UJ to host Ussa squash tournament
AUCKLAND PARK – Five-time squash champions UJ will be buoyed ahead of the squash week in the University Sport South Africa winter event at UJ Auckland Park.
The annual University Sport South Africa (Ussa) squash tournament will take centre stage at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) from 3 to 7 July.
The UJ squash team will hope to put in a good showing if they are to stave off the competition at the UJ Auckland Park campus in hopes of securing a sixth straight title.
UJ squash manager Reedwaan Asvat said although the team boasted some inexperienced players, the strongest possible team would be fielded come game time.
“We have been able to retain some of our senior players and have also recruited a few really good junior ones,” said Asvat. “While we have some new faces this year, I believe we have the players who will do UJ proud.”
He added that it was important for the UJ team to display the necessary competitiveness. “Unlike some other codes who are involved in the varsity sports concept, the Ussa tournament is the major goal for our squash players. This is their chance to make a big impact,” he said. “Under the guidance of the coach [Mike Bester] the players are always pushing themselves and striving to improve with every match. And while there’ll be obvious key players, I think that all our players need to be at their best to give us a chance of winning another title.”
Asvat was, however, wary of the challenge of contending with injury niggles. “It is something we can’t really control. Instead, we will keep focused on what we have to do as a team to ensure that our fitness is at a high level to cope with the attritional nature of the week.”
Ussa squash chairperson, Anthon Louw said he hoped for the sport to grow within the university framework given the poor coverage it currently received.
“With the exception of one or two universities, it’s almost a cinderella sport since not much funding is coming through and little prioritisation of the sport is taking place,” said Louw, who added that the sport had, however, been the best performing Ussa code at international level. “It is frustrating but we’re very proud of what Ussa has established so far.”
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