AS the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) gears up for next month’s hosting of the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Senior Championships, GSA head David Fernandes says everything is being put in place to ensure a smooth hosting of the event, beginning with major improvement works currently ongoing at the courts of the Georgetown  Club .

With just under a month and a half to go, Fernandes said preparations are on par for the hosting of the event from August 16 to 24, where we will see the Caribbean’s best in squash on the local courts. The competition is expected to be held at the courts of the GSC and those at the National Racquet Centre at Non Pareil.
Fernandes explained that renovations at the Georgetown Club were needed in order to bring the courts into compliance with international standards necessary for the tournament. Construction on the courts began in the second week of June and is expected to be completed shortly.
“We’re renovating the squash courts right now; this will be finished in time for the senior national championships.
Basically we replaced both floors and we put in new glass backs, new stand facilities, and we’re elevating the roof to the official height that is needed for squash courts.
The ceiling should be no less than 18 feet six inches from the floor, so we needed to have our facilities become up to international standards,” the recently elected president said.
Fernandes took care to point out that the renovations of the courts go far beyond just the hosting of this year’s CASA Championships. After this, the next stop is Guyana’s hosting of international events.
“We are in a position, with the help of our sponsors, mainly Digicel, to host official international squash tournaments. They say they are willing to help with prize money to attract the players to come.
So with us doing the renovations here, what we intend to do is create the situation where when the tournament is finished everyone will know that we have the facilities to do the job. So that’s the goal. The goal is to do such a good job, with the players as well as with the management of the tournament.”
Guyana has not accommodated a regional competition since the 2011 hosting of the junior chapter of the CASA Championship, and has not held a CASA Senior Championship for over 13 years, with the last hosting being in 1999 when Guyana’s Luke Fraser won the men’s singles.
Noting the 2011 experience, where Guyana was praised in its hosting of the competition, Fernandes hopes that this year the Association is able to mirror that episode.
Fernandes revealed that Guyana has the opportunity to host the competition every five years,; however, impediments have prevailed in the past. Fernandes suggested that it may have been Guyana’s immaculate hosting of the CASA junior championships two years ago, which showcased Guyana’s hosting potential, as the reason behind Guyana’s prevailing to host the senior division this year. Fernandes explained that several reasons may have hampered Guyana’s inability to host the tournament in the past.
“Quite a few times they (competitors) might not have wanted to come to Guyana or we might not have been in a position to host, I’m not too sure. I think the junior players never have a problem coming here but the senior players have, because they may have figured that the courts weren’t up to their standards, or whatever the reason, but I think after 2011 everyone would have spoken about it (the CASA Junior Championships) and persons realise that Guyana is not a bad option.
And that is what we intend to do, we intend to make them want to come back even more regularly.” The former hockey player said.
Guyana is expected to host participants from some eight member states of the CASA. Travelling participants are expected to stay at the Grand Coastal Hotel, which allows for easier transportation of the players between the courts and the hotel.
Registration for the tournament is expected to close sometime in mid-July.