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 Sky EN BREF
#4
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Sky
Open ... |
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TAKASHI
Do you know Takashi? Well, you do. That’s the nickname of
Mohamed Ali Anwar Reda. Apparently, his Egyptian mates have
decided that he doesn’t look Egyptian but Japanese, and gave him
that nickname for years!
Funnily enough, when Aqeel stepped in the hotel with
Takashi, he was very surprised as everybody was greeting him.
“Oh, so people recognise players here” he asked, “that good”.
Takashi laughed! “No, absolutely not! It’s just that I got
married in June and I did it here, in this hotel!”
So Takashi is telling me the story, and goes on and starts
asking me a lot of questions about my suite.
“So I hear you have a suite, which side are you on, the left of
the hotel, or the right”. “The left”. “And when you are in the
corridor, is it the right or the left?”.
By that time, I am starting to wonder where the heck he is going
with that line of questioning!
“Fram, you are staying in the suite I had for my honeymoon”…
Oh thanks Takashi, that’s an image I’m not about to get out of
my head! |
LAST DAY(S)
And that’s it. Another tournament that closes its doors. Today,
the day after the final, I am taking it easy in my hotel room.
Yes, normally, I rush back home or to London, or to Paris. But
this time, I was invited to stay for a few extra days in Cairo
at the end of the tournament by a friend, who unfortunately, had
a family emergency at the last minute and couldn’t receive me. I
was about to change my flight to go back home early when Mr
Hanafi – Tournament Director – stepped in and allowed me to stay
here for two extra days. I am every so grateful!
 Talking
of Ashraf Anafi, he has a bit of a nice CV you know… He’s
been coaching most of the top players and you have now on the
walls of Sky Club their acknowledgment to his contribution to
their career.
He was Junior National Head Coach in ’98 in the US with a team
composed of people you may had heard about, Wael el Hindi,
Mohamed Abbas and Karim Darwish! A few years later, in
‘2004 in Pakistan, he had another “little” team with Ramy
Ashour, Omar Mosaad and Mohamed Ali Anwar Reda. In 2008, he
went to Pakistan for the boys, Mohamed Elshorbagy and Andrew
Wagih while coaching Nour El Tayeb who beat seed one
at the time, Dipika Pallikal, and finished right behind Nour El
Sherbini…
 And
funnily enough, he was instrumental in getting Ramy into
his first PSA tournament as a wild card in Greece, where he lost
in the final against… big brother Hisham!
Now in Cairo, Ashraf is extremely active. In 2008 he was head
coach in Cairo Stadium, he started in Sky in 2010 and is also
very involved in Heliopolis (Ramy’s).
“I would like to start my camps in Europe and the US from
2014 and try and show what makes Egyptian players different from
the rest of the world. We have little secrets, little know how
that make us just not like the others…” he says with a
little smile…
His academy is extremely organised, structured, and evaluations
every 3 months (like the three refs system, each giving their
notes on the players) help the coaches to keep up with each and
every players. Ten coaches plus two fitness trainers, 135 kids,
6 levels, for individual training and team training three time a
week.
Organised. Structured. Planned. Nothing is improvised when it
comes to teach “Egyptian Magic”….
REFEREES
After the hiccups – numerous – I witnessed on the last big
events I’ve covered, it was such a RELIEF to have EXCELLENT
refereeing (all former players)!
OK, their English is not perfect. And they are not using the
right words sometimes for marking.
But you know what? When I get a gift, I don’t really mind the
box around it. I want the gift. And that’s what they were. A
superb surprising gift of excellent refereeing.
Thanks guys for your professionalism, knowledge of the game,
fairness and honesty.
And thanks to EVERYBODY here who made my stay a joy...
Oh, I'm fine, I'm blond, I'm a woman, I'm a Christian, and I'm
safe in Cairo.... |
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The cleaner I
have for my room has been adorable and made a swan to me today...
In Love with Egypt... |
Sky EN BREF
#3
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Sky
Open ... |
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BABY OMAR
It was so nice to see Engy with her baby Omar. They both look
absolutely radiant, and Karim just seems to glow where he is
next to them.
Could that be love you think… |
OLD FRIENDS...
First day when I have a bit more
time, as in, I’ll only be going to the venue around 5. Luxury.
 Yesterday
again was an intense day. On top of our 8 matches, I met at
lunch time with my friend, Doctor Samiha, the Mother of
Egyptian Squash.
