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June
2010:
Finland to host Revamped Euro Teams
Finland and Hungary will host the new-style European Team
Championships next year, according to an announcement by
the European Squash Federation today.
The increasing size of the championships, which have run
each year since 1973 and now feature almost 50 teams, has
led to difficulties in finding hosts for the event.
 "Only
a few countries have facilities located close to an
international airport that include a venue with 12 to 13
courts and accommodation facilities with 450 to 500 beds,"
explained ESF President Hugo Hannes. "Therefore the
ESF Board submitted a number of motions intended to help
future hosts.
"One of the motions was to bring the European Team
Championships and the European Nations Challenge Cup under
one umbrella to provide a European Team Championships of
three divisions, with divisions one and two taking place at
the same time and venue, and division three to be played in
another location but also to be played in the spring instead
of in the autumn."
This motion was carried at
the recent ESF AGM, and from 2011 onwards the European Team
Championships will be played in three divisions:
Division One with eight men’s and eight women’s teams, and
Division Two with 12 men’s and eight women’s teams. All
other teams will compete in Division Three. There will be
opportunities for promotion and relegation of two teams
between all divisions.
The 2011 championships,
featuring the first two divisions, will take place in
Finland, while action in the third division will take place
in Hungary.
Men stay at Four ...
The AGM motion to reduce the ETC men’s team from four
players to three was defeated, with 14 votes against and 10
in favour.
"This outcome was disappointing for the ESF Board as the
proposal, had it been accepted, would have reduced the
number of courts required for the Championships to six plus
one glass court," explained Hannes.
"It would also have brought the ETC into line with the World
Championships; it would have reduced the number of hotel
rooms needed; it would have reduced the cost for
participating countries; and, importantly, it would have
avoided the potential for countback on points thus making
the game easier for the general public to understand. It
could also have assisted promotion of the game from a
marketing perspective."
Members approved the motion for the ETC to revert to a
four-day competition, as the changes will lead to fewer
teams in the top two divisions.
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