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 Kuwait
Open EN BREF
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Kuwait
Open
Issue #4 |
CARS, CARS, CARS…
If like me, you like those funny machines that take you from one
point to another, and make vroom vroom noises, you would love
Kuwait. You don’t know where to look honestly, and I started to
raise suspicion when, in the parking of the hotel, I started to
take pictures of the nice cars there.
Well, because I realised that I was taking pics of ALL the cars
that were there, and looked like an Inland Revenue inspector or
something!
Still, it’s been a pure joy, just looking at them. Hey, can’t
buy them, but there aren’t any laws against window shopping, are
there???
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RAHMAT HAS MOVED...
A few months back, if you ever wondered “how come Kuwait juniors
beat Pakistan juniors in the semi-finals of the Asians games”,
well, now you know. Rahmat Khan, the legendary coach is
in town…
Working two hours every day with the players here, he has
already improved the strength of those boys tremendously, and
Abdullah, who took a game from Olli on the opening night, is the
best proof of Rahmat involvement in Kuwait.
”I just hope that Abdullah can get a bit of experience on the
circuit”, Rahmat says. “The Federation has been awfully kind to
me, and my wife and I are enjoying our time tremendously here.”
For the little story, it was so nice to see Rahmat and Jahangir
chatting together. Reminded me of the old days….
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I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!
Yes! After nearly three weeks spend at the seaside, I officially
stepped on the beach yesterday, and wait for it, put my big butt
in the sea!
Well, the fish haven’t recovered yet, nor have the poor three
players that were enjoying the sun – although I tried to be as
far away from them as possible, poor people, don’t want to shock
their sight!
Still, I had a lovely hour of rest, under a parasol, no, I’m not
THAT mad to get under the sun when the temperature is above
40°C, but still, it was an exquisite moment. Will try to do it
again someday….
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Kuwait
Open EN BREF
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Kuwait
Open
Issue #3 |
WELCOME BACK
TO KUWAIT
One of the great stunning best things about the Tour, is that you
come to see the same people from one year to the next. And although
there are around 50 people that have worked o so hard here in Kuwait
City to organise the event, there are four people in particular I
was so glad to see again.
First, the Twins, OF COURSE, Khaled and Majed Jumaa –
they claim that even their dad can’t tell them apart. They are, as
far as I’m concerned, the “Window” of the event, as they are the
first people you see when you come into the place. Always a smile,
always the first ones to arrive, and the last ones to leave, they
are a joy to work with….
 Then
we had Mahmoud Al-Jazzaf, in charge of the local referees and
so much more,
and who is doing the commentary for the Kuwait TV, both in English
and in Arabic, such an adorable man, whose got the supreme good
taste to be married to a lady that is fluent French.
And at last but not least, our Khalid Qassem, who's been in
charge of so many things here this year, and who's got always a nice
word, a lovely smile on his face, and who doesn’t know what to do to
please you.
 He
is such a passionate about squash, remembers all the big matches of
the world, and knows all about who plays with what racquet. He knows
all the players, and all the players know him. He’s been the
sunshine of this tournament, as far as I’m concerned, and I’m just
so proud that he calls me his friend.
So you see, a great bunch of people here, and like I said, they are
the tip of the iceberg. So many, soooo many people have made this
event possible. And for that, we are all grateful… |
DAVID IN KUWAIT…
If you’ve ever seen behind the glass court, a funny little man, with
a grey beard, wearing a black dwarf's hat and black gloves in the
middle of one of the hottest countries in the world, who has
thousands of camera, bags, bits and pieces all over his neck, that’s
our photographer, David Barry.
 We
love him. He is originally English, but has been living in St Louis
for donkey's years, and has been following the circuit, dispensing
his great shots all over the world. And he’s been invited to Kuwait,
his first visit ever to the Middle East, having covered mostly North
American and English events, and it’s been wonderful to see him
discovering this country.
He didn’t have such a great day though on the second round, as he
was both kicked out of the backwall by Thierry, and then, Shabana
threw his racquet in his direction on the glass court to ask him not
to move or something. It’s funny, because he is o so careful about
never disturbing anybody, poor him!...
But the best moment of all was the first time he got on a minibus
here. I could see he was looking for something. “Seat belts” he
replied when questioned. We all laughed.
