Strong contest: Brett Hyland fires up a backhand against Josh Larkin during the final of the 2015 men's open.
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Thirteen separate countries will be represented in the Bega squash men’s open this week.
About 24 players of international standard will strut their stuff on the court for a Provisional Squash Association (PSA) prize of US $5000.
Tournament director John Stylianou said it was a phenomenal response for the Bega Open with players to travel from New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, South Africa, Egypt, India, France and England.
“You’ll have to forgive me if I missed one or two there,” Stylianou said with a laugh “It’s a long list”.
Two locals will also test their mettle against the visitors with Troy Northey and Corey Bedingfield lining up for the challenge.
If you’re not an international level player, don’t be alarmed.
The competition is still hosting a full contingent of locals with men’s competition to run across eight divisions and another five in women’s play.
The women’s competition is also expecting some serious contenders for the crown including former world number three Madeline Perry, who featured in Friday’s Bega District News.
Stylianou said it was through a partnership with the PSA that the Open had been able to grow with the Bega Open added to the official PSA calendar to lure international hopefuls.
The PSA is also responsible for the running of the Victorian and Australian Opens, but had worked with Bega organisers to allow regular local divisions to go ahead.
“Clubs run tournaments a lot, but there are probably only 12 to 15 PSA Opens every year,” Stylianou said.
“Normally you need to PSA certified and you get a ranking, but we’ve been able to nominate our two players and run regular competition as a sattelite.”
Stylianou said games had been revised to be slightly shorter this year, at 25 minutes a match, but would still run in a straight point-score race with one point for every rally won.
He said more than 200 games will run across the five days, but the shorter matches meant there was still room for semis and a final on Sunday afternoon.
“In my travels I’ve been involved in nine separate clubs and I can easily say the Open will be the biggest squash thing I’ve ever been involved in,” Stylianou said.
“To have a club as strong as Bega Squash is incredible.”
Play in the Bega Squash Open will run from Wednesday afternoon at the Bega squash courts, with finals play expected to go ahead from about noon on Sunday.
Coaching and skills sessions will be available from some of the top-seeded players
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