'Not A Four-Day Thrill' Says Kenya Squash
Ambassadors Host
"It's
not just a four-day thrill," said Gakuo
Ndirangu, a driving force of squash in Kenya, as the 2019
WSF Ambassador Programme visit to the country's capital Nairobi
drew to a close at the Nairobi Club after a comprehensive
programme of squash activities led by three of the sport's leading
players.
An
action-packed programme of coaching sessions, refereeing workshops,
player clinics, exhibition matches and media conferences were the focus
of the World Squash Federation initiative led this year by
Malaysia's former world No.1 and record eight-time World Champion
Nicol David, France's world No.3 Camille Serme, Spaniard
Borja Golan, a former world No.5, together with Belgian national
coach Ronny Vlassaks and international referee Marko Podgorsek,
from Slovenia.
"I
cannot find the words to express our feelings about the huge success of
this visit, and our gratitude to the WSF team for coming to Kenya to
inspire our players," added Ndirangu
(pictured above, 2nd from the left, with the WSF Ambassadors at the
Nairobi Club).
"But
this is just the foundation and now we need to build on it."
Players
young and old from all over Kenya - including three who travelled for 29
hours on a bus from Rwanda to participate in the event - converged on
both the Parklands Sports Club and the Nairobi Club for
the eighth edition of the annual WSF initiative.
The three
international stars duly thrilled the local squash enthusiasts (Serme &
Golan above with leading Kenyan players Otto Kwach and Keriri
Muya) with opportunities to play with them, learn from them and, of
course, be photographed with them. At both clubs, the stars entertained
the crowds with a light-hearted exhibition match - David and Serme
pairing up to take on Golan.
Kenya's
top two players, siblings Khaaliqa Nimji and Muqtadir Nimji
(Muqs) (pictured below with David and leading Kenyan player Aston
Guto) both took full advantage of the visit.
As a
12-year-old, Khaaliqa competed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games - playing
against Nicol David in the Mixed Doubles event - then later put
her education on hold for two years to train for the 2018 Games in
Scotland.
"It's
been a really good experience, playing with world-class players - and
it's been a lot of fun as well," said the now
21-year-old who moves to Canada later this year to begin a degree course
at Waterloo University. "And being able to get some help on how to
improve my game has been really helpful. I played with both Camille and
Nicol and it was a lot of fun.
"Overall I think the visit has been really successful to boost Kenyan
squash - it's what we needed!"
Miss
Nimji, already a Level 1 coach, attended the coaching workshop and later
had a one-to-one session with Vlassaks: "Ronny did give me some
really good tips. It was a really tough session, in fact, but I enjoyed
it! He said that, with what he told me, I can improve my game within a
couple of months."
Younger
brother Muqs pitted his wits against Serme and Golan and plans to
further his love for squash at Birmingham University in England - a
university with a strong tradition in the sport, where he will study
Sports Science.
The
coaching workshops created a good deal of interest and were
well-attended.
"The
sessions were a big success - there were a lot of participants on the
course, more than 20," said Vlassaks, now the
Director of Squash at Squash on Fire in Washington DC.
"I did
it a bit differently from last time, it was a bit more practical and
more interactive. I showed them a lot about what I'm doing and I think
they found that very interesting as they don't have a good coaching
background here yet.
"Also
I definitely thought that I changed some minds in terms of coaching -
about how you look at coaching and how you develop a player from the
beginning. Not only looking at the hitting, but everything that happens
before that as well. So from these points of view, I think this was a
very successful Ambassador Programme Coaching workshop.
"There's only one way to take this forward - for the federation, or
maybe the clubs here, to organise a structure for coaches so they can
develop more players. I've told them I'm willing to help and give them
advice - and willing to visit them to run a coaches camp."
Despite
the lack of a single qualified referee in the country, Marko Podgorsek's
workshop attracted significant interest.
"There
isn't a single qualified referee in the whole country but hopefully
that's going to change in a short time, especially with their
involvement in the WSO ('World Squash Officiating') online courses and
the exams," Podgorsek (pictured below with
his workshop participants) explained. "Hopefully they will undertake
those.
"I
think I have managed to give them a basic insight into the
technicalities of squash refereeing and the process of decision-making
which hopefully should raise their standard of refereeing and
understanding of the game.
