Wednesday, December 30, 2015
SQUASH SHOTS XVIII
The “Mickies” Awards for 2015
What a
year! The DAC squash program saw a couple of major improvements this year, none
better than the addition of our new assistant squash pro, Corey Kabot. Corey
has been invaluable implementing a junior squash program and providing much
needed reinforcement with lessons and administrative assistance. He has helped
me in many ways: my office has never been so dust free, my coffee has never
been hotter, and my car never cleaner.
We also renovated
the court area over the summer in order to encourage you all to hang out longer
and consume more beverages… like that
needed any help! The upward squash usage trend continued and by the way we are
going, peak time may expand into midnights. Since we enjoy patting ourselves on
the back so much for a job fantastically done, the annual “Mickies” Awards are another way to blow wind up our own egos and
applaud the sorry souls who made the 2015 cut!
The “Bond… James Bond” Award goes to… John Mann!
Will the
real Fred Flintstone step forward? Almost identical twins, Kevin is actually
the one holding the drink… and being married to Wilma, who can blame him? John
Goodman is the ugly one. An appropriate costume for Kevin, whose forehand
overhead volley is equivalent of a caveman wielding a massive club and
clobbering a dinosaur in the head. It’s the one shot you never want to be in
the way of, unless of course that shot comes in a small glass and is being
served off the court at the bar. We are praying, though, that Kevin does not
adopt the loin cloth as a new squash outfit.
The “Larry-the-Lounge-Lizard” Award goes to…
Matt DiDio!
Once
again, Matt picks up another award! It’s becoming an annual tradition. Who
would have thought that murky-fetid-water-brown would be his color of choice? But
when you linger in the shadowy recesses of seedy bars throwing out cheesy
one-liners to the miserable female characters that have lost all hope in life,
who cares how horrible one’s suit is? The fact that an Angry ‘Bird’ is standing
next to him is no coincidence. Any bird who would be degrade themselves to such
levels can’t be happy. Manny Tancer, however, still manages a smile for the
camera, but probably had to rush off afterwards for a cold shower! Can’t wait
to see what is in store for us next Halloween!
Labels:
Squash Shots
Friday, December 18, 2015
IT’S TIME
DAC Squash Classic Feb
11-14, 2016
Time
to prepare. Prepare for squash. Squash over four days. Four days of the
grandest, most splendiferous, incomparable tournament you will ever experience.
Have I convinced you to enter? There is no doubt that we will reach the
capacity of 145 registrations very, very quickly based on the countless e-mails
I have received of people trying to enter early. So, that being said your best
bet is to enter immediately.
And,
if you do not get in, place yourself on the waitlist. Obviously there is no guarantee
that you will get a spot in the draw, but it certainly would help your chances.
Also, if you are from out of town, being able to play on the Thursday night
would help your cause even more.
The
DAC Classic format remains the same. If it aint broke, no need to fix it. So,
you are still allowed to enter 2 categories, but you do so at your own risk.
And, if you do, the expectation is that you play ALL of your matches. That includes consolation if applicable, and
if you are scheduled for 8am in the morning. We had way too many forfeits last
year - every single one was a consolation match. Forfeits that would not have
happened were they main draw. It is not fair to your opponent who wants to
play. Also, time between your matches may be minimal (or even non-existent) and
you may find yourself playing back-to-back.
With
so many players, and so many in 2 categories, and with only 4 singles courts
and 1 doubles, the scheduling of matches is the most time consuming, difficult
task of organizing this event. That being said, take note below of the times that you must make yourself
available to play. Keep the weekend open for the tournament. Once the schedule
has been released, match times WILL NOT be changed. If you have a conflict on
your calendar, that is your own fault. Also, I had so many people last year
requesting special times that it literally became impossible to make it all
fit. Do not ask
for a ‘favorable’ time, it will not be taken into consideration.
For players in the Detroit area – including
Ann Arbor, Toledo, and Windsor:
•
Thursday, February 11
between 4pm and 11pm
•
Friday, February 12
between 3pm and 11.30pm
•
Saturday, February13
between 8am and 8pm
•
Sunday, February 14
between 8am and 4pm
For all other players:
•
Friday, February 12
between 3pm and 11.30pm
•
Saturday, February 13
between 8am and 8pm
•
Sunday, February 14
between 8am and 4pm
When entering your
correct category(s), below are the details of what will be allowed for the singles
and doubles. Understand that I reserve the right to change the category your
have entered if I deem it appropriate.
•
Maximum 32 players in any
on singles category
•
Maximum 16 teams in any
one doubles category
•
Minimum 2 matches per
singles draw
•
Minimum 1 match per
doubles draw
•
Walkovers / forfeits
count a match
•
Maximum 145 entries for
the entire tournament.
•
Minimum age to enter the
tournament is 13
•
All singles matches are
PAR to 11 scoring
•
All doubles matches are 5
games to 15 - no tie break.
•
A ‘B’ player partnered up
with a ‘C’ player will be entered in the B draw.
•
An ‘A’ player partnered
up with a ‘B’ player will be placed in the A draw.
•
An ‘A’ player partnered
up with a ‘C’ player will be placed in the B draw.
•
Any player entering the
‘A’ doubles is NOT permitted to play
the ‘C’ doubles regardless of partner. In layman’s terms – no sandbagging.
A couple more items to
take note of. For 11 years now, the DAC Classic does NOT use referees for any match. As strange as that sounds, it has
been a system that has worked remarkably well and we have had extraordinarily
few incidents during that time. It is expected that all players conduct
themselves in the best sportsmanship and be fair, honest and respectful with
your opponents and your ‘let’ calls. Sometimes, however, a referee is simply
required and if you are asked to step in to help, please do so.
Secondly, be on time for
your matches. Sounds like a no brainer but since we max out the courts for the
4 days, being late for your match will push the tournament late. And no one
wants that.
Sponsorships. The DAC
Classic owes it continued success to our corporate sponsors listed below. Please
take the time to thank them over the weekend for their support, it is the
reason we can run the tournament like we do.
•
Skidmore Inc – Patrick Petz
•
Smith Barney – Sean Moran
•
E-Motion Studios – Anil Kathuria
•
Corbet, Shaw, Essad, Tucciarone, Bonasso – Bruce
Shaw
•
SVS Vision – Ken Stann
•
Metropolitan Baking – George Kordas
•
AARO Companies – Tom Fabbri
•
Adlhoch and Associates – Scott Adlhoch
•
Campanelli and Pear – Joey Gaylord
The official registration deadline is January
29, but I’m 99% sure we will be full well before then. It’s time...
Labels:
DAC,
Doubles,
Squash Classic,
Tournament