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Camo's Blog
This blog is Cameron's (Camo's) diary of events as he tours the world in his quest to climb into the world's top echelon of squash players.
Thursday 15th November
After a hectic 3 weeks of tournaments all the players are gearing up for the World Open in Bermuda, followed by the World Teams in India. Amr Shabana won all three tournaments quite convincingly and is looking good for the Worlds. Egypt will be number 1 seeds for the Teams with Australia looking ok at No.4. We haven't won the title for a few years and with Ricketts out we have a bit of a task ahead of us. I'll be playing No. 3 for the Aussies with World Champ Palmer leading the way at 1, Bozza looking solid at 2 and rookie Scott Arnold at 4. My website also has regular updates and players interviews so make sure you get on there and check it out! Camo
Tuesday 2nd October
The Tour has been quite busy of late, with the season kicking off in England and now in the USA. I played in 3 events in GB. As I reported on my website, I had 2 first round losses in both the English Grand Prix and the British Open. The Wolverhampton Open proved more of a happy hunting ground as I made the final from being the 4th seed. Losing out to Lee Beachill 3 - 1 in the Championship match. The US Open is currently being played in NY. Great setting with the Glass Court and everything. I played current British Open Champ Gaultier first round and went down 3 - 1 in over 70 minutes. It was a tough match which I learned a lot from. It was our first ever meeting in PSA and he got the win over me this time. The Berkshire Open in the USA is next and I'm 2 seed and Defending champ for that event. Starts the 5th Oct. Cam
Monday 30th July
"My personal website is up and running! Check out www.cameronpilley.com!! It will be regularly updated with what's happening around the squash world, the latest on where I am and what I'm doing, plus a bunch of other stuff. There'll also be interviews with the World's Top male and female players. Cameron"
Tuesday 10th July
"Well it's been a while since I've given a bit of an update on whats been happening with my squash etc. The Aussie Open has come and gone, finishing on Sunday 8th July. I managed to make the final comfortably enough, but stumbled at the final hurdle to go down 3 - 2 to Stewart Boswell. Admittedly, I got better as the tournament progressed and was feeling pretty good before the final. Boz started the match at a fast pace, as was expected, and it took me two and a half games to come out of hibernation and get into it! After playing well in the 3rd and 4th, I needed to get a good start in the 5th but it didn't happen. It was Stewart that started the 5th the better and I couldn't quite close the gap. Anyway, I'm off to Malaysia this week for some training followed by the Malaysian Open, then will head back to Europe and get stuck into the upcoming season. Cam"
Thursday 31st May
" Well I have finally arrived back in OZ, and as soon as I stepped off the plane I could feel the humidity. We're supposed to be coming in to Winter, but I tell you what, I was walking around in shirt and shorts today and last night! I'm doing a few exhibitions over near Perth in Kalgoorlie next week and plan on taking a few days off after that. Can't wait to get in the Ocean and blow the dust off the surfboard either. We have the Aussie Open as a 2 Star event this year in July which will be good for a lot of the Aussie boys especially. See you out there. Cam"
Sunday 13th May
'Well after playing my last tourny of the season a couple weeks ago in Qatar, I'm in the UK for another 2 weeks before heading back to OZ for the off season. I'll just be training most of the time but the pressure to train for a specific tourny in the near future is off. Last weekend I managed to sneak a game of cricket with the local 2nds team and although we had a 6 wicket loss it was great fun! Haven't rolled the arm over since this time last year and the next day it showed! My right arm was in agony!! Although I did manage to hit a 50 a grab a wicket in the process. We've got an away game this weekend - can't wait! Cam (Ibis Mapledurum Cricket Club)
Saturday 21st April
Well I'm back in the UK now after playing the last 2 tournys of the season over in the middle east. I played Qatar after Kuwait and managed to beat fellow Aussie Stewart Boswell in the 1st round. It was a good win for me and I played really well. Unfortunately the next day was a different story as I was beaten 3-0 by Karim Darwish of Egypt. I was feeling a bit flat from the day before but was well beaten. That's it for the season now tournament wise. I'm going to be training in the UK for another month before heading home to OZ for a good 2 months. I'll be basing myself where I grew up - Yamba - for most of the time. Cam.'
Wednesday 11th April (yes I know he has been resting!!)
"I'm currently in Kuwait as I'm writing this entry, the final is tonight between Shabana and Ramy and most of the guys are off to Qatar tomorrow morning for the next tourny. I played quite well here, 2 - 1 up against Whitey in the first round only to lose in 5. Not a bad match, disappointed I didn't take the opportunity to grab a win. Oh well - Qatar it is! This tourny in Kuwait is probably the best event on the Tour. They look after the players so well, the prize money is the biggest purse in a long time and it's just a really well run event. Back next year for sure. Probably the best match of the tourny so far, has to be the Johnny White - Ramy Ashour semi final! Great match! Anyway, time to prepare for Qatar...Cam"
Tuesday 6th March
" For the last few weeks I have basically been in Reading the whole time training. I have about a month till 2 of the biggest tournaments of the year, and I can happily say the training is going very well! I've been getting on court with Johnst up to 5 times a week fixing a few things up with my swing and really trying to groove it. Apart from getting on court quite a bit, i've been getting in the gym as well - though you wouldn't know it by looking at my guns..... I've also been testing Karakal's 07/08 range of racquets and can't wait to get a hold of them when they come out. Yours in squash, camo...."
