SFC Club Champs 2009

Date: 14 - 16 August, 2009

Entry fee: $50

Venue: SFC Squash Club, Swakopmund

Entertainment: Saturday dinner and boogie woogie

Finals and prize giving: Sunday (around lunch time)

Entry forms at the courts; seedings will be taken from the current ladder.

Great prizes for, almost, everybody.

SFC Club Champs 2008: a tale of two brothers

While the world’s best battled it out in Manchester, Namibia’s best battled it out in Swakopmund. The SFC Squash Club Championships, held over the weekend of 17-19 October, saw the triumphant return of a popular and enjoyable local tournament.

After a weekend brimming with bonhomie and spirited competition, the final match between brothers David and Ian Rowett sealed the feel-good factor with a fitting display of squash and good-natured rivalry.

David, two years Ian’s senior and a permanent resident of the Damaraland wilderness, showed his raw talent by taking the first game 9-2 in record time.

Ian leveled the score in the second, finding his length and taking the ball early to force the unseasoned legs of his elder brother to unwilling extremes.

The next two games had enough long rallies and incredible pick-ups to keep the crowd “Ooohing” and “Aaahing” from the edge of their seats. And fitness proved the deciding factor in favour of junior Rowett: “I could hardly stand,” said David who gets to play only once every two weeks if he’s lucky.

The legendary Frik Orban had to withdraw before the tournament but his shoes were well filled by the SFC Squash Club’s newest member, Dries Tredoux, who made the trip from Windhoek especially. Battling a stomach bug, thanks either to the local cuisine or some “bad wine”, Dries had some typecast humdingers going down 3-1 to Luke Allen and pipping returning star Clinton Dewing 10-9 in the fifth.

Jacques Steenkamp gave a hyperbolic lesson in the meaning of dedication. The third-seeded player suffered serious side-effects from an eye operation on Friday but decided to play one-eyed all the way through the competition earning himself the dubiously unoriginal title of Stevie Wonder.

Isabell Schnoor coasted through to the semis where David Rowett ended her unbeaten run with disdainfully accurate volleys and ill-mannered tight drives. She found a more equitable opponent in Luke Allen for the third/fourth play-off the latter taking the match in a commendable three straight games.

Despite the high-level action at the top, the weekend belonged to the middle and upcoming orders. New members AJ Venter (yes, really), Kobus Brayshaw, Gareth Smith, the Pahl youngsters and Corné Kotze were all thrown into the deep end competing, and holding their own, against seasoned squashers like Warren Deysel, Bernd Grüttemeyer, Karl Zehrt and Mario Oprandi.

The juniors and social players were cast into a round-robin pool that yielded some delightful ding-dong duels with newcomer Sebastian Pahl coming first ahead of Ruth Hornickel by one point. Pascal Seebach competed well in the B Section beating mother of the brothers, Flicky Rowett, in the third/fourth play-off. Sumari Usher met Bianca Grove in the B section final, Bianca’s shotmaking prowess proving too much for Sumari to handle.

Sticking with the warm and fuzzy everyone’s-a-winner theme, the prize giving was a lucky draw offering each entrant the chance to win first (or last) prize. Karl Zehrt summed up the weekend: “I’ve played in many, many tournaments over the years and cannot remember an event with a more good-natured spirit than this. The games were played with great sportsmanship and everybody was happy all the time.”

Final results: Ian Rowett, David Rowett, Luke Allen, Isabell Schnoor, Dries Tredoux, Warren Deysel, Clinton Dewing, Mairo Oprandi, Karl Zehrt, AJ Venter, Bernd Grüttemeyer, Gareth Smith, Jacques Steenkamp, Kobus Brayshaw, Bianca Grove, Sumari Usher, Pascal Seebach, Flicky Rowett, Sebastian Pahl, Ruth Hornickel, Corné Kotze, Andree Steyn, Kai Jacobi, Julika Pahl. Sportsmanship award: Jacques Steenkamp; Greatest contribution: Clinton Dewing.

The SFC Squash Club is grateful to the following sponsors for making the tournament a magnificent success: Abenteuer Afrika Safari, BioKinetics, Dunedin Star Guesthouse, Hair by Renate, Jacques Steenkamp, Namib Gliding, Namibia Tours & Safaris, Rubicon Financial Services, Salon Marianne, SFC Sport Club, SFC Squash Club, Transvehco, Warren Deysel.

Date: 17 - 19 October, 2008

Draw: Download as PDF File

Entry fee: $50

Venue: SFC Squash Club, Swakopmund

Entertainment: Saturday dinner and boogie woogie; braai packs on sale (or bring your own) salad and rolls provided.

Finals and prize giving: Sunday (around lunch time)

Entry forms at the courts; seedings will be taken from the current ladder.

Great prizes for, almost, everybody.