Letters April 2007

Indian Summer

The  Indian Summer Tournament, held November 8-12, 2006, had 85 participants, with 105 matches played, making it Minnesota’s largest tournament in 2006.  For the second year in a row, a strong team of eight Canadians descended on the Commodore Squash Club, looking to repeat the triumph of the year before.  Also testing their mettle were players from Virginia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and even Malta, filling out very competitive draws.

Unfortunately, one incident left an indelible mark on my memory of the tournament. It happened in the Skill Level 5.5 final, where the Minnesota State Champion matched up against the talented young Canadian who had won the tournament the previous year. After playing the first four games to an even draw, the Canadian chose to take off his protective glasses early in the fifth game, which were mandatory for all players. Though his opponent noticed immediately, and spoke to him about it, the offending player managed to play the middle section of game five without glasses. This gave him a clear, and unfair, advantage. The Canadian referee, inexcusably, decided not to intervene. As fate would have it, the Tournament Director, who would normally have been the referee for the final, was playing in the Mixed Doubles final at the same time. Perhaps 10 rallies were played before the Tournament Director noticed the infraction, during which the offender was able to gain a critical six to three lead.

What would have been proper action for the Director to take?  Replace the referee? Award a conduct penalty of a point, game, or match?  Have the points in question replayed? Thoroughly agitated, he demanded that the offender put his glasses on immediately, which he then did. The Canadian went on to win game five nine to four, and his opponent, to his credit, was disinclined to attribute the loss to the glasses controversy. 

The Canadian played very well, but his victory was tainted by his youthful indiscretion.  In the interest of fair play, and for the sake of offender and offended alike, such wanton disregard of tournament rules must never happen again.

Ed. Note: For a discussion of this situation, please see Rod Symington’s column this month on P. 18.

John O’Brien
Via email