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Results of the NJSA Closed tournament

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.

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NJSA Closed draws

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.

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Countrywide Blitz tournament – fundraiser

COUNTRY WIDE BLITZ TOURNAMENT FUND RAISER – enter here.

Date:
 22 Apr 2016
Location:
 TuksSquash, Menlo and Old Boys
Type & Grade:
 u11 – u19 boys + girls AND SENIORS : Tournament
Detail:
 ALL FUND RAISED WILL GO TOWARDS THE WORLD JUNIOR TEAM’S EXPENSES. Friday afternoon and evening 16:00-21:00. Times matches – singles and doubles . All players muxt be available for the full duration of the event. Supper and snacks will be on sale at the courts.
Organiser:
 Liz Mackenzie
Contact numbers:
 0824211346
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Juniors tops in Bloemfontein

The Northerns junior players achieved very good results at the recently held Bloemfontein Junior Open tournament. Northerns won all but one of the boys sections! Callan Hall won boys u19, Mikael Clayton won boys u16, Damian Groenewald won boys u13 and Liam van der Merwe won boys u11. Awande Malinga won the u11 girls section.

Callan was seeded #3 and played the following matches:

  • R1 – vs Martin Lindeque : won 3/0
  • R2 – vs his cousin Blaine Verhage : won 3/0
  • R3 – vs Sipho Ncube who had beaten the # 6 seed in the R2 : won 3/1
  • R4 – vs John Kuhn #2 and who Callan has never beaten before : won 3/0
  • Finals – vs Wayne Sithole #1 : won 3/2 (14/12 in 5th after Wayne was 10/7 up and had another match point at 12/11)

The full results can be seen on the Squash SA website.

 

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Results of the NJSA Open

Please find attached results from this weekend’s tournament – NJSA Open results March 2016.

Thank you once again for your commitment and albeit we did have a few withdrawals the weekend turned out to be a good one for those in attendance.

This tournament was a little different with a lot fewer top ranked players (They played in the Bloem Open last weekend and are playing in the SA Schools Closed this weekend).

The result thereof was to allow our mid to lower players to compete for honours and a little glory this year.

The Swiss Paring did create some confusion as it was probably the 1st time for many however, once again it puts a different perspective to the weekend, creates opportunities for players who ordinarily do not play, to play against each other and provide a few “shock” results, which it did!

The SA Country Festival takes place 29 April – 01 May and our organiser will be in touch shortly regarding participation, costing, logistics etc.

Please diarise 06 – 08 MAY which is the NJSA Closed Tournament.  A COMPULSORY Tournament for provincial selection all our top players will be back and we want all of this weekend’s attendee’s to participate as well.

Thanks once again for the weekend, keep the kids practising and on the courts, see you around the various clubs and at the Closed in 2-months’ time.

Regards

Brett Cousins

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NJSA Open draw March 2016

I need to STRESS that the approach to be taken going forward will be a lot stricter with respect to applying special requests.  This tournament format does not allow for requests and I had to exclude half a dozen players from this weekend.  This was the reason for the delayed release for Friday.

The formats vary based on age group so please study your sections.  The various formats are

  1. Round Robin (RR): The std format we have used this year
  2. Swiss Pairing (SP): Seeded section, winners keep the higher seeded position to the next round and the loser the lower seeded position.
  3. Combo (SP & RR): Rounds 1 & 2 are SP and then the section is divided into Pools and RR follows
  4. Prelim: Some sections has Prelims to ascertain the final seeding and then the section follows either 1, 2, or 3 above

So we are trying to make it fun and a little different and hopefully keep up the player excitement.

This tournament is sandwiched between two major schools tournaments – the recently held Bloem Open (which attracts 500 players!) and the SA Schools Champs (Top 4 per age group per province attend).  Therefor this weekend provides a great opportunity for the mid to lower seeded players to really show their mettle and challenge for a placing and some prize money; so as parents, please encourage; don’t discourage.  Every child is giving their all, lets support this.

Fundamentals:

  • Two venues (PCC and Pretoria High School Old Boys) are being used so please pay attention to which venue you have been allocated
  • 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 and 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
  • 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

As I have mentioned before, 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.

NJSA Open 2016 Friday Draw

Brett Cousins

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Enter now for the NJSA Open 11-13 March 2016

NORTHERNS JUNIOR OPEN TOURNAMENT

11-13 March 2016

Boys & Girls Under 11 – Under 19

Open to all junior players. Enter now – click on the link.

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NJSA Round robin open final results

Please finds attached the various age group placings.

On behalf of NJSA a big thank you to the players and parents.  These weekends are long and the patience of the parents was unwavering!  The kids just want to get onto the court an play but the manner in which everyone partook in the weekends matches, behaved and waited patiently for their turn to play bodes well for the future of Junior Squash.

To our travellers, we trust you have arrived home safely and thank you for taking the time, effort and cost to meet and mingle with our Northerns Juniors.

To PCC and PHSOB, thank you for the use of your facilities.

To the new players who entered their first tournament, well done.  It is the first and the boldest step you can take towards the introduction to competitive squash.  Every other player also played in  their first tournament some time or another and  even though results may not have necessarily gone your way,  the experience gained is priceless and makes you stronger for the next event….so keep coming back!

Lots of learning took place both on and off the court:

Referees:

  • Watch the 5 min warmup ie you need to be there during the warm up
  • Watch the 90 seconds break between games
  • Don’t be afraid to call a stroke and even a No Let
  • Be consistent with your calls

Markers:

  • Loud and clear scoring
  • Get the scoresheets to the supervisor immediately after the match

Players:

  • Warm up (players should be warm and ready.  A lot of them take the 1st game to warm up)
  • Stretch down (yip, after the match)
  • Keep positive
  • Some calls are tough but a referee does not make errors on purpose
  • Thanks the markers and referee’s after your match, remember you up next.

I saw a lot of honesty this weekend ie players immediately stopping if there was a double bounce.  Thank you, that’s what sportsmanship is all about.

There seemed to be happier faces as well.  We play hard, play to win but we play fair and play to have fun!

Till the next time, keep those racquets swinging and legs turning…squash is an amazing game and your kids are lovin’ it!.

Regards

Brett Cousins

NJSA Squash

PICTURES OF THE WINNERS:

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NJSA Open Round Robin tournament

NORTHERNS JUNIOR OPEN ROUND ROBIN TOURNAMENT

29 – 31 January 2016

Boys & Girls Under 11 – Under 19

Open to all junior players. Closing date for entries : SUNDAY 24 JANUARY 2016 at midnight. Entries must be made online by completing the form here.  No late entries will or can be accepted!

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NSF awards function – 12 November 2015

The NSF awards function takes place at the Amfi venue at the Voortrekker Monument on 12 November 2015. The function will start at 18h00, arrival from 17h30. Dress is smart casual.

At this function the Northerns squash community will honour the exceptional squash performances of the year, including national and provincial achievements at senior, junior and masters levels, as well as team and club league winners.

The event is open to all Northerns squash players and their partners but only if you book in advance – no tickets at the door. Tickets are R220 per person for adults and R110 per person for juniors.

Please book your tickets individually by completing the form below. Payment must be made to your club by 5 November 2015 in order for the catering numbers to be finalised. There will be a cash bar.

Bookings have closed.