SPORTSMANSHIP:

Conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants in sports, especially fair play, courtesy, striving spirit, and grace in losing.

"The most important lesson I've learned from sports is how to be not only a gracious winner, but a good loser as well. Not everyone wins all the time, as a matter of fact, no one wins all the time. Winning is the easy part, losing is really tough. But, you learn more from one loss than you do from a million wins. You learn a lot about sportsmanship. I mean, it's really tough to shake the hand of someone who just beat you, and it's even harder to do it with a smile. If you can learn to do this and push through that pain, you will remember what that moment is like the next time you win and have a better sense of how those competitors around you feel. This experience will teach you a lot on and off the field!"

ASTI Men's Professional Tournament

Washington DC ’s $20,000 ASTI men’s professional squash tournament is just two weeks away, and now is a good time to consider how you would like to participate.  You can buy tickets using PayPal at   or send a check as directed on that page.  The best value without a doubt is to participate in the amateur tournament for $100 and receive a full week pass to the professional event.  Top seed for the event is Holland ’s Jan Anjema the world’s #19 player. Cameron Pilley the world $23 is the second seed. Full draw here.

 Bringing professional men’s squash to DC has only been made possible by our fabulous supporters listed below.  Special thanks of course  to ASTI .

For more info on the tournament start at http://www.aussienicksquash.com/news/news.htm#amateur and links within.

60^th annual Fitzgerald Cup – Washington wins decisively.

 In a spirited and competitive set of matches (thirteen players on each team) Washington and Baltimore faced off for the annual FitzGerald Cup event - held this year on January 5^th at the University Club.  Holding to recent form, the National Capital Squash team, led by five young college age stars, topped the team from Baltimore 11-2.  Washington’s victory pushed their current winning streak to seven and ran the overall standings to 48-12 in Washington’s favor.   

The origins of the competition go back a long time.  In 1948, Ambassador William H.G. FitzGerald initiated the competition between members of the University Club of Washington and the Maryland Club of Baltimore.  Designed to stimulate competition, promote sportsmanship and enhance relationships between the players in the two cities, the matches have now been held for sixty consecutive years, making it the longest running such competition in the U.S.  Over time, the participation base has been broadened to include players from the Washington and Baltimore areas beyond the two founding clubs.  Today, the teams are sponsored by their respective US Squash district associations.  Teams consist of seven open players and one each from age groups, beginning with the 35+ group and running through the 60+ cohort.  Player selection is based on open competition, with the intention of bringing together the best players from the two cities in each category.  The magnificent hand-engraved silver cup, donated by Ambassador Fitzgerald, and presented each year to the winner, displays both the outcome of the matches and the names of every player that has participated in the event for five or more years.  In essence, the names on the Cup are an ongoing history of squash in our respective areas and a reminder of a great many incredible matches and friendships developed over the years. 

This year’s competition was particularly noteworthy as the Washington team was led by our current crop of very talented young players, which included three currently playing on the starting varsity team for Princeton, David Canner, Peter Sopher and Phillip Sopher, the number one player and captain of the Tufts team, Jake Gross, and the recently graduated number one player from Brown, Dan Petrie.  Despite the fact that Baltimore included two strong pros on their team, the Washington squad was too deep and too talented for our friends from the north.  Inclusion of such a large number of exceptionally strong young players on the Washington team bodes well for the future, as we look to keep the talent level high and work to perpetuate the tradition of the Fitzgerald Cup. 

Among the matches, those of David Canner and Dan Petrie standout as these two youngsters took on the pros from Baltimore’s Meadow Mill Club, Wade Johnston (currently number 88 in the world rankings, and moving up) and Lucky Odeh, respectively.  David went down in three, but the match was very competitive and included some sensational play and many long rallies.  Dan, playing for the first time for D.C., played a particularly strong match and bested his opponent, 3-1.   

This year’s competition is the second since the passing of Ambassador FitzGerald.  Bill, a player for many years, was a major benefactor to the event, financially supporting the first-class party when (every other year) the event was held in D.C.  This year the Washington team received substantial financial support from the University Club, the NCSRA, and some individual benefactors.  Their support, along with the extraordinary efforts of University Club professionals, Howard Day and Ghirma Meres, ensured that the party was a night to remember.  The team members wish to express our deep appreciation to our financial supporters and to the staff of the University Club for helping bring off another great event!  The Washington team also wants to recognize and thank the Baltimore Captain and long time player and friend, Robert Travers, for his boundless enthusiasm and creative ideas in support of the competition and of squash. 

Looking forward, we, together with Robert Travers, and our respective District Squash Associations, will be working to establish an endowment for the Cup to ensure that the competition will continue uninterrupted for at least another 60 years.  We will also be renewing our efforts to promote the FitzGerald Junior Development Funds, specially earmarked and overseen by the Maryland and National Capital associations to promote and support junior squash in our respective Districts.   

Respectfully submitted, 
Malcolm Jensen, NCSRA Fitzgerald Cup Committee Chairman
Glenn Canner

NCSRA player                  Baltimore player          Result

David Canner                    Wade Johnston           0-3
Dan Petrie                         Lucky Odeh                3-1
Jake Gross                         Jahangir Naseem         3-0
Peter Sopher                      Dave Bennett              3-0
Philip Sopher                     Coleman Devlin          3-0
Rod Barnes                       Chris Haley                 3-0
Matt Dankner                    Sajid Niazi                  3-0
Shai Ingber                        Riaz Arshad                3-1
Terry Hindermann             Sam Martin                 3-2
Ross Campbell                  Emmet McGee            3-1
Chip Lindquist                  Bruce Rankin              0-3
Glenn Canner                    Brian Swanson            3-0
Andrew Strasfogel            Bob Everd                   3-0