She’s been poorly for the past 18 months and I’m glad to say she
is on the way to recovery Hamdollah. It was great to see her,
catch up with her. That’s the miracle of squash, when thanks to
your travels around the world to follow the Tour, you come to
meet people you wouldn’t have met any other way. And they enrich
your life…
 What
is really nice is that I am working again with people I worked
here last time! First Mr Hassan Khair, based at the
hotel, and who help us with the day to day here. He is the man
in charge of Public Relation for Petrosport.
He was already very helpful the two years I covered the Sky
Open. Very discrete and always helpful, he and his team is in
charge of the flight ticketing, of course, organising all the
transports from the airport, our pick-up, all the players/officials
logistic.
Of course, if a player wants to go and visit the Pyramids, or
just go to the market, they will arrange transportation and
details to make sure they are send in perfect conditions. Also,
they arrange and made sure that our hotel rooms are booked (they
have the Sky Motel near the club, and the Dusit) and smoothen
any kind of problem we may have (so far, none for me!). And they
will make sure we are taken back to the airport in time too!
 The
other gem I have to work with is Amgad Khalil, the IT
manager for Sky Petrosport. He was assistant to Robert Edwards
last time, but this time, he is in charge of everything that’s
got to do with IT really, and my personal angel.
I call him to the rescue like you do 911 (or 999, or 18 in
France!) From sorting out the power plugs to locating my camera
that has been taken by mistake, to sorting out the internet (which
has now been working spotless after the first day hiccup), he is
the man…..
 And
now we have moved to the other side (right behind the glass
court, superb, absolutely superb facilities), I’m actually
working next to him! Poor man, he’s bound to regret it…
Basically, it’s a great set up. They really are making sure I’ve
got all the tools to work in perfect conditions. They even gave
me a local sim card, which allows me to be easily reachable, and
to call if I’m in need of any assistance!
Oh, I'm fine, I'm blond, I'm a woman, I'm a Christian, and I'm
safe in Cairo....
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KAMA KHAN
You may have read my article about Kama Khan who really
didn’t impressed me during his match on the first day, to say
the least.
He actually came to me and apologised/explained why he was so
cranky and really unpleasant.
It took guts to do so, and I appreciate his gesture. |
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Sky EN BREF #2
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Sky
Open ... |
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By Day.... |
LONG DAY....
Started with a nice breakfast with some of the players, all from
the main draw, Mohamed, Alister, both coming from Qatar,
plus Shaun.
 I'm
glad to say that Nick convinced me and I am actually trying the
porridge diet in the morning. To be fair, it's pretty
well, not such a great taste, but yes, it fills you up, and yes,
you don't feel hungry for a long time. Not sure I'll keep on
doing it once at home though! Still, when on a tournament, never
knowing when your next meal is coming, it's an excellent
solution, thanks Nick.
A bit tired, as you may imagine, it's now my third
tournament in a row, no rest day, so a bit slower than I would
like. Arrived at Sky Club around 12, just in time to translate
bits of the qualifiers meeting to Christophe André, the
only French representative - didn't do very well on this one
unfortunately - who doesn't speak much English bless him.
 I
must say I was quite impressed with the way things had been
prepared. Each and every player had his name printed and pinned
at a specific place on the show court (court 3). And that
allowed us to see who was missing, and who was there.
You won't be surprised to hear that the only ones that were a
bit late - "only 20m" smiled Mr Hanafi, the tournament
director as they came in - were of course our Egyptians
players! Bless them, time
has a completely different value here. Just need to adapt to
it....
 Right
after that, I met with Mr Big, Mr Yasser Al-Maghraby,
Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer of Petrosport,
and his right arm, Mr Medhat Al-Maghraby, who was working
with the Minister of Sports for six years, also Vice-President
of the African Handball Federation.
 With Mr Ashraf Hanafi, tournament technical director,
they have managed this "tour de force", this amazing task of
organising a major squash tournament in a month. That's thirty
days.
That's short.
But then again, when you have a company that deals with
six
different projects (including a football stadium right
next to this club, two in Ain Sukhna, three
Sports Club in Cairo, plus numerous hotels projects
between 200 and 375 rooms in Cairo, Alexandria and Ain
Sukhna, (some finished already and some being build as we
speak), nothing is impossible.
And to be honest, those three have really done wonders. We have
about 30 people working on this event, and that's without the
refs! We have some superb facilities for the press, right next
to the glass court, and for now, I've been lent a gigantic
office with cable internet - makes a great difference - next to
the traditional courts we are using for the qualifying and the
start of the main draw.
OK, the Internet went down yesterday, for about 45m right at the
start of the session, but thanks to Amhgad team, I got back on
there!
