Here are the latest draws. Please complete the last round by no later than Monday, 16 May 2016.
Finals day of the NSA closed produced some skillful and exciting squash. The mens B section was won by Shahin Lalla who proved too solid and consistent for Neil Strydom. THe women’s final saw the form player of the season Christine Ferreira triumph over Megan Page who is quickly returning to her best form after recovering from serious injury last year. Chrstine was however able to use her sharper match form to prevail in a competitive 4 game match. The men’s final was an excellent contest full of guile, pace and no small amount of skill. The first game was ultimately crucial as top seed and defending champiom, Kelvin Ndhlovu mananaged to sneak it 15-13. Gary Naidoo certainly tested him and for the first time this week Kelvin was forced to really dig deep and graft for his victory. Gary showed tremndous spirit to win the third game after it appeared during the second that his sprit may have been broken in the long hard first game loss. He however showed his fighting spirit and made Kelvin work for wht was ultimately a well deserved 9th closed title.
NSA Closed draw
Some fantastic squash was played on semi-finals day. Both ladies semi-finals in the ladies draw went the distance as firstly Megan Page showed that she is over her injuries and once again playing her best squash as she pulled off an upset of the seedings by toppling Makgosi Peloakgosi in a titanic struggle. Christine Ferreira initially looked to be cruising but had to pull out all the stops to see off a determined Hannelise Human in another tough five game match.
The mens semi’s saw a fantastic match between Gary Naidoo and Ruan Olivier and both players may still be working out how it didn’t end up going five games also. Gary somehow found a way to take the 4th 15/13 after being down and out and with it his first Northerns final in his first appearance for the province. There he will meet multiple defending champion Kelvin Ndhlovu who continued his fairly serene path through the draw and it remains to be seen whether Gary is the man to test him in the final. Match of the day in the mens draw may well have been 15 year old Mikael Clayton coming from 2 games down to beat the experienced Derek van der Merwe. This was maybe challenged by 14 year old Reece Mclachlan pulling out a hard 5 game win against his school master and coach, Justin Cook. Some future stars to watch certainly.Finals tomorrow are at PCC with the ladies final scheduled to start at 7:00 and the mens to follow it at 8:00. NSA Closed draw
Mens A section 3rd round results saw a few great matches. Jan-Hendrik Mulder produced great squash to stretch 3rd seed Ruan Olivier all the way in a titantic struggle. Ruan eventually prevailling in the 5th. Quintin Taljaard also managed to survive a great fightback from Barry Coetzee who was 2/0 down before forcing the match into a deciding 5th where Quintin managed to survive. Thursday sees the ladies and mens B section re-enter the fray and the mens A section semi-finals will take plave from 19:45. NSA Closed draw
Herewith the results of the 2nd day play of the NSA closed. Match of the day was between the two experienced campaigners, Jan-Hendrik Mulder and Derek van der Merwe. Jan-Hendrik was able to use his superior fitness and pull through in the end. NSA Closed draw
Congratulations to all the players with a great weekend’s results – a very intense 3 days of squash with several games going to the wire. Thanks to all the players, court marshals, tournament referee and parents.
Running these tournaments takes an immense amount of pressure, and errors do creep in with the draw of this magnitude so I thank you for your patience and just allowing the kids to do what they were there for….play squash, reconnect with friends and have fun!
Please also take note of the Tournament Referee’s comments regarding the marking and refereeing:
- Ensure correct calling terms
- Be strict on times
- 5 min warm up: Means the players must have equal opportunity to warm up
- 90 seconds break between game: At 90 seconds the players must be ready to serve not then come onto the court
- Lets
- Players MUST attempt to shape and be ready to play the ball in order to ask for a Let
- Simply catching a ball mid-air or not attempting to play the ball does not qualify for a Let
- “No Let” is also a decision. Do not be afraid to give a No Let
- Injuries and Bleeding
- Be aware of the rules of self-inflicted and contributed injuries
- Bleeding is another critical rule and players must come off the court immediately to treat bleeding
However, a massive improvement from the beginning of the year.
The committee will capture the results and then meet to review the entire year’s results. IPT selection is critical and not based on this tournament alone but all the NJSA Tournaments as well as other major school tournaments such as SA Closed, Bloem Open etc. So you can imagine the task ahead for the selection committee. We will strive to get the teams out soon so that the selected players can begin preparation and parents will get a feel for the budgets.
NOTE: Team selection will not necessarily determine team order at this stage and there will be a compulsory play-off weekend in which various chairman challenges will be requested.
Do not forget the CJS Pre-IPT Tournament 3-5 June. Keep the weekend open and enter.
Results of the NSA Closed 1st round: NSA Closed draw
NSA Closed draw – The draw for the NSA closed is attached below. All matches are at PCC. Players are asked to arrive 30 minutes before their scheduled playing time.
Herewith the Friday Draw for the upcoming NJSA Closed Tournament. The format is predominantly Round Robin unless otherwise indicated.
U19 girls only commence on Saturday morning.
Logistics:
- Two venues (PCC and Pretoria High School Old Boys) are being used so please pay attention to which venue you have been allocated on the draw sheet
- Please report to the court supervisors table before your 1st match of the day so they are aware you are present
- Arrive at least 30 minutes before your scheduled match
- Losers mark / Winners ref the match immediately following theirs
- Players playing the 2nd scheduled match of each day must please arrive early and mark the 1st match of the day (So if scheduled for 08h30, please arrive at 08h00)
- Court Supervisors will be on duty and are the ONLY authorised personnel to assist with marking
- The Tournament Referee’s decision will be considered final
- Cross Pool play-off’s may be requested by the Tournament Referee
The tournament is about the players, not the parents so please respect the players and court supervisors. Do not interfere with the marking, rather call a court supervisor. Have fun…let your child enjoy the weekend, it is tough on the court so make it easier for them off the court by showing your gratitude.
