By Will Carlin
It was well past ten in the evening, and the one hundred and twenty-two minute match was about to come to its dramatic conclusion. The spectators couldn’t contain themselves. Shouts of encouragement for each of the two players echoed through the National Squash Centre in Manchester, England.
Though each of the two combatants had been to this moment before, it was the first time in 70 years an all-English final was being played in the world’s oldest and most prestigious squash championship.
James Willstrop, who had held two match balls in the previous year’s final before losing 13-11 in the fifth to David Palmer, had given up his 2-1 lead in games by losing the fourth 11-3. He looked spent and defeated at the start of the fifth game, going down 6-2.
His opponent, Nick Matthew, had won this title—the sport’s most storied championship—in 2006 and looked poised to do it again.
But then Willstrop, who had recently recovered from ankle surgery, shook the Centre by determinedly working his way back into the game and into the match. Winning two points for every one by Matthew, Willstrop finally went ahead 10-9 and then again 11-10. For the second time in two years, Willstrop had a second match ball for the title he has most desired since he was a child.
And for the second year in a row, he watched as his opponent did the unthinkable by winning three points in a row. No matter for whom you were rooting, the conclusion of the final point was an exquisite simultaneous combination of pain and joy. Matthew’s arms went up in exhausted ecstasy as Willstrop squeezed his eyes tightly shut and leaned his forehead against the front wall in despair.
The match will long be remembered as one of the best in the history of the tournament. Squash’s Wimbledon. The British Open.
It almost didn’t happen.
Without a title sponsor, the tournament was bailed out at the last moment by the iSport Group.
It still lost money.
The women’s event (won for the fourth time by Australian Rachael Grinham) initially saw its purse cut by almost a third before further financial help from the governing body and iSport brought it back to the level of the previous year.
There is no question that the worldwide economic downturn has hurt the tournament. But the British has been in jeopardy before this crisis, and it is a tournament that should not just survive; it should thrive. Here’s how it could do just that.
First, the tournament should focus on its brand. Even with diminished prize money and the emergence of major tournaments in the Middle East, the British still holds “huge significance” for the top players, says former world number one, Peter Nicol. It does so because of its long history, because of its pull as the most important title in the game, and because it has long been known as the sport’s biggest test.
The first of these is something that no other challenger can touch; the Open’s history is an important asset, and we will come back to that in a moment. The second of these is potentially in jeopardy if prize money and the brand don’t keep up. But let’s focus on the third for a moment: the sport’s biggest test.
With the 11-point scoring now the system of the pros, it provides an opportunity that the British should seize. Make the tournament the one major title that uses nine-point scoring.
There are three significant benefits to this: the tournament instantly would get huge attention from the squash world, spectators would be drawn to see how current champions would fare in the old system, and it would be a test that no other tournament would provide. It not only would be a nod to its tradition and champions of the past, but it also would truly make the tournament unique.
Second, the tournament promoters should take a page from nonprofit organizations and organize a fundraising event to provide a significant part of the player prize money pool. What kind of event? How about establishing a British Open Hall of Fame with an annual black-tie dinner just before the start of qualifying?
The key would be to capitalize on the event’s history by honoring some of the greatest champions in the game (people like Hashim, Jahangir and Jansher Khan, Heather MacKay, Jonah Barrington, Susan Devoy, Geoff Hunt, and Sarah Fitz-Gerald). Honor one of them per year and let everyone know that the proceeds from the event will help fund the prize money of that year’s tournament.
Finally, market the heck out of the event. Start now. Work with some of the DVD providers out there and create a British Open highlight DVD that gets sent to journalists, potential sponsors, and past and potential patrons. Start planning the Hall of Fame banquet now, and learn from some nonprofits who use an event like this as their main fundraiser. In short, create a buzz that will be impossible to ignore.
If a great coach could have talked either to Willstrop or Matthew as they reached the crucible moment of their historic match, they likely would have said something that should be taken as advice to the promoters of the British. This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Be bold.