Holiday Tournament - December 1
It’s
a magical time of year, isn’t it? I often wonder how such traditions came into
being, as if, back in ancient times, a group of elders or wise men sat around a
table and discussed the best way to celebrate the day we now know as “Christmas”…
“a hideously fat man”… “in a pretentious red suit”… “who
enslaves an entire race of freaky little people”… “that all children in
the world blindly worship”…. “who flies in a sleigh with bewitched
reindeer”… “who lives in the coldest place on earth but no one knows
where it is exactly”… “who is for no apparent reason jolly”… “despite
the incredibly annoying sound of jingling bells that come out of nowhere when
he appears”… I have no idea what was
in their “peace-pipe” these guys were passing around but it must have some
really gooooood candy cane. No war on drugs back then obviously.
Which
brings us to the traditional DAC Holiday Squash Tournament which we now
present to you every first Friday in December.
I, naturally, was not influenced by any extraneous substances when I
came up with this concept, and this is the 12th time running it. I am glad
though, I do not have to yell “Ho!, Ho!, Ho!” every so often or make my
appearance though a chimney. My attitude may change otherwise.
 |
| Michael. Umm... wow. |
My
curiosity is also heightened somewhat when I see what fashion statements this
event can produce. I get the elf hats, the reindeer horns, the obnoxious amount
of clashing green and red, flashing lights… but this one had me totally
befuddled. Michael Craig went above and beyond with this beauty. Now,
when I think about “Christmas”, I immediately think…. Dinosaur! T-Rex! Who
doesn’t, right? Makes unequivocally zero sense what so ever. Maybe it was part
of the elders’ discussion that didn’t make the cut.
 |
| Julie. Spot on. |
Julie Vande Vusse on the other hand, got it spot on.
Repugnant, but alluring. Ghastly, but captivating. Detestable, but somehow
seductive. A shirt that we wouldn’t been seen dead in but secretly wish we had
it hanging in our closet. The perfect fashion oxymoron. Well played, Julie!
Well played.
Of
course the main reason we gather is to play squash. And celebrate our
squash-ness with a few (or more) drinks. The Holiday Tournament is more about
the fun side of the sport rather than the winning side of it, more to do with
meeting and playing opponents who you wouldn’t normally get to step on court
with. Since everybody ends up with a prize - or gift - and there is no
handicapping involved, and matches are pretty much randomly drawn, who ends up
on top is not so important.
It
was Jed Elley.
That
shouldn’t shock anyone. Jed is our current club champion so it was no surprise
he went through all 4 of his matches 3-0. As he should as well. I really do
want to thank Jed for making the time and effort to play. The feedback from his
opponents was nothing but tremendously enthusiastic. They all were delighted to
get the chance to play against him, relished the experience. Jed was
considerate and obliging enough to give everyone a good run, the ultimate
gentleman.
Derek Aguirre pushed his way to second place
winning 9 of his 12 games. Christmas came early for the Aguirre family and
congratulations are in order for Derek and his lovely wife Tori for the
addition of a future squash player in their family - Lali (hope I spelled that
correctly). Just a week old, Derek hasn’t slept for that long it seemed, and
probably hasn’t been training much either I guess. I am sure he was happy to
escape the house for a few hours to run around and reminisce about what life
used to be like before children!
We
had two surprises for equal third place. Maggie Durant had an excellent
evening, beating up on Brian Bartes and Mike Petix and snagging a
game from Andy Adamo as well to end up with 8 games won. Mack Gembis
was the other shaker and mover with 8 total games, showing his improvement with
a solid win over Brandan Tasco and a huge upset victory over Brian
Bartes (sorry Brian - looks like you were victimized twice here!) Mack is
racking up some wins as this comes on the heels of his 3rd place in the recent
Blitz Tournament.
Special
mention goes to Chris Laenen and Brandon Tasco for being able to
complete their 4th match against each other without causing any major injury.
These two have a rivalry of sorts going on although normally speaking a rivalry
should not be one-sided where the same player wins all the time. A bit like the
Michigan v Ohio “rivalry”. Not much of one if Ohio win every year. Kinda boring
really. Just a question these days of by how much, right Steve Brown?
(poke, poke). Brandon won the match 2-1, despite the downing the biggest shot
of rocket fuel I have ever seen before starting. He also said he couldn’t
remember the last time Chris had beaten him. Well, officially, according to
Sporty HQ, Chris’s last victory was on October 11. So not too far back.
And
let’s not forget to hand out an acknowledgment to Mark Montgomery who
graciously stepped in last minute to take the place of the injured Gina
Greer. Very noble of you Mark, we appreciate you sticking around for the
evening to take part. I do apologize for calling you “Gina” throughout the
event, but it was difficult to tell the two of you apart.
