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10th July:
He's been a feature at the Tournament of Champions and many of the recent
top events in the USA and Canada, as referee and organiser. Now Michael
Riley has been appointed as a World Referee. Framboise caught up with
Mike in New York ... |
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MICHAEL RILEY: From Feb 2005
TRUE SQUASH…
You know me, always chatting to everybody...
Well, on my first day, there was a charming brown haired man talking to
David Pearson,
England National Coach...
“Fram, here is Michael Riley, he is the Tournament Director, and
don’t believe a word he says…”
So, of course, I needed to hear more...
Michael, like everybody on John Nimick’s staff, is extremely
efficient and professional. He is everywhere, keeping an eye on his
troops, making sure things run smoothly… And they do.
 “I’ve
been running and working for the tournament for 12 years now. The first
two years, we were at the Winter Garden, at what was the Twin Towers, in
Wall Street. And for the past 10 years, we’ve been running it here, at
Grand Central Station.
“For the rest of the year, when I’m not working on John’s events (Canadian
Classic, US Open, TOC), I work at Rhode Island Country Club, in Rhode
Island, where I’ve been working for 16 years now. Conjointly, for the past
5 years, I’ve also been working at Portsmouth Abbey School.
“I was born in Manchester, England, and started with Real Tennis, “Le Jeu de Paume” for
you, of course, between 1974 and 1978. In the 80s, I moved to the
States, to Boston (the Real Tennis of Boston).
“I knew I didn’t want to have a sedentary job, and as I had a very sporting
life (I played soccer in England, Hockey and Golf in Sweden), I seem to
have been sucked in the world of sport, and later squash. Why squash? I
guess that when I started to get involved in squash, it was in England,
and that I just love the people that practised that sport, they were my
kind of people. I just enjoyed the camaraderie…
“I love the ToC, because I just love New York, and that New York loves
squash. The Tournament vibrates because it’s supported by the New York
Squash Community, who come every year in big numbers, and make it an
incomparable event…”
And you know what, he is soooo right. The atmosphere is just… incredibly
different…
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Mike
referees too ...
And looks after the players. |
LAST TOUCH
 The
TOC team is just amazing… Everybody is doing everything around here.
For example, the promoter of the tournament, Mr John Nimick, spent
his week ushering the event, making sure the patrons found their seats…
Surprising really.
And tonight, before the ladies started their final, who was cleaning the
court??? Mr Michael Riley, tournament director…
Only in America… |
WORLD REFEREES
Jack Allen, Ireland
Ian Allanach, Scotland
Roy Gingell, Wales
Fahim Gul Khan, Pakistan
John Massarella, England
Tony Parker, England
Michael Riley, USA
Chris Sinclair, Australia
Graham Waters, Canada
Nasser Zahran, Egypt
Full WSF Referee
list for 2005
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from February
2005 |
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