"They
are all players to a decent level, which also helps a lot, and from what
I have seen they appear to be quite eager to take a step forward and
establish a refereeing organisation and meet on a regular basis for all
them to progress within the refereeing business."
Rwanda,
without a national federation, boasts just two courts in the whole
country. But, despite a 1,200 Km journey, enthusiasts Gafirita
Emmanuel, 25, Habimana Christian, 28, and 20-year-old
Christian Shema (the trio pictured below with Vlassaks) took full
advantage of the Kenya visit, discovering world-class squash for the
first time and participating in both the coaching and refereeing
workshops.
"Coming here was very important for us," said
Shema. "We have gained a lot of knowledge about squash and the way to
teach people how to play. We will be working hard to grow squash in
Rwanda in the provinces - not just in the capital Kigali.
"We
want to be ambassadors in our own country and show Rwandans that squash
is a very good game."
At the
press conference at Parklands Sports Club, club chairman Sam Waweri
announced that the club was launching a sports academy. The private club
is opening its doors for youngsters to come in free to learn how to play
squash.
"We
want to take squash to the next level, and we are privileged to have you
WSF Ambassadors here."
David,
Golan and Serme thrilled the local players and, as a result, have
undoubtedly earned an army of Kenyan fans.
"We've
had a great few days at the two different clubs where we have seen many,
many people showing up to share time on court with us and asking lots of
questions," said Serme (pictured above with a
Kianda School pupil), runner-up in the season-ending PSA World Tour
Finals championship in Egypt last month.
"So
I'm very happy with this week in Kenya. I was impressed with Khaaliqa -
I'm sure she could become a good player - and I will remember those
three guys from Rwanda, coming such a long way to be with us."
Golan
added: "There are some good players here, juniors and seniors, and
some who want to go professional like Muqs, the number one. The main
thing here is that everyone here is really interested, very enthusiastic
and want to improve their game. They ask questions all the time - what
they can do to improve and how they can prepare for the game.
"We
had some great days of squash and learnt a lot from them,"
continued the 16-time Spanish national champion (pictured above).
"These two clubs were unbelievable - a lot of other clubs around the
world have more courts and more players, but their enthusiasm is really
special. It's clear they want to take squash to another level. They love
the game so much here, which is what impressed me. I was very happy to
be here and help them in some way."
In
summing up the impact of the Kenya visit, Gakuo Ndirangu said:
"The future here now is very bright. We have always had a lot of
enthusiasm for the sport, but it has needed to be energised - and your
team has done this over the past few days.
"There
are a lot of sponsors who said they were willing to help us, but this
programme has given them confidence. 'As long as you are doing
initiatives like this, we will support you,' they have said.
"The
juniors are our focus and in ten years time, we expect to have a strong
presence in the world of squash.
"It is
very exciting that squash is the leading sport at the new Sports Academy
at Parklands," Ndirangu continued. "The
fact that they are offering this to kids free is a big step.
"Our
aim is to increase the base of squash players - especially kids - so
that when they are at a reasonable level, we will have a big pool to
choose from.
"Our
government too is very supportive and as soon as we have structures in
place, I am confident we will get their backing."
WSF CEO
Andrew Shelley (pictured below, flanked by Golan and Serme,
together with pupils from local schools Braeburn, Peponi, Kianda, Banda,
Hillcrest and Chalaw Academy) concluded: "Year on year, the WSF
Ambassadors Programme has allowed us to link with and support squash
nations. This year has been no exception - but was exceptional.
"The
local leadership, the volunteers, players and clubs are all completely
aligned in wanting to develop squash in Kenya - something that we were
able to support in a small way with coaching and refereeing workshops,
our wonderful players integrating with the community and helping raise
the profile of the sport in the media. The hospitality we received was
superb too."
"We
can be certain that an energising of squash is now well underway in
Kenya."
The WSF
Ambassador Programme first visited the Baltic country of Latvia in 2011,
followed by a trip to the African countries of Malawi and Namibia, then
Panama and Venezuela in 2013, Papua New Guinea in 2014, before focussing
on the Balkan region in 2015 with appearances in Serbia, Romania and
Croatia. In 2016, the team visited Dalian and Macau in China. After the
2017 edition was postponed, the WSF team headed to Armenia and Ukraine
in 2018.
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