Moscow Visit Celebrates Princeton Birth of Russian Squash The discovery that the birth of Squash in Russia is due to a Moscow Professor's chance introduction to the sport at Princeton University in the USA in 1990 provided the perfect climax of the Women's International Squash Players' Association's promotional tour of Russia for the event's sponsor Tom Tarantino, a 1969 Princeton graduate.   Russian Squash Federation president Vasily Borisov (left) reminisces about his introduction to squash at Preinceton University with 1969graduate and WISPA Russian Tour sponsor Tom Tarantino. The final day of the WISPA Tour, led by Australia's five-times world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald and top European Vanessa Atkinson, the world No5 from the Netherlands, was held at the Le Meriden Moscow Country Club. The visit, hosted by the Russian Squash Federation, was the fifth annual tour organised by WISPA in its continuing drive to promote women's squash around the world.   Sarah (second left) & Vanessa pictured outside the Le Meridien Moscow Country Club with Russian Squash Federation President Vasily Borisov (centre), Vice president Timue Burganov (far left) and WISPA Director Andrew Shelley (far right) It was in his fifties that Dr Vasily Borisov, a former University Professor, spent a month at Princeton researching a book he was writing on electronic TV inventor Vladimir Zwozykin. A keen tennis player, Borisov was intrigued by the new sport he came across - and eventually spent three of his weeks in the US having squash lessons with the University's esteemed and long-time Head Coach Bob Callahan. On his return to Moscow, Borisov approached the country's tennis federation to find out why they had not devoted any time to the development of this alternative racket sport. The organisation cited a lack of time and acknowledged that a pile of squash correspondence had simply been left unanswered. Borisov agreed to respond to the correspondence and by the following year had established an initiative group to develop the sport, securing modest funding from the Russian Committee for Physical Culture & Sports. Also in 1991, the first court was opened at the Club Prometey (now the World Class Centre) in Moscow and the fledgling group received a consignment of rackets from the European Squash Federation (ESF) and the French Federation. In 1992, Borisov founded the Russian Squash Federation, which became a member of the ESF and later the World Squash Federation (WSF). But in 1993, following the disintegration of the USSR, the RSF's state funding came to an end when the Physical Culture & Sports Committee was restructured as the country's National Olympic Committee, helping only Olympic sports. "I was delighted when WSF Chief Executive Ted Wallbutton and the then President of the ESF came to Russia to join me in a meeting with the head of the NOC," said Borisov. "However, at the end of the meeting he told us, in English, that he felt that three racket sports were enough for Russia - then confided to me in Russian that if we were amongst the top countries in Europe, rather than somewhere near the bottom, he would have been able to help!" Vasily added. Lack of funding prevented significant further growth until the late nineties when a group of enthusiasts blossomed simultaneously in St Petersburg and Moscow. A single-court club opened in central St Petersburg, owned by Irina Turkova, where national champions Alexei Severinov and Katja Glintchikova first played before moving to the newer five-court Hypersquash centre owned by Irina Podubnaya. In Moscow, a small group of enthusiasts led by RSF Vice President Timur Burganov spent two weeks in Egypt honing their skills - and eventually persuaded local coach Ibrahim Assal to move to Moscow to become Russian National Coach. "We don't have the funding to support him directly, but we promote his presence here and he is already coaching many enthusiasts as well as our top players and is making a significant impact," Burganov explained. The visit to the Moscow Country Club attracted substantial interest both from the media and players wanting to witness the skills of the WISPA stars. The lavish club, home to the country's only 18-hole golf course, boasts a glass-back court with plentiful spectator capacity. Vasily Borisov presided over a well-attended press conference at the club, outlining the background to the new sport's development in the country - hailing the WISPA visit as "a great event for Russian squash." The on-court action presentation began with an eagerly-awaited clash featuring the in-form Vanessa Atkinson and Russia's respected national coach Ibrahim Assal - undoubtedly the best player based in the country. Not only his many pupils, but also numerous representatives of Moscow's Egyptian Embassy, were