We showed up at University of BirminghamSport and Fitness Complex where check in and our practice courts were booked
(the entire tourney takes place over 4 different clubs). This complex is unbelievable. It is brand new with state of the art
facilities. On a non-squash note, the spinning
had this massive screen that looked like you were actually climbing up a road
in France and monitoring everyone’s performance as they went. Talked about motivation.
We were a little early and just kind
of hanging out when who walked in but Nick Matthew.
He was kind enough to take pictures with the kids. The kids and the Khans then got a solid 45
minutes of practice in before the exhibition match. The setup for the exhibition match was great,
full glass court with seating for 200.
This court is also being used for the tournament and being streamed
through SquashTV. You can watch here.
First match was between Emily Whitlock
(rank #16 in the world) vs. Sara Jane Perry (#8). Sara
won 3-0 in a pretty easy fashion. The next match was between Nick Matthew (#6)
and Declan James (#25). This was a very
entertaining match with incredible shot-making and great rallies. At the end of the match all the kids went
down for pictures and autographs.
The highlight of the day definitely
happened as we were leaving. Ryan didn’t
initially qualify for
the British Open (program can be found here) as they only accept the top 5 players in each
age division per country. He brought his stuff just in case there was a last
minute drop out and sure enough there was.
So Ryan is now in and plays his first match tomorrow at 1:30 (Hannah at 11). Ryan’s draw is posted here and Hannah’s draw
is posted here.
Pictures of today’s event can be found here.
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