By Jay D. Prince
One year ago, the U.S. Skill Level Championships successfully completed its second year as a separate event from the age group divisions. Yale played host to the Championships that were a culmination of a season that included, for the first time, regional qualifying tournaments in Portland (OR), Chicago (IL) and New York (NY). In total, over 600 members of U.S. SQUASH played in one or more of the four tournaments.
This year, continued expansion of the Skill Levels included a fourth qualifying event in Atlanta (GA) while maintaining the 600-player total. First introduced in 2008, an incentive for winning a skill level division in a qualifying tournament was free entry into the national championship event. At Yale, 10 players took advantage of the comped fee; this year, 13 players did so.
But that’s where the similarities between the years ends. For the first couple of years as an independent National Championship, the Skill Levels were searching for an identity; a way to stand out. As a result, the budget for amenities was clearly small with take-out pizzas for dinner and little else. In Philadelphia, at Demer Holleran’s specatacular Fairmount Athletic Club, the Skill Level players were pampered with comfortable locker rooms, hors d’oevres and beverages on Friday and a buffet dinner on Saturday. It was one step closer to the festive atmosphere usually reserved for the U.S. Championships (Age Groups) that were held a month earlier.
On the courts, draws were competitive from the lowest skill levels right through to the Men’s 6.0.
For the second year in a row, a junior player won the Women’s 3.5. Chloe Chemtob, who played in the U.S. Junior Championships and reached the U13 quarterfinals, played a brand of squash that belied her youth on her way to sweeping the division.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, two resident teaching pros of the Fairmount won the Men’s 6.0 and Women’s 5.0. Former Trinity standout and South African, Jacques Swanepoel won all of his matches in the 6.0 to win the five player round robin, and Orla O’Doherty claimed the W5.0 in three games over Fernanda Rocha.
The most significant story of the weekend, however, came from someone who is no newcomer to national prominence. And his story is probably not a surprise either.
Richard Millman, who has been plying his trade and teaching abilities for the past 20 years in the United States, won the Men’s 5.5 championship in Philadelphia. To do so, he beat Adam Walker, Rahul Singh (last year’s 5.0 winner) and Terrence Li in the final. The significance of his achievement lies in his left hip.
While the fact that Millman had his hip resurfaced is not news, he is the first squash player in the world to win a National Championship after hip surgery. Not just post-hip resurfacing, but hip surgery period. What was once a career-ending procedure is no more.
In 2008, Millman and Eben Hardie became the first two players to play each other in a National Championship event—who had each had their hips resurfaced.While neither of them went on to win the M45 that year, Millman reached the finals of the M5.5 Skill Level Championships a month later before winning the division this year.
While some believe the Skill Levels should not be separate from the Age Groups, the build-out of regional qualifying events is rapidly turning the Skill Level Championships into what it has been designed to be—the Championship of the Membership. By competing for titles in the lowest and highest skill level ranges, the Skill Level Championships are truly a representation of a cross section of the U.S. Squash membership.
In the heyday of hardball in this country, the Insilco was a National event for the B, C and D divisions that included regional qualifiers. It was one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the season. Three years into its independence, the Skill Levels are on their way toward replicating what was once one of the marquis events in the United States.
While it is not yet known where the Skill Levels will be held next year, the Fairmount Athletic Club went a long way toward making it a destination of choice for the national event.
