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They've played each other many times on the practice court and went head-to-head in a thrilling national final last year.

And the odds are that club pro Patrick Foster and Bermuda's number one Nick Kyme will renew their rivalry in the Fast Forward Freight National Championships next week.

James Stout, another Bermudian former professional who is returning from his coaching job in New York to take part, may have something to say about that.

But it's defending champion Foster and Kyme, who recently retired from pro squash, who are the top seeds.

"We've played each other loads of times in practice. We're training partners, definitely.

"Nick has obviously finished playing professionally and isn't training anywhere near as much as he used to but we're pretty close, generally it's about 50/50."

Foster, himself a former pro who reached #69 in the world, believes Stout will also have a chance in what is expected to be an exciting men's competition.

"You've got three ex-professionals competing in the tournament. They (Nick and James) have only been off the tour for six months, so they will still be much fitter than I am.

"I don't do anywhere near the amount of training a professional would do. Most of my time is spent on the court with the kids. My racquet work is still pretty good, but I don't have the speed or fitness that I used to."

Even so, Foster who beat Kyme 3-1 in last year's final, will start as favourite.

He believes one major stumbling block could be his stamina if he is forced to come through a tough semi-final against third seed Stout before taking on Kyme.

"There is going to be at least one really tough semi-final," he added.

Kyme, who admits his fitness is not what it was a few months ago, is much more relaxed about his game and his life since he left the stress-filled arena of the professional tour.

And he goes into the tournament enjoying his game, for the first time in a while.

"I was definitely not happy. I love squash, and I'll continue to play but I definitely don't miss going into the gym every day and testing my heart rate and my anaerobic threshold."

Life has changed a lot for Kyme since he left his Belgian training camp behind and came back to Bermuda full time.

He doesn't have a job. But other than that, things are going great. He can play field hockey on a weekend for Panthers without worrying about busting a finger and can even have a beer afterwards.

"I've got a life now, basically. I hadn't played a team sport for ten years. It's been really good to get out and play hockey. You've got 20 other guys to help you stay focused - before I was constantly having to self motivate.

"We're all there doing it together because we enjoy it, not because it's a job that we have to do."

On the squash court too, he's been hitting with Foster, and enjoying the battle. "Patrick and I are good buddies. We both enjoy the sweat. There's a little bit of personal pride involved too, when we play in a tournament.

"Obviously we both want to win and I'm sure James (Stout) will too. He's not coming back from New York to lose."[[In-content Ad]]

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