competitors for entering the 10th edition of
the European Individual Closed Championship. We welcome the top
European men and women to these Championships and we are happy
to see that 19 European member nations are represented.
We realize that professional players are used to receiving prize
money and therefore we appreciate your presence at these
championships, but especially the presence of the latest
European Champions: Gregory Gaultier from France (in 2004, 2005,
2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011) and Olli Tuominen (2012) in the men’s
event and Nathalie Grinham (2011) and the Camille Serme
(2012).G. Gauthier won gold at the World Games 2013 in Columbia
last month. S. Rosner and N. Grinham both won silver and C.
Serme won the bronze medal. Congratulations.
Personally I regret the absence of the women top players, but
the strength of the men's competition will make up for this. Ten
from the top 15 European players on the world ranking will fight
to become European Champion 2013. Having said this, I expect a
women's final at high level as well.
The people in the tournament office and the members of the
organising committee will be at your service and I am sure that
they will see to it that you can enjoy your sport and good
competition. My special thanks to Ronny Vlassaks, Tournament
Director, and Kim Hannes, head of the organizing committee. I
also wish to thank Michael Kahn, the ESF Technical Director and
Linda Davie, the Championship Referee for their time and input.
As President of the Flemish Squash Federation I express my
gratitude towards all institutions that supported this event:
BLOSO, the Belgian Olympic Committee, Topsport Vlaanderen and
the Province of Antwerp.
May I wish you all a fine time in Herentals, but especially a
number of exciting matches. Being a good sport on and off court
is showing respect for the many hours the organizing committee
and the members of the Flemish Squash Office have put into this
event.
I look forward meeting you on the few official functions. Enjoy
your stay and game because you are among friends sharing the
same interest.
Hugo Hannes
President of the Flemish Squash Federation
Vice-President Belgian Squash Federation |
Foreword from Flemish
Minister of Sports
Dear sportsmen
 Flanders
wants to continue presenting itself as a region with a good
sports climate and in which sports play a social role. The
Flemish sports policy aims to increase the sports participation.
As Flemish Minister of Sports I would like to encourage as many
people as possible to exercise regularly at one's own level and
in the best conditions.
Top sport has in this respect an example. Elite athletes can
inspire and encourage young and old to exercise more and better.
At top sport events with major international competitors, our
Flemish promising young athletes can fulfill their role as
(sports) Ambassador. The Flemish government gives these athletes
and organizers of top sport events the opportunity to achieve
this on Flemish soil.
The Flemish government supports international top sport events
in Flanders and Brussels. These events must give Flanders a
positive international image. They can offer our talented
athletes optimal development opportunities in order to perform
on European and global level. The young talents get in turn the
opportunity to achieve international experience in the presence
of their own enthusiastic audience.
Therefore supporting active top sport partners is an important
part of the Flemish sports policy. This organization meets all
the set objectives by the Flemish government determined by the
criteria list called 'Topsport Vlaanderen'.
Enjoy the sporting spectacle that you will see and let it be a
source of inspiration to exercise sports yourselves!
Philippe Muyters
Flemish Minister of Sports
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ESF President’s Welcome
 On
behalf of the European Squash Federation, welcome to the 10th
European Individual Championships. Whether you are a player,
coach, spectator or official, thank you for supporting this
leading ESF event, and we look forward to another closely fought
championship.
I’d like to take the opportunity to congratulate Europe’s
medallists at the recent World Games: Gregory Gaultier (gold),
Simon Rosner (silver), Natalie Grinham (silver) and Camille
Serme (bronze), all of whom are competing in this European
Championship.
May I also take the opportunity to thank the Flemish Squash
Federation for hosting the event and the Organising Committee
for their hard work in planning and delivering the
Championships. In particular I’d like to thank Kim Hannes (Head
of OC), Ronny Vlassaks (Championship Director), Michael Khan (ESF
Technical Director) and Linda Davie (Tournament Referee).
The Championship takes place on the eve of another significant
milestone for squash, with the IOC vote on the 26th sport to be
included in the 2020 Olympic Games. Let’s hope all our dreams
come true, and the efforts of everyone who has contributed to
the campaign are rewarded.
Have a great Championship, and let’s hope we’re all celebrating
on the evening of 8th September.
Zena Wooldridge
ESF President
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