keen to see their hero quash his female opponent. Atkinson, however, is made of sterner stuff - and manfully kept her determined challenger at bay, fighting back from 3-7 down in the second to win the best-of-three encounter 9-6 9-7. Coincidentally, elsewhere within the Le Meridien Club complex, British Ambassador Sir Roderic Lyne was attending a multinational trade conference featuring dignitaries from all over the world - including Britain's former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Sir Malcolm Rifkind. Moscow British Ambassador Sir Roderic Lyne (second left) delights in finally meeting Vanessa (left) and Sarah at the Moscow Country Club, with the club's General Manager John Wood Sir Roderic was keen to make up for missing the WISPA party's visit to his Embassy the previous night, and sought out Fitz-Gerald and Atkinson during an appropriate break. "We're discussing Iraq next, so I'd better get back to the meeting," said the long-time squash fanatic after talking to the stars - "but I'll be back later to watch your match," he assured the pair as he hurried back to his more formal appointment. True to his word, he was back at court-side as Sarah and Vanessa displayed their world-class expertise on court much to the obvious admiration of the Ambassador and the enthusiastic crowd. "Russia has severe six-month winters when many sports become impossible to play, so squash is a perfect sport for this country," said Sir Roderic, after expressing his delight that he had, after all, been able to see the WISPA stars in action. "It's worth noting that tennis was hardly known here a few decades back, yet now it's one of the most popular sports, with a number of Russian men and women amongst the world's elite." Like the previous four international WISPA tours to 'spread the word' for squash - including countries such as the Czech Republic, Jamaica, El Salvador, Peru, Kenya, Thailand, Brunei and Sarawak - the Russian expedition to St Petersburg and Moscow clearly made a major impact. "This visit has been a real step forward for us," said the young Federation's Vasily Borisov. "When the idea was originally suggested, we had no hesitation in accepting WISPA's kind offer as it is vital for our players and coaches to see a level of squash that most have simply not experienced before. We know we have got a long way to go, with more courts, more coaches and more players, but we hope this will have given us a major boost." The visit was equally meaningful for the players. "When asked if I would go on the WISPA tour to Russia, I answered 'yes' without hesitation - and I was pleased I did," said former world No1 Sarah Fitz-Gerald, a Patron of WISPA who has led four of the promotional events. "The hospitality and enthusiasm was fantastic. Considering the size of Russia, with so few courts and such a short time that the sport has been around, their standard was impressive and their eagerness to be on court to play and learn with Vanessa and myself was truly uplifting." Atkinson, the seven-times Dutch champion who was making her first appearance on a WISPA tour, added: "I have enjoyed this trip immensely - we were made to feel very welcome by our hosts in both St Petersburg and Moscow. Squash is a relatively new sport in Russia and the enthusiasm of all the people involved was really refreshing - making our job much easier. I am confident that we succeeded in our aim to promote the sport and hopefully we have contributed to the further development of squash in Russia." WISPA Director Andrew Shelley, who masterminds the organisation's ambassadorial missions, explained: "It was a bit of a Noah's Ark trip this year. Lined up in pairs were two host cities; two eminent players, giving their time generously without fee; and twice as much local enthusiasm as we expected. Indeed, two will probably be the number of days needed to clear the effects of the hospitality vodka! "We couldn't fail to be impressed by the efforts of the young Russian Federation and the single-minded efforts of enthusiasts to develop squash. The opportunity to add a little water to the seeds that they have sown is only a small aid, but we have been pleased to have played a role, courtesy of the wonderful enduring support from our sponsor Tom Tarantino. If enthusiasm is the determinant, Russians are already championship material!" Philadelphia-based Tarantino has been an avid supporter and backer of WISPA's initiative for five years. And now this squash benefactor has been overjoyed to discover that the catalyst for his latest promotion was his own 'alma mater'! "Wouldn't it just be wonderful if a future Russian champion was able to go on to Princeton to hone his squash skills," Tarantino concluded.   Sarah (left) and Vanessa meet three Russian soldiers outside the Kremlin in Moscow's Red Square