Talking about team, this is probably the main word here. I feel
that everybody is working as a team. You have the "next to the
court team", who deal with the results/score sheets, then the
"IT department" in the Sky Building, then another IT Team that
works in the Press Rom next to the glasscourt, and handles the
official website.
I'm ashamed to say I added to their duties, as they are in
charge of sending Steve - who went back home to Whitley
Bay - results and photos that photographers are taking.
 A crash course in Picasa to the nice man Mr
Ahmed Marwan who is
working with us - to reduce the photos quickly and allow them to
send them fast - and hop, Steve is a happy man, getting results
and photos as they happen!
So yes, a great team work for a event that should be the first
one of a series of events, probably in Luxor, Sharm El Sheik
and Ain Sukhna in the coming year with a common theme of "In
Love with Egypt".
Which in my case, couldn't be more appropriate, as I truly fell
in love this country, that in so many ways reminds me of my own:
proud, undisciplined, passionate and determined to make
their country the way the people want it to be.
Oh, and by the way, yes, I'm fine, I'm blond, I'm a woman, I'm a Christian,
and I'm safe in Cairo... |
ANDREW,
PATHETIC TAXI...
Bless him.
The end of the day was a bit long, as we were waiting for a
player who had visa trouble, and that delayed the day by a good
two hours. When that finished, there was a bit of
misunderstanding, and the driver that was supposed to take me
back to the hotel thought I had left already!
But suddenly, I heard a voice "Fram, I've got a car, I can drop
you off if you want".
Andrew Wagih was calling me. And I said OK. BIG mistake....
The hotel is about 5 minutes - I promise you - 5 minutes from
the club.
It took us about 45 minutes and two motorways to eventually
get there. Like I told him at some point, "I can see the sea, we
are in Alexandria"!!
Andrew, whatever you do at the end of your squash career, don't
go into the taxi business. You would starve to death.
But joke apart, thanks for the ride, you were there when I
needed ... Thanks for that.
Getting there...
Before...
... After
Qualifying...
... And the Main |
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By Night... |
Sky EN BREF #1
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the Sky
Open ... |
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Tournament FB Page
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FROM DOHA TO CAIRO...
A pretty short turn around for that
one.
Last night, after the final, I went and had a great meal with
some great friends. They know who they are, and I'm extremely
grateful for their hospitality. Magic moment. Thanks....
Then back to the room, past 1am, didn't have the time to do the
match report, thanks to Mr Shorbagy's 5 pages and a half of
quotes, by the time I finished, it was 2am. Couldn't sleep
before 4 something, and up at 8.30. Not in the best of shape....
Last breakfast with Cubs,
and off to the Airport where I met with the same Mr Shorbagy
Mohamed, along with his mum and dad (Dad going back
to Saudi though) - and guess who was carrying the trophey? Mummy...
What would you do without her, Mohamed!
Short flight, about 3 hours,
with very passengers on board, about 70 I was told, so plenty of
space for us! A bit of children activity in the aisles, climbing
up and down the seats... Only Egyptair... Didn't prevent me from
zzzzzzz away I can tell you that.
Thanks to Mohamed, I quickly get the stamp for the visa ($15 or
205 Egyptian £), and I fill the form. We are lucky, no queue,
nothing! With seconds, we are at the luggage which also arrive
quickly. Bit of confusion when I pick up my bag, red and blue
Tecnifibre, only to be told by Mohamed that it's his. And it was...
Mine arrives shortly after, and off we go to see the Cairo
Wizard.
 The
hotel shuttle was quick to arrive for Mohamed and myself, while
Basma Shorbagy went to Alexandria - her home - to pick up her
car and her other son Marwan who is also in the tournament.
Temperature is lovely, about 23°, slightly cooler than Doha, but
as pleasant. Little drive from the airport to the Hotel,
stunning I must say. The lounge, well, could host about 10 glass
courts!
 Mr
Ashraf Hanafi - who celebrated his birthday today - has made
sure my room is upgraded to a suite. Oh well, if I have to...
I must say it's absolutely stunning. Great lounge, great bedroom,
love the bathroom, of course, an immense bathtub AND a large
walk-in shower, nearly a room-in shower. And wait for it. Two
loos. One for the guests I may have. One for me. And of course,
an large terrace that gives onto the swimming pool....
Like James Willstrop says "Fram, there are two sorts of women.
You have the low maintenance, and the high maintenance. You are
a very very very high maintenance. Well, I cannot argue. I am
that indeed....
We start tomorrow, matches at 3, but meeting at 12 with all the
qualifyers. Will keep you updated...
Oh, and by the way, yes, I'm fine, I'm blond, I'm a woman, I'm a
Christian, and I'm safe in Cairo...
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