“Well, the driving here is
a bit… erratic, don’t you find?” And that's when we just broke up in
hysterics. “Here?” But they drive wonderfully well! Just go to
Cairo, and then, you’ll know what it is to fear for your life”…
Don’t mind him, he is a bit green still, but he is such a nice man.
And so talented. He’ll learn about life, you’ll see, he’ll learn…
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 HEAD
for Kuwait
HEAD representative Paul Selby looks at his players in Kuwait
More air miles clocked up as we land in a sandstorm in Kuwait for
the next leg of the PSA Super Series journey. As Pro Player Support
Manager for Head International my responsibilities are to make sure
we make the most of brand awareness opportunities and complete
player back up support at all major squash tournaments around the
globe. For those of you thinking this is a great life staying in the
best hotels in some of the nicest locations on the planet watching
the best players perform then think again. Long flights (not First
Class), delays, lost luggage, plenty of hanging around, limited
sightseeing, need I go on.
The list of players this season playing with Head rackets has grown
and here in Kuwait we have two long service players, a medium term
and two rookies.
Going through the list I will give you a brief run down of the
players here and their qualities.
 Ramy
Ashour needs no introduction as he is probably the most exciting
player to come into squash over the last twenty years. Off court he
is fun to be with although his musical tastes are certainly an
acquired taste unless Egyptian pop is your bag, but we will excuse
him that. It has been a really busy schedule for him since New Year
playing New York and Canada taking in some exhibition matches and
then back to the States for the Davenport Open. The next couple of
months will still hold for him lots of challenges as he plays the
British Open, Super Series and then the new tournament in Cairo.
 Next
up we have Azlan Iskandar from Malaysia who is a new signing
for us and how pleased I am that he decided to join us. Azlan is a
perfectionist who requires quality in all his equipment, training
and preparation. So I am please he has taken to his new racket so
quickly and enjoyed rapid success in winning the Asian Championships
here in Kuwait a short while ago. Azzy off court is a less serious
character than he is on court and has a wicked sense of humour and I
am glad to be supporting him on striving to reach the top ten.
My other three players here are all quite different and have diverse
characters. First up Shahier Razik a veteran of the tour but
still rising the rankings after some recent notable performances.
Canadian No.1 he has played Head rackets for a considerable time and
still continues to enhance our profile globally. He is quiet but
tough and on court never really knows when to lay down which makes
it doubly hard to beat him.
 Next on our list of three is
Daryl Selby
a tough young player who really is the exponent of the long match,
regularly clocking up 90 and 120 minute matches, sometimes back to
back in tournaments. A rookie in some respect to the tour to the
previous mentioned players but still able to have won a handful of PSA titles already in his short career.
 Quite
a few of the players sport the unshaven look which was I am assured
led by Daryl who set the trend due to the lazy approach to
shaving. Last but not least is the Aussie Aaron Frankcomb a
keen surfer usually with the hair to match who is based in Leeds
England who only signed to Head this month, so was like a kid with
new toys togged out in all his new kit with racket bags that had not
been through the rigours of multi flight handling by beefy luggage
handlers intent on testing the strength of the rackets inside prior
to them being used in anger on the court.
All of these players for me are different yet all have a common goal
of being the best they can be and I am happy and honoured to be
associated with them on the tour.
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JESSE STRANDED…
 Listen
people, not sure what or why, but as far as I know, our Jesse
Engelbrecht has been for some weird reason blocked for something
like 60 hours in Qatar.
Why, not sure, but I guess that lovely Adel
is involved – Jesse’s girlfriend who’s working over there – and a
question of not having the right visa or something.
The last I heard was that he is now back in Kuwait to try and get
back in the UK. Don’t ask…
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Kuwait
Open EN BREF
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Kuwait
Open
Issue #2 |
A Surprise Racket
 David
Palmer, Khalid Qassem and I were invited to appear on
the sports show hosted by Tarek Aleryan on Kuwait TV
to talk about the tournament.
Tarek is an old friend who likes to ask about the inside stories
on his live show.
In response to his question "Do you have a surprise for the
audience on opening night?" - I was forced into making public
what I had planned which was an even bigger surprise for Dave
Palmer who was sat next to me.
I am on record as saying that possibly the most dramatic and
wonderful match I have ever seen was the final of the 2002 World
Open in Antwerp between David Palmer and John White. David won
it after saving a fistful of match balls.
 What
David never knew is that I "relieved" him of the racket after
the match & I have been waiting for the right time to use it for
the betterment of squash at grass roots level.