Wed 14th Febuary (Valentines day-love you all)
" Well I'm back into the groove of things at the moment. Returned from the U S of A one week ago and easing my way back into it. Overall I was quite pleased with the way I played during the 3 tournament trip to the States. I had 1 good result in Dayton and 2 solid results in both Chicago and Virginia. These events helped to push my World Ranking average up and moved me to No. 21 - my highest ranking so far. Really looking to push into the Top 20 in the next few months. Though my next PSA event isn't until April! Looks like I'll be grinding out some training sessions with Mike Johnson - my coach in Caversham - who is back in the country for a while. Cam"
Friday 2nd Febuary
"In Richmond, Virginia now for the Virginian Open. Nice place down here, it's a university town and they've got the glass court up in the commons room at the Uni. I played and lost to El Hindi the other night, in a rematch of last year. He got me 3 - 1 this time. I thought I actually played ok to be honest. I was hitting the ball well and moving well, but just couldn't get the big points. A couple of loose shots here and there and it's good night Sally... I head back to England on Saturday to train up for my next event in India. It's in about 4 weeks and should be an interesting trip. Bye for now. Pilley"
Saturday 27th January
Saturday 20th January
"I managed to win my first round match on thursday against Scott Handley in 3 games. We train together up to 3 times a week in Caversham, Reading, so we knew what to expect from the other. Fortunately for me, I was reading his game better and got the win. Otherwise known as the Practice Champ, Scotty started playing well after the first and the next 2 games were tightly contested. I'm playing Mr Ricketts tonight (Saturday) and am really looking forward to it. We had a close match in Hong Kong a couple months ago where I squandered 1 match ball in the 5th, and hopefully I can take it to the wire again this time. Camo"
Wednesday 17th January
" Greetings from the Windy City - Chicago! I arrived here 2 days ago ready to get stuck into my first tournament of the year. I's a split first round and I play tomorrow against one of the qualifiers. It's pretty bloody cold here at the moment. From the plane it was a white city - snow everywhere. Now it's just freezing. Having a hit with Mr Bianchetti the other day and we both could of sworn we were playing at altitude! The old lungs were finding it a bit of a struggle out on the back courts, but at least all matches are going to be on the glass court. I'm in the US for roughly two and a half weeks now, and I'll be putting an update in every few days or so. Cheers. Pilley"
Tuesday 2nd January
"I hope everyone has had a great xmas. Although I didn't get a beach, bbq and sun xmas, I enjoyed a frosty xmas in Reading! Quite a good 2 days actually - the Aussies continuing their domination in the Ashes...... and Reading salvaging a draw against Chelsea in the Premiership. I'm back in training now after having a few days off over the festive period. There is approximately 3 weeks till the next event in Chicago, which starts on the 18th January. I'm looking to put a solid 3 weeks of training in and start the New Year on the front foot. Have a good one. Camo"
Sunday 17th December
Thursday 23rd November
Last day here in Islamabad, looking forward to getting up at 5:30am for the flight and having some more jet-lagged sleeps when I get to England..... There is a limited amount of things we can do here, mainly cause of security reasons, so all the boys were at squash watching the quarter finals. Some good matches but I think the flight home is on everyones mind at the moment. A couple of us have tried to sneak in another game of golf but the security, again, has really cracked down on us. We're literally not allowed outside whatsoever unless in the presence of the Military. We snuck a round the first day we arrived and apart from the rain, was quite enjoyable. We had assigned caddies, who played off 'scratch' - yeah right - and hired clubs and everything at the course. I've been to Pakistan 3 times and have played golf here twice, not a bad conversion seeing as though I live in England and haven't managed a game yet. No details will be released on what I went around in...... See you in Saudi!"
Tuesday 22nd November
Another day bites the dust! One more day to go here in Islamabad, next stop is Saudi Arabia on the 20th December. Hopefully I'll be able to fluke another upgrade on the flight back to london! Not sure how me and a couple others got it on the way here, but it was certainly better than the cattle class we were supossed to be in. (have a good time back there, Joey?) Its been a fairly well run tourny here, with all matches being played on the glass court.There's been a steady crowd every day, though it doubles every time a Pakistani gets on court. Great to watch, and definitely an experience for the opponent.( and in reply to your query in an earlier blog Keith, yes, they were Dunlop balls that exploded ! )
Tuesday 21st November
Since I've been here the issue of everyday meals has always been a source of entertainment. I know Joey, Bozza and I have all brought our own food to cook in our rooms, purely to avoid any case of food poisoning. Yesterday I traded Joey 2 of my delicious cans of tuna for 1 packet of his scrumptious organic pasta! Our rooms look like a mini super-market! Breakfast has consisted of 6 pieces of toast with Vegemite, as important as currency at the moment, and lunch and dinner comprises 2 minute noodles, tuna, packet soup and pasta (cooked in the kettle of course!) It's all about experiences and you gotta do what you gotta do. Chow
Sunday 19th November
In Pakistan now, been here for 2 days and haven't been affected by the food/water/bugs or anything else at this stage. Fingers crossed.....though i've probably spoken too soon! I play my first match tomorrow against a french guy, definitely looking forward to doing better here than in Boston last week. The security here in Islamabad is again extremely tight. Escorted to and from hotel and courts every day by armoured police vehicles, with a machine gun carrying soldier sitting in the bus with us! Not sure whether to feel safe or not, considering there is that much security around the place. Looking forward to getting on court tomorrow and playing well! Cya
Tuesday 14th November"Played my match yesterday and unfortunately was as flat as a tac. Not the best way to feel, especially against my of the quickest guys on tour! After thinking about where it all went wrong in the match, I was back on court for a quick solo session. I know. So, so sad..... That lasted about 20 mins until my head fell off and I needed to get out of there. Later that day I had a pretty good shop though, which got my mind off things. Spent most of my prizemoney, then had a few coldies later that night to drown the sorrows. Great, see ya later......"
Saturday 11th November
"Well, just had a practice hit with Bozza at the impressive University Club in