Sportsmanship

By Brett Erasmus

Ex-world number one, John White, once complained that one of his big rivals over the years (no names) did not play a clean game of squash at all. He (John) would get quite animated in his portrayals of the movement patterns and deliberate blocking tactics that this arch enemy frequently employed. David Palmer also displayed similar unhappiness with the body movements of his semi-final opponent in the Tournament of Champions last year. I know exactly what they were on about.

Recently, I played a game of squash against a very physical opponent. I am sure you know the type: a squash player who basically uses their body as an instrument of warfare. Even though I have plenty of weight to throw around myself, I always struggle against players like this. Not because I shy away from the contact (as a few of you could testify to), but because I believe the game should be played to a set of standards, a code if you will, whereby both players acknowledge that they will play a clean game and the best man/woman, on any given day, will emerge victorious.

Hence, it really pains me when, at the end of a long hard rally, I hit a good drive that dies in the back of the court and my opponent just runs into me to claim a let, instead of trying to reach the ball. The technical term for this scenario is called creating interference; it basically means where a player forces a let from a weak position by creating unnecessary physical contact with their opponent, normally at a time when they may not actually be able to recover the ball.

Another situation that pains me even more, is when someone goes short, when they are in front of me on the T, and then deliberately steps into my line of approach. This second situation above describes a lack of clearing. As a concept, clearing means to back away from your shot in a manner that gives your opponent direct access to the ball, normally when he or she is moving in from the T.

Both creating interference and a lack of clearing are not only against the rules, but are also quite dangerous and, if you ask me, are completely against the spirit of game.

But perhaps I am naïve. Perhaps squash is just boxing, with implements. Perhaps we should all be totally aggressive in our body movement and try to out-muscle our opponent at every opportunity. (I am not even going to talk about dangerously aggressive racquet preparation at the back of the court..).

Or perhaps, the rules of squash are all there for a reason. Perhaps, they have been developed after reviews of thousands of hours of matches by top level referees who know what they are doing. So perhaps, just maybe, we should not be so aggressive in our movement. Rather we should recognize that this is a game played by athletes with sportsmanlike qualities. The act of showing mutual respect does not preclude a desire to win and play hard.

Andre Agassi captured this sentiment well a few years back, after he beat James Blake in that epic 5 set match in the US Open, do you remember it?:

“It's about authentic competition, getting out there and having respect for each other's game, respect for each other's person, letting it fly and letting it just be about tennis”

So please, in the spirit of the holiday season, don’t play the man/woman, just play the ball.

                                                

Ideas or suggestions on content are most welcome. You can email me or feel free to write comments on the blog for everyone to read.

-Brett