Hence after the Opening Ceremony I presented the racket to
Hussein Maqsseed, the President of Kuwait Squash and Arabic
Squash. He will give the racket to one of the Kuwaiti junior
players who are on the Kuwaiti squash programme.
I would like it to go to the youngster showing the best spirit.
It is the dream of Sheikha Fadyah Al-Sabah that the
memory of her late sister, Sheikha Al Saad Al-Sabah, will
be the image and the driving force needed for young people in
Kuwait to start playing the game that she loved so much.
Oh by the way Dave - sorry I forgot to tell you about the
racket!!!!
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REFS IN FORCE…
The refs’ organisation here in Kuwait has to be saluted, as from
the word go, all the matches – including qualifications – were
played with the three ref system. I’m sure you know by now what
it means, one central ref, plus two side refs, and the majority
decision rules.
That requires an awful lot of workforce, and scheduling, it has
to be stressed. And yes, maybe, in certain instances, one or two
local referees may lack a bit of experience, which leads to a
few funny situations – funny when you are in the crowd, not that
funny when you have been given the decision – like stroke/no
let/let decisions given on the same point, sometimes, several
times in the match …
Ah.
 But
for the most part of it, it went rather smoothly. To be noted,
the presence of two world ref, Nasser Zahran from Egypt,
whose face is known all over the globe, and Wendy Danzey,
another World Ref from England, also famous, who recovered from
surgery just before the English Nationals in February but
insisted to still cover the event then. “Well, it was my way to
deal with the situation,” she says. “Refereeing kept me busy.”
And she also came on this event, but only just, as the
radiotherapy course on her breast ended the day before her
departure for Kuwait. And she won’t stop here. Right after this
event, she’ll be straight to Canada, for their Nationals…
There is a lot more to refs than just a voice and decisions that
you can agree or disagree with, people, you know. Next time you
meet one, just offer him/her a drink, whatever it would be, and
try and know them. You’ll discover passionate, determine and
full of heart and courage individuals…
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GLORIOUS FOOD
And when I tell you that the refs are well organised here, the
food/drinks are too. All day long, we are catered for. A large
table, with constant fresh salads and warm sandwiches and other
delicious items, are displayed and replaced when the dish
becomes empty.
And of course, OF COURSE, you can get tea all day, all blessed
day. That’s it, I’m moving to Kuwait…
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Kuwait
Open EN BREF
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Kuwait
Open
Issue #1 |
CHANGE OF SCENERY…
Transferring from Hurghada to Kuwait City was a bit of an
adventure, and not always a difficult one. Original, more like.
First, waiting in line at Hurghada Airport going back to Cairo,
I found myself chatting for a good hour with a gentleman that
spoke around 10 languages, who just came to the Holiday Resort
for 1 hour, to check an investment opportunity, and who between
other businesses, possessed Mango trees plantation that
production froze during the cold in January. Just that was
enough to make my day, I thought.
 Then,
going from wherever terminal I arrived in, with heavy luggage,
to Terminal 2, to catch the Kuwait flight was a bit of an tough
one, as they have some works happening, and not too many
indication how to get from one place to the next. Not to mention
that you have to take two different shuttles. Thank God I found
another adorable gentleman who helped me carrying my load.
Arriving on the plane, I met with Ramy – who I waited for hours
in the Press Room after the final, to eventually find out that
he had flown to Cairo in a Private Jet, as one does, pffffffff –
and Wael, and sat next to another gentleman who although looked
terribly Egyptian, was in fact Canadian, couldn’t speak a word
of Arabic, and had to spend his business life apologising for
it, as everybody (me included) assumed he did!
Funny there, as we ended up watching three-quarters of a DVD,
Vantage Point or something, first on his laptop, then on mine
when his battery died, but as we were arriving at the crunch
time, of course, we had to land, didn’t we. I’ll never know the
end now will I…
At Kuwait City, we met with
all the boys, including Canadian Shahier Razik, who does look
like a Canadian, but speaks fluent Arabic! I loved the irony
though….
 As
ever, picked up from the Organisation, and straight to the
Movenpick Hotel, a charming and huge hotel on the beach, a nice
meal although I really didn’t deserve it, as I miss all of the
first day of qualifying, leaving Complete Legend Cubs and David
Barry work on their own.
And did I feel guilty? Not for a second…..
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The Movenpick Hotel & Resort
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