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Xede presents
2007 MCC Schedule
Thursday 10/04/06
6:30 – 8:30pm (at the Birmingham Athletic Club): “Making Strides against Breast Cancer" charity event (sponsored by Suburban Infiniti and the BAC).

Friday 10/05/06
4:30 - 9:30 pm: First round, Suburban Infiniti Pro Main Draw (8 man invitational format)

7:00 – 10pm: First round, Smith Barney Doubles Pro-Am (pros paired with amateurs in a knockout format)

Saturday 10/06/06
10am –12 pm: Deroy Foundation junior squash clinic, all courts. Followed by brunch.

10 am – 4:00pm: Smith Barney Doubles Pro-Am main draw and consolation matches.

2 -3.30 pm: Ladies Clinic, three courts.

4:00 – 7:00pm: Suburban Infiniti Professional main draw semi-finals. Court 3.

7:00pm: BAC/MCC Seventies Party (please make your reservations today. Guests welcome)

Sunday
10/07/06
11 am – 1pm: Smith Barney Doubles Pro-Am - consolation final (11 am) followed by Pro-Am final.

1:30 pm: “Lightning Round,” winner-take-all, best of one rally challenge played by pros not competing in final.

2 pm: Suburban Infiniti Professional Main Draw Final. Awards presentation will immediately follow the completion of the final (Reception in Racquet Room follows ceremony).

Smith Barney presents
Quote of the Day

“The (Motor City tournament) should be the blueprint for how club tournaments are run because of the involvement of the members and the staff. And because of the respectful way the players are treated. ”
- Mark Chaloner, veteran player and former PSA president, on the MCO.

2007 Motor City Challenge Features Eight of World's Best

Scotland's John White (left) had too much game for upstart finalist Liam Kenny of Ireland. (Photo copyright Birmingham Athletic Club)

White top seed; Eighth annual event converts to 8-man Invitational format
By Henry Payne

Birmingham, Mich. – Eight of the world’s top squash pros will compete for the championship of the 2007 Motor City Challenge October 5-7 at the Birmingham Athletic Club outside Detroit.

Leading the field is defending champion John White of Scotland (now residing in Philadelphia), currently ranked #9 in the world. Joining White will be Graham Ryding from Canada, winner of this year’s Manitoba Open; world #10 Wael El-Hindi from Egypt; Steward Boswell of Australia, currently ranked 12th; Finland’s Ollie Touminen from Finland, ranked 18th; Maylasia's Ong Beng Hee, ranked 19th; Stefan Casteleyn, a former Motor City finalist from Belgium; and Mark Chaloner from England, former Professional Squash Association president and top ten player.


The format for the Challenge will span three days beginning with four matches on Friday, October 5 from 4:30-9:00 pm. Semifinal matches will be Saturday beginning at 4:45 pm with the final scheduled for Sunday at 2 pm.

Suburban Infiniti will showcase its new facilities in nearby Troy and Novi as the Motor City’s lead sponsor again this year. This marks the sixth year the Suburban group has been involved with the Motor City event. On the eve of the torney (Oct. 4) the BAC and Suburban Infiniti will host a charity reception to benefit the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.”

Additionally, the DeRoy Foundation has made a generous donation for the benefit of Detroit-area junior squash. The players will host a special youth clinic Saturday morning for all interested junior squash players beginning at 10:00 am.

Limited tickets and group packages begin at $225. Tickets are still available. Please call Tim Gardella at (248) 646-5050 or email him at tgardella@mail.birminghamathleticclub.com.

Squash is one of the leadin g international racquet sports with an estimated 50 million players worldwide. The Detroit area boasts a number of squash facilities extending from East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Toledo, throughout metropolitan Detroit to Windsor.

Greenstone's Jewelers presents
Player Profile
Wael El Hindi
Egypt

World #9 John White tops the MCC seed list, but #10 Wael El Hindi will be a strong second. In 2005, El Hindi’s last appearance in the Motor City, the Egyptian lost to White in the semifinals. Ranked #22 at that time, El Hindi has continued to rise in the rankings, breaking into the Top Ten for the first time this May after a superb performance at the Qatar Classic.

In Qatar, El Hindi defeated both world #13 (and fellow MCC entrant) Lee Beachill and #6 Anthony Ricketts of Australia before falling in a tight semi to third-ranked David Palmer. He followed this strong performance by winning the Heliopolis Rotary Open this July – defeating 11th-ranked countryman Karim Darwish in the finals.

El Hindi credits a strong workout regimen for his continuing success. At 27, Wael – who turned pro in 1999 – says he is fitter than ever.

El Hindi has plenty of company on the international circuit from his Egyptian countrymen. Five Egyptians are ranked in the Top Twenty including the top two players, Amr Shaban and Remy Ashour. The Egyptian contingent is a close one and Wael grew up with, and still trains with, Shabana, Darwish, and Mohammed Abbas (world #14). El Hindi – an immovable force on the squash tee – says his goal is to crack the world’s Top Five by the end of this year.

MCC Notes

Chaloner returns. After 15 years on the PSA tour, 34-year old Englishman Mark Chaloner announced his retirement at the Motor City last year.

But you can't keep a good man down. . . or at least, you can't keep him away from a tournament he loves.

Last year, Chaloner said he chose the occasion because the Motor City event was his favorite tourney. The feeling is mutual, and the MCC is extending him an invite to take another bow . . . .