Endurance World Open Bermuda - 2007
Leaving the cold of St. Louis in November for the warm beach-front venue of the World Open in Bermuda was one of those tough assignments that one has to take on from time to time!!
The slipperiness of the glass floored court didn't help the quality of the play in some of the matches, and the low level of the court illumination didn't help the photographs any, but the event was worthy of its World Championship title, proffering some epic matches, presented with elegant showmanship, in a massive custom constructed "tent" with seating for 1,400. All culminating in Amr Shabana taking his historic third World Title and fourth PSA title in a row!
"MetroSquash with Sue" at the Field Museum Chicago
Squash has seen some spectacular venues over recent years, including the Pyramids at Giza, and Grand Central Station, and been viewed by spectators of all ages. But few events have had such a grandiose location as The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and none have had spectators ranging in age from schoolchildren to Sue, the 67 million year old Tyrannosaurus Rex!
We were happy to be able to support MetroSquash in their fundraising efforts, and through reports on SquashSite, bring the event to the worldwide squash community. MetroSquash runs a squash program for inner city children in the Chicago area that not only gets them interested in the game, but also provides a structure for support in all their academic and leisure activities.
Peter Nicol played Jonathan Power and John White played Amr Shabana in exhibition matches that were a lot of fun for everyone. If you have ever thought that you could easily beat one of the WISPA women pros, you should have seen Natalie Grainger take apart the best of the local club players, one after another!
The 2007 British Open
England's National Squash Centre in Manchester is a great facility, made even more impressive with the addition of the glass court in the Athletics Hall. With Men's and Women's pro tournaments as well as massive Masters' and Juniors' tournaments there were literally hundreds of squash players at the venue. The English audience were disappointed to see an all French final, but still enjoyed some great squash.
The 2007 ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic
This was our first visit to the Canary Wharf Classic, and we were blessed with some terrific matches. Thanks to the presence of several other photographers, we weren't under the usual pressure to shoot every game. That meant we got the chance to see the bigger picture as the action unfolded, that we don't normally see when peering through a viewfinder!
John White's matches against Bianchetti and Lincou are well worth a look on Psalive.
The 2007
Infor
Windy City Open
Hosted by the University Club in Chicago, this is always a terrific tournament. Everything takes place in the one building with the players able to get to the court from their "hotel" room just by riding the elevator, so the sense of community is very strong.
As a Super Series event for the past two years, there are a lot of matches, which makes it difficult to find that special shot. Fortunately, Jean de Lierre was there with his Squashlive crew to film the later matches, and his video lights created a great shadow effect on the side wall, giving the impression of Amr and John playing two phantom opponents.
The 2007 Pace Canadian Classic
The Pace Canadian Classic took place in the theatre at the Toronto Exhibition Center. From a photographer's point of view the venue was great with the ability to move easily around the back of the court while the match was in progress, and plenty of space in the wings to work.
The squash was historic, with Ramy Ashour winning his first major PSA Title. Good sportsmanship was much in evidence as you can see here with Anthony and Greg. The qualifying took place on club courts in Toronto and there are some shots from the "Box" included in the gallery.
