IT’S been a roller coaster ride of emotions for squash fanatic David Fuller over the past month.
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He’s been a driving force behind bringing the Australian Masters Squash Championships to Bath-urst, and yesterday the finishing touches were being put on what will be the centrepiece of the big event.
An all-glass court worth a cool $120,000 has been successfully installed at the Panthers club after being hired from Squash ACT.
Mr Fuller was at Panthers yesterday watching the team from Bathurst Glass put together the court, which is similar to the one used in some of the world’s biggest tournaments.
“Call it the fish bowl, anything you want, but it’s here and we’re going to bring this off,” he said.
“It’s been a roller coaster ride of emotion for me lately. Early on, it was backs to the wall. I thought the court mightn’t fit in the club or it wouldn’t arrive on time.
“It’s just so exciting now that it’s here and installed. The feelings have gone from thinking this might not happen to bring it on. I am just buzzing at the moment. It’s awesome.”
The tournament will run from September 1-12. Individual competitions will be held in week one and teams events in week two.
“I think the enormity of this being a national event can be seen by the fact there will be a mayoral reception on the Monday night,” Mr Fuller said.
“Getting the Australian Masters to Bathurst and having a glass court has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember.
“It would be great to see the community get behind the event, so come along any time between 9am and about 5.30pm and see what all the fuss is about.”
Mr Fuller said the tournament was allocated to a different state each year.
“Bathurst got the nod over bidders including Coffs Harbour and Dural, on the outskirts of Sydney,” he said.
“The big event will attract hundreds of competitors – and plenty of economic benefits – to Bathurst over its duration.
“This is a first for Bathurst and is such a rare opportunity, as it [the event] goes from state to state each year.
“If the event was being held in Sydney, you’d probably never even hear about it.
“It’s also been great that Bathurst Panthers have allowed us to use their venue.
“They will have a camera at the back of the court and televise the action on big screens throughout the club.”
Mr Fuller said the individual titles at the tournament are set to attract about 300 players.
The 20 divisions in the teams events will involve about 400 players.